Are Racial Slurs Worse Than Murder?

if you haven’t heard of Alexi McCammond, she might have recently been described as a rising star in the American media. She describes herself as a young woman of color, that awful American phrase that divides the human species into whites and everyone else. She was supposed to be taking over as editor of Teen Vogue, but has been ousted for the unforgiveable crime of writing mean tweets. A decade ago, when she was seventeen!

It appears some odious person had been peering into her historical Twitter stream and, surprise, surprise, ten year back she alluded to “Outdone by Asian”, “swollen, asian eyes” and “thanks a lot stupid asian”.

It isn’t clear if she was alluding to one Asian in particular, people from China, or whatever, but clearly  somebody at Condé Nast didn’t get the memo, the one that said only white people can be racist. It remains to be seen if that individual will be stepping into her shoes, but Alexi is gone.

No fewer than twenty members of the magazine’s editorial staff wrote to the publisher “questioning McCammond’s appointment at a time when anti-Asian hate crime was on the rise.” And no, they were not referring to the persecution of the Uhghurs in China.

It is interesting to compare these indiscreet screeds of a teen with the real crimes of one, for while  Alexi McCammond’s inconsequential insults have brought her notoriety, shame, and dismissal, the real crimes of Cyntoia Brown have brought her acclaim. In August 2004, Brown was around a year younger than McCammond when she wrote “thanks a lot stupid asian”.

She picked up or allowed herself to be picked up by Johnny Allen, a man more than twice her age, and went home with him, ostensibly for a commercial sex transaction, although she says she and Allen never actually had sex, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.

Allen had been drinking, and was asleep when Brown shot him in the back of the head using the gun she carried in her purse, a gun that earlier the same year had been used in a robbery that left a young woman paralysed for life. She then showered, perhaps in an attempt to destroy forensic evidence, stole Allen’s wallet containing $172, stole his debit card, stole his guns, and stole his truck.

A decade and more later, she was transformed into a victim of child sex trafficking who had killed her rapist/trafficker (choose one or both), and is now out of prison; she published her ghost-written autobiography in October 2019. She has stated openly that she refuses to “take ownership” of her actions, and everyone who interviews her affirms her easily refuted lies.

If Cyntoia Brown isn’t beyond redemption, neither is Alexi McCammond, but don’t hold your breath waiting for any mainstream publisher to concur.