The media has finally taken the entire, collective morality of the planet and squished it into a bite-sized morsel of warped values and bitter insanity. According to news outlets spanning the entire Internet, George Zimmerman, now a celebrity in his own right due to the media’s portrayal of the Trayvon Martin shooting (according to Salon.com, Zimmerman calls the event an “incident,” as if it means very little), is set to join rapper DMX in the ring for a Celebrity Boxing match. This is utter nonsense and for once we should get behind the government and stop the thing from happening.

Damon Feldman, the owner of Celebrity Boxing, is putting the thing on TV, a three-round bout any soul can pay to see (that’s right, it’s pay-per-view). Feldman said that pretty much as soon as the news that Zimmerman was going to enter the ring went out, his email was inundated with thousands of emails (Prachi Gupta has the full report). DMX eventually won the bid and is way too enthusiastic about his chance to pile-drive Zimmerman into the dirt. The rapper is reported as saying that he wishes to pee in Zimmerman’s face, something I really hope doesn’t happen.

DMX
Rapper DMX set to fight Zimmerman. Image by Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

No matter where the money from this messed up boxing match goes to, this is a hate-fueled, greedy investment in racism and rage. DMX, and the thousands of others who emailed Feldman, have every right to feel anger towards the man who killed Trayvon Martin, but this is going way too far. The event is literally an excuse to use very real hatred to make money, and that is fundamentally nightmarish. All this does is help feed violence in the states; this does nothing to stem the tide of death and pain that racism and ignorance cause.

Before this fight was even a thing, Zimmerman was elevated to celebrity status, and that is monstrously insane. No matter the reason, he murdered a teenager and should have been put away for that or any of his other assault charges. His example should have been a clear call to get rid of guns or at least police their rampant existence. Race aside, he killed someone. It’s sick that he appears everywhere because of that. We don’t want his influence spreading even a little. Keeping him on a media podium keeps people in a state of rage, directed at him, though, and not at the societal implications of what he was allowed to walk away from.

And now he’s participating in a particularly violent sport with a man who wants to break him then urinate on him. On television.

One can only hope that the petition on Whitehouse.gov, created to stop the fight, does its good work before March 1, 2014, the date of the match. Seriously, if you have the chance, sign this petition so the government can put an end to an event that will only make racial tensions boil over (and award the perpetrators of the fight more money than is morally comfortable).

Twitter and the rest of the Internet are all astir about the match, some folks in favor of it (some hope that DMX will destroy Zimmerman), and some folks simply lost for words. Truly, it is unbelievable, and seems like something only the worst of reality shows could cook up. Which is what the media is making of us apparently (Twitter is filled with this sentiment as well, that the states and other media-obsessed places are becoming reality TV shows by some definition of the term).

Please, if you understand how much of a negative impact this boxing match will have, try and sign that petition or find a way to stop the showdown. Not only is it a giant pile of advertising for racial tension, it ruins the name of charity (hatred for charity? what?). I am ashamed of anyone in favor of this, and I seriously hope it doesn’t happen. This is absolutely the last thing anyone needs, and proves to the rest of the world how little the states cares about peace and equality.

One Comment

  1. wow, I am speechless. This is a perfect example of capitalism out of control. I know a lot of friends who would happily watch this though.