Tensions are running high in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin shooting, and rightfully so. Americans are already politically, culturally and economically polarized, thanks in no short part to the divisive rhetoric spewing out of D.C., and so-called civil-rights leaders.
To be sure, this case is tragic from any perspective. A young man lies dead, his future taken prematurely, his parents left with a gaping hole that no amount of time or prayer can fill, while another man’s future hangs in the balance. Pundits and analyst, critics and activist have been talking nonstop, lighting up the blogosphere, conjecturing, accusing, impugning and invoking the dreaded word: racism. The narrative runs that Zimmerman, a biracial man, killed Martin because he could not tamp down his tendency to stereotype. Possibly so, but even if this is the case, are we missing the bigger picture?
If we presuppose that Zimmerman is merely a symbol of the heart of America, that white Americans are all collectively “guilty” of stereotyping young black males, than what is the cause? Are we just born that way, or did we learn these stereotypes somewhere?
You have to look no further than the very media that has so hastily pointed the finger of racism. Hip-Hop and Rap music, movies that glorify gangs, violence, drugs and the humiliation of women abound in our culture. Kids, especially young black males, are constantly exposed to this melee of degradation and misogyny.
And this is not merely a perception issue. Because of our misguided war on drugs, young black men, seizing on the opportunity of riches, high-end cars, and compliant women, are going to prison in record numbers. This oppressive police state, in conjunction high rates of substance abuse, a growing dependency on government assistance, and schools corrupted by teachers’ unions and a pervading sense of apathy, have created the perfect storm, one that has destroyed the integrity of many black families (and quite a few white) and devastated whole communities. We are bearing witness to, and have been for some time, the blighting and ultimate destruction of black communities across the United States. Just a few weeks ago, 10 people with various racial backgrounds were gunned down in Chicago, all victims of gang violence. This is not a racial problem; this is a moral and legal problem.
The unfortunate result, however, is to generalize a problem in our legal and justice systems (primarily the drug war policy), along with a general deterioration in the family, to America as a whole. In other words, while racism is an element of American society, we our not a racist country as a whole. We have progressed, not regressed with regard to race relations. Until now.
On a personal level, my wife and I have persevered to raise our child with colorblindness. The result? Our son has friends from a wide variety of ethnic and racial backgrounds. This is no accident, nor a product of “diversity training.” Rather, we are simply following the words of Dr. King to judge by “content of character,” rather than by skin color. I truly fear that all of this progress is going to be undone by a society and media hyper focused on racial divisiveness. We are becoming a society, ironically, that cognitively segregates, throwing out the race card at the slightest indication, fanning and feeding the flames of anger and retribution, hastily forming opinions processed through the filter of skin color.
We are simply hung up in placing each other in groups, and then making judgments according to our own groupthink. And so while Dr, King and others, many white Americans included, marched our country forward, we have race-baters and a media hell bent on marching right back to the ugliness we fought so hard to overcome. Are we back in Selma, Alabama, in the late 1950s? Is this the place we want to go?
So yes, I believe in some sense Zimmerman responded to a stereotype, and we know this is a foundation for racism. But that does not make Zimmerman a racist, anymore than anyone else.
The bigger issue we should be talking about is how we are going to help the black community lift themselves out of this horrid mess they find themselves in, and this is all of our responsibility. Pointing fingers and crying racism, however, is merely a distraction; while it allows us to puff our chests in self-righteous indignation, it does little to shine the sunlight of disinfection on the disease. The disease is not racism, merely a disturbing symptom of an underlying necrosis. The disease is bad policy, a lack of economic opportunities, a disintegrating family structure, growing dependency on government largesse, and a moral compass that has been compromised by the media-powered GPS which has led black youth into nothing but dead ends.
Until we are ready to talk about these matters, until we are willing to be honest and real with each other, I fear we will be burying more Trayvon Martins, and as a result, touching off a wave of race-driven violence, and this is something no civil society should tolerate.
