Sunday, November 29, 2015

Black exhaustion.

Image result for laquan mcdonald imageThe Field Negro education series continues:

The following is an essay that was written for the Los Angeles Times by Dexter Thomas:

"For many black Americans, watching black people die on camera feels like a job. 
It’s not something they’re paid for, unless they are a journalist. But it can still feel like an obligation, because every time a new video is released of a black person being shot by police, black people know that America’s response to that video will affect their lives.
This is why when a judge forced Chicago officials to release video of the 2014 shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Officer Jason Van Dyke, a group of young activists used the hashtag #BeforeYouWatch to encourage people to take a collective breath to brace themselves.
Support your friends, some wrote along with the hashtag. Remember that we all process pain differently, and this will be painful.

The video is disturbing, but in a more abstract way than, for example, the first-person view of the shooting of Sam Dubose in Cincinnati. It's taken from the dashboard camera of a police cruiser, which is too far away to show McDonald’s facial expressions, and the officer is out of frame.

Instead, we can see only the body of McDonald jerk, and puffs of smoke rising as the 16 shots are fired. The shooting is too far away to be able to see any wounds, and the only evidence that there is blood is the faint reflection of a shiny wet pool, glinting briefly in the lights of a police vehicle that arrives after the last shot has been fired.

A lot of people didn’t feel the need to watch the video. Some avoided it. Another common trend in the #BeforeYouWatch tweets was a reassurance: It's OK if you don't want to watch the video.
But for tens of thousands of people, black and otherwise, that decision was made for them when the Daily Beast posted an animated GIF image of the shooting on their Twitter account. Any one of their nearly 1 million followers who was scrolling through their own timeline saw a looped animation of a boy’s body tremoring in the dark.

A widely shared tweet from writer and novelist Brit Bennett needed only 135 characters to summarize the feelings of many: 

A GIF of a black boy's murder feels like a disgustingly accurate metaphor for black death: casually consumed, forever looping, endless.

The Daily Beast later deleted the image after a vigorous outcry and tweeted an apology.
But that didn’t put an end to the part of the “forever looping, endless” cycle that begins every time these videos are released: the backlash of an America that is still afraid to confront its own racism.
This where the exhaustion begins anew.

Each time a video of police brutality is released, a group of optimistic people holds out hope that perhaps, this time, a video will convince all of America that something is wrong.

But when those hopes are dashed, black people are subjected again and again to deflections of the reality of racism, sometimes framed as concern-trolling questions from columnists, co-workers and even family members: Why don’t black people stop focusing on police, and do something about black-on-black crime?

People with the patience to address this question may answer that they do. Too many people just aren't paying attention. They may be able to cite any one of a number of examples, such as the dozens of activists who marched 35 miles in sweltering heat in August to show a commitment to stop gun violence in their own communities.

But they’ll still have to deal with the bizarre racial gymnastics in which people dissect the videos and find something, anything, that could make a black person’s death his or her own fault – if he hadn’t resisted, if she had been more polite, if he hadn’t sold cigarettes. 

And then there’s the tactic of reducing the issue from racism to “a few bad cops” – or, as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, the officer who shot McDonald "doesn’t represent our department."
But as the Chicago Reporter notes, it appears that the entire department, along with city officials, conspired to cover up the shooting. The autopsy does not match the official police report, and according to an attorney that helped bring this case to national attention, the city government “spent a year stonewalling any calls for transparency.”

Perhaps the latest incident will convince some people that something is deeply wrong in this country. But that won’t be enough. For too many Americans, admitting that the U.S. has a race problem, and that black people bear the brunt of that race problem, is an insurmountable task.
In the protests that will occur during coming days, we enter another stage of the looping cycle: the waiting game.

Many black people will cross their fingers that nobody will "act out" at a protest. Even if everyone is calm, there’s still the fear of being shot by white supremacists, which is reportedly what happened in Minnesota on Monday. But if one person – black or not – throws a stone, the protests could be labeled “riots,” giving Americans an excuse to ignore the root causes.
That would only intensify the cycle of deflection.
Again, black people will have to answer insincere questions from co-workers and friends, and again combat memes of fake statistics on black crime, spread by the most popular GOP presidential candidate.

It’s exhausting.

The activists marching in Chicago don’t necessarily expect all of America, or even all black people, to join them in the streets. But they know that they will be a topic of conversation at millions of dinner tables this Thanksgiving. And they may wonder if the well-meaning folks all across America who “like” their Facebook posts will speak up this time when their uncle starts calling Black Lives Matter a “terrorist group.”

Being black in the digital age is exhausting for the same reason that being brown after 9/11 is exhausting, or being an immigrant, or a woman, or gay, can be exhausting: because whenever the weight of hundreds of years of injustice comes to light, you are told that it is your fault.
And you are left to shoulder the burden, again, alone." [Source]

It is all "exhausting", but we as black folks have to keep pushing and keep persevering like we have been doing for "hundreds of years" in this country. We have to understand the struggle, but we can't use it as an excuse to not maximize our potential. In fact, it should make us work harder. That's what field Negroes do.  

*Pic from chicagotribune.com   



33 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's totally nauseating that video.

Laquan first actually pointed the patrol car in the direction of the incident. Then you see him jogging up to the area to see what was happening, and the officer just turns, points and fires!

Unreal! As I watched I was reminded of the character in that game Grand Theft Auto, where the figure is sort of jogging/sauntering back and forth in his adventures. The way he was jogging up to them.

You could almost feel his surprise and shock as he falls and realizes that they felled him! He never ever expected that! He was innocently going to see!


Paul Monchnik said...

It would be interesting if someone, maybe a "White Lives Matter" group, could get a judge to force police departments and national crime reporting agencies to report the truth about interracial crime, and the huge disparity when it comes to how many whites are killed by racist blacks versus how few blacks are ever victimized by whites.

Of course you would have to then get the lying liberal press to report information that contradicts the propaganda narrative they are so firmly committed to.

#WhiteLivesMatter

Anonymous said...

Paul Monchnik said...

It would be interesting if someone, maybe a "White Lives Matter" group, could get a judge to force police departments and national crime reporting agencies to report the truth about interracial crime, and the huge disparity when it comes to how many whites are killed by racist blacks versus how few blacks are ever victimized by whites.

8:25 PM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I felt very badly for Mr. Paul Monchik also. It was a horrific way to die.

And I also raged against the 'animals' that could do such a thing!

A thug is a thug is a criminal, whatever the color or race.

But there is a difference here in that this is the police.

So are you inferring that the police have a right to indiscriminately kill any black young man because there are thugs and criminals that are black?

So does any black officer then have the right to indiscriminately kill any white young man because there are thugs and criminals that are white?

Isn't that what they call vigilantism, racial prejudice?

Anonymous said...

Blacks turn every environment they inhabit into Hell on Earth. People are fed up - people of EVERY race.

You want a 'revolution', homies? Bring it on. It won't be like in the movies, though. No tough, smart Denzel knocking out the racist crackers. No Samuel L. Jackson killing the nasty honkies and making snarky quips afterward.

Fuck Laquan. Fuck Trayvon, too. White lives matter.

#JusticeForOfficerVanDyke

KINKYCON said...

'''It’s exhausting.''


Now field and his ilk knows what the Tea Party feels like when they were called terrorists, blamed for mass shootings they had nothing to do with and had fake stats used against them.

The left always finds the taste of they medicine bitter.....

Wesley R said...

The Black Folks coming down on Rahm Emanuel were supporting him and begging him for handouts. So to those Bama's I say screw you. They should have known from the beginning that Emanuel is full of shit. Thousand of Black Folks have lost their jobs since those dummies helped to vote him in, and they thought he would protect them and their neighborhoods. Negroes Please! He is not your 'Friend'

Anonymous said...

FN mentions an alleged attack on black lives protesters but fails to mention the number of whites attacked/killed at these black lives protests. FN fails to mention the cheers when cops were killed and other hateful rhetoric that comes from the black lives movement. And there was also the burning of the American flag.


And the black lives movement wonders why most Americans consider them a terrorist group.

Bill said...


The FieldNegro said...
the city government “spent a year stonewalling any calls for transparency.”

Perhaps the latest incident will convince some people that something is deeply wrong in this country.


The pattern continues.


Party before humanity.

Anonymous said...

"Rather than acknowledging the systemic failures, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is now trying to frame the issue as the action of one bad officer, as the Tribune reports. “One individual needs to be held accountable,” he said Monday."

I wonder why Blacks are not on to this? It seems they would be outraged and felt betrayed by Mayor Emanuel. At least the Mayor of NYC holds true to who he is and who he represents, which is all the people.

But the Mayor of Chicago just doesn't give a damn about Blacks, or maybe I should call them "blahs"? because the offensive term has been coined for Blacks by a black Chicagoan from the South Side who wants his people to be downgraded to "blahs". I am sure the Mayor and the CPD has no problem with that.

Again, why aren't they calling for Emanuel to resign? It is clear he stonewalled the video and lied to not only the Blacks on the South Side but to the entire City of Chicago.


Anonymous said...

"Kalven calls Emanuel’s “reframing” of the narrative “essentially false.” He points out that “everything we know now, the city knew from Day One. They had the officers on the scene. They knew there were witnesses. They had the autopsy, they had the video.... They maintained a false narrative about those events, and they did it for a year, when it could have been corrected almost immediately....They spent a year stonewalling any calls for transparency, any information about the case.”"

Ditto! This is more than enough to get rid of Rahm. The CPD won't be changed AT ALL with the same crooked corrupt Mayor standing behind a corrupt CPD.

It is surprising Blacks in Chicago are silent about their Mayor who continues to eff them. Of course, Blacks are so much accustomed to being screwed they don't seem to notice who is who. Sooner or later this has got to stop. And it 'looks' like it's on it's way.

field negro said...

Anon@9:31, I am guessing you thought long and hard before posting your last comments. May I suggest counseling? Or, a little less moonshine.
If not, u might end up like that animal who just shot up the PP clinic.

field negro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/11/28/did-white-privilege-keep-the-planned-parenthood-shooter-from-being-killed-by-police/

Anonymous said...

White-privilege didn't save Paul Monchnik form being kilked by one of obama's sons.

uptownsteve said...

Anonymous,

I hear you ranting about blacks and their support for Emmanuel.

How about the issue at hand here.

Should Officer Van Dyke be tried and found guilty of cold blooded murder?

Answer the question.

Roy Bean said...

"Should Officer Van Dyke be tried and found guilty of cold blooded murder?"

No. He should be tried and the verdict should be rendered based on the evidence presented.

uptownsteve said...

Well that video sure looked like cold blooded murder to me.

Josh said...

Just imagine how exhausting it would be if the folks focused on every murder of a black and not just the ones where white police are the triggermen! Oof-ah; we'd need some old negro spiritual hymnals to lift those tired spirits. Good thing that the folks only focus on one aspect of black death. For reals.

That aside, the cops were way wrong on this one. Murder. No other way to put it. In the event one fears for one's safety because one has a knife, and deadly force is thus "required," that doesn't justify emptying the entire fucking clip on somebody. This shit isn't color arousal; some of these mf'ers think they're playing Grand Theft Auto or something.

Anonymous said...

"FN mentions an alleged attack on black lives protesters but fails to mention the number of whites attacked/killed at these black lives protests. FN fails to mention the cheers when cops were killed and other hateful rhetoric that comes from the black lives movement. And there was also the burning of the American flag."

He fails to mention these whites that were attacked because there aren't any. Unless you are including cops that got pushed and shoved as "an attack." But that stuff's par for the course at any protest.

Or maybe you are lumping together rioters with BLM protesters. Not the same guys.

I've been critical of some of BLM's rhetoric and tactics myself, but they're not a violent hate group, sorry.

Anonymous said...

Bullshit. 2 whites have been killed and many attacked at blm protest marches.

Yīshēng said...

I think Whooteemoos should stage protests for all Black on Black crime (that 99.9% of the time), occurs between criminals.

And it's NO surprise that whooteemoos care so much about criminals, they're the biggest criminals in the history of man.

Anonymous said...

Yīshēng said...

I think Whooteemoos should stage protests for all Black on Black crime (that 99.9% of the time), occurs between criminals.

And it's NO surprise that whooteemoos care so much about criminals, they're the biggest criminals in the history of man.

12:04 PM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! :) Straight to the liver! :)

The Fixer said...

I think Whooteemoos should stage protests for all Black on white crime (that 99.9% of the time), occurs between black criminals and innocent whites.

And it's NO surprise that don't care so much about black criminals, they're the biggest criminals in the history of man.


There.

Mr. Mensa said...

Yīshēng said...
And it's NO surprise that whooteemoos care so much about criminals, they're the biggest criminals in the history of man.
----

Apiemoo thinks the whites who have supported her all her life and let her pretend she is a 'scientist' are the biggest criminals in the history of man.

I guess by "the biggest criminals" she means "the most accomplished civilization".

Apiemoo not so smart. She will never be a doctor.

Anonymous said...

Well lookee here. I knew it was just a matter of time.

Teenage Obama Critic Renounces Conservatism

www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/11/cj_pearson_renounces_conservatism.html

This always happens with these teenage wingnut darlings.

They have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. Then they finish puberty (and sometimes even before then), discover everything Fox told them was a lie, and suddenly, they're not conservatives no more.

Yīshēng said...

Anonymous Mr."I wish I was brilliant and highly educated like Yisheng" said...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Whooteemoos think the Asians who are inferior to Yisheng in intelligence and have been since birth, pretend they are 'scientists' to compensate for being less intelligent and short in stature.

I guess by "the biggest criminals" she means "us whooteemoos who are the most barbaric civilization in the human history".

I'm half Gookeymoo, so I'm not so smart. I will never be as smart as Yisheng the Scientist, future doctor.

Anonymous said...

"They have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. Then they finish puberty (and sometimes even before then), discover everything Fox told them was a lie, and suddenly, they're not conservatives no more"

Right, so now he is thinking for himself...

Liberals think everyone is as clueless as they are.

KINKYCON said...

Well lookiee here-


I still hold conservative principles but I just stepped away from the label. I wanted to be me, not what others wanted me to be me from any party. The issues facing America aren’t liberal or democrat…they’re real issues that demand solutions. I’m in this game to be an objective voice for my generation and I will do just that!-C.J.


Liberals will lie and spew bullshit no matter how old they are.......

The Purple Cow said...

"Just imagine how exhausting it would be if the folks focused on every murder of a black and not just the ones where white police are the triggermen!"

Yep, as I said the other day, Josh has run out of new things to hate us about. So he's having to recycle golden oldies.

Anonymous said...

PC, thank you for the comment about JOSH. His greatest fears on FN are you and UptownSteve.

James Bold said...

From the Failure of Moral Reasoning Department:

"But there is a difference here in that this is the police.

So are you inferring that the police have a right to indiscriminately kill any black young man because there are thugs and criminals that are black?"

Let's go over the points one by one:
1. Laquan McDonald had been reported threatening people.
2. Laquan McDonald had been reported destroying property (violently).
3. Laquan McDonald was carrying a deadly weapon (a knife) which he had used in 1 and 2 above.
4. Laquan McDonald refused to drop the knife when ordered.
5. A person with a knife is an extreme danger to anyone nearby.


lilacpr2000 can't see the significance of any of this, because
6. Laquan McDonald was Black.
Therefore, shooting him must have been an indiscriminate killing.


This is why Black people should be separated from all others.  Nothing matters to you except Blackness.

"Josh has run out of new things to hate us about. So he's having to recycle golden oldies."

Unless and until you fix the things which make you impossible to live with, those complaints will get "recycled".  Oh, unless you simply stop living with us.  If you were all in Africa, nobody in the USA would be complaining ("hating" in your vernacular).

Josh said...

"Yep, as I said the other day, Josh has run out of new things to hate us about. So he's having to recycle golden oldies."

Damn, you're still stalking my white ass around this forum, constantly saying my name? I thought you got over that.

And lol @ "us."

You fucking collectivists are going to be the literal end of humanity.

Anonymous said...

James Bold @ 9:56 = "Threadwinner"