AHMAUD AUBREY - TRAYVON MARTIN 2.0

AHMAUD AUBREY - TRAYVON MARTIN 2.0

AHMAUD AUBREY

 

Malcolm X once suggested that one of the problems of America revolves around what to do with its teeming mass of black people. A people once prized as economic powerhouses and beasts of burden were suddenly "free". Malcolm said this existential problem stems from the fact that, "…they don't want us here". The industrial revolution that black labor helped to birth finally rendered black people expendable. And like lost sheep, we have been wandering in the wilderness of Americanism unsure of our worth and even less sure of our survival. As it is, blacks might as well turn into vapour and float away into oblivion, they will not be missed - well, except maybe for a few entertainers and sports personalities. White societies are generally uncomfortable with the fact that the embodiment of their lies and cracked soul still haunts them in the person of black people. 

What happened outside Brunswick in the state of Georgia a couple of months back suggests that the killing of innocent or presumed guilty black people goes beyond bigots in police uniforms - ordinary citizens on a whim can, and do act patently racist. Mr Aubrey was jogging down the street of his neighborhood when the McMichaels (a father and son duo) decided to hunt him down like some wild animal that escaped from the zoo. In fact, escaped wild animals enjoy better treatments than those meted out to black people perceived to be "threatening", no matter their age, sex or position in life. The reason these killers gave for pursuing Mr Aubrey was that he looked like the person suspected to be responsible for burglaries in the neighborhood. To White bigots, all black people look alike and this assumption lies at the heart of the accusatory tag of "you people" when reference is made to some suspected malignancy that blacks are supposed to be responsible for. These vagabond pair from hell pursued Mr Aubrey in a truck. They shouted at him to stop so they can question him and of course, he did not cooperate. Cornered and unable to escape he fought back. While the younger McMichael struggled with Mr Aubrey, the father stood on the bed of the truck with his gun at the ready, just in case the struggle below did not go their way. Shots rang out during the encounter with two shots hitting Mr Aubrey in the chest and a third nipping his wrist. Mr Aubrey staggered away and collapsed to the ground seconds later due to the mortal wounds he sustained. To complete the tragic scene, the killers had a close friend follow the truck to record the encounter - something they later showed to their ilk and boasted about. The recorded video of the execution which was released about two weeks ago, sparked an outrage that led to the constitution of a so-called grand jury to determine if the father-son-friend killer squad were worthy of prosecution. Before now, these "respectable" people had been going about their normal lives unmolested since February of this year.

If you follow mainstream media, the events surrounding Mr Aubrey's death are quite similar to that of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. First, the suspicion that you are up to no good because you are black and doing what normal people do (going to a store to buy skittles and drinks for example), then a fatal encounter with some hate-filled, usually gun-wielding oaf, then the failure of law enforcement to act in favour of the victim citing some horrible "stand your ground" or "right of self defence" BS. Finally, there is a concerted effort to dig up dirt on the victim in order to paint the victim in bad light. In the case of Mr. Aubrey; first, a District Attorney recused herself due to so-called conflict of interest and another law officer declared the killing "lawful" after watching the video of the encounter between Mr Aubrey and the killer squad. At that point, the case appeared to be slowly fading, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic taking primal place in the news. But brazenness of the atrocity continued to generate ripples in the media until the ugly Kraken of preternatural injustice was forced from the bowels of Americanism by the graphic aforementioned video to universal outrage. A lawyer representing the killers released the video thinking the killing was justified. He was dead wrong. 

Black people refer to racism in America and other white dominated nations as "institutional" but a closer look at racism suggests it is "national". Racism exists, not only within the Police, Judiciary, Healthcare, Government, or Educational systems but also within the society as a whole. The potential for racism is everywhere because it lies at the base of the pyramid upon which the "prosperity" of the nation rests. Your neighbor, teacher, pastor, a passerby or colleagues at work may determine that there is something suspicious about you and call the police or gossip to higher authorities. Tamir Rice (12 years old) was innocently playing with a toy gun in a public park when a "good Samaritan" called the police - the kid was eventually murdered seconds after police arrived because black people and guns (even toys) should never go together. A black Yale student was taking a nap in one of the common rooms when another student who was white, called the police to embarrass her. Two years ago, Police surrounded a surprised group of black people leaving an Airbnb because the neighbor thought they were burglars - during daylight! Examples abound that would fill a book when discussing how blacks always seem to make white people uncomfortable. They seem to feel safe only when they call 9-1-1. And cops seem to relish such encounters because it brings out the real reason they joined the force - bullying. Some of these encounters never end well for the black people involved despite being innocent in a so-called free country.

In the case of Mr Aubrey, just as in the Trayvon Martin case, those involved in the killings did not wait for the Police (even though the Police were contacted in both cases) but took the law into their hands because they had guns. The confidence these killers had in justifying their actions lies in the fact that killing a "suspicious" black person has been normalized by a system that views black lives as of less value than that of a dog. 

Without real power, community or organization black people will continue to have the experience of their slave ancestors in modern garb. We are murdered senselessly because no one really cares and it is easy for people to get away with killing us in the most brutal manner. We desperately need community or communion in unity without which we are simply game birds in the English meadows during the hunting season. Yes, we may not be wanted "here" but for the moment, "here" is all we know and it's either we live "here" in peace or helped to leave with full compensation for four hundred years of unpaid labor and tyranny.

jrotimibgood@gmail.com