by Joanna (JuJuBe)
On several occasions over the past week, I have had to sit and reflect on the media brainwashing that reinforces white supremacist ideology. Note the above photos, from the coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The captions that accompany the pictures both reflect AND influence the way people perceive racial differences.
Note that the photo of the young Black man uses the term "looting", while the text printed next to the white couple reads "finding". They are doing the EXACT SAME THING... carrying bags of food that they liberated from the ruins of a drowning city. But, the Black man is criminalized, while the white couple is made to look "enterprising".
The difference in the way these two pictures are described is just one example of the programming that the media reinforces in order to perpetuate a system of white supremacy.
On to my second piece 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 result of his race. His claim was that Black artists have said worse things than him in their lyrics without being called to the carpet. First of all, this is utter 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 white 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 play the victim in the new "white men are oppressed" game.
