One of my personal joys is scrolling through TikTok after a long day of work and class. This may not be the healthiest thing to do right before bed, but I enjoy it nevertheless. Oftentimes, my For You Page (FYP), which is a result of TikTok’s carefully crafted and specific algorithm, will show scenes of shows and movies featuring racial programming by police. Now, I am not sure why my FYP often features these elements of Black pain, most of which are quite triggering, but these videos will probably appear once everyday.
Police brutality and racial profiling is not something new in the United States. Racism is often the feature of any media surrounding Black individuals. However, what really irks me about these videos is the comment sections. Consistently, there are dozens of trolls and bots commenting things like “nice video, but this never happens” or “only seen in fiction” or something similar.
Normally, this does not bother me. After all, they are only faceless trolls and bots with usernames composed entirely of numbers and underscores. But something in me this weekend just snapped. I was really not vibing with these comments of denial over the past few days.
It probably has something to due with the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd. For anyone who has not been paying attention to the news, after over a week of choosing jurors, the case officially began last Monday. It has truly been heartbreaking to watch, with so many feeling guilty for the death of Floyd, when they did not have any hand in his actual death.
What grinds my gears is the constant denial of systemic racism or of racial profiling when we can see the affects of it everyday. George Floyd is only one very well-known example, but there are so many cases that go unchecked every single day.
The system that oppresses Black individuals goes along unchecked, and police officers rarely face consequences. And Black people end up dead. And the system repeats. Like nothing is wrong at all.
These people mocking real life portrayals in fictional media of Black pain as something that is completely fictitious may not be the cause of the systemic issues at play, but they certainly contribute to the inability to change. And they continue to miseducate the youth on the internet, who have the chance to learn and create progress.
Black pain in media is not always necessary, but it is true, and it continues to oppress so many people. If we cannot accept this and commit to work towards systemic change, then George Floyd will be the halfway point in a history book of Black suffering, rather than the final chapter.