The current blog climate leaves one with the distinct impression that I would be supremely negligent to not weigh in on the topic de jour, the acquittal of George Zimmerman. My comments, though, address the commentators...pundits and analysts and bloggers.
The bottom line is that the polarization of commentary clearly exhibits the continued and pervasive racialization of American society. By "racialization" I am not saying that American society is a 'racist' society. Rather, I mean that race is a constant companion in our society...a factor which has a continually reverberating role. Not sure you agree? Here are some examples: religion-look at the racial segregation at most places of worship: neighborhoods-segregation is stubbornly present in real estate; economic wealth-as of 2007 median wealth of White families was 20 times greater than Black families; marriage; health; media preferences; life expectancy; politics; loan rates; advertising & marketing; music; and the list goes on and on.
Racialization is a constant presence in America, and commentary about the Zimmerman verdict reflects this reality. More specifically, it points to a foundational difference in the way the Zimmerman/Martin tragedy is viewed. In general, White-Americans tend (and are acculturated as such) to view the altercation and aftermath as the narrative of an individual actor. Whereas African-Americans tend (and are acculturated as such) to view the situation and the aftermath as a narrative of societal systems. The lenses are different, therefore, what is seen highlights a different hue.
While the consequences of these different perspectives are numerous, I will highlight two. The first is the assumption that we all see the situation purely objectively without any sort of filtering. The truth is, we all filter reality. Secondly, there is the problem of the relative strength of the narratives. The systemic narrative is at a disadvantage because the individual actor narrative is the dominant voice.
It is for this reason that I appreciate the thoughts of another blogger, Eugene Cho, who reminds those of us of the dominant voice to stop and listen http://eugenecho.com/2013/07/16/if-our-black-brothers-and-sisters-are-hurting-why-cant-we-just-shut-up-listen-and-mourn-with-them/
