I didn’t plan to say this on my show on Saturday. I was interviewing Jacqueline McKenzie who is a partner at a human rights law firm and one of the people who signed the Good Law Project’s open letter in support of Jason and this just spilled out of me in the moments before.
After I uploaded this clip to Instagram I had to mute the comments because of the sheer volume of accounts (some obviously bots, others seemingly genuine) leaving vile comments suggesting that Jason ‘deserved’ his fate. I am sure these people would have said the same, as many did, about George Floyd (the rationale being that because he had criminal convictions he somehow ‘deserved’ to be murdered on the street by a rogue police officer). I am sure they also think Meghan Markle ‘deserves’ the relentless hounding by media which she says drove her to the brink of suicide because she, in the view of some, doesn’t behave like a typical Princess. The message is clear: Black people in white majority societies must be ‘perfect’ or expect to die. No wonder people are calling what happened to Jason a ‘digital lynching’.
I still don’t know whether my wading in before Jason’s death to defend him would have helped or added to the volume of the noise which (it would appear) ultimately killed him.
What I do know is that some media commentators need to take some time away from furiously defending themselves and what can only be described as the glee with which they attacked Jason and do some quiet introspection. I also know they probably won’t.
If you’re struggling with difficult thoughts The Samaritans are there 24/7 in the UK on 116123.
