The man-bites-dog news appeal.
In the brilliant novel "The Bonfire of the Vanities," author Tom Wolfe describes what he calls the intense media interest in covering "The Great White Defendant."
A review of "Bonfire" explains: "The overarching theme of the book is the search for the great white defendant. The vast majority of defendants in New York City are minorities, arrested for killing another minority. The vast majority of the cops and prosecutors are all about the press and their careers. One drug dealer killing another drug dealer is not going to get you any attention; it's a dog-bites-man story — no story. What you want is a man-bites-dog story. Therefore, subliminally, the police, prosecutors and press are always looking for a great white defendant who will make their careers."
Nobody, Wolfe writes, gets upset about massive media coverage of The Great White Defendant. Blacks enjoy watching media coverage of well-off white men, in this case a Wall Street trader, accused of serious wrongdoing, in this case murder. Guilty whites are used to perpetuate the systemic racism media narrative. And the media feel noble when pushing it. Win, win, win.
This brings us to the trial of Derek Chauvin, the white ex-Minneapolis cop convicted of murdering George Floyd, a Black man who initially resisted arrest.
Cable channel HLN has covered the trial from gavel to gavel. When bumping in and out of commercial breaks, HLN displayed a graphic, accompanied by foreboding music, showing two fists tearing an American flag in half, with the caption "America's Very Soul Is on Trial." Black Lives Matter activist Maya Echols, in a since-deleted TikTok video, said: "If George Floyd's murderer is not sentenced, just know that all hell is gonna break loose. Don't be surprised when building are on fire. Just sayin'." And Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., says she is "hopeful" of a conviction, but if not, Waters said: "We've got to stay on the street and we've got to get more active, we've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know we mean business."
No, America's "very soul" is not on trial..............To Read More.....
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