What If It’s All a Show? A Hypothetical on Manufactured Chaos and the War on Black Dignity

 

What If It’s All a Show? A Hypothetical on Manufactured Chaos and the War on Black Dignity

Let’s just say the quiet part out loud: something about these viral “incidents” doesn’t sit right. One week it’s a mother in Chicago. The next, it’s a mother in Maryland. Cue the shaky phone footage, the outrage, the think pieces, the hashtags. Rinse and repeat.

Now, hypothetically and I do mean hypothetically ...what if some of these events weren’t as organic as they seem? What if there’s a playbook, and we’re just watching the reruns?

The Hypothesis: Manufactured Mayhem

Let’s imagine a world where powerful institutions, media conglomerates, shadowy networks, maybe even old-world orders have figured out the formula: keep the world watching Black pain, and you keep the world distracted from Black power.

In this scenario, “crisis actors” aren’t just a fringe theory they’re tools. Tools used to stage chaos, to reinforce the same tired narrative: Black people as unruly, dangerous, broken. And every time we react rightfully so—to the trauma, the spectacle gets bigger, the stereotypes get louder, and the real issues get buried deeper.

Sound wild? Maybe. But even if none of it is staged, the effect is real. And that’s the point.

The Real Agenda: Humiliation as a Weapon

Let’s be honest...there’s a long, ugly history of using media to humiliate Black people. From minstrel shows to mugshots, from plantation propaganda to poverty porn, the goal has always been the same: control the image, control the narrative, control the people.

So when the world sees us screaming, bleeding, dying...again and again it’s not just news. It’s programming. It’s a reminder: “This is who they are.” And it’s a lie.

The Distraction from Reparations and Justice

Here’s the kicker: while we’re busy reacting to the latest viral trauma, the real conversations about reparations, land, wealth, education, power get sidelined. The more we’re portrayed as chaos, the easier it is to argue that we don’t “deserve” justice. That we’re not “ready” for equity. That we’re somehow the problem.

It’s a bait-and-switch. And we keep falling for it.

Rewriting the Script

So what do we do? We flip the script. We stop letting others define us by our worst moments—or worse, by moments they might be manufacturing.

- We tell our own stories, loudly and unapologetically.

- We question everything—especially the stories that go viral too fast, too clean, too conveniently.

- We center our brilliance, not just our pain.

Because if the world insists on watching, let’s give them something real to see: our power, our resilience, our truth.

Final Word

This isn’t about denying real pain or real injustice. It’s about refusing to be reduced to it. Whether these events are staged or not, the pattern is clear and it’s time we stop playing along.