Hypocrisy at it's finest (Parts 1&2)

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Part 1 of the following article was submitted first to the Democrat and Chronicle's Speaking Out Editor. After Kathleen Wagner refused to publish the submission as a Speaking Out Essay, it was then submitted (with the same result) to Rochester's so-called "alternative weekly," i.e., City Newspaper. In accordance with my strong belief in divine providence --- the submission probably belonged on this page from the start.

Part 1:

News stories that the D&C decides to cover or ignore are very revealing regarding priorities and concerns. Such decisions also often reveal blatant hypocrisy.
 
A case in point includes stories that did or did not receive coverage on Sunday, September 19, 2004 (the day that Rochester's only daily newspaper is likely to have more readers than any other day of the week).

For example, it is most telling that an article about Abby Wambach's soccer camp for mainly rich kids from Pittsford and other suburban towns was the front page "top story." On the other hand, not one, single word was reported about the fact that a group of at least 35 people who are either directly involved or concerned about conditions within the Rochester City School District, met  for 3 hours at Dr. Freddie Thomas High School on September 18th for the specific purpose of discussing the role of community in addressing inappropriate and disruptive behavior within Rochester's public schools. This was the first of three forums designed to produce and help facilitate implementation of a plan to significantly increase parent and community involvement relative to this specific problem and issue.
 

Participants in the forum included respected African American clergy; well known African American, Latino, and white community activists and agencies; a member of the Rochester Board of Education; a cabinet-level administrator who was representing Superintendent Manuel Rivera; Principal of the building where the event was held; at least eight Elementary and High School teachers from 5 or 6 different schools; numerous support staff from a variety of schools; a City Councilman, and most importantly, at least a dozen parents and a very articulate High School student.
 
 

D&C writers are quick to utilize the harshest of terms and suggest the most aggressive, potential remedies regarding RCSD students who engage in inappropriate and disruptive behavior. For example, in February of this year, three news stories and Editorials were published back to back (Feb. 13th, 15th, and 23rd), in which misbehaved, city students were categorically portrayed as being criminals and thugs. Each of the above referenced articles advocated development of a "school police corps [with] armed officers" to bring the "young troublemakers [and] riffraff" under control. I have never witnessed the D&C using such language, to describe inappropriate behavior of predominantly white, middle and upper class, suburban youth, or suggesting such extreme, potential remedies --- no matter how atrocious their behavior might be! Within the same articles mentioned above, it was noted that "the [RCS] district can't be expected to restore order to its schools alone. Individuals and community organizations must help too."  Yet, with regard to the latter quote, when an effort to do exactly what the news pundits are advocating is launched --- they (the pundits) --- apparently deemed it not worthy of the same or similar coverage that little, rich, white boys and girls received for responding to a call by an Olympic athlete to come out and chase a soccer ball. Tell me that something is not wrong with this picture!

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In response to Gary's comment below, this represents part 2 of the article above. First, I must point out the likelihood of his cowardly tendency.  If this was not so --- he probably would have provided his e-mail address so that I could have communicated with him directly. Since that is not the case, here is my public response to his narrow perspective (as reflected in his comment).
     

Gary, with regard to me being "upset" --- you missed the most critical and important point of the article, which is not "about the treatment of trouble making students, or about the fact that the print media wouldn't publish [my] article." On the contrary --- the real issue is the treatment of an entire nationality or race of people by individuals who manage and control powerful institutions. So you see, I am not merely "upset," but indeed infuriated about ongoing, centuries-old, sophisticated, deep-seated, thoroughly pervasive, and potentially volatile, institutionalized racism. One would be hard pressed to find a rational or reasonable human being who would deny the continued existence of this serious issue. However, a crucial problem is that many people have little or no understanding of how it functions. Let me attempt (again) to offer contextual enlightenment by expanding on the very small, but important example contained in my original article above.
     

As noted in the original article, earlier this year, (February 13th, 15th, and 23rd) the D&C published articles regarding the need to deal with grossly inappropriate behavior on the part of RCSD students who were running-wild in the vicinity of James Madison High School on Genesee Street. In the process of reporting this situation, not only did D&C writers choose the most negative terms that they could come up with (short of the infamous "N" word) to describe the youth who were involved, but they also utilized the broadest "brush" possible to "paint" the students as representing a bunch of thugs and criminals, which is not the case for all of them. Believe it or not, many students who hang on Genesee and other popular ghetto streets (not only in Rochester, but throughout the United States of America) are there because they literally have no other interesting or desirable social outlets. You may find it hard to believe that we could actually "save" many of those children and young adults (mainly from themselves and the prison-industrial-complex) if we were to try hard enough. If they were mainly white students, do you think that, as a society, we might put more effort and resources into attempts to reach them?
     

With regard to media, thus far, I have only mentioned the D&C, but make no mistake about the fact that this situation received considerable coverage from every major news agency in the Monroe County region. And, in every case, it was either stated or implied that the Black Community in particular must take an active role in bringing such inappropriate behavior under control, which is correct. We certainly can't realistically expect that people from Pittsford, Brighton, Penfield, Irondequoit, Greece, or other such predominantly white, middle class areas will take the lead in confronting misguided youth on Genesee Street. However, many people in such communities live with the (often unspoken) fear that if outrageous behavior is not contained to ghetto streets --- it may one day appear in their relatively peaceful neighborhoods. Media pundits are aware of, and sometimes part of the fearful group, which might explain why they are so quick to call for extreme measures such as a special, armed, school police corps. Do you believe that such people would be as likely to advocate similar or the same type of extreme measures if the misguided and misbehaved youth were predominantly white, or would they likely think along the lines of more preventive approaches? 

     

As noted above, on September 18, 2004 an impressive list of RCSD parents, educators and administrators, along with noted, respected clergy and community activists held a forum to address this serious issue, and to discuss development of a concrete plan to help "restore order to schools." Although every major media source in town was informed of the forum, (at least two weeks in advance, as well as a couple of days prior to the event) with the outstanding exception of WROC TV, and particularly Ms. Nicole Johnson, not one single radio, t.v., or newspaper group considered the forum to be as important as Abby Wambach's soccer camp. The latter event received coverage from every major, and many minor news organizations in the County, including of course the one that someone once referred to as the "Demagogue and Comical," which included the Wambach, soccer-ball-chasing fiesta as its top "news" story.

     

So Gary, as it relates to the functional aspect of institutionalized racism, if we move from the specific (micro) example above, to the general/norm (macro), or societal level --- there are several major points that you and many others need to understand (assuming that you are interested in knowledge relative to the functioning of institutional racism):

  • When something negative occurs in the local, national, and/or international Black Communities --- the major media almost always swarms on such news like a bunch of hungry buzzards. Often, this is not so for White Communities. In fact, as it relates to White youth in particular ---it is not a secret that many frequently engage in heinous acts, such as car theft, desecration of graves, definitely underage-drinking, and other drug - related crimes, but often we never read or hear about those situations in the media. And, when such events are reported, White youngsters are rarely, if ever referred to by the media as being "thugs [and] riffraff."

  • On the other hand, when events that have the smallest, positive aspects occur in White Communities --- such as children raising pennies, nickels, and dimes for poor people in Rochester, or some distant land; planting flowers to beautify their school grounds, and of course, Olympic athletes conducting soccer camps --- they are routinely, zealously, and positively reported by most, if not all major media.

     

Thus, the bottom line is that one community (the White one) is normally portrayed in a glaringly positive light, while another community (the Black one) is almost always portrayed in the most negative light possible. This Gary, is a concrete example of functional, institutionalized racism, but please don't conclude that it ends with the media. On the contrary, institutionalized racism has always been, and still is inherently present in every major institution within U.S. society. This includes states' and federal legislatures, courts, jails and prisons, police departments, all branches of the military and intelligence agencies, schools, private industries, and even churches. In fact, I issue an open challenge to you, or anyone else to identify ONE major U.S. institution that represents an exception. The reason why you won't be able to identify even one exceptional, major institution is because racism was (right from the very beginning), and still is an inherent and integral part of the foundations of U.S. socioeconomic, political, and dominant cultural systems. Therefore, it must necessarily be reflected in all of the society's major institutions. It always has been, and possibly always will be --- unless someone can find a method of purging the disease from the hearts and brains of every manager and controller of the systems referenced above, which is very, very doubtful. I am not suggesting that we should stop fighting against this deeply entrenched, thoroughly pervasive disease. During past centuries and decades, if people had not fought, and in many cases, sacrificed their lives in the ongoing struggle against racism --- the functional affects and impact would undoubtedly be much worse than they presently are. So we must continue to fight!

     

P.S. As it relates to me being upset because "the print media wouldn't publish [my] article" --- their refusal is only one minute example of the arrogance among managers and controllers of major institutions --- relative to their obvious belief that they can't be called into account, especially by "little" Black people. This represents part of the reason, and an example of why relatively new, but potentially very powerful, and fundamentally different institutions such as Indymedia are so important!!!   

                                          
         

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