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Petty Racism Pt2: Beyond The Screen
If I were a Coder, and I could control the headlines (they do)of the day taking into consideration everything happening politically,economically,educationally, and healthcare- wise,I might actually find some relief in seeing people get themselves all worked up over a viral video.
Why? Because their attention would be elsewhere. It would be taken away from issues that have a much greater impact on people’s lives.Not a viral video of European-American woman making monkey sounds.
Now the real issues are boring. They’re not going to go viral and have everyone up in arms. Healthcare Policy, civil rights protections,employment opportunities, education and ecomic policies aren’t likely to generate the same excitement as a viral video. But these are the very issues that can shape the well being of the black community collectively, for years to come.
As I’m writing this,I received a text message from a good friend showing me a video of football player Jake Lang wearing a monkey mask at the Ol Miss location on campus.Jake Lang goes on to say that the young woman did nothing wrong. Whether he or anyone else believes that is beside the point. From my perspective, that’s not what this is about. All I see is another development adding to an already viral conversation. More log fire to keep this narrative burning, and get worked up over this…
