Sunday, October 17, 2010

Racism in the Media: How Eminem Benefits

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On various occasions over the preceding week, I have had to sit and meditate on the media brainwashing that reinforces white supremacist ideology. Note the above photos, from the reporting of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The captions that follow the pictures both reflect AND determine the way people perceive racial differences.

Note that the photograph of the new Dark man uses the term "looting", while the text printed adjacent to the white couple reads "finding". They are doing the Precise SAME THING. carrying bags of food that they liberated from the ruins of a drowning city. But, the Fatal man is criminalized, while the white couple is made to look "enterprising".

The conflict in the way these two pictures are described is only one model of the programming that the media reinforces in place to perpetuate a scheme of white supremacy.

On to my second part of evidence. Earlier this week, Eminem was interviewed by Anderson Cooper. He made the off the wall claim that he was treated more harshly by the media and the general public as a termination of his race. His take was that Black artists have said worse things than him in their lyrics without being called to the carpet. First of all, this is pure bullshit, because Black rappers are CONSTANTLY scrutinized and excoriated for their lyrical content. Second of all, Eminem has benefited IMMENSELY from his skin color, much of his popularity is based on the fact that he is a clean man in the rap game. Yet he has NEVER acknowleged the BENEFITS and PRIVILEGES his skin color has bestowed upon him. Rather, he chooses to represent the victim in the new "white men are oppressed" game.

I guess Eminem was not paying any care to the controversy involving tweets made by 50 Cent just a few years earlier. He made a notice about about oral sex which was (mis)interpreted by many members of the media and of the world as being anti-gay. Meanwhile, his comments did not have ANY allusions to homosexuality at all. The "homophobic" intent of the content was invented by a media bent on destroying the calling of a successful Black man.

I can simply take that Eminem also chose to dismiss the form of C. Delores Tucker, and other activists who attacked Black rap artists based on THEIR lyrical content. After all, it more convenient for him to meet the "miserable little white boy" who simply can't see a break!

The last incident that proved the malicious intention of the media in reinforcing racist ideology came on an installment of Bones. Bones and her partner were sent to inquire a type of murder on the Jersey Shore, where they encountered a subset of the Italian-American population known as "guidos". Despite the fact that Italians are known to support criminal enterprises by elevating notorious Mafia members to celebrity status AND have glorified murder and other crimes in numerous movies focused on "the Mob", the show chose to key the Entirely BLACK MAN IN THE Sequence as the murderer.

As shortly as they introduced the Disgraceful character, who was a hardworking young man who delivered ice to various bars and clubs where the "guidos" were busy partying, I KNEW that they would portray HIM as the vicious element. It is a tested and true expression in crime and forensic dramas. Introduce a Grim character and put him the part of "criminal" preying on innocent white folks. It is standard operating procedure to put Black men and women as violent felons, drug dealers/users or prostitutes. And when the media DOES display a Dark man or woman who is "successful" by traditional (white) societal standards, they are nearly Invariably the entirely Black person in a sea of blank faces. Their friendships and romantic entanglements invariably involve white folks.

The media has becoming skilled at refining the racist programming that we receive. With the overwhelming number of images portraying Black criminality and inferiority, is there question as to the schedule that is being supported and furthered? A public bombarded with negative images of Dark people will take the white supremacist ideology without question.

It is no longer required that politicians and early public figures stand up and have blatantly racist statements. The media is doing its job of brainwashing the people to trust in the inherent inferiority of Dark men and women. White AND Black individuals are encouraged by the media to defend the degradation and death of the images of Dark men and women. Traditional weapons are not needed when the media is capable to permeate the minds of all people and build their opinions, thoughts and actions.

My Call is JuJuBe

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