Victory for whom?

On Oct. 3, the verdict was announced nationwide that O.J. Simpson was not guilty of murdering Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldstein. I was appalled. Along with some other women in my ISED 160 class, I felt that he should have been guilty, or at least punished in some way for his abusive behavior toward Nicole.

But what I found even more horrifying was the reaction of many black students here at S.F. State: black men walking across the campus waving their fist in the air to represent black pride; black women smiling yelling, "O. J. is not guilty!" black people honking their car horns in support of O.J.

The reactions were so disgusting that I wanted to puke.

Is this behavior a symbol of love and unity in the black community? Is this behavior in support of black civil rights and the unequal treatment of blacks in the legal system? It could be both, given the racist history of black people in the "justice" system in L.A. alone. But I think there is a bigger issue here than the racist treatment of blacks in the U.S. legal system.

I think O.J.'s "victory" is a victory for black male misogyny.

Often, black women have been the ones to take the heat when the black man has had enough of our racist society. Anger because of unemployment, drugs, and incompetent educational systems drive many black men to beat their wives or girlfriends, out of frustration with the system.

Time and time again the black community has made excuses for these men: black men just have it harder, they are an endangered species, it's difficult for them to get jobs.

But what about the sexism in the black community? It's swept under the rug, like the domestic violence issue in the O.J. Simpson case. The media seemed to have forgotten Nicole and Ron, and the focus was only on O.J.'s guilt or innocence. That he beat his wife did not seem important.

I think that domestic violence needs to be focused on by everyone, but particularly by black people. I heard many black women say they were glad he was acquitted because he is a black man. When I brought up Nicole and asked them how they felt, they seemed indifferent. One black woman said, "Well, yeah that was wrong. But you know how the system treats black people." I wonder if Nicole were black would they have sympathized more. Is it really a victory because a black man was slapped on the hand by the court for abusing his wife?

When it comes to black consciousness and empowerment ,we have to get away from the "it's a dick thing" mentality and realize that black men are capable of being the oppressor as well as the oppressed. Black women need to get away from embracing black male misogyny, because the next victim could be you.

[ Golden Gater Online October 10, 1995 ]

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