A Defensive gun use and media manipulation

​North Las Vegas, November 19, 2022. Devonte Madison and Jaylin Morrison decided to attempt to carjack a woman at gunpoint. During the attempt, the victim managed to snatch the gun which (apparently) Madison put on his lap while trying to start the car. Madison chased the woman and tackled her. The victim shot and killed Madison. (here is a better version of the story)

Fairly straightforward and brave defensive gun use, right? 

Well here's the problem with media manipulation. The Review-Journal fell into the "he a good boy, he dindu nuffin'" paradigm seen so often with criminally inclined African-American males. Madison's photo is a graduation photo, which tends to portray him in a better light than the fact he was committing a felony and potentially read to kill. The photo also implies that he was a victim. 

The headline is also deceptive especially in connection with the photo. The original headline read: "Aspiring enrepreneur, ex-Cheyenne High School quarterback fatally shot." Sensibly, "Teen killed while attempting carjacking" tells the truth more accurately. The initial version is like announcing Jeffery Dahmer's arrest as: "Man who never killed anyone before arrested."

The original article went into a lot more detail about Madison's "entreprenuerial" spirit, whatever that was. If it was a legitimate business, why didn't the family describe what it was? It read as if Madison was the victim and he was trying to do something positive for his life. Shame on me for not saving the original article in today's revisionary journalism. Well, as it turned out Madison wasn't doing something very positive if he was carjacking people.

Was the Review-Journal trying to create another Trayvon Martin or George Floyd "the criminal is really the good guy narrative?" We'll never know.