The Template of American Racism: The Angry White Male
The angry White male, the angry White male of the United States is a template this country — especially media outlets — just after a shooting use to paint a picture of the harm they have done. However, this above image is misleading, because when one of them has “served their country” then that is when their privilege, when White privilege comes into play.
When a Black man who is accused of a crime, the treatment is a whole lot different. This is thee American way. It has gotten to the point where we know what is coming. We can tell when the news has a story about a crime that has been committed by how they report the story, and by how they make it known with pictures and even their words. Black men especially, we always get it the worst.
News outlets — who are obviously in the game for how many stories they can present with this narrative, and get paid for it — need to ask themselves what justice are they providing to the public? They also need to ask themselves aren’t they contributing to the racism, the hate, the injustice that we see increasingly in this country. They are not paid to do that though. They are not real servants of the people, especially when this same narrative is told over and over and over again.
In my hometown of Rockford, Illinois a White male went on a rampage and terrorized people who were out having a good time at Don Carter Lanes on the east side of town. He killed three people and three were injured. As the reports are coming in, the victims are Black people. One gentleman who was killed is a well-known bowler in town and a very respected citizen of Rockford. However, as the reporting continues, this is a picture of the gunman that has been shared by our local media.
When is the last time that a local or national news station presented a Black person this same way after reporting they were accused of killing someone? Can you remember a time? Often times, when a report comes out someone Black has committed a crime, we receive the worst treatment, we are called the worst things, and we are automatically guilty. We never receive the kind of treatment this man is receiving. Something is wrong with the American psyche when this happens.
Until we begin to unpack all of this, until we come to grips with the misrepresentation of men like this through news outlets and the like, this racism and one-sided storytelling will continue in the United States of America. When news outlets, newspapers and the like, can own their role in providing these templates and recycling them for our consumption, then this country can possibly begin a path towards equity, honesty, and balance.
Today here in Rockford, Illinois there is a vigil scheduled for the victims of Duke Webb. However, it was canceled due to the snow storm that has hit our city. We would have had the opportunity to speak truth to power, to speak from our hearts who Duke Webb is to us regarding this tragedy. No news outlet could share a template of a saved story that would keep us from telling the nation, telling our community, how this has effected us.
The template of the angry White male continues to destroy the fabric of this country. The more the powers that be do not understand this, the more harm will come to communities like ours. Racism is poisonous. Racism is sickening. Racism is the reason why this country continues to decay. Templates have their time and their place, but not when they are telling false narratives. White men continue to be responsible for bombings, murders, mass killings without us addressing the real issues.
Who will be brave enough to design new templates that tell the real stories about racial terrorism, White male anger? Who will be honest enough to say “We got it wrong.” How will we approach White male anger in the 2021? How can we stop or prevent local and national media from pasting the same templates week after week, year after year?
Let’s design our own templates free of the negative connotations that demean Black people and People of Color. Let us design templates that are free of racism. Let us manifest information through templates free of White supremacist language and images. We can tell our own stories that defy what we are being fed and told. The power is in the hands of the designer. Let’s create templates full of equity, full of justice!
Read more on White male anger at these links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/opinion/trump-white-men-election.html
Read this article on the portrayal of Black people in media:
