Opinion

Brutal images shouldn't be needed to fuel the fight against racism

The outrage fodder of images of dying or dead people is not illuminating and should not be necessary

07 June 2020 - 00:14 By and yolisa mkele
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
Protesters raise their fists during a Black Lives Matter demonstration.
Protesters raise their fists during a Black Lives Matter demonstration.
Image: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP
 

Dear people of the internet, I think it's time we had a talk. You see, the US is currently doing what the US does well, and that's killing black people. This is not new. It's been happening since the days when your parents were twinkles in their parents' eyes. All the quotes about how this isn't new, it's just being recorded now, are also not true.

Americans have been recording violence against black people for almost as long as they have been committing it. Sending postcards from lynchings was common practice. The photograph of Emmett Till's mangled face was seen around the world and Rodney King was beaten in full view of a camcorder. The Land of the Free has a thing for keeping souvenirs and I'd like to ask that we stop adding to the collection.

As we go through the millionth iteration of rage against the machine, it is only natural that the social media generation would want to share posts of what any number of cops did to any number of victims. I can see that it's done with the best of intentions but I, for one, am tired of murder porn.

Being continually subjected to dead, dying or mutilated black bodies just so that we can drum up the appropriate amount of outrage has become emotionally exhausting

Being continually subjected to dead, dying or mutilated black bodies just so that we can drum up the appropriate amount of outrage has become emotionally exhausting. Directors do it when they want to win Oscars, news channels do it to get maximum ratings and now social media is doing it to optimise engagement. Perhaps some insight into why enough is enough may help.

In my teens I read a book on African history and ended up crying during the bit about the many crimes of King Leopold II of Belgium. The callousness with which Leopold and his cohorts committed their atrocities in the Congo obviously stung, but what moved me to tears was that those people were black. The only reason anyone went ahead with the beheadings, maimings and killings was because they were black. I'm black. The only thing that's separated me and those people is time.

It wasn't the first or last time I'd had those feelings. It's existentially jarring to know that the thing inviting that level of malice is melanin. You can feel the terror those people went through. Perhaps it's that trauma that people suggest is embedded in our DNA. Either way, you can't help asking yourself, "Why do they hate us so much?"

Instagram is alleged to have guidelines. Show a nipple and your account gets suspended. Drift into hate-speech territory, your account is suspended. Murder, however, is perfectly fine. Kill all the black people you want and we'll broadcast it to the world.

There's a valid argument to be made that I need to suck it up and put my phone down if I don't want to see gratuitous killings on my feed. After all, it's in the public interest. That's fair, I probably do need to walk it off, but before I do, take a second to think about how many murders Instagram shows. How many white people do you see being murdered? Indian people? East Asians? When Islamic State was beheading hostages, what happened to those videos?

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that the public is most interested when the bodies are black. That's where the Oscars come from. That's how we drive engagement.

None of us need visuals to know what's happening. It's been happening for hundreds of years. We all know the problem and we all know the solutions. If you need to see another police officer choke a man to death, shoot a 12-year-old or beat the life out of someone in order to empathise with them, that says some disturbing things about you.


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.