You'll have to have been where the mail doesn't drop
Or where the papers and TV don't find you
To be unware of "black man shot by white cop"
Ad infinitum - just to remind you.
But the absence of the following has my mind in a whirl
"Black man shoots white TV news girl".
.....................................................................................
Sure, no offence meant M.C we're all speaking from our positions!
TH - thanks for the comment - and a word I hadn't met
before.
My position, I propose, is perfectly legitimate when
assessing the way these events are put before the public by a powerful, often unaccountable media.
Poetry has always had its place in questioning and
challenging a perceived distorted attitude relating to
matters of public importance. To that end, you're quite right that it means something to me that double
standards appear to be in operation.
Regards.
I think the message is a little supererogatory and i'm pretty sure i'm not onboard with it. However it obviously means something to you- a reminder that poetry is another form of reportage complete with it's own agenda.
It's never "OK" for anyone to (or feel they have to) shoot
another. However, circumstances demand individual
assessment and my point was the readiness of the media
to "highlight" the actions of the forces of law and order
AND the respective racial identity of those concerned
when the victim was "black". This was notably absent
in that most recent case in Virginia. Indeed, the
racial aspect so readily taken up has been ignored
completely despite the slayer himself confessing its
relevance to his actions. Why? seems a pertinent
question. As for your mention of him being reported
as gay, this seems to add to my indictment of media
selectivity when it suits -and sells a story and its
prejudices.
Perhaps it should be mentioned in media reports just
many U.S. police officers are murdered or maimed in
the average year and the number of black offenders in prisons over there? Hundreds and thousands
respectively is an informed assessment. Is it any
wonder that individual cases involving police and public
deaths anywhere - let alone that gun-ridden land -
require an impartial and informed approach and not the
race-driven hysteria so frequently indulged in and used
by those whose with questionable agendas.
Cheers.
So it's ok if the cops shoot a black man, just don't bother me with the information. The guy who shot the camera man and presenter was gay and that was not mentioned until today.
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M.C. Newberry
Sun 30th Aug 2015 13:18
TH - it's always a pleasure to have an even-handed
rational discussion about such things. Thanks for your
input - appreciated.
Cheers.