New racism uproar in US won't matter

If Walter Scott had been an innocent Thai and shot in cold blood in Thailand by a law enforcement officer, the government would be wobbling under the weight of international condemnation, not least from the United States. That he was an American and shot in cold blood in his own country by a law enforcement officer working in a “democratic” system means the outcry, mostly from the back community, will be short-lived. 

A new air travel accident or bloody conflict in the Third World would easily overwhelm the uproar among those bemoaning Walter Scott’s death. May he rest in peace, although the incident will join a lengthening list of, as The New Yorker calls it, murders of “dangerous black men who turn out not to be dangerous”.

Walter Scott is dead, but at least he has been redeemed by a video clip that contradicted police accounts painting him as menacing, overpowering and leaving the officer who shot him no choice. The New Yorker listed several other cases where black men slain by police were first portrayed by those who killed them as extremely hostile, which pushed the shooters to pull the trigger. 

“We persuade ourselves that these black men must have done something to deserve being shot,” said The New Yorker. But “has the behaviour of some police officers suddenly worsened, or are smartphones – video sentinels in every pocket – finally confirming the laments of generations of black and brown Americans?”

How would the shooting of Water Scott have been reported if the video didn’t exist? That was a question asked by NBC News, but it has basically been on everybody’s mind. In an opinion column, The Guardian called it the “would-be framing and murder of Walter Scott”. “Pulled over for a broken tail-light and shot in the back eight times after attempting to run away – apparently to avoid arrest for unpaid child support – Scott’s death further sheds light on an unsavoury truth,” it said. And that truth probably includes the fact that while many have been shocked and saddened by what happened to him, nobody has been genuinely 

surprised.

“Show me what democracy looks like” is one of the chants taunting the American justice system. It was chanted during a protest against Walter Scott’s killing. 

Other critics decried “overt racism” as reported by the BBC. Time magazine used a black cover to lament the incident. Old cases are being dug up by activists or simply resentful people all over the Internet. 

To many, the Walter Scott tragedy is not a one-off, but rather a symptom of a malaise that is growing increasingly obvious. Many 

people in America, however, are denying that the man’s death is a result of hidden social illness. The denial could be a cause of the malaise itself. 

America is a big country and has served as an example when it comes to equality and justice, so when black people suffer conspicuous ordeals, they are often written off as exceptions and not the rule. Many can point at the current US president and proclaim that race is not an issue in the Land of the Free.

Just like what happened before, the Walter Scott outcry will fade away. Even if the uproar escalated into a racial rioting, other “important” matters will overshadow it. Until the next innocent man is killed by a law enforcement officer in dubious circumstances and it is captured on camera, that is.