I think you’re getting your wires crossed and not necessarily getting accurate information. This isn’t necessarily a “trying to turn defending him into a ‘Black community’ obligation,” but more so responding to the racial outcry and responses from white people.
You may not be on Twitter/X, but since Elon took over, and with the state of this current administration, there is a growing white nationalism that is taking place online and in real life with very much so real white people being enticed to incite racial violence and have “race wars,” which are also being pushed and enabled by bots. If you have a private Twitter account, check out @ uniball_actual then you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.
This isn’t to say that you’re wrong because you may be seeing different responses online than from what I’ve been seeing, but a lot of Black people are more so upset by the dismissal of Black jurors from the lawyers and Karmelo’s verdict being delivered by an all white jury with a sentencing of 35 years, just days after an Asian man with a history of killing Black people got off scot-free for killing a black boy over water that wasn’t stolen. To ME, I think this “Black community obligation” is just anger, sadness, and burden that’s seeped into our people’s hearts, wanting or needing to find support and comfort within each other as a response to character assassinations that’s been historically brewing and picked up steam since the George Floyd incident and BLM protests. All of which, have also been used as excuses by white people to justify their wanting of race wars and an all-white America. Anti-Blackness *is* and always has been on the rise in America, Elle.
However way you feel about the case is fine, but the racial component to it cannot be ignored. I mean, look at what’s currently happening in Ireland… incidents with opposing races, incites racial violence. Doesn’t make it right, but historically this is what happens.
Also, it was just revealed that the owner of the prison Karmelo will be serving his time in is a Metcalf himself, sooooo the racial components are in fact blaring. Coupled up with the history of the prison industrial complex and how Black people are more likely to serve prison time for the same crimes white people commit.
I actually appreciate this perspective, and I think you’re right that I’m likely not seeing the full picture of how this is being discussed across every corner of the internet. I absolutely agree that depending on what you’re exposed to the tone of the conversation can look very different.
I think there are two conversations happening at once, and people are blending them in a way that creates confusion. One is about the broader racial dynamics in America, the history of bias in the justice system, jury composition, and disparities in sentencing. Those are incredibly important discussions, and I don’t dismiss them.
The second is about an individual act, and whether that act warrants accountability. For me, that answer is straightforward. Someone lost their life in a way that I do not believe is justifiable, and that has to carry consequences. Acknowledging systemic issues doesn’t require suspending personal responsibility.
I also want to be honest about where I’m coming from. I’m from a Caribbean background, and my relationship to American racial history is different. I don’t carry the same inherited sense of resentment or historical weight in the same way many African Americans understandably might. That doesn’t make me right or them wrong, but it does shape how I interpret situations like this.
Because of that, I don’t feel an automatic obligation to defend someone simply on the basis of race. I’m looking at the action itself first. And in this case, I don’t think it’s something that should be excused or reframed depending on the surrounding discourse.
I can acknowledge that racial tensions, online rhetoric, and even bad actors may be inflaming reactions on all sides. I can acknowledge concerns about bias in the system. But none of that, in my view, overrides the need for accountability at the individual level.
So I don’t think we actually disagree. I just think I’m placing more weight on personal responsibility, while you’re placing more weight on the broader context. Both matter, but I don’t think one should erase the other.
