Precious

"Who was dumb enough to lay with that elephant." - Yahoo commenter on Shaquan Duley

You would think the title of today's post implies I'm going to talk about the movie "Precious" right? You would think if he's not going to talk about the movie, then maybe he's going to talk about physical similarities between the "Precious" character and Shaquan Duley right? You'd be wrong on both accounts. While today's post does focus on Shaquan, it is not too compare her versus a book/movie. It's about how precious her children's life was AND how abusive some of the public was towards her after the story posted.

How did we get here? Shaquan Duley. From my homestate South Carolina. Orangeburg, South Cack to be exact. Last week she committed the unthinkable:

"A South Carolina mother who claimed her children drowned when their car careened into a river was charged with murder Tuesday after authorities said she confessed to suffocating the two toddlers and then faking the accident"

The incident invoked memories of Susan Smith and Andrea Yates, particularly the former since both Susan and Shaquan are native South Carolinians. I'm particularly bothered by this because Shaquan, like the aforementioned two, decided to play the role of God and take away her childrens' right to live. Big no no with the Honest Man. I have no idea what Duley was going through emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. BUT regardless of how bad things were going, to decide to end your seeds lives is the wrong course. She had options (adoption immediately came to mind) and it infuriates me she didn't even consider them before she took action. However, what bothered me more was the commentary on the situation.

I ask my readers to click on the Yahoo link above and peruse through the user comments. The quote used today is one of many related ones posted in the commentary. Phrases like "Someone had sex with THAT thang!", "This is why you don't let coons have babies", "Fry this water buffalo" shockingly appear frequently. It's one thing to express anger about the situation but it's another to either make wise ass cracks or blatantly racist comments. Seriously are the above comments and others really warranted? Sadly I used the word shock and I really should not be.

America's got a long way to go people. Yep we don't have colored water fountains anymore but by reading those comments, it's apparent that we situations like Shaquan's happen and it involves a non white person, racial epithets come flowing like a waterfall. And honestly I don't even know why. Race has nothing to do with this situation. Internet wasn't in full bloom when Susan Smith happened but I don't recall people dropping "That cracker oughta be hung" or "See that's what honkies do" when it did happen. And if they did, shame on them too. Again, nothing to do with race. This is an isolated incident involving a person who was going through serious issues. Has nothing to do with race, gender, or religious beliefs.

You notice the Honest Man's tone is serious today and for good reason. This is not a joking matter. Shaquan's actions were and are deplorable. My personal feelings are she should get life. Some of the user statements on her actions are despicable. My personal feelings are those individuals should be fined and forced to spend time with another culture or class outside of their comfort zone.

Today's Lesson

In a perfect world, none of this would have happened. Shaquan would not have committed the crime, the public would not be making these comments, and I would not be having to write this post. But the world isn't perfect now is it? Instead of focusing on preventing situations like the SC one happening, we're spinning wheels on how to prevent stupid people from making stupid statements. Amazing. America, we got to do better.....