Surveillance Footage Shared on Social Media Sparks Controversy
Musk and Other Key Figures Amplify the Issue
The murder that occurred on the light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the end of August has belatedly escalated into a political, racial, and media controversy. On September 9, Yonhap News, citing the American weekly magazine Newsweek, reported that the White House issued a press release criticizing the fact that the incident took place in an area governed by a Democratic mayor.
The incident in question involved a 34-year-old Black man, Decarlos Brown, fatally stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarutska on the light rail on August 22. The case did not gain widespread attention immediately after it occurred. However, as surveillance footage of the incident spread on social media, it became a focal point for political conflict over public safety, issues of race, and trust in the media.
On August 22 (local time), just before the murder of Ukrainian refugee Irina Zarutska (bottom right) on the light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. Charlotte Area Transit System
In particular, the White House, which has recently made public safety a national issue and emphasized "law and order" by deploying the National Guard in places like Washington, D.C., strongly criticized the incident, stating, "Radical leftist policies are sending corrupt career criminals back onto the streets, allowing rape, looting, and murder to continue in our country." Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy also pointed out, "Charlotte failed Zarutska and the residents of North Carolina by not incarcerating repeat violent offenders." On the other hand, Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, a Democrat, said, "My heart is broken just like yours," and that she is "deeply reflecting on what true safety means for our city," but her comments only fueled further political controversy.
Musk Criticizes: "Different Attitude When a White Person Kills a Black Person"
Newsweek, citing court records, reported that Brown had been arrested at least 14 times since 2011 and had served about six years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery, theft, and assault, before being released in 2020. Shortly after his release, Brown was indicted again for assaulting a family member, but claimed that "artificial substances" were controlling his body, leading to a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.
Elon Musk criticized by posting on X comparing the number of reports on the Charlotte murder case in North Carolina at the end of August to the 2020 George Floyd case. Musk SNS
The fact that a Black man killed a White woman has reignited debates over race and media coverage. Prosecutors stated that the incident appeared to be a random act rather than a racially motivated attack. However, some critics, citing cases like the George Floyd incident, argued that the media applies a double standard based on race. In particular, Elon Musk posted more than ten times about the case, strongly criticizing major outlets such as The New York Times for ignoring the incident.
In 2020, tens of thousands of reports covered the George Floyd case, in which a White police officer killed a Black man through excessive force, but in this case, mainstream media reportedly did not publish a single article. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson also emphasized, "If the victim had been Black and the perpetrator White, the media would have gone wild without end."
As figures like Musk began politicizing the incident, Richard Rosenfeld, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri, countered in a 2021 interview with the science outlet SciLine, saying, "Most crimes occur within the same race." According to Department of Justice statistics, from 2017 to 2021, there were 8.7 million cases of White people reporting crimes committed by other Whites, compared to only 2.38 million cases of Whites reporting Blacks. There were 1.88 million cases of Blacks reporting other Blacks, and 371,000 cases of Blacks reporting Whites.
However, Jack Goldberg of the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute previously published research in 2023 showing that Americans tend to overestimate the number of unarmed Black people killed by police and underestimate the number of White victims. In a survey, 44% of progressive respondents said police killed more than 1,000 unarmed Black people in 2019, but the actual number was 29. During the same period, 44 unarmed White men were killed, which was actually higher. Some critics argue that social media amplifies rare and shocking crimes, fueling racial tensions and diverting attention from systemic solutions such as mental health treatment.
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