Since the Trayvon Martin case dominated the airwaves a few weeks ago, I’ve heard several journalists ask the question: Are race relations better or worse since the election of President Barack Obama? The responses were varied. The optimistic side of me wants to believe things have gotten better, because now we hear more people of various ethnic backgrounds agreeing to the same cases of social injustice. Seeing a multi-racial man as the most powerful figure in the world has made many people proud, but also provides a gut wrenching reality check to those who still can’t swallow the accomplishments of someone who doesn’t look like them. This makes me feel race relations are just the same; it’s just now social media platforms have given people the opportunity to voice their opinions for a wider audience to know how they feel and that is why we’re feeling this barrage of tension. Before the phenomenon of sharing your thoughts via blogs, Facebook, Twitter and comment boxes on various websites, your opinions were either shared with your family or close friends or you kept them to yourself. You never knew what your colleague or next door neighbor thought, and more than likely you still don’t. But you aren’t as surprised knowing they may be spewing hate behind a keyboard all the while they are smiling in your face.
My friend posted this story yesterday on his Facebook wall. This happened in Cincinnati, Ohio last summer – June 2011. After seeing this maybe I would answer the aforementioned question differently. It’s unfortunate that the hatred gets the spotlight when I know there is a lot of love and kindness in the world. I suppose I am guilty of shining a spotlight on it since here I am blogging about it. {**sigh**}
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