You May be Chanting, But Are You Really Troy Davis?

White kids? I need y’all to listen.

We are not all Troy Davis.

This would not happen to us.

No, cork it and let that settle in for a second. This would not happen to us in this country and in this “justice” system and in this white supremacist culture that lets us think it’s the appropriate progressive response to stomp our feet about Not! Being! Racist! at this or any moment. Save your stories of unjustly accused white people, this is not the same at all. You mourn this man and you mourn the rotted soul of a nation that can allow this exact pattern of violence to carry through centuries, but do not for a second think it makes any sort of sense to co-opt this moment.

We are not all Troy Davis.

This would not happen to us.

The above blog post by The Tart has spurred a heated debate over who has the right to claim "I am Troy Davis." On the one hand you have a faction of people who identify this as another example of systemic racial discrimination, and while white people may empathize with the situation they can not claim to also be victims of the injustice. On the other hand are those who believe this is an American problem, as any person can be victimized by the flawed legal system and so we all have a responsibility to see ourselves as potential Troy Davises.

I can not claim to completely agree with any one side as there are inherent truths and inherent flaws in both arguments. Given Georgia's history of racial injustice it is impossible to ignore the obvious implications. In a case where there was no physical evidence linking the accused to the crime and most of the witnesses recanted their statements and admitted being coerced into accusing Davis, the only logical explanation for his execution is racism. One can't help but question if this situation would've gone the same path had the accused been a white man and the victim a person of color.

But I am not writing to examine the tragedy of Troy Davis as I believe the majority of logical and unprejudiced people can agree this case reeks of foul play. My interest is in how the public will rally around Davis' legacy and in many instances exploit and appropriate it. Without question I believe Davis' fate was decided the moment he became a black man accused of killing a white cop in the state of Georgia, the racial motivation of this case is inarguable. The prevalence of racism and a flawed judicial system in this country are American problems that implicate every resident (not just citizens) of this country regardless of race or ethnicity. They will never be resolved without a cooperative humanist approach. To be complacent in this fight is to further perpetuate the injustice and there can be no tolerance of that. Likewise to content oneself with chanting a catchy slogan without a critical analysis of one's own position in the problem is just as unjust and even more dangerous.