I found out about the George Zimmerman verdict early this morning just after I woke up. I was disgusted but not particularly surprised. What happened reveals much about race in America.
Simply put, America is still a racist country. Not in the same way or degree that it used to be. It is no longer acceptable to publicly express racist views. Indeed, we flatter ourselves about our racial progress by getting outraged over Paula Deen using the N-word or a Big Brother contestant insulting an Asian man. We wax poetic over a man with a black father getting elected. Nevertheless, a quiet racism remains.
This quiet racism is the fear felt when a young black man, especially a poor one, walks by. It is the tendency of police to stop black men more frequently. Melissa Harris-Perry described this racism all too well in her discussion of the acquittal this morning.
As Tim Wise pointed out, this quiet racism led Zimmerman to assume Martin was a criminal when he saw him walking through his neighborhood. It also led the jury, which naturally had no African Americans, to accept his defense's account, grasping at straws like the presence of marijuana in Martin's body or the fact that he got into fights at school.
To conclude, it is worth looking at a quote from bell hooks, who sums up the case all too well:
"White supremacy has taught him that all people of color are threats irrespective of their behavior. Capitalism has taught him that, at all costs, his property can and must be protected. Patriarchy has taught him that his masculinity has to be proved by the willingness to conquer fear through aggression; that it would be unmanly to ask questions before taking action. Mass media then brings us the news of this in a newspeak manner that sounds almost jocular and celebratory, as though no tragedy has happened, as though the sacrifice of a young life was necessary to uphold property values and white patriarchal honor. Viewers are encouraged to feel sympathy for the white male home owner who made a mistake. The fact that this mistake led to the violent death of an innocent young man does not register; the narrative is worded in a manner that encourages viewers to identify with the one who made the mistake by doing what we are led to feel we might all do to protect our property at all costs from any sense of perceived threat." This is what the worship of death looks like.
Simply put, America is still a racist country. Not in the same way or degree that it used to be. It is no longer acceptable to publicly express racist views. Indeed, we flatter ourselves about our racial progress by getting outraged over Paula Deen using the N-word or a Big Brother contestant insulting an Asian man. We wax poetic over a man with a black father getting elected. Nevertheless, a quiet racism remains.
This quiet racism is the fear felt when a young black man, especially a poor one, walks by. It is the tendency of police to stop black men more frequently. Melissa Harris-Perry described this racism all too well in her discussion of the acquittal this morning.
As Tim Wise pointed out, this quiet racism led Zimmerman to assume Martin was a criminal when he saw him walking through his neighborhood. It also led the jury, which naturally had no African Americans, to accept his defense's account, grasping at straws like the presence of marijuana in Martin's body or the fact that he got into fights at school.
To conclude, it is worth looking at a quote from bell hooks, who sums up the case all too well:
"White supremacy has taught him that all people of color are threats irrespective of their behavior. Capitalism has taught him that, at all costs, his property can and must be protected. Patriarchy has taught him that his masculinity has to be proved by the willingness to conquer fear through aggression; that it would be unmanly to ask questions before taking action. Mass media then brings us the news of this in a newspeak manner that sounds almost jocular and celebratory, as though no tragedy has happened, as though the sacrifice of a young life was necessary to uphold property values and white patriarchal honor. Viewers are encouraged to feel sympathy for the white male home owner who made a mistake. The fact that this mistake led to the violent death of an innocent young man does not register; the narrative is worded in a manner that encourages viewers to identify with the one who made the mistake by doing what we are led to feel we might all do to protect our property at all costs from any sense of perceived threat." This is what the worship of death looks like.