Cash Gernon, Rest in Peace

Cash Gernon was a four-year-old White boy who was sleeping in his own house in Dallas when a black man wearing an ankle monitor allegedly broke in, kidnapped him, killed him, and then left him on the street like a piece of trash.

Cash Gernon and alleged killer, Darriynn Brown. Brown, who was charged with resisting arrest last month, is eligible to go back out on the street if he can make bond.

We must mourn the loss of Cash Gernon, but we must also make sense of his murder. To do that, the case must not be viewed in isolation. When taken in the context of other crimes, media narratives, and the vilification of those who protect, it is clear that Darriynn Brown is not the only person responsible.

This tragedy recalls the case of Cannon Hinnant, the five-year old White boy who was tragically shot less than a year ago in North Carolina by a black man. Cannon had been riding his bike in his own neighborhood.

Cannon Hinnant and alleged killer, Darius Sessoms

The case also recalls the story of Salem Sabatka, the little White girl who was snatched by a black criminal right out of her mother’s hands in Fort Worth the year prior. Luckily, Sabatka was recovered alive.

Michael Webb ripped Salem Sabatka out of her mother’s arms as the two were walking in a safe neighborhood

There was also Victoria Rose Smith, the three-year old White girl who was adopted by black racial activists. Victoria’s adoptive mother tweeted about white privilege before she and her husband allegedly beat her to death earlier this year.

Racial Activist Ariel Robinson, holding the three-year old whom she allegedly beat to death

There is also Rowan Sweeney, the white boy (4) from Ohio who was gunned down in his own home by a black man in September, Charles Garay, the white boy (4) who was allegedly killed by his black foster parents earlier this year, the Leslie children (9 and 5) who were allegedly killed by a black man in South Carolina last month, and Ahren Dehart, the white baby who was also allegedly killed by a black man last month.

But why discuss the racial component of these crimes? Isn’t it racist to notice these things? Here is the thing: The media, the politicians, and every institution have been beating the drum for a while now. It has gotten louder in the last couple of years. The message is clear: white people are bad, they are evil, they are trash. The people spewing the message may pretend that they have some more nuanced narrative, but what they are communicating is that simple message. People like Brown, Sessoms, Webb, and Robinson get that communication and take it to heart. Whites are worthless, they are trash.

These monsters act on the message, but those who send the message also have blood on their hands.

Now, some people will say this is just inflammatory and that there is nothing to be gained from discussing the racial elements in these cases. We are only perpetuating stereotypes and “othering” people when there is really very little chance that any given white kid will be killed by a black stranger. We should be good people and ignore that element. However, such ignoring results in pathological ignorance.

That is the kind of ignorance that leads to the maltreatment of neighborhood heroes like Sgt. Jonathan Pentland and the McMichaels.

(Left) DeAndre Demetrius Williams who is allegedly too crazy to face charges about snatching babies and grabbing girls (Right) Sgt. Pentland who faces an assault charge for pushing Williams when he advanced towards Pentland’s wife

Sgt. Pentland confronted DeAndre Demetrius Williams, a black man, who had been allegedly grabbing girls and who had allegedly attempted to steal a baby in Pentland’s mostly white neighborhood. For his confrontation, Pentland is charged with assault while Williams avoids his various charges for being mentally unfit. The McMichaels attempted to subdue a black man who had been stealing from their neighborhood for weeks and who was known by the local convenience store workers as “the jogger” because he would pretend to stretch while waiting for the right to time to run in and take what he wanted. Ahmaud Arbery tried to grab a shotgun from the men and died in the process. The McMichaels await trial.

While we mourn for Cash Gernon, we must also reassess the broader situation. Is this “woke” stuff just a harmless nonsensical trend that will pass like the New Age Movement? Or is there a media-amplified and institutionally-accepted “woke” narrative that is, at its core, simply anti-white? If so, does this narrative lead to real and tragic consequences? If so, how do we stop it?