"Is A Race War Being Censored To Avoid White Backlash?"

That's the headline of a very disquieting article by Thomas Sowell, published today.  Here are a few excerpts.

When two white newspaper reporters for the Virginian-Pilot were driving through Norfolk, and were set upon and beaten by a mob of young blacks — beaten so badly that they had to take a week off from work — that might seem to have been news that should have been reported, at least by their own newspaper. But it wasn't.

. . .

Similar episodes of unprovoked violence by young black gangs against white people chosen at random on beaches, in shopping malls or in other public places have occurred in Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Los Angeles and other places across the country. Both the authorities and the media tend to try to sweep these episodes under the rug as well.

. . .

Media outlets that do not report the race of people committing crimes nevertheless report racial disparities in imprisonment and write heated editorials blaming the criminal justice system.

What the authorities and the media seem determined to suppress is that the hoodlum elements in many ghettos launch coordinated attacks on whites in public places.

. . .

Asian American school children in New York and Philadelphia have for years been beaten up by their black classmates. But people in the mainstream media who go ballistic if some kid says something unkind on the Internet about a homosexual classmate nevertheless hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil when Asian American youngsters are beaten up by their black classmates.

There's more at the link.  Essential reading, IMHO.

I wrote about this phenomenon last year when considering 'The Changing Urban Self-Defense Environment'.  I believe it's gotten worse this year, particularly with the pre-judicial demonizing of George Zimmerman by many media outlets over the Trayvon Martin shooting.  It seems that for at least some sectors of the media, anything black is automatically and uncritically to be supported and portrayed in positive terms, while anything else may be dissected, analyzed, criticized and vilified as desired.

I might add that there is immense pressure on law enforcement to conform to this stereotype.  I worked as a prison chaplain for several years, both part-time and full-time, and in that capacity had a fair amount of contact with law enforcement personnel.  I was also involved in relief efforts during and after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and neighborhood security after Hurricane Gustav.  The same media approach was reported by law enforcement officers of my acquaintance during all those periods and incidents, including efforts by police chiefs to perpetuate such stereotypes (including the deliberate falsification of crime reports and statistics where necessary).  I can only presume that such efforts were made in an attempt to satisfy the politicians who appointed those police chiefs.

Mr. Sowell points out:

Trying to keep the lid on is understandable. But a lot of pressure can build up under that lid. If and when that pressure leads to an explosion of white backlash, things could be a lot worse than if the truth had come out earlier, and steps taken by both black and white leaders to deal with the hoodlums and with those who inflame the hoodlums.

I fear he may be proved all too correct.

Peter