Monday, June 25, 2007

Discomfort is Unpleasant

While I am sad for the loss that the Davises have had with the discovery of the corpse of their daughter and sister Jessie, I have to say that I'm frankly discomforted with the racial connotations in this case. While I am not attempting to say that Bobby Cutts, Jr. is innocent or guilty, I am saying that this case is reminiscent of Susan Smith.

From the case's onset, it was already assumed that the boyfriend did it even though there is no clear proof that he actually did anything in this situation. Nothing really ties him to the scene. Yes, he is connected with the woman, but who is to say that he did it, especially if the child is his? He already had one child with her. Why would he kill her now before she has another that has been developed to term? This is all unimportant as he was, essentially, under arrest since she went missing.

I understand that he isn't the best cop of all time, but I have to believe that he had to know that he wasn't going to get away with this. I can't put my finger on it, but this case reeks of the assumption that he killed her because he's black.

Like I said before, I am not trying to defend him in any way. But, I would like more facts to come out and maybe an actual motive before I call him guilty like the rest of the world already has even though they don't have any proof to do so.

Also, if you are wondering why I haven't commented on this case before, I, as a rule, do not generally comment on cases involving missing white girls. The reason is because I think that the around-the-clock coverage awarded to white girls by MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, and others is utter bullshit like the Paris Hilton jail countdown. What makes a missing white girl more important than a missing Black girl? A missing Latina? A missing Asian? Or, for that matter, a missing male of any race? Every missing person is important. No one should have to suffer through the loss of a family member.

But, by constantly reporting on only missing white girls, the mainstream media is helping to reinforce negative stereotypes of women as frail and dependent. At the same time, they are also saying that the minorities who have been struggling to gain acceptance in this country as also unimportant and insignificant since those children do not make it past the local news or get Nancy Grace flying out to investigate their case on national prime-time television.

For me to comment frequently on the developments of such cases is antithetical to what I believe as a radical Black male. I'm actually disappointed that I've commented on this case, but I cannot ignore the negative racial undercurrent flowing through this case because it is so fragrantly in the forefront of this case whether the news channels want to admit it or not.