A Car With 3 Teens Flees Police Smashed Into A Public Bus In Ohio, Killing Them All

Theresamonet

Well-Known Member
I agree with you. The fact that the media selected the photo was in poor taste. The fact that the young man posted the photo (presumably) on his own social media page was de facto permission to use it to represent him. I'm hoping outside of this horrible tragedy that folks are reminded that we don't get to control the narrative of how people choose use to represent us in word or image using our own posted information. If you post sketchy words or images, assume that some unscrupulous person might choose to paint you in an unflattering light using your own stuff.

I don’t think the media’s photo selection was in poor taste, nor are they being unscrupulous. They selected a picture that went well with the article. Guy dies fleeing from police (who weren’t even pursuing him)... here’s a picture of him posing with a gun. Makes sense. It’s strange to me that some of you are so concerned about his image/portrayal. If he had died trying to SAVE someone from a car accident, and they used a picture of him holding a gun, I could understand the outrage. I’d be as well. But in this instance, why would he be given the courtesy of having his unsavory photos overlooked?
 

Everything Zen

Well-Known Member
^^^ Because he’s a young black teen and he did something stupid that cost him and two other young black teens their lives and we’re all weary of this narrative and a young white teen would likely not have been portrayed the same way even though they deserved to be. We never get the benefit of the doubt even when we should but this isn’t the case and thank you for bringing some common sense to the discussion. I tried to give this young man some defense but why do they always make it so difficult?! It’s exhausting.
 
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Shula

Well-Known Member
^^^ Because he’s a young black teen and he did something stupid that cost him and two other young black teens their lives and we’re all weary of this narrative and a young who’re teen would likely not have been portrayed the same way even though they deserved to be. We never get the benefit of the doubt even when we should but this isn’t the case and thank you for bringing some common sense to the discussion. I tried to give this young man some defense but why do they always make it so difficult?! It’s exhausting.

Yeah, I sure wouldn't choose this hill to die on because I know we have too many young, black, and problematic men BUT they trotted out a pic of the dude that just shot up the mosque in NZ as a blond toddler being held in his mom's arms like what went wrong? They control our narratives always with a negative spin and this young dummy def helped give them a bad one.

Also, I have retired from defending black men. I'd have to see something profanely egregious to go there now.
 

Everything Zen

Well-Known Member
I guess the only other thing that can be done if people really want to is a counter campaign to post our own pics and flood SM with our own narratives?

I have not watched the NZ coverage but I am sick over the idea of him being covered as an innocent cherub blonde baby.

We should think about the idea of taking over the idea of our image...
 

Shula

Well-Known Member
I guess the only other thing that can be done if people really want to is a counter campaign to post our own pics and flood SM with our own narratives?

I have not watched the NZ coverage but I am sick over the idea of him being covered as an innocent cherub blonde baby.

We should think about the idea of taking over the idea of our image...

That's a great idea that I have seen some folks do on Twitter with a police brutality victim. Can't remember the victim but lots of folks along with with Black Twitter were posting a nice, respectable pic and asking people to use just that image so the media couldn't hijack and paint the person badly. It's a shame that we basically have to pose for media friendly pics just to keep them from continuing to slander us in death. We can't get a break from these folks.
 

Laela

Sidestepping the "lynch mob"
From experience, there are biased reporters and editors who just cannot put themselves to see blacks in a good light .. and every opportunity they get to prove how "right" they are about blacks, they run with it. For them, blacks are the poster children for all that's wrong in society, even though it's far from the truth.. Sadly, in newsrooms across the country..they are the ones in the position to write the narrative that is fed to the masses no matter how unpalatable it is.
We complain, then do nothing.
Write the editors, call the reporters... let them know they're full of it. Because that's what white folks do all the time when they don't like coverage.
Here's a fine example of this type of media bias that needs to be stopped:
 

BillsBackerz67

Well-Known Member
Unrelated but this reminds me of something I completely had in the back of my pea sized brain.

About 25 years ago my late stepmother lost her 17 year old nephew to gang related violence. EVERY “recent” pic of him alone was either throwing his hands up with a gang affiliated sign/him with firearm/or tons of money in his hand:flahssssss:

I know his Facebook/IG account would have been lit if it existed back then:drunk: Anyhow his mother had to resort to using his 8th grade school picture for his obituary. That was the only “clean” and most recent image she could find of him. Pathetic.
 
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