Tale as old as time. Just like your imaginary friend "wasn't me" did it when you were a kid and you got in trouble, another way that black lives, black male lives in particular, have been and continue to be disposable in America is the trope of the non-existent black guy.
From the Southern white woman archetype like Mayella Ewell in "To Kill A Mockingbird" and which resulted in real life lynchings and killings of black men, to the modern interpretation of the "average black male" descriptor that's an easy reach for people; the non-existent black guy is all too convenient a cover for too many white people still.
The most recent conjuring of convenient non-existent black guy takes place in Ohio ( same state, different city where John Crawford was shot to death by police for shopping while black)
Let's begin at the beginning in April:
A tough former Navy SEAL who was shot during a confrontation with a carload of thugs in an Ohio parking lot jumped into his truck to chase after them before seeking medical attention to remove the round.
Christopher Heben, 44, remains hospitalized Tuesday, days after surgeons pulled a “brass projectile” from his abdomen, Bath Township Police Chief Michael McNeely told the Daily News.
The stout veteran, who spent years in the Navy and now appears regularly on major cable news networks as an expert commentator on military issues, has used his Facebook profile to regularly post pictures from his Akron hospital room with updates on his condition to his 18,000 followers.
“Just wanted to say a quick and heartfelt THANK YOU, to everyone for all the prayers and well wishes. I’m feeling a bit better today,” he wrote around 4:15 p.m. Tuesday above a photo of him sitting up and smiling in his hospital bed.
Emphasis mine on "carload of thugs" because if you haven't already...guess where this is going?
If you guessed "some black guys did it" you win BINGO ( sorry, no money). Now how did a former Navy Seal, one of the most elite trained warriors succumb to this? Because as we've seen from events where unarmed black guys are shot dead, they had superhuman Hulk like strength and were even armed just with their own bodies. Even the ones who don't exist can take down a Seal!
Heben told police he was nearly hit by a low-profile sports car backing up in the parking lot on March 28 and that its occupants, three black men, started shouting profanities at him.
Well well lookie here when we fast forward from April to
today:
BATH TWP., Ohio - Bath Township detectives believe they have “overwhelming evidence” to prove a former Navy SEAL lied when he claimed he was shot during an altercation with three black men outside of a popular shopping center.
Chris Heben, 44, of Medina, has been charged with misdemeanor counts of falsification and obstructing official business.
He's expected to show up at the Bath Police Department on Thursday to be served with a summons to appear for his arraignment in Akron Municipal Court. A court date has not been set at this time.
"We have overwhelming evidence based upon video, cell phone records and interviews that the shooting did not occur in the West Market Plaza and that Mr. Heben made false allegations to us," said Bath Township Police Chief Mike McNeely.
As Rick Perry would say: "Oops". Except as much as I snark about things which is a LOT, this just royally pisses me off. It's yet another example where someone unwilling to own their actions conveniently reaches for a black guy to blame. Fortunately no lives were lost as a result of this but they sure could have been.
My real point in bringing this up is to illustrate how it's not just about unarmed black men being killed or innocent people who "fit the profile" (like mothers with children in their cars being pulled over and having their kids terrorized and terrified) ... even when people make shit up, they blame the black guy who doesn't even freaking exist.
That is a question our society needs to ask itself (somewhat rhetorical yet asked anyway). Why is this so easy to do and why is it so easy for others to fall for it? Suppose for example three guys just happened to "fit the description" of the alleged assailants. Suppose they encountered law enforcement with itchy trigger fingers?
Not an isolated incident and these are just a few quick examples:
White Guy Blames Gunshot Wound on Nonexistent Black Man and Man shoots himself, blames it on 'black man'
Charles Stuart ( Murderer)
Susan Smith ( Murderer)
how many of these stories do we not know about ? How many real lives have been affected by made up shit like this? One is too many.