#DiminishingDiscrimination: The symbolic annihilation of race and racism in news hashtags of ‘calling 911 on Black people’

Abstract

This critical textual analysis examines the symbolic annihilation of race and racisms by the use of hashtags, such as #BBQBecky and #CornerstoreCaroline, in news coverage of White people in the United States who called or threatened to call 911 to report everyday behavior of Black individuals in 2018. This study argues that the use of humorous and virtual hashtags to represent the callers contributed to overall coverage of racially charged incidents in ways that reduced the events’ seriousness in terms of social policing of Black individuals. Collectively, this coverage formed a type of symbolic annihilation of racist interpretations of callers’ acts and Black resistance and meanings embedded within the hashtags themselves.

Liquid racism in Greek online satirical news

“…Undervaluing the presence of Others in our communities and neglecting their needs constitute forms of racism and, as such, reproduce social inequality and injustice. In this sense, trivialisation through humour may be perceived as related to both 'old' and new racism (see also Lindsay, 2014;Gutsche et al, 2022;Koivukoski, 2022, p. 62).…”

“…Research on liquid racism has recently expanded to include non-humorous texts such as newspaper articles, political discourse, and various online genres(Archakis & Tsakona, 2022;2024b).4 On humour and trivialisation, see alsoLindsay (2014),Gutsche et al (2022),Koivukoski (2022, p. 62).…”

Ecología de medios y construcción de la memoria colectiva: el papel del turismo cultural en la era digital

“…Multiculturalidad Racismo (Gutsche et al, 2022;Turner y Hui, 2023), cambio del concepto (James, 2015).…”

Symbolic Annihilation: Analyzing Associated Press’s Erasure of Vanessa Nakate and Marginalization of Black Women Activists

“…Secondly, the erasure of Black women activists undermines their credibility and expertise. It sends a message that their contributions are not worth of recognition, ultimately devaluing their work and hindering progress on critical issues such as climate change and social justice (Collins, 2004;Gutsche et al, 2022). This erasure not only affects individual activists like Nakate but also stifles the broader impact of their activism on society.…”