One Step Forward, Lot of Steps Backward

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The trial and sentencing of Karmelo Anthony are over and the appeals process is underway.
There were no winners.
On the flip side, everyone involved lost.
Karmelo Anthony lost.
Austin Mecalf’s family lost.
And we, as a society, lost.
It appears that every time a few small steps are taken to curtail racial strife, those steps are not only wiped away but we go backward before we can start moving forward again.
This day is not the time to rehash the Karmelo Anthony case, as that has been done and continues to be done ad nauseum – and most often by those who no more know what happened or witnessed the testimony, but are suddenly experts on the case. That said, let us consider some related events.
The claim has repeatedly been made, even by those who know better, the jury was all white. In fact, it was not. There were three minorities on the jury. There were also eight women. A reported six hundred jury summons were issued and toward the end of jury selection, there were three black perspective jurors remaining. All three were excused. For the sake of argument, let us say that at least one or perhaps all three of them had been on the jury. Whatever they would have been wrong and they would have been severely ostracized or worse — threatened. The aftermath we have already seen validates this, and their lives would have been forever tainted.
After Karmelo Anthony was arrested, a fund-raising campaign was launched to help him. This effort reportedly raised over $630,000, but what happened to the money? It has been reported that some of it might have been used for his legal representation, but it is also known the funds could be used for “basic living costs, transportation, counseling and other security measures.” It is known the family abruptly moved. As to whether Karmelo Anthony had or has access to any of that money has likely been answered as he has requested a court-appointed appeals attorney, describing himself as “penniless, destitute, and indigent person, too poor to employ counsel.” One might presume those are not the words a 19-year old would use.
Threats were made immediately after the verdict was announced. Just outside the courthouse, groups of people had gathered. Some of those supported Karmelo Anthony, others wanted to see him get convicted, and still others were just there to watch. Blasted into homes across America is the image of an irate black man screaming into the face of an older white man. With a stoic face, the older white guy just took the verbal abuse. As difficult as that might have been to do, it was the right thing to do. The black guy was subsequently arrested, but the damage had been done and the racial divide increased. That was not the only such incident that took place.
“I HAVE a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
This entire situation, what followed and what continues to follow, is all about character or more aptly – lack of character.
The aftermath of the Karmelo Anthony case damaged race relations that will take a long time to heal, and by then something else will have happened to set us back even further.
And all this is because people judge by skin color and not character.
That’s my opinion.
Andy Kober can be reached by email at andykober@hotmail.com