Megan Thee Stallion's shooting shows the world still doesn't care about Black women
It has been an exhausting year for Black women. From the murders of Breonna Taylor and activist Toyin Salau to the killings of Black transgender women, we have had to watch the world fail us over and over again, and in real time. And now, it’s happening again with rapper Megan Thee Stallion. In early July, the Houston artist was reportedly shot in the foot following an argument with rapper Tory Lanez. Lanez was arrested that same night on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle and was later released on bond.
Meg – whose real name is Megan Pete – later wrote on her Instagram page that she had “suffered gunshot wounds, as a result of a crime that was committed against [her]” and was done with the intention to harm her. And although many of the facts of the case remain unclear, one thing is for sure; Meg hasn’t gotten the care, respect or empathy she deserves from the media or the public.
Shortly after the incident, social media users immediately began making jokes, and speculation flew about what probably transpired between the two. Despite support from some users – mostly Black women
– who stood up in her defence, the episode has been largely ridiculed or simply ignored. Not only has there been little media coverage of the shooting itself, even a few public figures joined in the pile-on with crude remarks and harmful transphobic jokes.
There is a painfully obvious lack of care when we talk about violence that is perpetrated against Black women; almost like society is unable to reconcile the gravity of the violence with the humanity of its victim. Much has been made of the fact that the killers of Breonna still have not been arrested, that it took the murder of George Floyd to ignite the worldwide protests we’re seeing now even though Taylor had been killed months earlier, and that even as we speak, calls for justice for her have turned into a meme in themselves. And while all Black life remains under constant threat of state and other forms of violence, it’s clear that there is a gaping hole when it comes to consideration, accountability and retribution for Black women in particular.
In this case, Meg is also confident, successful and breaking boundaries in a male-dominated field – the kind of