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THE MO'KELLY REPORT: Let's Be Honest in Discussing Anne Pressly
*If nobody else will say it…I will. I know I can't be in the minority (no pun intended) to think it; so why don't we go ahead and size up the tremendous elephant sauntering about the room?
Over this past Thanksgiving weekend I, like the multitude, overindulged and maybe underappreciated the daily blessings in which I've been bestowed over the years. Sometimes, I like many of us take for granted my own well-being as well as family members. Tragedy, though unpredictable is still uncommon…hopefully at least. Life sometimes grants complacency.
One family who undoubtedly had a difficult Thanksgiving weekend was the family of murdered KATV television anchor Anne Pressly.
For those who haven't followed the story, the Arkansas journalist and actress was found unresponsive in her home by her mother on October 20. She had been severely beaten during a home invasion.
Pressly died approximately 5 days later from her injuries.
On Thanksgiving day, the arrest of Curtis L. Vance was made, with DNA evidence linking him to the murder.
(Wait, did you think "it?" Did you wonder? Did any immediate question pop into your mind?)
To be honest, I had never heard of Pressly prior to her murder, although my first assumption soon after was that she was White, given her backstory (born in South Carolina, raised in Little Rock, collegiate education in Memphis) That led me to the conclusion of "Caucasian."
Yes, I'm human and subject to racial assumptions as are all of us. In fact, that's the point of this editorial today. But I digress.
It was at the announcement of her passing on October 25th that I prayed for two things. I prayed for Pressly's family and that the killer be found post haste.
Well actually, I prayed for three things. The first two I sincerely prayed for, the third was a bit more flippant and dismissive in nature. I also "prayed" that the eventual suspect/killer wouldn't be Black.
I know, it sounds bad, superficial and arguably insensitive, but I'm not going to lie. In my selfish desire to have all of us co-exist in peace and unity, I really don't want any further public additions to the negative stereotypes of Black men. I felt the same way with the murders of college coeds Lauren Burk and Eve Carson earlier in 2008.
Do I want justice? Absolutely.
Yet and still, the issues of race often times have unintended consequences and collateral damage. Also, I would argue that the perception of murder is never colorblind.
Of course, all people are created equal and life is equally invaluable. Unfortunately, I also know that life is not fair and neither is our society. The death of a White woman presumably at the hands of a Black man has further reaching consequences than vice-versa.
It just does.
As we consider the supposed "post-racial" America we live in given the recent election of Barack Obama as president, let's also be mindful of the instantaneous rise in hate crimes immediately thereafter. Let's also be mindful of the record number of Obama death threats (and counting) and he hasn't even taken office yet. It's reasonable to say that such behavior is connected more to Obama the "Black man" winning than McCain "the Republican" losing.
Meaning…race still matters and is still deeply divisive in nature. We as a country have made tremendous strides, but significant progress is not the same as "mission accomplished."
I would like to "think" that there won't be a racialized backlash to this murder, and surely hope there won't be. Largely, the media has stayed away from this aspect of the story for obvious reasons.
Good reasons too at that. They (the media) may not talk about the pachyderm that just knocked over the dining room table but I will. I seriously doubt I'm the only one who "wondered" whether the suspect apprehended in Pressly's murder was Black. Maybe I'm wrong and simply hypersensitive to these issues.
Then again, my hypersensitivity may in fact have nothing to do with this and I'm actually right.
Did you wonder…did you want to know…did you "feel" anything upon realizing that suspect Curtis Vance is African-American?
If you did…I would say you're human. If you didn't…respectfully I'd say you're lying, regardless of you being White, Black or some hue in between the two.
The "level of contempt" towards O.J. Simpson even today, when directly compared to "indifference leveled" at also-acquitted Robert Blake emboldens my belief. The public outrage surrounding the recent murders of Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and nephew arguably has been less than with Anne Pressly. Granted, Hudson's tragedy was arguably more extensively covered given her celebrity status...but let's be clear, just recently had an arrest been made given all the "extra" coverage.
There's a distinction to be made between coverage and outrage. The Hudson murders occurred in the same week as Pressly's murder. The coverage tilted in Hudson's favor, the outrage...not so much.
Tragic and horrible events such as Pressly's murder serve as fodder for White supremacists of course; yet also require us collectively to dig deep and honestly assess race relations in America.
If we as Americans are "proud" to have elected Obama president, yet by and large are predisposed to see African-American men as walking felons…what have we as a nation achieved?
Genuine thoughts and prayers to the Pressly and Hudson families. I hope justice is served, irrespective of color.
The Mo'Kelly Report is a syndicated entertainment journal with a political slant. It is to meant to incite meaningful discourse as well as entertain. For more of Mr. Mo'Kelly, please visit http://www.mokellyreport.blogspot.com. Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at mokellyreport@sbcglobal.net and he welcomes all commentary.
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