by Sylvester Brown, Jr.
As a long-time writer honed in the industry of print & ink
journalism, I am in awe of social media. The quick-fast global distribution of
news and images via Face Book, Twitter, YouTube and other Internet sites
utterly fascinates me. The phenomenon, basically driven by youth, has fueled
revolutions in Africa and the Middle East, made or maimed celebrity careers and
has empowered a generation of tech savvy journalists and dedicated followers who
now set the pace for news that matters.
This old school journalist, however, is also leery of social media. Like the youth who drive it, there's a flighty, faddish feel to viral jornalism. It's a bittersweet sphere where tweets, pings and postings dictate the relevance of information. Its news in a hurry for hurried people conditioned to sound bites and under 500-word summaries. Social media can instantaneously motivate millions to action but that figurative moment also allows people to superficially adopt a cause or respond to a crisis without really understanding or addressing root causes or the bigger realities of societal issues.
Consider the case of 17-year-old high school junior Trayvon Martin. The unarmed Florida teen was shot dead in February 26 by George Zimmerman, reportedly a neighborhood watch captain. When police arrived, Zimmerman told them he had shot Trayvon in self-defense after a physical altercation. Police, who only found a can of iced tea, $22 and a pack of Skittles on the dead boy's body, seemed to have accepted Zimmerman's version of events.
By
Florida
law, residents can use lethal force if they are at risk of being killed or
seriously injured by an assailant. Zimmerman had a permit to carry his gun. If not for social media, the story may have taken the
typical "vigilante kills violent black youth" angle. After all, the teen was
wearing a hoodie, which according to Fox News host, Geraldo Rivera, was "as
much responsible" for the boy's death as Zimmerman's gun.
Friends
and family members used Facebook to mourn the teen's death and demand justice. Weeks
after the shooting, the tragedy blossomed into a national concern mostly because
witness accounts, Zimmerman's call to police before the shooting and the questionable
behavior of police officials all went viral.
On the upside, millions who found the story relevant used their
voices and actions to speak to an apparent injustice. People donned hoodies,
bought bags of Skittles and showed up at many of the "1,000,000 Hoodies" rallies
across the country. The attire has
become a national symbol of injustice with notables such as Muhammad Ali, LeBron James, former
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, P. Diddy,
Jamie Foxx, Ludacris and others have all demonstrating
their outrage with clothing.
Hoodies and candy may be an effective
way to voice indignation about the death of an innocent child but this
contemporary application pales in comparison to the brave souls who faced club-wielding
policemen, slathering dogs and torrents of skin-pealing water hoses to challenge
Apartheid in America. Today, Internet-savvy folk can simply purchase a hooded
sweatshirt, a bag of Skittles, show up at a rally, post a picture on Facebook
and PRESTO, they are bona fide activists.
This type of protest underscores the
mindset of a consumer-driven, quick-fix generation. They are in-it-to-win-it" ... for
the moment. With Internet-driven activism there really is no long-term commitment to eradicate racism or societal
injustice. It provides the illusion of progress. Addressing the deeper issues of poverty, racial profiling, police
corruption, unfair sentencing and prisons filled with almost a million older Trayvon
Martins are too complicated and require the staying
power that symbolic activism does not foster.
It's a sad commentary when far-right
extremists such as the Tea Party have more in common with civil rights-era leaders
than today's Facebook activists. The Tea Party's message may be goofy, but strategists
have a long term, well-funded machine that influences politics and demands conservative
change by any means necessary.
If George Zimmerman is charged with a crime, today's Smart Phone protestors will
declare victory and move on to the next topic du jour. Yet, in the wake of their triumph, neighborhoods
will still be impoverished, childhood will still be threatened and the quest
for true brotherhood will become abandoned endeavors...until the next
sensationalized heavily-tweeted incident.
National outrage personified by symbolic
objects will result in symbolic victories. Quick-fix solutions will satisfy a
quick-fix generation of Internet activists. They will eat their Skittles and shed
their hoods in victory while the "hoods remain unchanged.
Sylvester
Brown, Jr. is a St. Louis, MO-based writer and founder of When We Dream
Together, a nonprofit dedicated to urban revitalization.
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