Did you forget just two weeks ago 10 Black people were killed in a racist rampage at a grocery store in America? I didn’t… I cant — but the rest of corporate left media and political leadership pretty much has, as evidenced by coverage.
If you suspect a barrage of criticism is coming, you are correct. My opening statements made it predictable, but truth be told the mainstream media’s inaction was predictable, as I alluded to nearly two weeks ago in my column. The narrative two weeks ago was stifling white supremacy, now it’s gun control. Which brings me here.
We can say because of Uvalde and the typical vacuum U.S. media operates within that we shouldn’t expect much coverage, or a new narrative surrounding the Buffalo Massacre, but they have a pretty big vacuum. The most we’ve gotten about the Buffalo Massacre over the past week is a fleeting talking point in the never-ending discussion on gun control. It’s an old, tired conversation that goes nowhere. I remember the same conversations following the Colorado shooting when I was in high school. America was angry and demanded laws that made it more difficult for young people to obtain guns. Nearly 25 years later, it’s just as easy, if not easier. The merry-go-round topic has returned, along with the media circus. It’s temporary. Yet the spotlight on the persistent dangers of racism and the influences behind it has dimmed. It’s probably fitting for the 400 years of insanity Black Americans have endured, but it’s also unacceptable.
Nearly two dozen people, mostly children with exception of two teachers, were killed last week in the Uvalde mass shooting. There are no words to describe how despicable of a crime it was. It is my opinion, however, that we have to be careful not to allow these two shootings to be placed in the same box. There were different circumstances; the motive in the Uvalde attack is unclear, Buffalo was not.
I want to stress that everyone killed in both of these horrific attacks should still be here. Unmitigated access to devastating assault weapons in the U.S. shares blame. But it would be foolish of me to not acknowledge guns are ubiquitous in America. If someone is determined to obtain one, they will. Decades of avoiding the implementation of sensible gun control is largely the reason for this. However, the will to inflict harm on such a massive scale is also a result of messaging in media that corrupts impressionable minds.
In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes by elected leaders and mass media was not using airtime to humanize the people we lost in the Buffalo Massacre. It’s almost symbiotic how we are aware of the beautiful hopes and dreams children have… the way they make us light up because their futures really are that bright, or at least should be in America. It’s a normal part of human nature to sympathize with children and their parents. I’ve compared what I’ve been seeing in Uvalde with the failure in coverage on the Buffalo Massacre. Thus far there was not as much effort to highlight the humanity of the adults who were killed in Buffalo.
My heart (as fragile as it is post surgery) aches when I think about the good human beings who died just because of an insane theory peddled to the most susceptible minds in our society, and the color of the victims’ skin. Personally, I’ve always buried my face in my hands when I hear stories about incredible people carrying out exponential good for others only to have their lives snuffed out by someone or some people who never gave a damn about doing anything for anyone else. It was one of my struggles working in various newsrooms to bear the responsibility of sharing awful stories. We have people in America so morally bankrupt they should never be able to cash a check again. But amazingly, America let’s them. And the talking heads in media that produce these wastes of humanity are draining their accounts until they have nothing left. They are emboldened to show up on the national stage hiding behind KKK hoods and waving swastika flags to intimidate us, and remind us what our lives don’t mean to them. It’s another cycle that seems almost impossible to break because the leadership on the left who claim to care are actually spineless.
Still, I’m here doing my part to inform. For myself, it’s a different reminder we, Black America, have to do our part to apply pressure to our elected leaders otherwise we’re going to keep bleeding.
I won’t wait for any white knights to show up soon. As we face the unknown, as unsettling as it may feel sometimes, let’s be the ones to stand up straight up with our armor in tact. Our safety is also our responsibility, and we have to demand we, and our kids, deserve to feel safe.
-C.A
Corey A. Washington is Editor of BLK News Now! His journalism experience includes Television, Newspapers, and Digital Media as a Writer, Reporter, Content Producer, and Digital Producer. Some of those media outlets include CBS Phoenix (KPHO), NBC4 Los Angeles, ABC7 Los Angeles, California Black Media, SCNG, and more. He can be reached at Corey@BLKNewsNow.com.