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*Some consistent readers of The Mo’Kelly Report wondered if/when I might offer commentary on the recent murder of journalist Chauncey Bailey Jr. Others wondered why in the days immediately following his murder there wasn’t as much “coverage” as maybe the issue deserved or warranted.
The obvious implication was that if Bailey were White, the press coverage and subsequent outrage would have been more pervasive on both accounts.
Maybe…maybe not.
With all such sensitive subjects that speak to the heart of the problems in America today, I decided to pause a moment, pray and then try to approach the discussion from an entry point less commonly acknowledged and less frequently discussed.
I personally didn’t have a problem with the level of coverage that Bailey’s murder received. This was not an issue of finding the killer/forwarding the investigation. The police already had Bailey’s killer...and a confession too.
Not trying to sound flippant…what else was there to say regarding Bailey’s murder? In a way, newspapers had been “covering” the murder of Chauncey Bailey for more than a year.
In March of 2006, the New York Times published an expose on the plight and pathology of Black men.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/national/20blackmen.html?ex=1300510800&en=57e0d1ceebcbc209&ei=5090
Three months later, the Washington Post began running a series of stories concerning the “progress and peril” of Black men.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102184.html
It was also recently turned into a book of the same title.
Last week, USAToday in the latest episode of The Captain Obvious Show, informed its readers of a Justice Department study indicating that the rate and percentage of Black men slain were both increasing.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-08-09-justice-dept-study_N.htm
As far as I was concerned, the murder of Chauncey Bailey Jr. had been covered extensively, pre and post the broad daylight execution. There was nothing substantive that could be added to a story other than noting the slight variance in details to this specific case.
Another Black man gunned down…heard it all before.
Of course writers all across the country (including myself) gave pause and reflected on how the written word can put its author in harm’s way. I’ve had more than my share of death threats and random promises of violence. I’m quite acquainted with how “controversial” commentary creates vitriolic, visceral and at times violent responses. It’s always in the back of the mind of any writer who may consciously or even unconsciously shine an unappreciated light upon its subjects. Even in 2007, the pen is still mightier than the sword.
On one hand, you never want to disregard any threat but on the other hand it comes with the territory. A journalist or columnist doesn’t write for the sake of gaining friends but usually for reasons greater than any single story or subject contained therein. I don’t personally write for the sake of laughs or even to “enlighten” others. I wouldn’t dare “claim” to be passing out knowledge on any level. But I do endeavor to offer a steady diet of opportunities for dialogue of important issues…with occasional helpings of satire as “seasoning.”
No “seasoning” today though…this needs to be ingested and digested as it is.
Plain.
The murder of Chauncey Bailey Jr. is a tragedy of such vile proportions that words either spoken or written are ill-equipped to adequately explain or convey. The specific circumstances surrounding Bailey’s murder are irrelevant in my estimation.
Bailey’s murder is the latest example of a mentality which again has demonstrated its stranglehold on our communities. This mentality is not a form of music, so any boycott of Hip Hop and its sponsors are not reasonable answers. Our music plays “a role” in this story but not the starring role.
This “mentality” is not necessarily an end product of racism, so limiting our finger-pointing to only White America is an unreasonable or intellectually dishonest response. Yes, this mentality is reinforced and revitalized by many forms of institutionalized racism and that fact isn’t being disregarded. But let’s be clear. Racism plays “a role” but not THE role.
This “mentality” is not even specific to us as African-Americans…as to a certain extent its signs and symptoms are pervasive in other ethnic communities, White people included. The recent alleged murder of three African-American college students by a Latino illegal immigrant in Newark only speaks to the diversity of this mentality. The ascendancy of Latino gangs and their crime can not be denied either. This pervasive, evil mentality supersedes color as we presently define it, yet unfortunately disproportionately affects those of lesser economic means in which to combat it. In other words, poor folk, irrespective of color invariably suffer the greatest. Unfortunately though, most of the poor folk…are our folk.
This mentality…I can neither assign a name to it, nor classify it with any genus, order or phylum etc. You can call it what you want, but whatever you call it, know it when you see it and know it is destroying us as African-Americans.
It is a lack of respect for life, a loss of love for one-another and an outright refusal to acknowledge the basic moral code of right and wrong. When we acknowledge this simple truth, it then makes sense why we treat our women as we do. It explains why a higher percentage of us are absent as parents to our children…if we even acknowledge them. This isn’t a “Bill Cosby” moment, it’s a statement of fact.
This mentality is at the foundation of a pathology which explains why a group of African-American teens (read: children) in Florida would even fathom raping, sodomizing and beating a mother and her 12-year-old son at gunpoint (allegedly).
…And neighbors found it as “no big deal.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19698132/
This would never have happened back in the day. Never.
Blame can’t be laid squarely and solely at the foot of hip-hop or racism. It is a mentality that is bigger than either of the aforementioned.
There is a mentality that is pervasive in our urban communities which supersedes color, yet disproportionately affects those of color…and it must be stopped. If we can agree that racism is less of a factor today than 40 years ago and opportunity on many levels is more of a reality than 40 years ago…then something else is at the root of all this evil.
Call it what you want, but it must be dealt with and then destroyed.
Maybe it began back in the late 80s when kids were being murdered in order to steal their “expensive” sneakers.
I don’t know, but it definitely was a sign…one that was largely ignored.
Maybe it was the moment when criminals decided it was easier to steal a car while you and your keys were STILL in it…and “carjacking” was born.
I don’t know, but it definitely was another sign…also largely ignored.
It signaled a shift in the basic foundation of the moral code; a shift in mentality that was spreading like a disease.
Freaknik/NBA All-Star Weekend…(pick a year, any year) another definite sign. Largely ignored.
The pathology of wanton disregard for human life and basic respect for others has been prevalent for DECADES now…specifically in our own African-American communities. Yes, this is true in other ethnic communities too…but let’s not convolute this issue. Let’s take care of home and let the rest of the neighborhood worry about itself. This affects ‘us’ in a disproportionate manner and our need to address it is far more urgent in nature.
I’m not of the opinion that the murder of Chauncey Bailey Jr. “deserved” more coverage. News coverage is not what ‘we’ need. We’ve had plenty of “coverage” and none of it is good. I don’t need any other exposé, statistical analysis, university study or Gallup exit poll to state the obvious.
I couldn’t care less about any “War on Terror” as long as upstanding journalists are shotgunned down in broad daylight by another man who “looks” like him. It really doesn’t matter if we eventually develop a universal healthcare plan if our future doctors and nurses are continued to be gunned down execution style while they are still in college. An effective immigration policy means zero as Latinos and African-Americans are unable to peacefully coexist even right now.
It’s time for the Al Sharptons of the world to quit cavorting over Don Imus and Paris Hilton photo ops and REALLY…REALLY be about the business of saving Black folk while there are still some of us left to be saved. That’s the “coverage” I’m looking for…
We must address this “mentality” or face extinction in no uncertain or exaggerated terms.
The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The Mo’Kelly Report is syndicated by Newstex. For more Mo’Kelly, http://www.mokellyreport.blogspot.com. Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at mokellyreport@sbcglobal.net and he welcomes all commentary.