This meme is blowing up my newsfeed. The reason is obvious to me.

First, I’m sure you’ve heard about the incident in South Carolina involving a high school female who refused to turn off her cell phone. The situation escalated into a rough take-down from a corrections officer who was called in to resolve it. Much of the encounter was captured on tape; and now that recording has gone viral.

After hearing opinions on both sides, a meme has begun to circulate comparing this young high school student with the proverbial “slave girl”. The meme is written in order make an obscure, tired point on race. And it’s a real shame that the writer has to go all the way *there* with his concept in an attempt to garner our favor. Go ahead and read it; then, ask yourself where is he seeking to take you with this presentation?

This classic manipulation attempt is driven by his prompting of the shared tragic image of a collective American experience. He wants you to blend the image of a freshly beaten slave girl into the image you have in your minds of the obstinate, high school student. How are the two girls related other than skin color? Those girls are separated by more than just time, laws and societal norms. They are separated by *realities*. So, do not follow his lead. Instead, choose to honor each separate moment (the HS girl and the slave girl) by seeing each of them individually.

Although this author is physically living in this moment with us, you can see that his mind is planted, in fact, rooted back in the time of slavery. We should believe him when he shares where his mind is stuck. But we don’t have to follow him when he invites us to go back there with him.

It’s a bit offensive to see this writer minimize the collective national triumph we’ve shared over slavery by blending it into an issue of teenage rebellion and an ugly take-down of a corrections officer. The two issues he seeks to connect are not related in the slightest way. Yet, his perception has gone viral.

The tactic is the introduction of deception and confusion. He has pressed the emotional buttons stained in our minds around slavery and injustice. That action affects our rational assessment of an individual situation involving a high school student and a corrections officer. Do you want to align your thinking based on deception or confusion? Certainly not.

Remember “who is the author of confusion”.

Choose to align your thinking with reason and logic. #MemeRejected