Filed under: News, Race and Civil Rights
It turned out that Storro was lying, making herself the latest in a long list of people who've falsely claimed that a black person attacked them. Her face is now blotched and red, where police say she allegedly put acid onto her own face, perhaps in a quest for attention. The story is quite sad, actually.
Wednesday, when Storro came to court, the judge ordered her to a mental health facility where she is to stay until she is ready to stand trial. The 28-year old woman has confessed that she made the entire story up. She also says that she threw the drain cleaner in her face to either commit suicide or change her appearance.
Storro's trial is scheduled for December 20. She spent $1,500 of the donation money, for which she is going to be held legally liable. All of the accounts containing the money have been frozen.
The case of Bethany Storro is not only bizarre, it's worthy of outrage. Law-abiding African Americans across the country are being consistently portrayed as criminals by media, police officers and malicious citizens who want to divert attention away from their own unethical behavior. Even though there are millions of Americans who understand that black people are not the default criminals of our society, media may want to reconsider the images they portray. These messages have a very real effect on how citizens view black people, and they also play a role in the fact that black people fill up the penitentiaries. In some cases, not only are black people more likely to be seen as guilty, but seeing ourselves in media being presented as criminals affects the view we have of each other.
On the other end of things, I feel a little bad for Bethany Storro. Any woman troubled enough to put acid in her own face is in need of serious psychological help. Her face looks terrible, and that's the face she has to look at every morning in the mirror. I can't help but think about the fact that no matter how bad her face looks, it doesn't come close to matching the pain that must be in the depths of her heart and psyche. This woman needs many years of counseling.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.