Chicago Beating as Microcosm
We all know the philosophical question, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?" The tragic corollary to this is, " If a black or brown child is kidnapped, shot or beaten to death and there is no film, does it make an impact?" The answer, much to our shame, is No.
We know about Derrion Alpert and the president sending the Attorney General and Education Secretary to Chicago, because his beating death was caught on tape. Hundreds of black and brown children are shot, beaten and murdered in this country every year, but they are only a blip on our societal radar. All life and all death are not equally valued. Our gang violence is only noticeable when an "innocent bystander" is harmed.
Look at the coverage of kidnappings and disappearances. With all the abductions, you can only count on seeing the blondes. We show a widely disproportionate number of white victims and perpetrators who are black or brown. As long as they murder each other, we don't much care. Only when they hurt one of us, or there is film, do we get emotionally involved.
We cannot meaningfully pledge to remediate this if we don't value these children as our own. This means education and opportunities that are equal. It means caring about the culture and looking at gun trafficking and the glorification of violence celebrated in movies, videogames and rap music. We cannot believe that the graphic portrayal of violence has no effect. Images produce behavior (and misbehavior). This is the basis of the advertising business. We sell our souls by selling violence to our kids. We sell out their futures and their lives.
It is particularly ironic that this week the Supreme Court is looking at limiting the portrayal of violence towards animals. They already outlaw kiddy porn. How about the general pornography of violence towards human beings? Derion Alpert's death is a story because of the tape. It should be a story because he was one of us--a human being.
©2009 Jonathan Dobrer
www.Dobrer.com
That’s the irony of life. Thing are done and no one sees the fact. Just like, today's college graduate does not inherit a world of wine and roses. Mose Allison once wrote that a young man has nothing in the world these days and for today's college graduate, it rings darkly true. It costs more to attain a college education now than ever, and the costs have risen far above the cost of inflation, and a student graduates into a world of debt. Fewer middle class jobs are available, and it takes far longer for people to get a start on life. Today's college graduate is far more likely to need debt relief, can hardly afford a car loan, and more of them than ever are moving back in with their parents.