Jussie Smollett's modern-day lynching

By now, you've heard. Actor Jussie Smollett allegedly staged an anti-gay, racist attack against himself. Happy Black History Month.

Now that I've gotten the obligatory "allegedly" out of the way, let me dispense with the word, and let's just say it's, um, implied throughout.

So February is that month in which the country reflects on the history of black Americans and celebrates our achievements. I guess Smollett's plan as the month approached was not to pay tribute to how far we've come, but to pull us back to the days of nooses and lynchings, or to supplant Tawana Brawley as con artist extraordinaire.

I find it hard to grasp that anyone would be sick enough to perpetrate such a fraud, to play with people's emotions so deeply and -- this above all -- to be willing to let innocent people pay the price for the hoax. Allowing someone to be castigated in the court of public opinion is bad enough, but allowing castigation and prosecution in a court of law is beyond comprehension. Had Smollett not been busted, who knows who would have paid for his pretense? And then to literally pay others to help him pull off his hoax. I mean, what's up with these brothers who said, "Yes, we'll do that"?

You'd have to be sick, right? You'd have to need serious help to make light of the plight of your own people, the terrible injustices they endured, the beatings and hangings with nooses as, sadly, many were -- so you could advance what? Your career?

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson expressed it well in a news conference last Thursday: "This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career," he said, adding, "Why would anyone, especially an African American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations?"

So the so-called masked attackers were homophobic, racist and, of course, President Trump supporters; they yelled, "This is MAGA country!" according to the actor. The accusations are so evil, when you consider someone making them up, even enduring self-inflicted physical wounds, you think, "This man deserves our pity, needs our help," but when you think about how calculated his acts were, how they ran the gamut of race, sexuality and politics -- the cards so well played by so many, especially lately -- you cannot help but think, instead, "This guy knew exactly what he was doing, knew the possible consequences to others -- and simply did not care."

I'm left wondering if this is Smollett's black history tribute to the boy Emmett Till, who, ironically, was from Chicago, where Smollett's apparent attack -- against himself -- took place.

The fake attack just set the black race back decades and the human race even further. Nonsense like this makes light of real hate crimes, just as using race to advance political agendas makes light of real injustices. In fact, the hate crime victims here are the ones who suffered character lynchings, who feared for their futures when authorities hauled them in and subjected them to questioning -- because of Smollett's scheme. All this does is fuel the division that is already at a fever pitch, and I'm not sure we can endure much more of it.

Most people have an aversion for racism and all isms that ail us. They're willing to go to bat for victims, start causes, end injustices. Y'all know folks are marches waiting to happen. Some actively look for reasons to be offended just so they can pull out that protest sign they stored in the garage for the right moment. Many of these people are just as corrupt as anyone who would do what Smollett is accused of. But I've got to believe the majority of people truly embrace the causes they take up and don't appreciate their emotions being toyed with, their history made into a joke and innocent people deemed guilty so some television personality can acquire more celebrity. I've got to believe that most people, even those with whom I disagree on significant issues, could not sleep at night knowing the innocent paid the price to boost a career or acquire political points or punish a race. I must believe that, for if I do not, the only other thing to believe is that humanity has reached the point where people don't care about anything or anyone but themselves -- their power, their position and their paychecks, and as long as those are good, so are they. But if those things are bad, watch out because you'll be the latest target, the newest victim, the modern-day Emmett Till lynched for Hollywood hire. And surely -- surely? -- we're beyond that.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.