“So it was racial, but it was because Trayvon Martin put race into this,” asserts Don West, garnering no more than a discrete shake of the head from the young woman on the stand, “No.”
West, a seasoned champion of the indefensible, presses her further, “You don’t think that ‘creepy-ass cracker’ is a racial comment?” A slight grin flashes across Rachel Jeantel’s face as the absurd question everyone has been waiting for finally appears, “No.”
With virtually no concrete evidence either way, the defense council of George Zimmerman has painted an eerie picture of what the act of inception would look like outside of Hollywood:
An idea is like a virus. Resiliant. Highly contagious. The smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.
This thought spread like wildfire through the massive public relations apparatus that we colloquially refer to as the “mainstream media”, not to be outdone by the twittersphere, which has quickly shown itself to be a fractured reflection of American cultural values in times like these.
The Zimmerman trial is the biggest joke ever. That thug nigger met his demise...
— Patrick (@pdubbles) June 29, 2013
@MichaelOdazier just watching the George Zimmerman trial. Prosecuting key witness is dumb ass nigger fat uneducated bitch coping an attitude
— michael o'dazier (@MichaelOdazier) June 27, 2013
This has been a strenuous week as far as race goes, and understanding, or even a willingness to listen and learn from each other, has been drowned out by misguided beliefs and tragically myopic vision of what could be. To get a glimpse of just how completely stuck we are at even the most superficial levels of race relations in America, look no further than Food Network chef Paula Deen’s admission earlier this week:
Lawyer: Have you ever used the N-word yourself?
Paula: Yes, of course.
In a society where superficial racism is worse for your profits than severe labor abuse and 4 figure death tolls, the backlash was enormous. Deen is a grown woman who should know better, but I have to say the reaction might have been more disturbing than the substance of what was said, if for no other reason than the fact sensationalism like this prevents us from even talking about the real problem here. I mean, this is not that far off from putting your Grandma in a home because she lets a few derogatory comments slip every once in a while; it’s relatively benign and she makes really good pies, can’t we just ignore her?
The point I’m attempting to make here: is this really the sort of racism we should be tricked into caring this much about? Only the kind that is verbalized? The reaction to Deen’s comments ended up being little more than fuel to the fire of those who don’t care to make any attempts to understand the intricacies of modern racism. These are people for whom the fantasy of “equal opportunity” is undeniable, and it must then be true that any imbalance is caused by some genetic inequality rather than social, political, or economic.
Everyone's mad because Paula Deen said "nigger" but no one cares about the black woman who said "creepy-ass cracker" in the Zimmerman trial!
— katherine kingā” (@katherinekinggg) June 27, 2013
Zimmerman Prosecution Star Witness.. 'Cracker' Not a Racial Term.."Cracker" is to Whites as "Nigger" is to Blacks! http://t.co/dO6CE5ONTd
— Dog (@u2biker) June 27, 2013
I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a diverse area. Not like “America the melting pot” diversity where anything less than a 10:1 ratio is still liable to make white person sweat, but real diversity, where being the only white kid in the room wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest; where it is a refreshing experience in a big city whose neighborhoods are still very much defined by de facto segregation. It was never too hard to see this sort of sentiment boiling beneath the surface of relations, yet it’s such a slap in the face, even for a cracker like myself.
There is a term for this, which most will recognize, and which the beautiful Lauryn Hill aptly described in an open letter earlier this week: reverse racism. Racism necessarily wields an unruly power over others. Subjugation is it’s inherent measure, and for this reason, there does not exist such a thing as racism against whites. These terms prescribed to Caucasians are a reply to the racism that still exists today, and could never carry the weight of derogatory terms forced upon minorities. They are prejudice, no doubt, but acting as if the Civil Rights Act changed everything and all of a sudden America was pure and equal is a major part of the problem here.
There are also other barriers for us to plow through. Although there is no excuse, when we raise arms against a 65 year old white, southern woman for words spoken years ago, but say nothing about the much more malignant, concentrated, institutionalized racism, we are anchored to the superficial, with no hopes of reaching the deeper American identity.
Humanity in proper order is obligated to acknowledge the Truth, whoever it comes from, be they Black, White or other. Righteous indignation is simply a response to long-standing evil.
Is this real life? Are we pretending that cracker is some how as bad as nigger? ARE WE LIVING IN LA-LA LAND?!?! #ZimmermanTrial
— Elon James White (@elonjames) June 27, 2013
Cracka is not a racial term, its food. Nigger,on the other hand, was invented to demean and subjugate people #zimmermantrial #RachelJeantel
— Antonio Online (@Antoniomodesto) June 27, 2013
You may have heard recently about how “far we have come,” or how “times have changed,” and other such capitulations. These are the words of people who are reaching their critical comfort level in regards to equality. They are generally in the top tier of society, or else marginalized and made to believe the minorities are the ones who have solidified their marginalization. They attack anything they see as “entitlements”, especially of the racial variety. Terms like “double standard” are used to stop any progress in it’s tracks.
We saw a perfect illustration of this with the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down the key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Legendary SCOTUS troll Antonin Scalia called equal protection in voting:
…perpetuation of racial entitlement
This, as well as the rest of the majority decision is incredibility naive, and the 9 states that were previously held under the scrutiny of the Voting Rights Act have already lined up with new voting laws that will disproportionately effect young voters, old voters, and to a much larger extent, minority voters. These voter laws are rationalized as helping combat voter fraud, claims of which have occured in bulk since 2000. Yet, an overwhelming majority of these claims were nothing more than propaganda from the GOP. However some voting fraud has been found to be legitimate, if not completely insignificant, and tend to occurr through absentee ballots or clerical fraud, not the voters.
One aspect that has been so striking in the Zimmerman case is how much of a public relations campaign it has been, on both sides. This is where the mainstream media derives all of it’s enormity. It’s had such a profound effect on this generation, in which facts do not matter at the moment and getting past the superficial seems nearly impossible. It is the perfect machine for side-stepping any education of the public for which the news should serve, in favor of sensationalism and division. Of course Trayvon did not make this about race, and who knows the true motives of Zimmerman? The facts remain the same, and that’s what should be the focus, not race, not at this time.
all ima say is, as a warning, if Zimmerman walks as a free man; its gone be a "Rodney King" size Riot/Purge going on !
— C Double B ! (@BigPoppa_Cjay) June 26, 2013
Watching this Zimmerman trial and if they let this muthafucka go, ima cause a fuckin riot.. #riptrayvon
— Moe L's Nutral (@Yungtheespazz) June 24, 2013
In this moment in our lives, we all face subjugation in the form of a crumbling democratic process, loss of all privacy, and an authoritarian police state. If there was ever a time to support equality and form solidarity between all Americans, this is that time. No matter what the outcome of this case, or the cases that will come, let us not be consumed by our own fire nor blinded by sensationalism in a stance against those that want what all men want: freedom.