Facebook, The Media, And How Terrorists Attacks Are Covered

In the days since the Paris terrorists attacks, there has been a significant backlash against the media for its wall-to-wall coverage of the Paris attacks while not covering other recent terrorists attacks.  There has also been a backlash against Facebook for providing its users with a Safety Check alert for the Paris attacks but not the others, and for not providing a profile picture Flag Filter for users to show support for individuals suffering in the other attacks.

Although I totally understand (and agree with) the overarching sentiment that too often major terrorists’ incidents in countries predominately populated by “black or brown people” are not given the press coverage the incidents warrant, I’m going to push back a bit on some of the specifics of these complaints.

The terrorist attacks in Beirut, Lebanon; Kunduz, Afghanistan; even the attacks at Garissa University in Kenya this past April, were very much reported and covered by the major news stations.  I know because I was absolutely aware of these events and could comfortably carry on extensive conversations about the details and implications of each one based on the news coverage.  It’s not as though I traveled to these lands and saw these attacks firsthand, or took the day off from work and launched myself into a terrorists attack research project; I merely listened to and watched the news.  The fact that so many people seem to not have heard about these attacks is more an indictment of the individual than of the media coverage.

If you didn’t know about them, that’s because YOU weren’t paying attention.

I’ll also push back on the equivocation of all the attacks for the following reasons:  A multi-pronged attack in a nation that is not engaged in a civil war, that has had a stable government for several decades, and that has all the resources, tools and military force that France has is more shocking than terrorists attacks in lands that suffer from civil war, have unstable governments, don’t have a robust military force, and are surrounded by similarly unstable nations.  And none of the other attacks that have recently occurred in other nations were as comprehensive in scope as the Paris attacks.

I am not saying that one attack is more horrific than the other, or that the lives of some are less valuable than others.  I am saying that as a US citizen and a “westerner,” we are less accustomed to seeing attacks like this in countries similar to ours; especially nations with vast defensive capabilities.  Thus when attacks like the one in Paris do occur, it (reasonably) carries a greater shock value to us, and thus it is logical that our media will react as it did. 

So I actually believe that the 24 hour breaking news coverage of the Paris attacks is warranted.  On the other hand, though anyone paying attention to the news would’ve known about the other recent attacks, I do think more coverage of these incidents is also warranted and quite necessary if we are going to better understand how to combat similar future attacks no matter where they are plotted. 

That said, Facebook has some ‘splainin to do!

It is totally conceivable that Facebook users have loved ones in Lebanon and in Nigeria and in Afghanistan and in Kenya.  Some are even from those areas.  Why wasn’t there a “Safety Check” alert for each of those nations when they were under siege?  Where are the profile picture Flag Filters for those nations??   What is the bar for such responses by Facebook???  

By not affording each nation suffering similar atrocities the same privileges, Facebook is making a social and indeed a political statement.  This is a power that Facebook is keenly aware of, and is a power that Facebook has used in the past to express its support for specific issues (remember the rainbow profile pictures that followed a particular Supreme Court decision last Summer?).  The company needs to have an internal kum-ba-ya discussion to determine the bar for implementation of its alerts.  Facebook has a global, social and political voice, and by electing to only support France last week despite the myriad recent similar occurrences in other countries, I’d say that it mishandled this power.  Unless they really aren’t concerned about the well-being of folks in “brown” countries…but let’s not be cynical. ;-)

It does seem that in the days following the Paris attacks, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has wised up a bit.  He implemented the “Safety Check” alert for the Yola, Nigeria attacks that took place this week, posting an explanation message to his Facebook page.

All things considered, I think everyone needs to do a better job paying attention. 

To those complaining about the lack of media coverage for all the terrorists’ attacks, please be more consistent in watching the news; most of these occurrences are indeed covered by all the major news stations.  A tree that falls in the forest does indeed make a sound even if you weren’t there to hear it.

To the various media outlets, including the Facebooks of the world, you need to make some serious decisions about what you cover, and the degree to which you cover it, specifically as it pertains to violent conflicts around the world. 

To everyone, we are in a precarious time in the history of our world.  Every day I think about the atrocities going on in these atrocity stricken areas, and I can’t believe we are allowing it to happen in 2015.  So we all need to be concerned how we treat one another, and we need to respect the lives and humanity of those around us…and we really need to be doing much more!

We all need to do a better job of paying attention.

-Maelstrom

Down Goes Rousey

Early in the 2^nd round of her UFC 193 title fight with Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm put to rest the notion that a boxer would be destroyed by someone using mixed martial arts (MMA).  And this wasn’t just any MMA fighter Holm was up against, it was the seemingly unstoppable woman who rarely allows an opponent to survive 30 seconds into the 1^st round.  But the armbar submission queen was actually up against a “striker” who was previously a professional boxer…and that boxing prowess showed.

Was Rousey exposed in this fight?  ABSOLUTELY! 

Rousey was repeatedly taking straight jabs to the mouth all throughout the match.  Her face was reddened and her mouth was bloodied early on.  Indeed Holm also made effective use of her kick, but this looked like a boxing match in which one fighter was consistently able to land precise, crisp punches while the other had no clue how to defend against them.  And though Holm’s final kick to Rousey’s head was the nail in the coffin for Rousey, it was the punch to the face immediately preceding the kick that staggered her and opened her up to be kicked (just like many knockouts in boxing in which the knockout punch is preceded by a punch that staggers or stuns the eventual loser).

Prior to the match, I read an article on fivethirtyeight.com that pointed out how different Rousey and Holm were as fighters.  Most of Rousey’s wins came by submission while most of Holms came by knockout.  In fact, Holm has never won by submission.  The article also pointed out Rousey’s deficiencies in both striking defense and offense, both strengths for Holm.

After reading the article I thought, “If the styles are that different, Holm could win…if she keeps distance.” 

To me, victory in sports often comes down to specific matchups, and this seemed like a different enough matchup for Rousey that it could be problematic for her (although I’d never seen Holm fight before).  Rousey’s style is predicated on grappling her opponent and then taking them down for a submission.  As pointed out by the fivethirtyeight.com article, Rousey is not an efficient or effective striker, and she does not defend well against strikes.  For the 1^st time, Rousey faced someone who could expose those weaknesses; someone who was effective at keeping distance by throwing precise jabs (thus avoiding grapples), and who lands many of the punches she throws (exposing weak defense against strikes).

Punch! Kick! Ground and Pound!!!  And Rousey’s undisputed dominance was over!

Personally, I think anyone, no matter their style or record, can be beaten.  And I don’t have a “dog in the fight” between the fans of MMA versus the fans of boxing.  But I do know, what seemed to be the prevailing line of logic, i.e. “a boxer wouldn’t stand a chance against an MMA fighter,” took a major punch to the face with Rousey’s loss to Holm last night…pun intended!

-Maelstrom

Finally, Accountability

This past Monday a 16-year-old high school student was being disruptive in her Spring Valley High School class in Richland County, South Carolina.  From the reports thus far this is what we know.  Her teacher asked her to put away her cell phone and she refused.  Her teacher asked her to leave, and she refused.  The teacher called for the help of another school administrator who also asked her to leave, and she refused.  Then the school resource officer (SRO), Deputy Ben Fields, was called in.  Deputy Fields asked her to leave and she refused.

Let me be clear in establishing something before I continue.  This girl was out of order and out of line and disrespectful.  She started this by being disruptive.  She was wrong!

By now, anyone who’s glimpsed the news this week has seen what happened next.  Deputy Fields flipped the girl out of her desk, and then literally threw her across the classroom floor before handcuffing and arresting her.  Fortunately, knowing that something not good was going happen, several students in the classroom whipped out their cell phones to catch footage of the incident (because if there was no footage, it would’ve been his word against her word, and we all know that’s a losing proposition if you’re not the cop). 

Wednesday, Leon Lott, the Richland County Sheriff, announced during a press conference that he’d dismissed Deputy Fields from the police force because Deputy Fields did not follow proper training and protocol to handle this incident.  Specifically, the act of throwing the girl (not flipping her onto the floor out of her desk) was the action Deputy Fields took that caused him to be terminated, as this did not follow proper training.  As I listened to the press conference I came away with the sense that Sheriff Lott was following the letter of the law, and that he was being fair, honest and transparent in doing so.  Repeatedly he pointed out that he thought the girl was wrong and that she should be punished for what she did.  He also said, however, that his major concern was that his officer had done wrong, and that given the circumstances he could not support or justify the officer’s actions. 

I thought to myself, “Finally, accountability!”

Let me pause again, for those who are now upset because you think I’m supporting the girl or not supporting the cop.  I think EVERYONE should be held accountable for their actions.  That said, one of my major gripes with the multitude of law enforcement incidents that have entered into the national spotlight in the past 2 years is that consistently the officers can do wrong (including committing unjustifiable murders) without being held accountable at all.  We saw this in the case of Eric Garner in NYC in which Garner, who was illegally selling single cigarettes on the street, was choked to death (according to the coroner) by law enforcement using an illegal choke hold (again, for selling single cigarettes on the street).  That incident led to no indictment.  More recently, we saw this in the case of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio in which the boy (who actually wasn’t doing anything wrong other than being a child playing with a toy), was shot and killed by police literally 2 seconds after the police officers put themselves in a vulnerable position by not creating space before assessing the situation (and thus not following proper protocol).  The officer who murdered Rice in that incident has not been indicted, and the prosecutor in the case released a ridiculous report claiming the officer acted within the law.  

NO ACCOUNTABILITY!!!

So my basic thesis in this column is that police officers are not Jesus Christ; they make mistakes too, and when they do they should be held accountable also.  Unfortunately, as I’ve pointed out, this is often not the case. 

Although I differ with where Deputy Fields went wrong (I think violently flipping the girl from her desk onto the floor was the initial problem, not just the throwing of the girl), I was glad that the Sheriff had the guts to mete out this judgment, even before the DOJ, FBI and others made a decision about the incident.

Where I vehemently disagree with the Sheriff is on the severity of punishment she should face.  He seems determined to make sure this girl is punished with a criminal misdemeanor offense.  He’s not alone, as many others seem to think she deserves some severe punishment.

Now for the flood of people who saw the footage and thought “why isn’t she being punished for what she did?” or “she’s the one who started it”... let me talk to you for a moment. 

First, please outline for me exactly what she did?  I’ll help…here is what we know, she refused to put her cell phone away, and then refused on multiple occasions to leave the classroom.  She was not fighting anyone, she didn’t pull a weapon on anybody, and she didn’t threaten to blow the school up.  Basically, she posed no threat to anyone, she was just being a problem student.

Second, I know she’s black, but she’s still a child and not an adult.  I point this out because in the case of black children, we forget that they are children and we often see black children as adults.  Trayvon Martin at the age of 15 was characterized as an adult black male (and therefore him fighting gun-wielding George Zimmerman was a fair fight…at least that’s the implication).  The fact that the ‘juvenile’ status of the aforementioned Tamir Rice was not relayed to the officer’s prior to their encounter with him has been used as an excuse as to why they immediately took him down upon arrival (again implying that as an adult, he should’ve known better than to be brandishing a toy gun on the streets).  The girl in this case is a girl, a child, a teenager; we expect defiance of her for that reason alone.  When you consider her as a teenager, her behavior, though not desirable, is in no way criminal or somehow worthy of severe punishment.  

Unfortunately, black children don’t get the juvenile benefit of the doubt. 

For those who are asking, “why couldn’t the girl just obey the teacher or officer?”  Well, it’s been reported that the girl was recently orphaned and is in foster care following the death of her mother.  If true (though it’s not an excuse), if ever there was a reason for someone not to be in the right frame of mind to behave well, that’s a pretty darn good one.

And for those people out there who want to give a misdemeanor to a girl who refused to turn off her cell phone and/or leave a classroom?  Think about how ridiculous and silly that is.  Does that even make sense???

On the other side of this case we have a Deputy whom we should reasonably expect does know better than to assail anyone in this manner, especially children.  Police officers are adults with extensive training who are held to a higher standard because of their role in society, as well as the legal and real-world power (think guns) they are granted.  And they are rightfully held to a higher standard I might add.

As one of my friends pointed out, it’s a sad day when we are comparing the wrong of the teenager in this specific circumstance with the wrong of the officer considering she is still but a child, and he is a sworn in officer charged with the responsibility to protect and serve.

Finally, I must say I noted that many of my black friends and family saw the circumstance as I did – another instance of a black person being mistreated by a law enforcement person. I also noted that many of my white friends saw the circumstance as another instance of an unruly person misbehaving that needed/deserved to be punished by the officer.  Given this consistent and stark contrast, I have to believe that race, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, is a major factor in how each of us views these types of instances.  

So I would recommend to everyone, think of this girl as your child, or even as your 16-year-old self.  Would you have wanted your child, or even your 16-year-old self to be treated this way?  Would you be arguing for criminal prosecution or even punishment greater than detention?

I highly doubt it!

Disrespectful and disruptive as she may have been, I find it ironic that people want to punish a girl with jail time for trying to stay in a classroom.  After all, isn’t school where we want our children?

-Maelstrom

PS:  She’s just a kid!

Wolverine Laments Last-Second Loss To Little Brother

I could stomach a loss.  But to Lose. Like. That.

As a Michigander born and raised, one of the joys of Autumn was waking up on Saturday mornings, watching cartoons, and then watching the Michigan football games. Anthony Carter, Desmond Howard, Ricky Powers, Tyrone Wheatley, Tim Biakabutuka, Mercury Hayes, Amani Toomer, Chris Howard, Todd Collins, Elvis Grbac, Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr...all were names I came to know love and revere. Michigan was known for tough defense, consistently having top wide receivers, and always having a stable of touchdown threat running backs and kick returners.  We were also always a title contender, and always a betting favorite to win the Big Ten Conference title.

Honestly, just check the history of the program and you’ll quickly understand why 110,000+ fans fill The Big House in Ann Arbor a half dozen times each Fall.  Michigan is the winningest program in the history of college football (920), with the 2^nd highest win percentage (73%), has the most winning seasons (114), the most undefeated seasons (23), and is the proud owner of 11 National titles.

And believe it or not, though our little brother has flexed their muscles against us in the last decade, we still have a sizable series record against Sparty at 68 wins to 33 losses (and 5 ties). 

Despite our storied history, Michigan is also the proud owner of numerous terrible and memorably terrible losses. Though I was a preteen in grade school, I remember very vividly the '94 Colorado vs Michigan game in which Kordell Stewart threw a deflected, but successful Hail Mary pass to Michael Westbrook to end the game at Michigan Stadium, dropping the Wolverines to 2-1 on the season. Then there was 'clockgate' in 2001, a ‘fake’ last-second loss to that school further up north, Michigan State (at least that one was on the road). And of course, the most infamous of all, Appalachian State happened in 2007, again at The Big House. Yes, every year we pray and hold candlelight vigils hoping that another major program ranked in the top 15 will go down to an FCS school.  (Note: indeed 2 other ranked FBS teams have lost to FCS schools in the ensuing years since the Appalachian State debacle, but Michigan’s loss is the only one people seem to know about.)

How is it that such a terrific program has some of the most inconceivably ridiculous losses?  Losses of so great a magnitude that even when it happens to others, no one knows or cares about it.  

“Reverse Highlight Reel” losses I like to call them.

I enrolled at Michigan during the 2 quarterback system year that featured an inaccurate guy named Tom Brady, and a mobile gunslinger named Drew Henson. It was just a couple years after a ferocious defense, led by 2-way athlete Charles Woodson, went undefeated and won a share of the National title.  By the time I graduated from Michigan, though we were still a top program, we went from dominating series match-ups versus our top 3 rivals, Notre Dame, MSU, and that school south of our border, to us being on the losing side more often than not.

Enter Coach Jim Harbaugh.

With only a close game 1 loss to a very good Utah team, Harbaugh has quickly turned around a Michigan football program that many, including yours truly, began to believe had a chance to win the Big Ten title at least a season ahead of schedule.  But first we had to exorcise that demon that has vexed us since the infamous “little brother” comment spoken by former Michigan running back Mike Hart.

So there I was Saturday, surrounded by hundreds of other Michigan fans at a ‘Michigan Bar’ in Washington DC, begging the clock to read double zero.  The undefeated, 7^th-ranked Spartans did battle with the 12^th-ranked Wolverines for almost a full 4 quarters, but never led.  Neither team could get their running games going, neither quarterback could consistently get their teams down the field, and neither team had turned the ball over. 

It was a classic.  

Facing 4th and 3, with only 10 seconds left, and the score set with us up 23-21, it’s decision time.  We can run the ball once more and try to get the 1st down. But this is a risky option because if we don't get the 1st down, the clock stops and the Spartans can get off at least a good Hail Mary attempt from about the 50 yard line; they might even be able to get 2 plays off with a chance to hit a field goal as time expires. So we go with the smartest, safest option. We choose to bring in our unflappable special teams and excellent punter to put MSU so far down the field that it'd take a miracle for them to win. 

Keep that word miracle in mind.

It's the right call. This season our special teams has been at least as good as our top rated defense. We've got a couple of the scariest kick returners in the country, including the heavily recruited Jabrill Peppers. Our field goal kicker, Kenny Allen, is as reliable a strong leg as a team could ask for. And our punter, Blake O'Neill, is one of the best in the country, and the best one I can recall in 25 years of watching Michigan football. He has consistently pinned the opposing teams inside the 10 yard line, including an 80-yard beauty early in the game versus MSU. So the only thing that can cost us this game is a botched punt, or a miraculous MSU play.

Apparently the two need not be mutually exclusive.

So the miraculous happened, and by now, we've all seen the play.  No truer statement has ever been posted than one that a friend of mine posted as his facebook status:

”The amount of things that had to go wrong in a very specific manner for that to happen.” 

So let’s dissect those wrong things.  1st, there was a bad snap. It wasn't the worst snap, but it was low and off-centered. 2nd, O'Neill doesn't catch it, and a live ball is now on the turf. But, at this point, we are still ok, as long as he just falls on the ball. But nope, for some reason unbeknownst to every Wolverine fan watching, with the Spartans past the line of scrimmage in full pursuit, he still tries to punt the ball away.

Let’s take a moment to talk about O’Neill.  When I said he's an excellent punter, that was not hyperbole. Rarely can you specifically point to the punter as a major factor in your success. But this year Michigan can. His punting has meant that the opposing teams often have poor field position. As a result, very few plays have been run against Michigan in the red zone this season. Unfortunately his success as a punter probably played into his split second decision to still attempt punting in a situation in which EVERYBODY knows the wise thing to do is to just fall on the ball. When you're that good, you probably haven't failed enough times to even think 'it's a bad snap, there's less than 10 seconds, just fall on it.'  I'm sure he knows what to do now.

Even with that, the game isn't lost yet. The 3rd thing that worked against us is that we didn't recover the ball. I mean, where were all our guys? Did they give up on the play celebrating prematurely? Were they not ready for MSU to go hard at the punter? I mean, there was an avalanche of white jerseys mauling the punter immediately.

So MSU recovers the ball, and the miraculous play they needed is in full effect. Now the game is still not lost, because if we can just tackle the MSU ball carrier, the clock will expire and we still win.  The lack of said tackle being the 4th wrong thing.

So nope! We don't get him, and an epic fail is in the books. We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

I could deal with a loss. MSU is a very good team, undefeated, and ranked above us. Plus we could always say that though he's a proven commodity, Harbaugh is in the 1st year of a rebuilding process. Even if we'd lost on a game-winning field goal, so be it. But to lose LIKE THAT. To give MSU their only lead of the game at the final whistle. To lose disgracefully at home before hundreds of thousands of fans. To once again become the laughing stock of football fans as well as the non-sports watching public. To be the lead story on major non-sports news outlets. To be the reason Monday morning that ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” are asking all their athlete guests about their “worst loss ever.”  To give everyone another major Michigan fail to be discussed for decades to come. WHY???!!!

So there I was, with hundreds of other rabid Wolverine fans, when the clock read double zero. But alas, instead of jubilation at the ticking down to double zero, there was silence and disbelief. We'd done it again; we'd become the top trending story again for all the wrong reasons...just like in 2007.  But now with an even more pronounced social media presence to loud-speaker our embarrassment to the masses.

This play will be discussed frequently for the next year, often for the next decade, and will be a key flashback highlight discussed periodically for the next few decades.

I thought about scenarios in which the sting of this loss could be lessened. I've come up with 2 options: 1. Another top program (especially if it’s MSU) has an equally epic fail this season, or 2. Michigan runs the table, somehow gets a spot in the playoff, and wins the national title, effectively finding success following heartbreak and turning a negative into a positive.

Yes, I know, I'm dreaming.

When you lose that way, it’s easy to forget that we’re still 5-2 with a legit shot to contend for the Big Ten title just one season after winning a total of 5 games and completely missing out on a bowl game.  It’s easy to forget that our only 2 losses have come by an average of 5.5 ppg to 2 top 10, undefeated teams.  It’s easy to forget how great Blake O’Neill has been, sans 1 play, all season.  It’s easy to be angry, sad, and to despair. 

Unfortunately, it’s not easy for anyone to forget…and I mean ANYONE!

All-in-all, Blake O'Neill is still an excellent punter, Harbaugh is still a great coach, and we're definitely ahead of that rebuilding schedule...I just wish we hadn't lost. like. that.

I suppose the only saving grace I can fall back on is that though we are the most recent victims of ‘epic failuredom,’ we aren't the only ones. There was that Alabama “Kick Six” fail of 2013.

That said, it’s still great-to-be-a-Mich-i-gan-Wolv-er-ine!!!

#goblue

-Maelstrom

Casting "The Bachelor"

I’m a regular viewer of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette on ABC (yes…it’s a guilty pleasure), which debuted with another Bachelorette season this week.  Despite the fact that I’m a devoted viewer of the show, there are many aspects of the show that I find objectionable.  For example, I think the ridiculous amounts of cash that must be spent on sending the participants to the most lavish hotspots on the planet is financially wasteful.  And to be sure, the consistent promiscuity of the bachelor/bachelorette that permeates each season is quite ironic considering that the premise of the show is the pursuit of falling in love with ONE of the contestants.  Oh, and did I mention that it’s beyond decadent that the lead protagonist begins swapping spit with multiple “prospects” almost the moment that they step out of the limo…and the spit swapping later leads to sex with “prospects” with whom the protagonist definitely does not care to wed at the end of the season (as we found out when Nick Viall outed Andi Dorfman for doing that to him during season 10 of The Bachelorette).

When you really think about it, the show is nothing more than “The Real World/Road Rules Challenge,” dressed up in sophistication. 

Now the objections I listed above are obvious.  But I think there’s something deeper in the pattern of the show that I find to be common in America, and that something is terribly damaging…

…for several seasons there has been a revolving carousel of contestants who later become either the Bachelor or the Bachelorette.  So if you are NOT one of the last four contestants standing the previous season, the chance of you becoming the Bachelor/Bachelorette is slim to none.  Since the lead contestants are chosen from the previous season’s contestants, and the show began with a VERY homogenous crowd of participants (i.e. white/Caucasian American), the cast (as well as the chosen Bachelor/Bachelorette) is incredibly lacking in diversity. 

How does this relate to America at large you ask?  Well for centuries, Black people were not allowed to obtain public education, have certain jobs or participate in certain community activities due to institutions like slavery and the Jim Crow Laws of the South.  Now that slavery has been abolished and Jim Crow has been eradicated, and we’re “post-racial,” it would seem that Black people would be represented in numbers at least approaching their representation in the general population in jobs across the board, right?

Nope!!!

Here’s how it actually works…for centuries only white men could hold the majority of profitable jobs.  Because people tend to surround themselves with folks that look like them (or that they know), the majority of hires for the lucrative/powerful positions are white (and male).  There may be a sprinkling of people of color, but because those people of color typically don’t have the (often racially directed) insider network of their white counterparts, they tend not to get the references.  So the candidates who then get the job often come from the same network of white men they’re already closely associated with, and they themselves tend to be white.

The Bachelor franchise highlights this so glaringly.  Think about it, Sean Lowe, Chris Soules, Jake Pavelka and Jason Mesnick all became the Bachelor after appearing as contestants on The Bachelorette.  Ashley Hebert, Desiree Hartsock, as well as this season’s co-contestants Britt Nilsson and Kaitlyn Bristowe, all became the Bachelorette after appearing as contestants on The Bachelor. 

In fact, there have only been a few black, latino or asian contestants at all on either series.  And none have served as The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, with the exception of season 18’s Juan Pablo Galavis, who is white latino (i.e. most people wouldn’t guess that he’s latino without hearing him speak or knowing his name). 

If the franchise continues for another 10 or 20 seasons, I doubt there will ever be a Black Bachelorette (she’d certainly be deemed ghetto if she got into some of the fights or had the many trysts that previous White Bachelorette’s have had).  And there will definitely not be a Black Bachelor (there’s no way White America would approve of a Black man having sex with a cohort of their precious White daughters, even though it seems to be fine for White men to do on the show, and despite the fact that America's precious White daughters have sex with Black men while they’re away at college anyway).

Well, I suppose it (a Black man/woman as the Bachelor/Bachelorette) could happen.  But until then, I’ll continue having fun each season playing the game, “when will the last minority be voted off?” 

-Maelstrom

Cameras Can Help Illuminate Injustice, But The Outcome Will (Sadly) Be The Same

In 1955, Money, Mississippi, a 14-year-old Black Boy was killed by two white men for having some interaction with one of their wives in a store.  What that interaction was is still unclear, but some versions of the story say he whistled at the white woman, while others say that he said something sexually suggestive to her.  In any case Emmett Till was not supposed to interact with her at all while he was in that store, in accordance with the unjust southern racial caste system.  His body was later found brutally mangled, beaten and unimaginably disfigured.  Although everyone knew who killed him, they also all knew that there would be no justice for him. 

Fast forward to 2014, and to the video footage of Tamir Rice being gunned down by a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio.  Look at the footage of Eric Garner being choked to death by a half-dozen cops in New York City in the summer of 2014 for illegally selling single cigarettes.  Before that, consider the audio recording of George Zimmerman as he stalked and later killed Trayvon Martin, defying the instructions of the 911 operator who told him not to pursue Martin.  Look at myriad other similar recorded instances in which unarmed Black Men and Boys have been killed while posing no serious threat to anyone, if posing a threat at all.

Now also look at footage of young white men confronting cops, cursing at them, getting chesty with them, pushing them, yelling at them.  The difference is that the white boys can do that and not only live to joke about it later, but often don’t ever find themselves in handcuffs at all after confronting cops.  In fact, young white men can walk into a movie theater, shoot down and kill a dozen people, and live to stand trial and defend themselves (see James Holmes...Aurora, Colorado).

The fact of the matter is that Black people have been mistreated by police officers (and the white public at large) for centuries…AND WE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THIS TO BE THE CASE with and without cameras present to verify it.  Every person, Black, white or other, knew that those two white men killed Emmett Till in 1954.  And those two white men knew that they could kill Till and get away with his murder, AND that it would be fine by their white brethren.  And as if to prove that point, they brazenly gave a full length account of how they murdered Till in Look Magazine, once they’d been acquitted of the murder.

Today, everyone (Black, white and other) knows that the death of Eric Garner, for example, was wrong and the white officers were absolutely excessive and out of order in their take down and subsequent disregard for the health of the man.  Yet, no charges.  And the list of similar cases is unbelievably extensive…from the acquittal of the cops who were videotaped beating Rodney King, to the not guilty verdicts of the cops who killed Amadou Diallo (murdered by cops while standing unarmed on the porch of his home).

What’s my point?  I know that everyone is urging the police officers nationwide to adopt the use of body cameras, as a way of holding police officers accountable.  The fact of the matter is that we NEVER needed cameras for everyone to know when an injustice had been committed at the hands of police – the Emmett Till story highlights that (though the white murderers weren’t cops in that case).

I support all police officers having body cams that have specific fail safes on them (e.g. alerts when a cop turns off the camera, requiring the cop to explain why the camera was off).  But all the cameras will do is add to the ridiculously extensive pile of proof that societal injustices – often at the hands of (white) police officers – frequently occur toward Black people.  But what the very recent evidence shows is that even with cameras the end result will not change:  Black Men will be unnecessarily killed, while white murderers – whether in a badge or not – will go free.

-Maelstrom

So Freddie Gray Injured Himself…Really CNN???

It’s been several weeks since the arrest and subsequent death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.  To briefly recap, Gray was apprehended by police officers after he ran upon seeing them.  Cell phone footage shows Gray be lifted up at the arms by cops, and dragged by police officers into a police containment vehicle.  Gray did not appear to be able to hold himself up or walk on his own, and could be heard grunting in pain as he was being carried into the police vessel.  He died several days later in a hospital as a result of the encounter, and the hospital report indicated that his spinal cord was 80% severed.  The police officers involved have been suspended, but they are still being paid.  No charges have been filed.  

The incident, which sparked rioting in the city of Baltimore earlier this week, is another in a long string of Black Men being murdered by police officers, and has kept alive the “Black Lives Matter” movement.  The sad reality is that these occurrences have been going on for centuries, and many more occur than actually garner national attention.  But with the ubiquitous presence of cameras everywhere, White America can no longer say that Black people are exaggerating or making it up.  This doesn’t mean things are going to swiftly change; it just means that it’s harder for police officers and White America to deny.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the attempt to somehow blame the victim by releasing (often circumstantially unrelated or irrelevant) statements, photos, or videos that tarnish the victim’s image.  Today, such a thing occurred.  

This morning I was watching CNN and they reported that a man, who claimed to be arrested and in the same police vehicle as Gray at the time of his arrest, said Gray was intentionally trying to injure himself and may have self-inflicted the wounds that ultimately caused his death.

REALLY???!!!!!

What disturbs me about this report is that it lacks any shred of credibility.  For example, in the same CNN report, they said that this individual could not see Gray because he was on the opposite side of a metal partition in the car.  Furthermore, anyone who has seen the cell phone footage that brought this crime to light knows that once Gray encountered the police, he could no longer walk (i.e. he was already injured prior to being carried into the police vehicle…and possibly further injured after a “Rough Ride”).  This claim by the mystery co-arrestee is utter nonsense and does not qualify as credible or news.

For CNN to air that report on any of its platforms is absolutely negligent.  Every reporter who uttered it should get on air tomorrow and apologize, and whatever producer, director or editor gave the green light for that report to air should be fired immediately with no questions asked.  The same goes for any other “news” institution that airs these claims as well.  It is shameful!!!

-Maelstrom

Please Remove Whitlock - Response from ESPN

For several years I have very much disdained sports “journalist” Jason Whitlock because he has a terrible history of making up arguments to support his factually incorrect opinions, and he is notorious for making incredibly off-base, offensive remarks.  This is a pattern for him, and not a “one-off” occurrence; from his ridiculously callous/factually false assessment of the circumstances that caused NFL player Sean Taylor’s death, to his demeaning (and somewhat obscene) racial “joke” directed at NBA player Jeremy Lin.  He has thus been fired from sports journalist jobs (like his spot at ESPN several years ago).  But somehow he continues to re-emerge despite these transgressions and his mediocre journalistic abilities.

Shockingly, of all institutions, ESPN, “the worldwide leader in sports,” seems hell bent on placing Whitlock in charge of a subdivision of the network (akin to Grantland or espnW) that is supposed to cater to Black journalists and Black people at-large. I simply don’t understand this because there are numerous Black journalists who are amply qualified to run such an outfit who don’t have the piles of very demeaning, disrespectful and false statements that he has.  Furthermore, Whitlock has multiple documented instances of getting his history on racial issues wrong (journalists are supposed to deal in facts) and taking racial jabs at people (ie using racial stereotypes)...and this is the guy ESPN wants to lead an extension specifically catering to a race?  Plus, how many times does a network have to fire someone before they realize that he’s detrimental to their brand??

Previously I posted a letter that I wrote to the then ombudsman, Robert Lipsyte, concerning the decision to bring Whitlock back to ESPN.  You can read that post here:

 http://thinkvortex.blogspot.com/2014/11/please-remove-whitlock.html

Below is the brief, general response returned to me from the station:

“I cannot respond personally to all the mail I receive, but every complaint is read and noted.  When complaints are specific to a show or an article on ESPN.com, they are forwarded to the producer or editor in charge of that content.  When there are several complaints on the same topic, I will look to address them in my blog or monthly column.  (The same is true for positive comments.)  I cannot assure you that your complaints or mine will result in action, but I can assure you they are not lost in some cyberspace void.  They are read, thought about, and disseminated.

Thank you,

Robert Lipsyte”

 

Well, at least someone at ESPN read my grievances…but are they listening?

-Maelstrom