Don’t Ignore Race in Christopher Lane’s Murder

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Don’t Ignore Race in Christopher Lane’s Murder

The association of young black men with violence doesn't come out of thin air

By John McWhorter Aug. 22, 20131102

EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY / HANDOUT / EPA
Christopher Lane

Australian Christopher Lane was killed on Monday in Oklahoma by three teens, one of whom has said they were just “bored.” The right is complaining that the media is making nothing of the fact that two of the teens were black whereas Lane was white, as opposed to the massive alarm sounded in cases such as white (or white-ish) George Zimmerman killing black Trayvon Martin. And again the cry was heard that there is more “black-on-black” or “black-on-white” crime than “white-on-black,” and that young black men are in fact more of a problem than people like Zimmerman.

The numbers don’t lie: young black men do commit about 50% of the murders in the U.S. We don’t yet know whether the attack on Lane was racially motivated, nor can we know whether the three black boys who attacked a white boy on a Florida school bus recently would not have done the same to a black kid. (Critics took Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to task for not condemning the violence.) But hardly uncommon are cases such as the two black guys who doused a white 13-year-old with gasoline and lit him on fire, saying “You get what you deserve, white boy” (Kansas City, Mo.) or 20 black kids who beat up white Matthew Owens on his porch “for Trayvon” (Mobile, Ala.).

So, it’s just fake to pretend that the association of young black men with violence comes out of thin air. Young black men murder 14 times more than young white men. If the kinds of things I just mentioned were regularly done by whites, it’d be trumpeted as justification for being scared to death of them.

It’s not that black communities are in complete denial about these statistics — Stop the Violence events are a staple of high-crime areas. But let’s face it: black America isn’t nearly as indignant about black boys killing one another or whites as about the occasional white cop killing one black boy, even though the former wreaks much more havoc in black communities. There is no coordinated nationwide movement equivalent to the one Martin galvanized. There are no thoughtful films “exploring” black-on-black crime the way Fruitvale Station treats the death of Oscar Grant, a young black man who was killed by transit police in Oakland, Calif.

And recent example illustrates how many blacks feel about who is murdering whom. Two weeks ago, an NYPD cop killed 14-year-old Shaaliver Douse. Douse was in the process of shooting other people, and had been charged with shooting someone else in May — and yet his aunt compared him to Martin. In her mind, the main sin was the white cop’s.

Granted, it seems a lot easier to do something about the Zimmermans than the black thugs. Protest profiling and police departments institute new programs. But black thugs aren’t moved by protests, so it can seem like we’re just stuck with them.

But who’s to say what would happen if black America exerted even half of the emotional fervor and brainpower it does over cases like Martin’s to thinking about how to keep black boys from going wrong? Annette John-Hall had some wise words on this last year. What kind of self-image do we have to assume we can only change others, but not ourselves?

For the time being, though, it’s time for the media to stop proudly emblazoning the race of white cops who kill black boys while cagily describing black teens as, say, “from the grittier part of town,” as has been the case regarding Lane’s killers. The media needs to be as honest with black people as we need to be with ourselves. No group gets ahead by turning away from its real problems.

 

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Heartbreaking 911 call reveals Australian baseball player was still breathing just moments before the ambulance arrived as his girlfriend says 'bored' teens will 'rot in hell'

• Chris Lane, 22, was in the United States on a baseball scholarship
  
• He was 'killed for fun' on Friday while jogging during a visit to his girlfriend's family's home in Duncan, Oklahoma
• The couple had just returned from visiting his relatives in Australia
  
• James Edwards, 15, and Chancey Luna, 16, charged with first-degree murder and friend Michael Jones, 17, charged with accessory to murder
• Former deputy Prime Minister of Australia calls for people to 'think twice' before traveling to the United States due to lax gun laws

By MEGHAN KENEALLY PUBLISHED: 13:43 GMT, 21 August 2013 | UPDATED: 19:34 GMT, 21 August 2013

The harrowing 911 call made by passersby who found the jogging Australian baseball player as he was struggling to breath has been released hours after his girlfriend spoke out about how his killers deserve to 'rot in hell'. The female caller spotted Chris Lane minutes after he was shot and called 911 but it took nearly seven minutes for emergency responders to arrive. 'He was standing in the roadway and he fell over and as I come by he just fell over in a ditch,' the woman, identified later as Joyce Smith, said to the 911 operator before describing how he was grasping for air. The operator finally dispatches emergency services three minutes into the conversation, and minutes later the caller notes that the young athlete's breathing has become even more shallow. 'He's not conscious...I hear no sirens, I see no lights. Oh my gosh, how long is it going to be?' About seven minutes after the call was placed, others have gathered to help the struggling victim while the woman remained on the line.

Heartbroken: Sarah Harper (left) has spoken out about her devastation following her boyfriend Chris Lane's (right) drive by shooting on Friday when he was jogging near her house

'Has he stopped breathing? Yes. Yes, they say he has. Finally here's some, finally here's some police,' she said. Lane was formally pronounced dead at a nearby hospital nearly an hour after the shooting is thought to have occurred. ‘I don’t really care what happens to them,’ Sarah Harper said following her boyfriend Chris Lane’s death on Friday in Duncan, Oklahoma.

‘I feel like if they don’t get what they deserve now and in the present, they will eternally. They’re just evil people.'Harper, 23, met Lane, 22, when he came to America on a baseball scholarship and they have been dating for the past four years.The couple had just returned from visiting his native country three days before he was shot during his daily jog.

Loss: Harper and Lane had just returned from Australia three days before his death

‘Most people will go to college and try to find who they are on their own, like away from parents and all that but I found it with Chris and he really helped me,’ Ms Harper told Australia’s Herald Sun.‘Luckily I got most of his time in the last four years…its helpful thinking back on those and not dwelling on all of this.‘I talk to his family daily- whether its cousins, sisters or parents- and I wish that they find some kind of comfort to help them heal.’In a Facebook post about her boyfriend's death, Ms Harper wrote that their time together had been 'the most amazing of my life'. 'I love you so much babe. From 2009 until forever you will always be mine and in a very special and protected place in my heart.' 'It's a very angry yet extremely sad time. No one deserves to die that way. Not even the boys involved. 'Don't get me wrong, I want them to rot in hell, but no one should be blindly taken from the back so unexpectedly and without any reason.'

Promising student: Lane was in the United States on a baseball scholarship and the pair had been dating since 2009

Sweethearts: Sarah Harper has been left heartbroken after her boyfriend Chris Lane was gunned down in a senseless killing on FridayNot all Australians are being supportive like Lane’s family, as former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer called for his fellow countrymen to think of this shooting when they are planning a trip to the United States.'People (who) are thinking of going to the USA on business, vacation, trips, should think carefully about it given the statistical facts you are 15 times more likely to be shot dead in the USA than in Australia per capita per million people,' he told CNN's Piers Morgan.'Just for the record, Australia has had zero gun massacres since 1996, and in the United States, 80 people are killed by guns every single day.'So, it is another example of murder and mayhem on Main Street.'For America's part, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the federal government is 'deeply saddened' by Lane's death but she did not comment on any specific action.

Grieving: Sarah Harper visits a memorial of flowers and mementos that has been created at the spot where he was shot and killed on Friday

Charged: James Edwards (right) and Chancey Luna (center) face first degree murder charges while Michael Jones (left) is charged as an accessory for allegedly driving the car

'This is clearly a tragic death, and we extend our condolences to the family and the loved ones. We understand that local authorities are focused on bringing those responsible to justice. Clearly, we would support that,' she said at a briefing on Tuesday.The three teens accused in the murder- James Edwards, 15, and Chancey Luna, 16, who are charged with first degree murder and Michael Jones, 17, who is charged as an accessory for driving the getaway car- are all being held on bail.District Attorney Jason Hicks told the press inside the Oklahoma courthouse that he is 'going to do everything I can to ensure these three thugs pay for what they did to Christopher Lane'.

Smitten: The couple had been together since 2009. Sarah Harper described their time as 'the most amazing of my life'

Together: Harper said that she was lucky to have spent so much of the last four years with Lane

Though all three are being tried as adults and a first degree murder charge in Oklahoma can come with a death penalty, they will not face the prospect of execution because of their age.‘I don't want them to have any future that Chris wasn't able to have as well,’ Ms Harper said, according to The Herald Sun.‘It's been pretty rough. It's been hard knowing he was taken so close to home, let alone taken in the way he was. To be pointed out like that.’Ms Harper said that unbeknownst to her, Lane’s family had started raising funds to pay for her flight back to Australia so that she could attend his funeral.‘I appreciate everything that they've done and I appreciate them sharing him over here with all of us- me in particular,’ she said.
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