Is Justice Really Served?

As many of you may know I'm originally from New York. New York has shown to be a culturally diverse area. However, I still find that many people are against this "diversity." On August 9th 2006, in Miller Place Long Island, my neighbor Aaron White ( a black male) attended a party, which he was not invited to. He got kicked out of the party and went home. Later that night a group of the white males came to Aaron White's house and threatened him. They first started harassing by text message, instant message, and by calling him on his cell phone.

However, the night didn't end there. The group of angry teenagers then decided to go to Aaron's house. The ring leader, Daniel Cicciaro Jr. ( a white male), and his friends went in Aaron's driveway yelling loud racial remarks.Frightened, Aaron called his father John White and explained to him what was going on. John and Aaron White went outside with two hunting guns to scare the angry mob away. While outside John White held his gun in the direction of the young men. Daniel Cicciaro then grabbed hold of the gun and it fired. Daniel Cicciaro got shot in the face and died soon after.

Many have their views on the situation. However, the jury had their own opinion, the hearing was just a few days before Christmas. They found Mr. White guilty on a manslaughter charge and a weapons charge which can run from 5 to 15 years. But, on the 24th of December 2 jurors came out and said that they were pressured into saying that Mr. White was guilty. They both said that they felt pressure from the judge and the other jurors. Rev. Al Sharpton is planning a march in New York in January, in honor of Mr. White's injustice.

It is hard to put my personal feelings aside, but I truly feel John White should be a free man. If Mr. White was Caucasian and Cicciaro was black, would this be the same outcome?

Alicia Gaynor
Secretary
UCABJ

The Wire's newspaper angle

At best, I'm a very casual viewer of The Wire so I can't tell you much about the intricacies of the last four seasons, but based on the role a fictional Baltimore Sun newsroom plays in the upcoming season, I may have to start getting HBO.

David Simon, the show's creator, used to work for The Baltimore Sun and uses that knowledge to examine the role of the newspaper in Baltimore's deterioration in the fifth and final season. Overly ambitious reporters, steadfast editors, bean-counting parent companies...it's all there. (Click on "The Wire: The Last Word" in the right-hand column.) It's an interesting proposition Simon is putting forth and despite this being Hollywood's version of news life—insert grain of salt here—it's probably not that far off from the realities the industry is facing right now. It'll be interesting to see how the season unfolds and what the fictional storyline may offer to people putting out fires in real newsrooms across the country.

adl

Aiesha D. Little
NABJ Adviser
University of Cincinnati Association of Black Journalists

Cheering for the Home Team

In high school I always felt uncomfortable and awkward at pep rallies. It was hard for me to understand the point of all the screaming and pageantry. I rarely attended sporting events and I don’t recall ever caring very much who won.

I was part of a band program that took music very seriously and we competed from time to time. I practiced hard and I wanted us to sound good, but I still wasn’t exactly loosing sleep about how the band scored. When I went to Wright State it was even worse. Almost nothing that happened in Dayton seemed all that important to me.

I have lived in the Southern Ohio for about 15 years, but I couldn’t tell you right now how many games the Bengals have won this season and I know even less about how the Reds are doing. I have never had a whole lot of “team spirit.”

I’m not saying I hated everyone around me (at least, not until exam week came around). I was genuinely invested in the good fortunes of all of the people I had direct connections to. But when it came to awards and competitions and bragging rights, I guess I never really felt like a part of “the team.”

If this were a therapy session, I guess I would have to talk about what I’m really feeling and how my aloof attitude is really a way to make up for my own insecurities. There would probably be tears and breakthroughs and Stuart Smalley affirmations about how “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” But while there's no shame in getting help from mental health professionals, this is not a therapy session.

I only say all of this so that you understand my surprise when I found myself watching Clash of the Choirs this week on NBC. I may have taken a bathroom break while Michael Bolton’s choir performed, but I didn’t want to miss a second of Nick Lachey’s team from Cincinnati. They were my team.

Something was different – something I can’t explain. I actually cared who won. For once, I was cheering for the home team. I was also cheering for Children’s Hospital, which would get the prize money if they won. (I spent a few days there a while back when I had back surgery and I have a lot of respect for the people there.)

For me, it was surreal being so invested in what, in a lot of ways, was really a pretty arbitrary competition. I was biting my nails (figuratively) when they announced who would be eliminated. I felt proud when they won even though I had almost nothing to do with their success.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a big fan of 98° or Nick Lachey. (I’ve met Justin Jeffre, though. I like him a lot.) I didn’t know anyone who performed. But a lot of things have changed over the past year, and somehow I think it’s made me feel like a part of this city. Who knew?

I could get used to this.

Go Team Cincinnati! We’re… uh…. number one! That's how it goes, right?

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

I enjoy political cartoons and that’s how I first came across Ted Rall. Rall is a left-leaning political cartoonist, author, and syndicated columnist.

A lot of the time his cartoon is not quite my cup of tea. It isn’t so much that I disagree with him (though I do disagree with him on some points), but more because it just doesn’t make me laugh. The weird drawings and mean spirited attitude is a little over the top for me.

But I think his columns are excellent. After reading a series he just finished called “Future Imperfect,” I feel particularly ashamed that I don’t think I’ve ever really paid to read them.

The columns were about the direction the field of journalism is moving in and discusses things like the financial havoc Al Gore caused when he invented the internet. (If you didn’t see the joke there, either I really stink at comedy or you never watched late night TV in 2004.)

Part I, Part II, and Part III were enthralling, and sometimes disturbing, columns. I thought I would highlight some interesting portions.

From Part I:

Print media is dragging content providers into the abyss. First comes downsizing. Writers, cartoonists, and photographers are losing their jobs to peers willing to do the work for less or, in the case of readers invited to submit their comments and images for the thrill of appearing in the local rag, nothing. Then they squeeze those who remain for pay cuts. A cartoon that runs today in Time, Newsweek, USA Today, The New York Times or The Washington Post--the most prestigious and widely disseminated forums in the United States--brings its creator less than The Village Voice would have paid for it in the 1980s. Some print venues offer no payment at all.

From Part II:

…Venture capitalists are investing in "consolidators," websites like the Drudge Report and Huffington Post that link to columns and articles written by unpaid bloggers and professionals who've managed to hold on to their jobs. Creative people who actually make the product they sell, meanwhile, are receiving squat.

It's inevitable that, sooner rather than later, these intellectual property vampires will suck creators dry. Professionals with mortgages and car payments will flee for greener pastures, replaced by hacks and rank amateurs happy to work for "exposure." We're already seeing the effect as journalism increasingly suffers deprofessionalization; 16-year-old bloggers with mad HTML skillz are demanding, and often receiving, equal access to readers.

…There is a solution to the online payment problem, says Simson Garfinkel, a fellow at the Harvard University Center for Research on Computation and Society and the author of "Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century." (Disclosure: We're friends.)

"If content is appropriately priced, of an appropriately high quality, and easy to access, people will pay for it," asserts Garfinkel. "What is required is a system that is easy to use and licensing terms that are not onerous."

From Part III:

…In 20 years, the U.S. newspaper landscape will look more like Europe and Japan. The market will be dominated by two major segments. At the top we'll find a small cluster, perhaps 10 or 15, of huge national titles--papers such as The New York Times and USA Today will get even bigger. Existing papers (The Washington Post?) will expand; new ones will launch.

…None of this will improve the quality of journalism. "Ultimately [free dailies] will breed in people the idea that news shouldn't cost anything, even that news is cheap," points out media commentator Roy Greenslade. "But in fact, news, done well and properly, requires investment and money. They will no doubt tell us what happened--but news should also tell us how and why things happen. I fear that approach will be lost."

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

Busy Little Bees

After having to be at work or class or my internship or church or (some combination of those) every single day with very few breaks, I finally woke up this morning with no place in particular I had to be.

And as I picked myself up out of bed at about nine o’clock, I was struck by a strange feeling. I felt... guilty.

How could I not have a mountain of things to do? What was wrong with me? Am I becoming lazy? What if someone calls or emails or something? What would I tell them I was doing? Taking a “rest” sounded so wrong to me somehow.

But why should it? Rest is good. Rest is great. And as I look around, I think most of us could use more of it.

I am not saying we should drop everything and neglect our responsibilities. But I can’t shake the feeling that mainstream American culture is starting to work itself to death. We eat fast food in the car to save a few moments (when we eat at all). The 40-hour work week is now a distant memory. We work more hours than our counterparts just about every other developed economy in the world. I get the feeling most of us are in a constant race to prove to everyone else that we’re workaholics that are perpetually on a nasty occupational binge.

It’s part of the broader American disdain for balance. Either we are promiscuous or prudish, anorexic or overweight, teetotalers or drunkards. The idea of moderation seems quaint and alien to many of us. I bet even now as I write about “balance” some one out there is expecting me to start chanting about enlightenment or imploring others to unlearn what they have learned.

I can not speak for anyone else, but I find it hard to not get caught up in the excess myself. There’s more than a little bit of economic necessity attached to our busyness.

But vacation and weekends and holidays exist for a reason. We all need times off to think, to be with those we love, to remember who we are and why we are.

I still have to put in some hours as a retail grunt during the holiday season and I still plan on getting a few other things done during my days off. But do not be surprised if I become hard to reach before nine o’clock for a week or two. I’ll probably be sleeping in.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

The Difference Between Optimism and Hope

Apparently a lot of us are pessimistic about the state of black progress in America. The Pew Research Center, with help from NPR, recently conducted a poll that measured the political attitudes of African-Americans, whites and Latinos. The results were released in mid November.

According to the poll, 20% of blacks say they are better off now than they were five years ago and 29% say they are worse off. In 1969, 70% said they were better off than fives years before. In 1999, 32% said they were better off and 13% said they were worse off.

There was a lot of talk about this poll on NPR. I’ve read and heard plenty of people interpreting the data and critiquing aspects of the poll itself (like the way it excludes the very real concerns of Asian Americans). I’ve heard and read some very well thought out comments on this subject.

The more I heard, the more I took issue with one of the assumptions implied in some of the discussions. A lot of people talk about optimism as if it is a goal or a virtue – as if being optimistic is something to strive for and expect from others. Some commentators even use “hope” and “optimism” as synonyms.

I don’t see it that way. I’m all for hope, but hope is not the same as optimism.

Optimism is an outlook on life that interprets situations in a positive way and expects things to work out in the end. Marriam-Webster Online says it’s “an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.” The first definition listed drives my point home even better. It defines optimism as “a doctrine that this world is the best possible world.”

Optimism sounds nice, but I happen to think some elements of this world are unacceptable and better worlds are possible. There are a great many situations in which optimism requires someone to embrace the status quo, even when it may be harmful or unjust. Sometimes it even requires outright self-delusion. When confronted by death, disease, poverty, injustice, or desperation, a reasoning person has to detach themselves from reality to be optimistic.

That may help the comfortable stay that way, but it doesn’t do much to comfort the afflicted.

Sometimes things are bad. Really bad. When someone close to you dies, or your community gets washed away by a mountain of water, or your diagnosis is cancer, or you just feel desperately lonely and without meaning... at times like that expecting you to sing the sun will come out tomorrow is pretty cruel. It’s even worse when your troubles are cause by other people who are too hateful, greedy or ambivalent to treat you fairly.

But hope is “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” When optimism merely sees a silver lining to what may be a very dark cloud, hope can clear the sky. When optimism sees a cup as half full (and in real life things are almost never that equal), hope makes the cup overflow. Optimism can make a slave smile – hope smuggles slaves to freedom. Optimism says “it isn’t that bad.” Hope fuels movements and revolutions that make it better. Hope expects change.

Hope stares the desperate, terrible, frightening reality in the face and refuses to look away until it’s been defeated. Hope has a confrontational quality to it.

For some, things really are getting worse. We don’t need a rosy outlook – we need change. Not blame games. Not self-delusion. Not mindless distraction. Definitely not blind consumerism. The word of the day is change.

Things will get better for “black progress” in this country (and underdogs anywhere in the world) when we learn (or re-learn) how to hope.

So we're not optimistic. That might be a good place start. I’m almost positive.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ

Where Do We Go From Here

So the play has gone forward, with the title changed and additions to the program made to “honor diversity.” Having seen the play and the relatively small changes that seem to have been made, I see it as a positive step. The play itself wasn’t necessarily racist, but the attitudes that lead to the debates are, and they, along with the censorship concerns, need to be discussed in the open.

West Chester/Liberty TWP needs to progress with an attitude of empathy and less finger pointing. As real as the problems are, most (but not all) of what’s going on is about the cultural and historical inertia of racism rather than overt hatred.

More has to be done to give Lakota’s administrators a chance to be partners rather than opponents as everyone works to create an atmosphere that’s truly diverse and multicultural. It’s unfair to everyone that efforts in that direction are hindered by the way they are being demonized and I can understand the discomfort of teachers and principles.

But is their discomfort any less than that of black, Asian, Hispanic, and Indian students that never see authority figures in their school that look like them? Is the faculty’s discomfort less than those who have cultural and ethnic histories that are frequently seen as problems to be assimilated rather than blessings to contribute?

Are they more uncomfortable than the black student that goes through weeks of awkward stares and anxious discussions while the class reads Huck Finn out loud? Or the broke student that bites her tongue while teachers go on 15 minute tirades about how the upper-middle class white kids – the ones who drive new convertibles their parents bought for them – deserve all the scholarships? Or the Hispanic student who has to explain to his friends that speaking Spanish with his family doesn’t mean they're "illegals" hiding from INS? Or the Asian student who faces unfairly high expectations and whose achievements are unappreciated because she's “supposed” to excel academically? Or the black student who’s repeatedly petted like a dog by classmates he hardly knows because they think the texture of his hair is so novel?

Wow. Now that I think about it, I feel so sorry for the poor, unfortunate white teachers and principles that are forced to think about how a minority student might feel. No one else ever thinks about race. Lakota was a wonderful land of harmony until those dirty “PC police” wrecked it.

Or so the myth goes.

Frankly, I’m pretty tired of people acting like being called a racist is worse than experiencing the social and economic reality of racism itself. Grow up.

I have five suggestions:

1. In the future, Lakota’s multicultural clubs could to be included when students, parents, teachers, or community members feel the needs of minorities aren’t being met. It may be a good way to make sure diverse student voices are heard. They can do more than throw parties and talk about people's hurt feelings. Maybe the multicultural club could be proactive in advising Lakota decisions on a long term basis so things can be done in a way that better serves all students.

2. The NAACP should continue to be engaged but make their involvement more cooperative and solution oriented.

3. The “discussions” that take place must lead to concrete decisions about how the administration and/or students behave.

Binding decisions rarely get made at “dialogues.” I remember having one or two racial “dialogues” while I went to Lakota West. A few people got some things off their chests, and that was good, but little positive change in policy or behavior took place. “Dialogues” about diversity have been happening for years. But there is still a noticeable lack of minorities among the teachers and other faculty and I’ve heard of no coherent plan to change that. This has to move from “community forums” to school board meetings.

There should be less talk about “listening” to “concerns.” Instead of navel contemplation on a lack of diversity in the faculty, for instance, there has to be plans on how to proactively change that situation. That may not mean quotas, but maybe it should mean some conscientious recruiting. Only tangible commitments and dollar amounts can give the “discussions” the teeth they need.

4. At some point the song “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” the original version recorded by the War in the mid ‘70s, should be played over a loud speaker at a Lakota event. I doubt it would help anything. I just really like that song.

The play didn’t merit all of the attention it got. But maybe it means something that a black Lakota graduate (who probably isn’t completely insane) had so much to say about it.

The bottom line is that people need to be considerate of others rather than being so obsessed with “winning.” Follow the golden rule and love your different-looking neighbors as yourself. They might see things from another perspective, but they probably aren’t out to get you.

~Geoffrey Dobbins
Vice President, UCABJ
Lakota West, Class of 2002