Trayvon Martin, Hoodies, and the Power of Images
My brother has two daughters. One of them looks like me. Guess which one I have a special bond with? Oh, sure, other factors played a part as our relationship developed over the years, such as our mutual love of fashion and books, and her sister's bent toward sports. But even before my nieces were old enough to show such interests, there was already, although I tried not to let it show, a special pull toward that tow-headed little girl with thick glasses in whom I saw myself looking back at me.
This tug of the familiar goes beyond the familial, though. For example, I love dogs, all dogs. But if a Boxer crosses my path, I feel an instant bond. For the most cherished dog in all my life was a Boxer, and, having loved one Boxer mug, I favor them all based on appearance alone.
We humans are funny that way. We typically depend upon sight more than any other sense. We are visual beings, image-driven slaves to seeing. And we're hard-wired, it seems, to be drawn to the familiar.
This aspect of our humanity helps explain—not excuse—some of the phenomena surrounding the Trayvon Martin case. While exactly what happened is yet to be known, it's safe to say, I think, that much of what unfolded both before and after the fatal shooting is rooted in this sight-reliant aspect of human nature.
Consider some of the most potent images from the series of events:
- a hooded African-American youth spotted late at night in a crime-plagued neighborhood
- an outdated photo of the victim provided by family, taken years before when he was a much younger boy
- a later photo of a thuggish-looking youth making obscene gestures circulating on the internet, erroneously identified as the victim
- the President remarking that if had a son, he would "look like" the victim
- Geraldo Rivera's declaration that the hoodie Martin was wearing "is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death" as the shooter is
- a national movement of earnest faces draped by hoodies in a (sometimes awkward) show of solidarity for the victim
The power these images have had in fueling the story also helps explain—but does not excuse—some of our most pervasive human prejudices. While discrimination certainly manifests itself in myriad ways, as evidenced throughout all of history, forms of discrimination based on visual cues—skin color, ethnicity, and bodily disability, for example—might be the most visceral and difficult biases to exorcise. No wonder Lady Justice and ancient Greek prophets are depicted as blind.
The Seminary Gender Gap
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Andrea
I really enjoyed this article and it is definitely food for thought. I am black and at the end of the day the fact that a hoodie was worn - irrelevant, the neighborhood where incident took place - irrelevant, persons skin color involved - irrelevant!!! A young man - unarmed - dead.... Relevant. Handling of case by persons supposedly in authority - relevant.
Salero21
FACTS: Up to 85% of crimes violent or not, commited by blacks are against blacks. Same is with Hispanics, Asian and whites. Up to 85% of all crimes violent or not are commited by an Ethnic or racial group, are against others of the same group. Whatever the group is. In the real world, is mostly black against black, brown against brown, yellow against yellow and of course is white against white. More americans have been/are assaulted and killed daily, by Americans than by any Foreigner. That's the True and those are the Facts. More than 10 thousand murders every year have been commited in this country since 1969. Up to 17 thousand a few years ago. Add to that those killed in the civil war and there you have it. So don't go looking to the other side of the ocean or the other side of the tracks for the enemy. Because the enemy is and has been since the begining Within. So look over your shoulder instead.
Salero21
FACTS: Up to 85% of crimes violent or not, commited by blacks are against blacks. Same is with Hispanics, Asian and whites. Up to 85% of all crimes violent or not are commited by an Ethnic or racial group, are against others of the same group. Whatever the group is. In the real world, is mostly black against black, brown against brown, yellow against yellow and of course is white against white. More americans have been/are assaulted and killed daily, by Americans than by any Foreigner. That's the True and those are the Facts. More than 10 thousand murders every year have been commited in this country since 1969. Up to 17 thousand a few years ago. Add to that those killed in the civil war and there you have it. So don't go looking to the other side of the ocean or the other side of the tracks for the enemy. Because the enemy is and has been since the begining Within. So look over your shoulder instead.
Kathleen
If it's true that non-literal thinking requires a higher order of conceptualization and intelligence (and it is true), then it's also true that the literalism with which we are told to accept the written account of the Bible is a lower order of thinking. The author can't have it both ways. If she thinks the admonition to avoid literal representations is a sign of sophisticated thinking, then she has to swallow the corrolary that a literalist interpretation of talking snakes and virgin births represents a lesser order of intelligence.
James Cowles
I must say, I a gape-jawed and drooling in amazement at the the amount of ink, paper, and Internet bandwidth consumed dissecting and deconstructing the supposedly recondite and esoteric significance of the fact that Trayvon Martin was wearing a ... hang onto your seats, folks! ... dare I say it in public? ... OK ... here goes ... wearing a hoodie. OK ... Let's wait a second til all the tectonic plates stop shifting ... ah ... OK ... good ... There is, at most, scant evidence that Sigmund Freud ever said "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar". But even if he didn't say it, he should have. Or somebody should have. JC
Rick Dalbey
In my business neighborhood in downtown Portland, we have a persistant problem with young black men selling crack cocaine. Government housing is mixed in among professional offices in our neighborhood and it is the poor that are their customers. One sells, one holds the drug and the 3rd watches for the police down the block. This has been going on for 10 years. Sometimes the police watch from our office window. So do I profile when I see groups of 2 or 3 black men. Of course. I also have lunch and fellowship with a group of black businessmen once a month in SE Portland. When I have to hire, I look for an opportunity to bring young, talented black people into the workforce. But in my neighborhood, profiling is a matter of street smart survival.
Rick Dalbey
In my business neighborhood in downtown Portland, we have a persistant problem with young black men selling crack cocaine. Government housing is mixed in among professional offices in our neighborhood and it is the poor that are their customers. One sells, one holds the drug and the 3rd watches for the police down the block. This has been going on for 10 years. Sometimes the police watch from our office window. So do I profile when I see groups of 2 or 3 black men. Of course. I also have lunch and fellowship with a group of black businessmen once a month in SE Portland. When I have to hire, I look for an opportunity to bring young, talented black people into the workforce. But in my neighborhood, profiling is a matter of street smart survival.
Philip Lindsey
3x-4x 7x-9x Hispanics: Three to four times more likely to commit a violent crime than whites. Blacks: Seven to nine times more likely to commit a violent crime than whites. Prejudice? No! self-defense.
cathym
Lovely piece. I think another aspect of " image" to remember is that we are all created in the image of God and that we must continue to recognize that image in others, especially when they appear to be very different from ourselves.
cathym
Lovely piece. I think another aspect of " image" to remember is that we are all created in the image of God and that we must continue to recognize that image in others, especially when they appear to be very different from ourselves.
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