I try not to write when I’m angry. They say some of the best writing comes out of emotion. But some of the most regrettable pieces have come when penned emotionally as well. I tried to wait till the last possible moment to write this (much to my editor’s chagrin, I know). I wanted to be sure that I was not writing this column out of an emotional extreme, saying things I didn’t really mean or would have to account for later. But my anger hasn’t quelled, so perhaps these words won’t go over too well with some of you. In fact, you simply may not like them. I don’t ever aim to offend, but if you know me by now then you know it doesn’t matter if you like it or not. I’ve given some thought to it, so here goes.
I’m angry. Angry that a black man who was seemingly minding his own business was ruthlessly beaten and killed by a group of white teens. I’m angry that they felt it sporting to “hunt” a black person in the first place. That could have been my father, my uncle, any one of us.
I’m angry that despite the heinous nature of this crime, supporters of the accused are trying to justify or lessen the blow through social media groups. It kind of cheapens the life of a perfectly innocent soul, doesn’t it? I’m angry that people suggest we should just “move on” even when signs clearly indicate that some of us haven’t. I’m angry that somewhere in Jackson, race discussions will continue to happen with seemingly no solution, and that some folks on either side refuse to be truly candid, refuse to truly work together.
But you know what? It makes me even angrier that we’ll make James Craig Anderson a popular hashtag on Twitter. We’ll get angry about what’s most “popular” to be angry about, but passive about what continues right under our noses. I’m angry that promising high-school students can be shot down in our streets and our pause only lasts through a 24-hour news cycle. I’m angry there weren’t many Twitter topics for Derronie Spencer. I’m angry that a gentleman simply doing his job was gunned down in cold blood and viewed as collateral damage.
There weren’t many Twitter topics for James McKinney, either. I’m angry that the assailants at that Shell station felt they had no recourse to get by other than robbery. And I’m angry because I don’t think we’ve gotten angry enough about what goes on in our communities.
I’m angry because I can easily get stopped in Madison for driving while black or easily profiled in a restaurant, but even more easily killed or maimed in my more familiar surroundings. I’m angry that I’m fearful every time my 14-year-old son leaves my house. Not because of what he may do but because of what someone else may do.
I’m angry because although it won’t bring anybody back, I haven’t heard from my chief of police, or my mayor, or most of my city council. I’m angry because I’m sure someone will tell me I shouldn’t be angry or that I should be angrier at one thing more than another.
Yes, I’m angry that there is still hate in this world. And right now it doesn’t matter to me if it’s white on black, black on white, or the self-hate that consumes anyone who would willingly take a life.
You may disagree, and that’s perfectly fine. But as much as I don’t want another James Craig Anderson incident, am I wrong because I’m concerned as much or more with preventing another Deronnie Spencer or James McKinney moment?
And that’s the truth … sho-nuff.
Previous Comments
You should we angry. We should all be angry.
#164612 | Author: MGN | Date: Aug 18 2011
Preach, brother!
#164614 | Author: independent | Date: Aug 18 2011
Finally! Reason cometh to these pages. (hope you don’t get lambasted for this…)
#164618 | Author: Darryl | Date: Aug 18 2011
It wasn’t long ago that you were saying crime is over-blown in Jackson. We have a aristocracy of the political class that includes community newspapers that don’t quite know how to report on crime. Its basically a job of getting inside the story and disclosing ‘hate groups’ whither it be racist churches, civic groups, associations, cultural groups, political parties, or gangs. What is the nature of our society here? I have heard ‘American thinkers’ say “Violence is as American as apple pie”. Action follows thought. I agree, Kaz, the local political leaders must be accountable, but they are re-elected usually because they…just are.
#164626 | Author: Aeroscout | Date: Aug 18 2011
You raise interesting issues, Aeroscout, and complicated ones. We have a aristocracy of the political class that includes community newspapers that don’t quite know how to report on crime. Actually, what we have are corporate media, for the most part, that have no idea how to report crime in context. At our newspaper, we avoid picking and choosing episodic crime coverage precisely because we know how damaging that is to communities in various ways. And those decisions are research-based. We know, again based on research, that constantly beating the crime drum — whether by media or elected (or would-be elected) officials — can have the opposite affect and actually create conditions that make crime worse (such as shrinking the tax base and increasing poverty). This has been a huge problem right here in Jackson (the home office at Gannett even warned The Clarion-Ledger several years back about overdoing crime coverage for these kinds of reasons; I’ll have to find the link again). The way to cover crime is *always* in context. That is, don’t pick and choose certain crimes in certain neighborhoods; and always follow up with the outcome of the crime — i.e. has the criminal been caught (the police’s job, which we tend to forget), what happens in criminal-justice system (with DA and judge). What are the crime trends — but without taking statistics out of context for sensationalistic headlines. Most importantly: What do experts say are the causes and roots of those crimes and what can be done about it? What can individual people do to prevent crime and, later, assist law enforcement in catching criminals. What are the myths and realities? What are common fallacies that need to be corrected (such as that any crime is a “hate crime” or what is actually a “gang” and how it much be treated different from “hate” crime –and that we don’t have much “gang” crime in today’s Jackson, by the way. Bet you’re surprised. Thus, the point.) And so and on. For a newspaper like mine, this could be a full-time job, and we have too small a staff to do it well. When we do cover crime, we try to follow these standards, and only cover crimes within a larger frame. That is, we do not engage in fear-journalism, which only serves to weaken communities, increase conditions for crime and feed politicians with little else to talk about. We are currently working on a special “GOOD” issue on preventing crime that will get into research-based myths and realities about how crime should be dealt with by media, public officials and the general public. (It’s not always how the general public thinks.) The issue will be packed with information that people need to get truly engaged to make the community safer. I hope to then translate that work into a constant presence on the website that goes far beyond the typical approach in Jackson of people noticing crimes when there are several violent crimes in a row (often during the summer when kids are out of school), or when election season rolls around, but ignoring them most of the rest of the time. We hope to create tools that the community can use to help with this special crime site, so all feedback and smart ideas are welcome. I don’t have much more time, but I will say that the way you lump “hate” crime together is exactly wrong; I’m assuming that is an emotional response, but emotional responses seldom help lower crime in a community–unless it is the kind of emotion that convinces people to dig in and learn what it really takes to lower crime. That is, anger such as Kaz’s can be useful, but assumptions about crime and crime solutions seldom are. But I will be writing more on all that soon.
#164629 | Author: DonnaLadd | Date: Aug 18 2011
Quick question Kaz. How do you know that the assailants at the Shell station felt they had no other recourse to get by other than robbery? Maybe they just chose what they thought was the easiest way to make a quick score and worst case if they got caught they’d do a little time and be back out on the street in a few years.
#164630 | Author: independent | Date: Aug 18 2011
As usual, another great thought-provoking article, Kaz.
#164631 | Author: Jeff Lucas | Date: Aug 18 2011
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.