Update August 2020: This article just went up. Again, nowhere is the perpetrator clearly stated to be black– the word “looters” is assumed to mean black by everyone. Again, a white woman is making assumptions, and acting like she’s “good,” looking out for everyone else. Again, I am heartbroken. And this particular white woman used her own husband’s death to boost a man who instigates violence and division, against the actual values of her deceased spouse. Awful.
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ORIGINAL POST (June 4, 2020)
A “good” white woman, who doesn’t want anyone to talk about race, at all, put up an article link on Facebook. “See, that’s what I’m talking about” she posted along with this article. It was clear she meant that protests were bad, because good people get hurt. If she had been in the same room, I can imagine her saying, “Look, this nice black man was killed! Protests are horrible. Black Lives Matter is dangerous. Everyone go home!” (and her shaking her head).
A stream of others chimed in below with support, outrage and anger. Someone commented “killing their own.” All the commenters were horrified. The article link likely was shared some more from here.
So, I read this article on the Washington Times. And the story IS a tragedy, a horrible tragedy. A retired police chief who was a youth mentor and helper in his community was killed “by people who broke into a pawn shop after protests turned violent.”
But did anyone confirm that the “looter” who killed him was black? Why go there? Does that even make any sense given he was well-liked? Every single comment poster wrote as if it were a black person who killed him, on both sides of the issue. I too, sheepishly admit I first “went there” too. But…
If you read the article, you come away with only a few salient facts
- A kind, respected black man named David Dorn was killed in St Louis a few nights ago
- The video of the incident that was reportedly on Facebook Live has been taken down
- No one has been charged
- No one is calling for justice, just for remembering him fondly
Reading this article, I think about the message it sends. We know what this woman on social media was saying as a result of reading it, but what ELSE might this article be saying to its readership?
Given the news outlet’s right-leaning stance, I wonder…
If I were a white supremacist reading it, would I perhaps feel emboldened by this woman’s post and on the news site? Would I feel like a dog whistle maybe was calling me to violent action?
Because
1) It appears clear that everyone on this woman’s social media feed is assuming a looter=a black protester. This leaves white supremacists out of consideration as suspects should looting happen along with death of black people.
2) It also could mean a violent white person would know they have ‘extra cover’ should they wish to perpetrate white on black violence (we know THIS happens, RIP George Floyd)
3) If the killer IS a white person, one might also wonder if they are being protected by law enforcement, in that no charges filed and the video is missing. Also, no calls for justice by police who were quoted in the article. Only time will tell on this. But, we also know statistically and anecdotally that whites CAN get away with violence against blacks (RIP Ahmaud Arbery), unless there is a video.
And… if I were a black person, I might be cynical about this post and article, and frustrated, and quite likely also chilled (not in a good way).
I would be reminded (again) that most Americans would assume without question that the looter were black. I also would see that no one was charged, and that because no race was indicated, that more outrage would brew indiscriminately on ALL sides of the issue. This would not necessarily be in the best interest of my safety. And if I did believe that it was a white person who murdered David Dorn, (logical, based on reports of white instigators coming into areas and breaking curfew and starting destruction) I might feel helpless.
In any case, I would likely think twice about joining a protest, knowing that I could easily be mistaken for a criminal, and if so, could be treated unjustly and have my mortality threatened…. but what else is new.
So, because of this article and the way it is written, and the right-wing paper it appears in, violent white people could logically feel emboldened, and peaceful black people logically feel oppressed. Sharing it amplifies this.
The man in the article’s death was grossly unjust, terribly tragic, and no justice is served. The pile on crime is that one more time, a black man is dead, and white ladies are talking about it, blaming black people. I’m hoping I am adding my white ass into the category of “getting it” though– and being an advocate– but I don’t think there is one thing I can do to shake that woman to see clear.
So, what of this “very nice” Facebook lady? Did she dig deeper why she too had assumed the “looter” was black? And that THAT was the very problem people of color are protesting? Along with, ah, cruelty and unlawful death. And economic injustice, and …
When I commented if people were assuming the looters were black and why, she simply “liked” that. Was there introspection? Did she really like it, or just like that people were talking about her assertion? Did she wonder if it was a white person who killed the gentle David Dorn? And if that person would be hunted for justice? Would she fight for it to be so?
God help us, and god help all white women who are ‘so loving,’ they just ‘want everyone to get along.’ Wouldn’t that be nice, if only our violent male and media counterparts weren’t so savvy, and so good at playing us all for fools.
