Critique vs Condemn: My Thoughts on Race

To condemn is defined as ” to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on, to make strong disapproval of while to critique is defined as ” the art of criticism or to analyze something critically. Condemnation or to condemn is viewed as a negative action,one that centers around heaping judgement and blame on a person or persons for their actions. Needless to say the events that have transpired this past month have caused me to adopt this viewpoint on a number of the comments and arguements I have heard from a number of people in regards to the Trayvon Martin case. In the following paragraphs I will not only explain my viewpoint I will also explain why I feel as if there is more condemnation than effective critique taking place.

The verdict of the Travyon Martin and George Zimmerman case was one that a great consensus of people took issue with for a number of reasons that I will refrain from reiterating. More appalling than the verdict though were the conversations that followed in the realm of social media in the days and weeks that followed as it seemed as the post racial society we all envisioned disappeared almost overnight. Suddenly the divisiveness was prevalent once again and people found themselves picking sides and immediately looking at the racial implications the case had rather than the larger issues of inequality and class. The fact that we as African Americans immediately consider race is not a new concept and is not something that shocks others obviously when considering historical issues, but it is more than certainly an issue that had been promoted as the central issue especially in this case. For me personally the issue of profiling stuck out to me and made me look at race especially when looking at the statistics for minorities in this regard, but what struck me more so than that was how someone’s rights could be ignored and justified in the realm of law. To me the overwhelming issue was the legislation in place that not only protected one person, but effectively neglected another person and that issue enraged me. The reform for the criminal justice system stood out to me more so than it ever had and so I believed and believe now that the central issue should be how legislation is used to deny minorities and impoverished groups a fair shot in the justice system.

But I cannot deny the racial implications involved in the case as well. I could accept the arguement Trayvon could have been profiled simply because he was walking around the complex as if he was not from the area (and he was not) if the 9/11 calls would not have substantiated the bias that Zimmerman had towards young black males in saying to the operator that “they always get away this” as well as the pattern he had for reporting suspicious individuals in the months before the shooting. These two facts only lead me to believe that he was targeted because of his race and the perception that follows. The perception of African American males is another arguement for another day. The point being that there was and remains legitimate reason for outrage over the verdict and it is an issue that we as a nation should continue to have, but to me the topic I want to discuss is whether or not the comments we have been hearing from people such as Dr. Cornel West, Bill O Reily, President Obama and even regular citizens are leaning more towards the side of condemnation rather than critique.

The comments made by President Obama almost a week ago are sentiments that I feel people are able to understand. I believe the comments he made helped to articulate the frustration as well as frame the reality many African American males face and I believe that the President deserves praise for that. But after hearing the comments made by Dr. Cornel West as well as Tavis Smiley in regards to their expectations as well as the African American community’s expectations for the President,I find myself in the middle about how I feel. On one hand I do feel that the President should risk comfort and ignore the criticism he will face for being proactive in this case. The nation has spoken and the demand for justice has awoken people of all color and so his response to this issue will be another definitive point in his legacy I believe. But on the other hand I do feel as if the President could possibly be overstepping boundaries if he were to push too hard for action in a case where the state’s have clearly decided. In my mind I would think that the pressure should be rightfully applied to the governor of Florida to revamp the laws as well as to the numerous organizations that have pushed the Justice Dept to reopen the case. In short I agree with the comments made by Dr. West and Smiley in expecting the President to be more attentive to the needs of the people especially those of color, but I can’t help but to feel as if the lines have been crossed. The comments made by individuals such as Dr. West and Smiley register in my mind as criticism clearly but the condemnation against the President is also abundantly obvious in my opinion. To criticize the President for not being vocal or attentive is legitimate but to exclude the contributions he has made as well as to neglect the role he has as well is important., Yes he is President but he cannot completely cater to African Americans nor do we constitute a large enough demographic to effectively control politics as other races.

But the biggest perpetrators of condemnation I found were not Dr. West or even Bill O Reily (mainly because I expect Bill O Reily to make these types of comments). I found that ordinary citizens like myself who were African Americans were the first to condemn not George Zimmerman but African Americans as a whole. The problems of Blacks in America is one that has been highly documented, mentioned and exploited by every major leader in our community in some way be they preachers or activists as well as by analysts seeking ratings. The ills that we face as black people then are not new and do not need to be continuely drilled into our heads, especially at a time when the nation was awakening out of its slumber and be proactive. I felt as if comments made by fellow African Americans in regards to the Zimmerman trial were not only divisive but flawed. The reasoning I witnessed being used the most centered around the issue of black on black violence, a term that has obviously been used and promoted as a way of furthering condemning black problems. I found an overwhelming amount of blacks arguing that we had no right to be angered by this injustice and that the violence that struck our own communities somehow should dilute our anger towards the situation. I found myself immediately asking myself where is the line between criticism and condemnation? More specifically self condemnation. The person continued by stating a statistic that 93% of crimes committed against blacks were by other blacks, a fact I initially conceded until hearing that 86% of crimes against whites were by whites. That left me with the thought again what is the difference between healthy criticism and condemnation?

This brings me to my last point. I felt as if the issue of the trial was something that African Americans should have been angry about. It was not a moment for us to sweep away the injustice and condemn folks for being angry. I agree that blacks are angry and sometimes blindly use race as an excuse but this was not of those moments. More importantly this was not a moment where we should have been divided on our stance. The issues black America face are here and require us to look deep in the mirror undoubtedly, but condemning ourselves without properly acknowledging the forces that existed and exist to perpetuate this cycle is also irresponsible. African Americans are affected tremendously by unemployment and a slew of other issues that are kept in place to continue the cycle so while it is our responsibility to do better, we must have compassion and understanding that these complex issues will require time and viable solutions. In closing I say we should all be wary of condemnation and instead engage in healthy critique. To condemn without looking at oneself first is blind.

Signed An Anomaly