Lanez found guilty
Tory Lanez’s shooting of Megan Thee Stallion took Black-on-Black crime to a new level. It was a Black man shooting a Black woman. And that is dismaying enough. But it also reinforced all kinds of racial stereotypes.
That’s because their celebrity shed a klieg light on those stereotypes. And I’m referring to the shooting as much as the misogyny involved.
Daystar Peterson, the Canadian rapper known as Tory Lanez, was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury on Friday of shooting fellow artist Megan Thee Stallion in both of her feet after an argument in 2020. … Lanez faces over 20 years in prison and a potential deportation to Canada.
(Reuters, December 23, 2022)
Misogyny and hip-hop
Lanez will pay for his crime. But his homies in the hip-hop community should pay for theirs. After all, they became accessories after the fact for gaslighting Megan to protect him. And the misogyny they displayed should be criminal.
Megan testified about the “torture” hip-hop fans subjected her to. All because she dared to tell the truth about Lanez shooting her. The post-traumatic stress reduced her to uncontrollable tears on the stand.
The facts didn’t matter to them. She’s a far more successful rapper. But even that did not matter. She was a Black woman testifying against a Black man. She was breaking the Black code. That’s all that mattered.
Why are Blacks supporting Lanez like he’s another O.J.?
O.J. Simpson was plainly guilty. Yet Blacks rallied for him to walk free. And they cited the legacy of White folks walking free after killing Blacks for doing so. They also cited the legacy of White juries wrongly convicting Black men. The jury was wrong. But at least their reasoning was understandable.
The problem is that rallying for Lanez is not getting over on the racist criminal justice system. It’s getting over on an abused Black woman.
The irony is that Blacks often hail Black women as the soul and backbone of the Black community. Yet here they were, subjecting one to very public misogynistic abuse.
Of course, trolls can make social media seem like a torture chamber. In this case, the image that comes to mind is rabid animals eating one of their own. But Megan defied them and got the justice she deserved. Black Americans should be proud.
Why is it manly for rappers to disrespect and shoot their women?
Any self-respecting man would have taken responsibility for “accidentally” shooting his girlfriend. Instead, this punk tried to get someone else to take the fall. Even worse, he joined trolls in hurling abuse at (aka torturing) Megan. That’s why the evidence of his guilt and coverup was overwhelming.
So here’s to Lanez’s career becoming DMXed. And here’s to Megan’s continuing to thrive as she lives her best life!