Thursday, July 25, 2013

Media Outtake 4: The irony of social racism

            When reading the story, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” there is a central theme of racial discrimination against Native Americans. The main character describes about how his people indulge in heavy drinking and that there is a lot of unemployment. In addition, the narrator describes memories of having the cops called on him for walking through a white neighborhood, and how the 7-11 manager kept a watchful eye on him. It is outright racism throughout the story. In addition, in class we watched the “Canary Effect” where we learned about the discrimination, murder, eradicated, and degradation of the Native American tribes.
            Even just recently, Indians, Hispanics, and Blacks alike have been the victims of racial discrimination, a consistent nightmare for anyone of color. A prime example would be the Trayvon Martin case: A young African American male who was targeted because he looked like a hoodlum simply because he had his hood up and was black. Despite the 911 operator telling George Zimmerman – the murderer – to stay away and that a cruiser was on the way, he pursued Trayvon and got involved in a fight with him, ending with Zimmerman shooting and killing Trayvon.

            The trial was currently brought to an end a few weeks ago with the verdict being not guilty. There was a nation wide public outcry at the injustice of the verdict. The entire nation came together to protest the murder of this one individual, and yet, no one did anything when Native Americans were forcibly removed from their homes, had their culture taken from them and replaced with religion, and driven to suicide and depression, and no one did anything for them. In fact, the government still owes the tribes money but coincidentally lost the paperwork needed to give money to the right people. Its disgusting how even today in modern society that there is still racism. Its almost ironic; George Zimmerman targeted someone who looked suspicious, and now he has to live the rest of his life looking suspicious and over his shoulder to make sure no one targets him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD7x6jryoSA - Canary Effect
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/us/trayvon-martin-shooting-fast-facts - Trayvon Martin case

3 comments:

  1. Ally, very interesting post! After watching The Canary Effect in class, it made me realize all that the Natives Americans have gone through and I agree with the central theme of the story. I find hard to believe the amount of people that were brutally killed and the ignorance passed on by American society. The Zimmerman verdict definitely sparked a nation-wide scandal; many people were outraged about the decision carried out by the court, including myself. The media made sure to publish it in all news sources imaginable; yet, it is surprising how no one knows or even talks about the injustices in Native American populations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ally, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. You made some great points here between the movie, the Trayvon Martin case and the "Canary Effect." You are right. It is crazy that the Trayvon Martin case, although wrong, sparked so much media attention but yet no one knows how Indians have been treated and obstructed from justice. The connection you made between the case and "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" are right on! They both show racial injustices because of the race of the victims and the color of their skin which seem to make them both look "suspicious." Great job here!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh wow, when I read “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” I immediately thought of the Trayvon Martin Case. Even though the character in this short story is Indian while Trayvon Martin is black, racial discrimination is still racial discrimination no matter how you look at it, as you mentioned. I feel like you chose a great point of connection. The Trayvon Martin case is current and everyone has an opinion on it and I feel as if you media outtake can connect to everyone. Your media outtake can even start more discussions, whether they are on Race or other trials. You did a great job of conveying your idea.

    ReplyDelete