On July 13th 2013 in America, George Zimmerman was found “not guilty” of both murder and manslaughter in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman, a neighbourhood watchman in Sanford, Florida, shot Martin dead on the night of February 26th 2012. Martin was 17, black and unarmed. Zimmerman got a bloody nose and some scratches on his head and said it was self-defence.
Zimmerman, the son of a White American judge and a Peruvian American law clerk, was found not guilty by a jury of five white women and one mixed-race woman. It took them 16 hours and 20 minutes to come to a decision. From questions they asked the judge, it seems they were unsure whether the shooting was manslaughter or self-defence.
The defence lawyers who defended Zimmerman were happy, smiling, making jokes, ha-ha. They thought it was terrible that Zimmerman should have even been tried. They blamed the press for making Zimmerman into a “monster”, for making his life a living hell.
The prosecution lawyers, who lost the case, seemed happy that it was over. One was smiling. Another said that America has the best justice system in the world.
Geraldo Rivera on Fox News said the case should have never been tried, that Zimmerman was right to be suspicious of Martin, who was going home from 7-Eleven at seven at night armed with a bag of Skittles and Arizona Iced Tea. Oh, right, and the sidewalk.
Meanwhile Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC looked ashen. All the regular cheer had drained from her face. Her words followed each other like bits of glass.
On Twitter was anger and sadness and bitterness, at least among those I follow.
It seemed like every white person was saying, “Race had nothing to do with it!” and “The jury has decided!”
And it seemed like every black person was turning his clock back to 1955. Post-racial was dead for good – if it was ever alive.
I have warned my sons long ago about the police. But what do I tell them (and myself) now about white men?
Black people in America are alone. Completely. All. Alone. The term “Black American” or “African American” is no longer a description but a cruel joke. Not “American” but, at best, “historically American”, meaning that America has been where they have lived for the past 395 years, but not home. Like how Trayvon was not home. Home free.
I thought Zimmerman would get off. I am on record on this blog saying that. So it came as no shock, no surprise. But still my bitterness got a little bit deeper. Just as it did after Troy Davis, after Katrina – and on and on all the way back to Eleanor Bumpurs, an old, unarmed black woman shot dead by the police in Harlem nearly 30 years ago. Each one a little knife in my heart, twisting, twisting, twisting. By twisted people.
I know, I know, this is supposed to be a Teaching Moment About Race. Fuck teaching moments. Fuck that.
See also:
- Read the first reactions to the verdict by commenters on this blog.
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 – this verdict comes right on top of the gutting of the VRA, one of the main pieces of the civil rights reforms of the 1950s and 1960s
- Emmett Till
- Trayvon Martin
- George Zimmerman
- Troy Davis
Abagond,
I honestly have no words for this. But like I said, I knew he would get off from the start. Yet, I was looking forward to be proven wrong. The joke was on me again.
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I am very sorry for Trayvon’s family.
The result was, as you say, predictable.
If Trayvon had been white and Zimmerman black it would have been a very different matter.
Shit is broken.
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Tonight the news served us Trayvon Martin’s killer and the shameful behavious or South African Police who kill their own if they dare to siagree with the ANC. I know some progress has been made but it is too slow, too slow. I wanted to see it in my lifetime.
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Zimmerman was more of a minority than Martin. He’s should have been found guilty. But not of murder. This should have never been as big a case as it has turned into. It should have been a civil case of wrongful death. I hope TM’s parents pursue that course. I hope they win. No one gives a crap about a black kid when he’s murdered but another black kid. Or when a white kid is murdered by another white kid (or even a black kid!). It’s only an issue when it’s someone black being murdered by someone who’s NOT black. I’m more disturbed by the black woman who kidnapped a 12yo white boy and burned alive! There’s a big difference in a 17yo and a 12yo as far as how much they can defend themselves. I barely heard a PEEP about that case. Because the kid was white and was murdered by a black person. I could site TONS of similar cases where race never entered the equation. Particularly when it’s black on black. I feel awful for TM’s family and I hope they get some justice in a civil case. But I don’t believe Zimmerman was unjustly charged in this case.
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where did u find that pic of trayvon and emmit til, they need to also add jordan davis as well.
“I know, I know, this is supposed to be a Teaching Moment About Race. Fuck teaching moments. Fuck that.”
THis is a learning moment for us all. u don;t have to teach abagond we know the frustration and anger and injustice has been building up. We no longer need to or should waste our time trying to teach someone how to conduct themselves or how to be kind to us or how to be human.The teaching should be from us to us, fk everybody else. yeah i said it. All i can say is if ppl haven’t figured out the issues or racism in this country and haven’t learned or try to learn that is on them let them perish i won’t give to sheits. We as black americans have spending power, so we need to use our money for good, don’t go to disney world or whatever its called thats in florida, don’t go to those beaches, don’t vacation in florida, instead go to a black area if u can get out of america and visit black places spend ur money there. Why invest in a sinking ship anyway, when u can build a new ship.
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Reblogged this on Tapati S. McDaniels and commented:
I can understand how it feels like you are all alone. Some of us are with you.
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Racism is in the white American soul. It is the soul itself. Looking at the opinions of my white “friends”, white tweeters, commenters on Huffington Post, Politico, etc…has only shown even more how deeply ingrained racism is in the soul of white America. And I’m one who already realizes that 95% of white Americas are racist…so this is where I’m starting from. We can fight and fight and fight, but this is just too pervasive and too strong. White racism in American cannot be defeated.
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The website for the NAACP crashed it has 10000 signatures so far.
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I am sorry and also deeply sadened. I have a Vietnamese mother and Caucasian American born Vietnam Veteran father. I do not claim to compare my experince as being close to the black americans, but I do know what racism is nonetheless from my small minded tiny redneck of the woods in northern WI that I am so glad I got the hell out of. Aparently a lot hasn’t changed by what I’ve seen on various FB posts. I and others are also deeply saddened by this too and stand with you, the Martin family, and all our black brothers and sisters. Much of white America don’t want to hear our stories either…not really. We are just a bunch of over-sensitive, ungrateful, winers who should go back to where we came from, although many asians now have been born here. Thanks for all your posts and all that you do.
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Nice touch abagond, to make the banner of George Zimmerman, being congratulated by the only black woman on the defense!
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I am hoping that collectively as a people Black America will protest this injustice. This can’t just be let go like this. I am hoping we can channel our anger to reverse this injustice. Today it is Trayvon Martin,next it could be any of us being railroaded by this effed up system. Justice in this country is such a joke.
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The banner is nice, Trayvon and Emmitt Till.
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@ peanut
“saying that Trayvon, skinny as a bean pole who had no intention of fighting instigated that fight and it was his fault…that is sickening to me…”
YEah it is sickening, i have a cousin who is tall and skinny, he can’t fight or swim, but to whites he probably will be seen as a threat. THat is sad that a black person cannot be themselves cannot be tall without being seen as up to no good. THis is the time that the black athletes and entertainers should boycott and not do anything, because if they were not famous they would receive the same treatment, matter of fact some still get treated like sheit regardless of who they are. Ok white america i got ur number now, if a black man is tall and skinny and he aint on the basketball court he is suspicious, omg what is this tall black man doing off the court get ur arse back on that court and dunk that ball. That is how they see u black men, as expendable, labor, aka athletes, they treat u like horses. If a horse is fast but breaks it leg they put it down, if a black man is injured and can’t play anymore he is retired with nothing left. How many more beatings do we take before we rise up and break the whip and the person’s hand that is whipping us? Black children are the future, Nothing else matters if we don’t protect and teach them or we will cease to exist.
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I read that the NAACP is working to sue Zimmerman. I also read that Trayvon’s family didn’t attend the hearing of the verdict because of death threats. That commenter white racism said what we always discuss in this blog, white racism is ingrained in the minds of white America.
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@ peanut yep the same way they did Emmitt Til, waited until his killers died and his mother died seeking justice, then they say oh by the way his murders were guilty. Too freaking late, how is that justice where u just acknowledge 2 men killed a young child after they lived their lives to the fullest and after the victims mother died, and never got to live to see the small amount of justice. There is not justice for us only scraps. this whole place was built on a lie, everybody was a dam lie.i will not celebrate none of these holidays, i encourage other black ppl to not spend all that money come christmas or black friday. They want us gone but want our money heck no.
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I must admit, i thought he would get the very least charge but not get off, Scott free, that’s what i get for having a glimmer of hope in America’s justice system, when it comes to black people.
I guess i should have followed my deep down fear, when initially they didn’t even want to arrest George Zimmerman in the fist place and only after a nation wide outcry, they finally did arrest and charge him.
I am very hurt and sad about this day in history, not only because the martin family, didn’t get justice.
This not guilty verdict, means way more than that, only black people understand, what this truly means for us.
White folks are going to be, very eerily quiet and cautious around black people for a couple of weeks, mark my words. They will be avoiding looking at, talking too or walking by any black man or woman.
This country was built on and breathes Racism, so it would make sense that everything is about race in America.
Whites never see race in any situation, despite historical or present, evidence.
Whites go on their feelings, whenever they deny racism, black goes on EXPERIENCES THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES, not to mention History.
Its a combination of history and present that shows that black people are telling the truth about racism and white people are always lying by denying racism in every single instance, where a black person is in the equation.
The jury was predominately white with one Hispanic/black ( i find it odd, how they can’t get a definite gauge on her race ) but i digress.
The fact that 99.9% of the time, a jury consists predominately of white people, shows a conscious effort to have white people, determine who is guilty and innocent.
This has been a mainstay in the justice system, whites get to apply justice to blacks and every other minority but never the other way around.
This assures, that they will receive mercy within the justice system, where as black do not as blacks don’t garner sympathy from whites, being whites can’t see blacks as victims, only a cause of white people’s problems and their own, problems.
White people also say, “why is it always about race with black people?”
My answer to white people would be in the form of a question, “why is it always about race, when it comes to a black person?
White people set the tone in terms of using race to separate them from all the various races in the name of white supremacy.
White people apply it and it works by effecting blacks and other minorities but when the effects become transparent, they lash out and claim, “black people are race baiting, playing the race card, they are trying to make this about race, the white liberal media, are “INJECTING RACE” into this, where it never existed. How hypocritical is that?
White supremacy is the desired result, racism was meant to create.
Racism is a constant and has ALWAYS existed in this country, so cut the bull and stop trying to make it seem as though, racism doesn’t persist in American, society.
This is the time, that black men and women, need to come together and help deal with this realization, that we are going to be under siege, even more so than ever.
I suggest that everyone that is upset over this, go somewhere and SCREAM!!! loud as you possibly can, so you can release at least some of that anger! Don’t keep it bottled up!
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White people cannot be trusted. Not. A. Single. One.
This is proof.
They talk the game of “equality” and shit to our faces. When we are gone, they say nasty things about us. You pink skinned fuckers can lie on this man’s blog all you want. We’ve got your number. We’ve had it for every single one of the 237 years of this “nation”s history. You all are liars and racists. You hate black people, as evidenced by your silence on issues of race. You laugh when your pink skinned friends make jokes about us. You cheer when your pink skinned friends kill us.
I’m not down for talking to them. Making friends or any of that nonsense. And I most certainly am not going to “pray” for them. We have been “praying” for 5 centuries. God doesn’t exist or he doesn’t care. Or maybe he wants us to take matters into our own hands, no matter the pink skinned death toll. Fuck them. All of them.
You all can march like a bunch of pussies and sing “We shall overcome” or whatever the fuck with them all you want. I’m not down with that at all. We need action. Violent if necessary. They can get away with killing us? It’s time we start taking their children from them as well. Let us all take “Stop Snitchin'” to a wholly different level.
You can call me a race-baiter all you want. But the fact of the matter is that Black people did not eradicate the natives of this continent, burn six million jews, or start a slave trade which, like you said Aba, changed Earth’s human genetic makeup FOREVER.
Whites are liars. They destroy our history and call it theirs. This country needs to burn until the pink skins change their ways.
But they won’t. You’re older than me, Aba. You have sons. You know nothing will change, as does every honest Black person in the WORLD.
We need to arm ourselves and get good with firearms. We need to attend gun shows and/or go black market if we can’t get one. We need to ensure that every Black person on this planet has what they need to defend themselves against whites. They are racists and want every single one of us dead. They know it. I know it. Everyone reading this knows it. We need to ensure that when they kill one of ours, we kill two of theirs. It only sounds bad on paper; they’ve been killing us for FIVE CENTURIES. How much longer until we respond the way God (and he isn’t some paleface, pink skinned devil either) would want us too.
Didn’t Jesus say there were times when we would need to sell the clothes to buy the sword?
Stop investing in Nike. Invest in Heckler and Koch. Or Glock. Beretta or Colt. I will. All you pink skins can rest assured.
If I were wrong, then history would not be on my side, but it is.
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@mstoogood4yall: Both of Emmitt Tills murderers died with cancer.
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@ mary
Oh yes, but they didn’t die in prison like they should have.
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Wow, just woW! I am so entirely heartbroken right now about this Bullshi#, and my heart and prayers go out to the Martin family, their friends, and all of us POC who so blatantly denied justice yesterday! I want to post more, but I just can’t right now..perhaps it is time for all of (mixed or non) to began to seriously packing our stuff, and taking our families (and dollars) with us!
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Whites are superior to blacks, its scientifically proven.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAH
Sieg Heil.
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I saw a commenter on another blog site, write to Disney world in Orlando, stating they would not be vacationing there. And that people should boycott the state of Florida.
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Peanut:
preach, sista, preach! raises hands to Jesus ——> \o/
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Virgil ware was killed while riding on the handlebars of his brothers bike and his killers got probation. So no i was not surprised george got off i expected it. If we look at the history its all the same murder and more murder.
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The ONLY positive thing about this travesty is MAYBE, it will OPEN some eyes and minds of more black people that we live under a system of white supremacy that DOES NOT VALUE BLACK LIFE — and in fact, is waging WAR on black men, women, AND children. (is there any doubt?)
I wrote three posts on my blog about this trial, the second one was about the NECESSITY OF BLACK UNITY.
The “post-racial” society that many thought existed was just an ILLUSION, and like Paul Mooney often says, just a “delusion of inclusion.”
http://racismws.com/2013/07/13/the-zebra-and-the-lions-a-tale-of-poisonous-individualism/
Does this UNJUST verdict mean black people should descend into despair and give up hope? Of course not! Can we honestly say we were surprised? Maybe hurt, angry, frustrated, but NOT surprised.
The more we understand this system, the MORE likely we will be to not be “hurt” but “motivated” to fight back. To educate our children about this system to make it less likely they will become victims. To understand the system and make changes in our OWN behavior that will defeat racism.
My last post “After the Trayvon Martin Verdict What Can Black People Do?” offers some suggestions and solutions. Hope you’ll check it out.
http://racismws.com/2013/07/14/after-the-trayvon-martin-verdict-what-can-black-people-do/
(Thank you, abagond, for letting me post the links)
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A stark reminder that the Civil Rights movement for integration was a huge mistake; we should have fought to have our own cities, school systems, law enforcement, political system…
There was time to do this–it was called New Republic of Africa, but cowardly Black people stopped it.
Until Blacks realize we need our OWN–this will continue on–until we are tired. (This includes our OWN spirituality that WE had–so you gotta stop with “tha LAWD will be the final judge”; and “ONLY Jesus” stuff) Yes, i went there…
I am so tired of reading on these blogs about racism towards Blacks being the sole fault of white men–
when it was a jury of mostly white women who ACQUITTED Zimmerman.
It is white people (BOTH men and women) who are the cause of DEATH, DECAY and DETERIORATION of anything opposite of them.
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@ phoebeprunelle
I agree malcolm said it best
“It’s just like when you’ve got some coffee that’s too black, which means it’s too strong. What do you do? You integrate it with cream, you make it weak. But if you pour too much cream in it, you won’t even know you ever had coffee. It used to be hot, it becomes cool. It used to be strong, it becomes weak. It used to wake you up, now it puts you to sleep.” -Malcolm X
“This includes our OWN spirituality that WE had–so you gotta stop with “tha LAWD will be the final judge”; and “ONLY Jesus” stuff) Yes, i went there”
YEs i agree, i do believe in a higher power, but we gotta do stuff as well we can’t just wait we gotta act. The black church sold out, when i went to louisiana i observed how the black church building was nice, and one even had a bus while the neighborhood surrounding it was worn down. If the black church was what it once was which is they would not just talk about the lord but also have meetings and organize events. The black church does not do that anymore, they take tithes and offerings and what do they do? no not help build up the neighborhood, no not buy some stores toe mploy black ppl, nope they build another dang church.
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@ trojan pam
Great article u always bring some good advice.
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Jesus Christ America, i didn’t think they’d would be able to make murder 2 stick, but seriously not even manslaughter?
“The prosecution lawyers, who lost the case, seemed happy that it was over. One was smiling. Another said that America has the best justice system in the world.”
Maybe it’s because i’m white, but I never even considered before reading this that the prosecution might not have actually wanted to win.
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@ phoebeprunelle
“I am so tired of reading on these blogs about racism towards Blacks being the sole fault of white men–
when it was a jury of mostly white women who ACQUITTED Zimmerman.It is white people (BOTH men and women) who are the cause of DEATH, DECAY and DETERIORATION of anything opposite of them.”
YEs agreed. Like i said let this be a lesson to those black men that keep going on about black women remember what white men did to u, now i can say add this to ur list black men of what white women did to u. ANd also these women are cowards they won’t even show their faces or offer an explanation. I told yall if white women can be anonymous or are in a group together they really show their true colors. WE can’t forget white women are the ones who birth these white men and since kids spend most of their time with the mom its not a stretch to assume they teach their kids to be racist.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y93jbMS7Lrg Ayesha says deep political poet was on lupe fiascos album intro on Food & liquer part 2.
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[…] killed by still another black person in hellholes called “American Cities,” and these blithering idiots can say things like the below: [The below comes from a black dude who calls himself "Abagond," who […]
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The more things change the more they remain the same. I will not be bitter, I will however look deep inside me and find a way to crush this very idiotic reality. I will find away to be black in this swamp. I will find a way to shine in this whiteout. I will not give into the darkness because I have my child. I can only look at this and say what can I do for the Martins who lost there son and still have to stride in this toxic pit.
With callous hands I will proceed on I will forge the path for my children. I will flush this excrement down and proceed with that dignity that my ancestors called forth to me.
I knew this was the large possibility because of the way the case was set up. I understood what the outcome would probably be. I sat sober with a few blacks from many countries whilst in Japan and we understood the dangers of this world. How it comes with clawing hands trying to belittle us, control us, or kill us. We saw and knew and then we talked about our children. We saw that black had to encompass many things, it had to encompass Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
We needed to talk and exchange and let our kids all one day meet and exchange ideas. We knew from the moment people started talking about hoodies being bad were it would end. I sat with them being the only American, I sat there with my genes running all the way back to the motherland and I knew I could not sit down.
When I was younger I thought I go through this crap not because I have to but because I want to know how to do better. I kept thinking that it was better me than my kids. Now that I have a kid I feel the real weight of the words. No longer can I sit down and just say poor, poor, I have to act. I feel for Treyvon and his father, because you know it is probably in his mind my kid came down here to spend time with me and now he is dead. I have not yet settled back into this country but when I do I am going to try to set up a learning center around in this area. I guess it is time to make a group on meetup.com because rest was only an illusion we don’t get a break the whips of history crack along the back and I for one want to change its sonic path. I shall be the tea I will not let the flames ruin my flavor I shall be more full body because of them.
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@ un owen… I didn’t even know until today what the prosecuter said, but before I even became aware of it, I happened to tell my husband that who knows… maybe the prosecuters did such a shitty job because deep down they also believed Trayvon was guilty. Makes a person wonder being that usually they pretty much want to win their case no matter what…..to get “their guy”. Many are known as the dirty D.A.s for a reason. Now that I’ve learned what the prosecuter actually said after the verdict was out, I have to wonder. Maybe a little out there??? At this point, with all that we know, anything is possible.
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@ Peanut
I am good considering.
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Tweet from @crissles :”This trial was over before it started. We expected justice from women who would have clutched their purses if Trayvon walked by.”
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@ abagond
crissles’ tweet pretty much summed it up for me
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That tweet is too true that is what i was thinking, they would’ve walked on the other side of the street if they saw him coming or clutched their purses.
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In this country black ppl are not supposed to defend ourselves or do anything. I remember the howard morgan case where he was a black cop and he was shot 28 times, he survived and now he serving 40 yrs in prison, aint that a beyotch,
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Abagond, the only hope for justice IMO was that the jury was a bunch of old-style anti-miscegenation one-drop-racists, who would see the crime as Black-on-Black.
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We have once again been put to thinking that the system works for all. Well hello My People it was meant for you. Just like being brought here on the good ship jesus. Itis like being lynched for reading their books including the bible. It has always been about the other people on this earth and not those of African decent. They have called us monkeys yet rape our women and whats with lynching someone and cutting off the penis to displayed as a trophy?Six women on a jury and they have yet to think as mothers. They believe that Trayvon was the attacker. The verdict was in before the trial started and we just hope for the best. Now news media is hyping the notion that Ole zim will be looking over his shoulder. that is as crazy as those of us who thought it was going to be a fair trial. If you are snitching for the system they laugh at your ass. If you want nothing to do with the system they set you up to be jailed. Think about it.
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My reaction:
http://brothawolf.wordpress.com/2013/07/15/no-justice-for-trayvon/
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@U.N. Owen
WOW! I anticipated it from the beginning. Why would the DA want to make it look like the police dept bumbled it up? Then I saw the prosecution bumble things up – I started to wonder if they were in cahoots with the Defense and the police. The statements by the prosecuting DA after the case was over *kinda* cemented the belief for me.
Did it occur to you that the DA’s office is often crooked? It’s been that way for decades, maybe centuries. If the state had been doing its job, Emmett Till’s murderers would not have been set free, Vincent Chin’s murderers would not have been set free.
For cases like these, we need to allow an independent legal team make sure that the prosecutor is making a real effort. Could the Martin’s family lawyers do that?
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I am so mad! Zimmerman’s fat ass should be in jail not out! What is wrong with this judicial system and this country too? And most of the White commenters on blogs and websites sided with Zimmerman and said that Zimmerman had a right to kill Trayvon. Even my post on Facebook, White commenters were being brutal and telling me to get over it and crap like that.
Honestly I hope White AmeriKKKlan gets what is coming to her and it wouldn’t be pretty. They better pay for all the times they mistreated Black people and minorities, lynched Black males and hung them on trees, for the times they stole and killed off Native Americans for their land etc. I hope what Jeremiah Wright said is true. Man, I hope God judges this wicked nation!
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Peanut, I whispered a quiet thanks to my dad (in Heaven/TheAfterlife/SomewhereGroovyAndBeautifulIHope) for specifically encouraging my mother to give birth to me on Canadian soil. I’m mixed with a white skinned mother. Canada is racist, but I have never had to deal with this level of viciousness as a black person in my lifetime (may be another story with Natives). Although my mother could cross into the US (he was not able to due to a record), he specifically wanted me born here to ensure I had Canadian citizenship and that I had access to it without any issues, and didn’t have to spend time in the US. So passports might not be that bad an idea.
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Peanut,
“i’m depressed…and I know that I can’t really do anything about this, I have to just keep going and living this façade. I used to be so happy and carefree and naïve, but racism has destroyed my optimism, i’m not the same person I used to be…not at all.”
I have found that taking action alleviates any depression I feel, but you have to catch it early because depression makes you think nothing is worth doing.
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You know Abagond… I was very Angry this morning… that’s why I went after your Troll on the other post because I needed to take out my frustration on someone and your racist troll provided the outlet..
until You cut me off…but I understand… I know sometimes I am too much but I needed to hurt something or someone today.
I found out the news last night at work and I had to process it all by myself until a few black and brown co-workers from other departments drifted over to whisper in my ear.
Soon, we started talking out loud or in Spanish because we’re like, “why should we be as fake as them (white co-workers) and act as if nothing happened — they know d’mn well they are happy Zimmerman was found not guilty but are acting like they didn’t hear the news.
then they came over and started offering fake sympathy and smiles. I didn’t feel like playing the game and just sealed myself off.
Like I said, the jury sent black America a message last night and I keep telling my Latino brethren — what happens to one will eventually happen to all.
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blacks in America are too submissive because that’s how they were taught to be by white men. if we had stay true to leaders like marcus garvey and Malcolm x who famous quote is by all means necessary. we wouldn’t continuously go through the same shit over and over again. action speak louder than words. these leaders today always speaking about peace. protest peacefully. yet it is okay to declare war.
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@ peanut- I just had this guy I know post this same statement u r talking about on his fb for the umpteenth time. “Just don’t talk about it and it will go away”. He also loves to make a point that a black man, Morgan Freeman, stated this himself.
This is a man who always likes to remind you of his phd education and profession as a psychologist. A white man who also posts quotes all the time about love, God, etc. He has done it to me as well when I tried to tell him about some of my negative experiences as half Asian. The sad thing is at one time I would have never believed this would come from him. I never knew how he was, let alone how bad. I am usually not naieve, but I guess somtimes you find out in time people’s true color. Sigh……this is just one of several people I know or shall I say thought I knew until this Martin case.
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I, too, cried after the seeing the photo of Martin lying with his eyes wide open for the second time. This ruling affects me personally. I am a Black person, I don’t have kids, but I have two little nephews who were both born to Black parents.
I worry because it is so hard…to have to worry about doing right by your self, family and community…you could be a straight A student with a strong academic future and have your life cut short because you were unfortunately caught in the crossfire due to gang-related violence…
The immediate solution is to keep your Black son or young relative out of a bad neighborhood, no? To keep him out of harm’s way, out of the reaches of people who willingly lead a filthy life or those who stand by as victims of circumstance.
Well, unfortunately a “safer” neighborhood won’t guarantee the safety of your young, Black male relatives. No “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” here. Let’s not even talk about the apparel one wears making a difference. Ha! Let us not forget Henry Louis Gates Jr….I doubt the Harvard professor wore a hoodie the night the cops arrested him in front of his home, he doesn’t look that deadly to me physique-wise, and the icing on the irony cake is his wife is White…
Apparently this tells me that whatever fears you have for your Black male relatives won’t end with adolescence, they will get stopped well into middle-age! Even with an education, a home in a nice neighborhood and a spouse from the hegemonic race.
We shouldn’t have to live in fear. I wish we could stop the Black on Black violence that is gang warfare, I wish we could get over the obstacle of prejudice and bias that awaits us when we better ourselves…why is that obstacle still there? Have we not helped build this nation? Have we not kept our loyalty in war against other countries?
This relationship we have, Blacks and Whites – in regards to bias, it won’t die down anytime soon. It doesn’t matter that there are Whites that sympathize with the atrocities Blacks face, the majority can’t give up what has benefitted them throughout the birth of the Americas, the “New World.” It is feared that another race will step up, and sweet heaven forbid if that new order does what Whites have done and then some. It is totally understandable to me. Being nice is equated with backing down.
If Columbus and other Europeans had kept harmony with the indigenous people, if African tribes kept peace amongst themselves at that time and other continents kept peace with whomever…what would the world be like? Would we have been a big, tan race of love and sunshine? Sigh.
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Linda,
I gave up on that troll when I heard about the verdict. I was afraid I would type something that would get myself banned from this blog. It seems like black people who are in pain is exactly when trolls come to rub salt into the wound hoping to make you do or say something you may regret. That fool in the other thread wanted to do just that by bringing Zimmerman up.
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Peanut, I feel your pain! I am so angry!!!!!!!!! This verdict confirmed all of my feelings about White AmeriKKKlan. Man, Zimmerman should be in hail!
@Linda
I agree and the trial told me that times change people haven’t. We still have racists in this society who want to bring this country down on it’s knees and start a race war. The verdict confirmed these things to me as a young Black woman in this country:
1) Black lives don’t matter to them because Black people aren’t important to them.
Last night on my Facebook status, all these White trolls kept on coming at me. They kept on telling me to get over it. After all, they don’t care when a N word gets killed. If Trayvon was White, they would have a different tune. Damn those hypocrites. Especially this racist White punk Tyler who kept on arguing with me. This idiot even thought Zimmerman was White even thought Zimmerman has brown skin!
2) The vast majority of White people in America are racists 70-80% of them are,
When I went on the comment sections on the sites and blogs about Zimmerman’s acquittal, many of the White commenters were siding with Zimmerman and calling Trayvon a thug and crap like that. One of my friends even said that one of the White commenters thought Trayvon wouldn’t have been killed if he didn’t sag his pants down low and have a gun. SMH, Trayvon didn’t sag his pants down low at all. Most of them were cold and insensitive.
I was right about MOST White Americans. Majority of them are racist.
3) That they are the superior race.
Yes I said it. That is why Trayvon didn’t matter to them. Trayvon was just a ****er in their eyes, nothing more, nothing less.
I know my post is intense but this is the truth. All Black commenters, beware of MOST White Americans. They aren’t to be trusted.
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Vick gets 2yrs for crimes against dogs. A black woman in florida gets 20yrs for firing warning shots. Zimmerman kills black teen and gets off free while all of white america cheers. The just us system of hateful white america at work. This is hate
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@ Jefe- completly agree with you regarding prosecuters. It is what I also alluded to in a previous post, but honestly…..I do believe it. What I would add-is that they have not only done this to black people, but also white people, women (just read article recently) and people in poverty black n white.
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yeah, Brothawolf, I know he wanted to start trouble
but that racist troll could have said “Good Morning” and I still would have went after him…I wanted to cheer myself up because he represented everything that I hated at the moment.
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And this ruling affected me personally because I have a 14 year old brother and my mother and I spoke about the ruling. My mother was upset and she said she had my brother to think about. I don’t want this happening to my little brother.
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@ linda and brothawolf
Yeah don’t let these trolls get to u, they want a reaction. ANd u gotta watch what u say because it can be used against u. now if a troll threatens u then u can take that to the fbi and get their arse.
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I don’t know if anyone posted this yet, but a man name Alex Fraser wrote an open letter to Zimmerman:
Alex Fraser – Dear George Zimmerman Open Letter
Dear George Zimmerman,
For the rest of your life you are now going to feel what its like to be a black man in America.
You will feel people stare at you. Judging you for what you think are unfair reasons. You will lose out on getting jobs for something you feel is outside of your control. You will believe yourself to be an upstanding citizen and wonder why people choose to not see that.
People will cross the street when they see you coming. They will call you hurtful names. It will drive you so insane some days that you’ll want to scream at the top of your lungs. But you will have to wake up the next day, put on firm look and push through life.
I bet you never thought that by shooting a black male you’d end up inheriting all of his struggles.
Enjoy your “freedom.”
Sincerely,
A black male who could’ve been Trayvon Martin
http://www.cafemom.com/group/115189/forums/read/18785270/Letter_to_George_Zimmerman_from_Alex_Fraser_do_not_read_if_you_dont_like_controversy?next=1#replies
I posted this link so that you all can read how the white female “moms” react to the letter
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I hope, abagond, banned that troll in the other thread. @ > : o O ) >
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@ adeen
Yes we all have family members we are going to worry even more about because of this. Its not just black males we have to worry about either but also ourselves and other young black girls. we screwed either way, if we don’t defend ourselves we dead, if we do defend ourselves we get locked up. so basically its leave this country or get forced back into slavery via the 13th amendment.
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@ sondis
what thread was this troll on
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@ Linda regarding open letter-Except one thing….he may just move to an all white neighborhood and unfortunately be the hero there and martyr elsewhere where he is not liked.
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mstoogood4yall:
“IS GEORGE ZIMMERMAN GUILTY” thread. @ : o l ) >
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“Thuy
@ Linda regarding open letter-Except one thing….he may just move to an all white neighborhood and unfortunately be the hero there and martyr elsewhere where he is not liked.”
Linda says,
Very true…he doesn’t really need to travel very far to do that either… he just needs to move a little bit north of Orlando, FL and he’ll be fine.
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i don’t see the trolls comments.
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the only troll i saw was the one on this thread earlier that everyone thankfully ignored
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“[Racism] Just don’t talk about it and it will go away.”
– – –
This sort of reminds me of how Soviet serial killer and cannibal Andrei Chikatilo easily found a large number of unsuspecting victims over a period of years, and how it was mostly due to the authorities in his city wilfully keeping the public uninformed of the crimes. Many lives would probably have been saved if locals had been notified early on and told to steer clear of areas where bodies had been found.
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@ linda
The open letter was on point, i knew the comments were going to be going on about why are u talking about race, instead of why did this man get off for murdering a child. instead of asking why does amerikkka continue to do this sheit and they stay being patriotic blindly. i pity them for being blind and celebrating in others pain, because that pain could very well be their pain one day, and i won’t laugh at them but i will not give a fk. So u won’t have to ask me how i feel when ish start happening to them as my answer will be no comment. They do not learn, when they practice these things on blacks they are next, but in their arrogance and white pride, they assume it cannot and will not happen to them. Hence the reason they are always shocked when something like sandy hook happens, i’m never shocked at any of this stuff. cointelpro was spying on blacks and planting false evidence, whites assumed that can’t happen to us. rofl now they are learning they are not immune to this stuff either, that is why some of them pathetically ask us to join them and say we are all victims of the government. Sheesh who u telling, but see i will not join with u as u would be ok if this just affected me and mine, no i will not be fooled this time.
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@Linda
That open letter to Zimmerman reminded we of a photo with a sign that said:
“Zimmermans now fear vigilantes with guns? Welcome to being Trayvon”
The Universe is strict about enforcing the law of action and reaction. Even if nobody ever tries to touch him he’ll be living in fear especially since he’s already a paranoid coward. Thoughts create reality and he created the very reality he feared the most. I’m only concerned that he’ll kill another innocent.
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Not trying to get off direction….but a fact that may not be known by some…Ho Chi Minh came to the U.S. to learn more about our democracy that he was inspired by as he was fighting for independence from the French in his country, only to find in disbelief the way this same county treated its black people and women. But the U.S pointed fingers at and demonized the “boogieman bad commies” for violating human rights of all things, and ended up going to war with Vietnam in part of their justification. Talk about hypocritical! Oh but wait…America, love it or leave it, right?
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Linda,
I’ve seen the comments on the site you’ve posted, and even though they are to be expected from a bunch of sheltered soccer moms, it’s still disappointing that those comments came from grown mothers.
The most common response I’ve heard was about blacks and their racism or rather black people making everything about race. They didn’t hold back on their racist denial and acrimonious venting about the reactions from the black community. It was like they wanted black people to accept that Trayvon Martin was wrong (in some lame way) and that we should, of course, get over it and move in.
Some people think we see Trayvon Martin as some kind of hero or saint. That’s BS. We know Trayvon was not “perfect”. We know he was no saint. Why? Because NO ONE is perfect or a saint, especially if you hold that title in the Catholic Church, but I digress.
Trayvon was a grim reminder of how racist this nation truly is. His murder, the reactions of his murder, the verdict and the reactions to that verdict are clear. We’ve seen it dozens of times. It’s the same result and the same message. There is no justice for black people in this country, and this country largely doesn’t want it. The Spirit of America prefers whiteness over justice. And even though Zimmerman is mixed (half-white) he got the royal treatment of white privilege.
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This has brought out so much including colorblind racism. Racism can continue to function like clockwork and whites can pretend not to see it because theyr’e colorblind. It’s like racism is playing hide and seek. It’s hiding in white people and seeking black people. It would be a childish game if it didn’t have such dire consequences.
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Sorry-better word- apalled. Ho Chi Minh was appalled by the U.S and its treatment and extreme hypocricy.
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The outcome of this trial makes me wonder if I should consider leaving this country. Having grown up with all the trials and tribulations as an Asian who didn’t fit in with the FOBs and always other-ed by whites, I feel like maybe I would be happier in Asia. I’m still thinking about it though.
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@Mstodgood4yall
I told the people on here thinks will get worse for Black people. And no one listened to me. I, as a young Black woman is thinking of leaving this country, I can’t take it anymore
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Brotherwolf,
when a white co-worker asked me what I thought the verdict would be, I said,” most likely he will be found “not guilty”… my co-worker said to me,”I know because all the evidence points to his innocence, right”… and
I replied, ” No, that’s not why I think so….it’s because there are 5 white women on that jury and I’m sorry, but I would never trust my life or my children’s lives in the hands of white women” … he was taken aback that I said it but to me, it’s true.. I’ve heard and seen my female, white co-workers in action
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@ adeen
everybody on here from trojanpam to peanut said it would get worse, the ones that don’t listen will perish. so anyway what does ur brother feel about all of this, does he still buy into the post racial utopia
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@Peanut
“it’s the same thing with racism, why do people lack such common sense when it comes to issues of racism…NOT talking about it will NOT make it go away and blaming the victim definitely will not!”
I really liked the bully analogy.
People’s poor fee-fees are more important than the actual act of racism and discrimination taking place in society! Currently, I live in Wonderbread Seattle so I always have to contend with some people who pat themselves on the back for not being like those “racist southerners.” gotta keep up appearances! Up here, they really loathe the south while ignoring the discrimination that still occurs up here in the PNW..and some even get upset or uncomfortable when I bring this up…but anyway…
What’s funny is when I try to bring this up with some white Americans there’s always deflection about how racist Europe is. Of course, I know racism is in Europe but why would I care about Europe when I currently live in the U.S. and have to deal with discrimination aimed towards me for being a black woman?! I have a bachelor’s and master’s, plus accumulated experience yet I know two white men who dropped out of college and they still got hired for two well known companies that should not be named (in my field). One of them even told me he didn’t think he’d get the job because he dropped out and the job required a degree!
I’m also a writer and many of my main characters are either black, mixed or latin@ and because I don’t have them in stereotypical roles I always get how are they able to afford that, or they’re too rich…etc…or either I should make them white to make them more “identifiable”.(yes, I’ve had people say this to me)
Sadly though, many years ago when Obama won, my father predicted that there would be some type of backlash–either overtly or through microaggressions. We see this in the form of laws/bills being pushed, i.e. Voting Rights, removing ethnic studies in Arizona,etc. But even before Obama, I remember an incident back in Florida (surprise, surprise) when some of the blacks complained that they were told that the voting polls had closed and they felt restricted, etc. when Bush “won” the first time. It was mentioned briefly in the media, but then it was downplayed.
That should’ve been a sign of what’s to come. The only time we heard it again was when you-know-who were complaining about the New Panther party standing outside of some voting centers in Pennsylvania(I think) with guns. It almost seems like since Obama took office, everything’s coming out in the open, there’s even no attempt to be subtle about it. We see this with certain politicians coming out and saying that “Blacks liked being slaves”
And for the people that eagerly paint Trayvon Martin as a thug and criminal, can we really be surprised? They’ve been brainwashed into the “black brute” and all “blacks are dangerous”
The scary thing is, my father told me some black people are turning over their guns in exchange for laptops.
Some weeks ago I watched the doc “Black Power Mixtapes” and Angela Davis said that every day her father and the other men of her community would stand guard as racist whites would come into THEIR neighborhood and make threats because Bull Connor would tell people to “Kill a N___. There’s a saying that history does repeat itself. To the people that want to naively believe we live in a post-racial America, better wake up and stop drinking from the delusional cup.
@Kiwi
“He’ll find a good job and no vigilante can punish him because now the law is on his side.”
I found this little gem about vigilantism and the American psyche:
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/07/14/zimmerman-walks-free-as-gop-continues-plan-to-replace-cops-with-vigilantes/
I’m with the commenter that said get your passport ready. I do have a passport and for the longest time I’ve always said that I wanted to leave the U.S. for a bit.I also have a TESOL certif. and have been contemplating using it to teach English somewhere, but I don’t know…I remember back in the 20s, 30s, and 40s many blacks did leave the U.S. because they were getting fed up…I wonder if it could happen again
*Sorry for my long post/rant–just fed up and tired*
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@ Linda
That is crazy. wow they always assume everything is right and that not guilty means innocent. rofl, so when casey anthony got off i know they didn’t think she was innocent i know they didn’t think she had absolutely nothing to do with her childs death. i wouldn’t trust my life or my future kids lives to a white woman either. This is why if/when i have kids they will not be going to public school. we cannot allow the enemy to indoctrinate our youth and “teach” them, if they can’t learn about racism how can they teach kids, when they refuse to learn themselves. Of course the white male would be shocked that u don’t trust the sweet innocent white woman.smh Naw i don’t trust them because that is where white men come from, and kids spend most of their time with the mother so they aren’t getting all their racist views from just their white fathers. Let us remember obomer said his white grandmother was racist towards him. And why would white women be bystanders, all this white supremacy stuff was created for them, they even more important than white men are now. Don’t believe me just watch the news, when white women are killed or kidnapped they are more reported on than anybody. when riots happened the most severe ones happened because of allegations from a white woman.
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In other news, Abagond, have you seen FRUITVALE STATION yet? I’m pretty sure it’s been released in New York. My hopes of seeing it released in theaters where I live are next to nil.
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The family must be going through hell all over again. I hope they can lean on each other for comfort.
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He was found not guilty because there wasn’t enough reasonable evidence to support the initial charge and lack of understanding of the latter charge of manslaughter. It’s a shame because he should at least be in jail for manslaughter. but murder was an over charge.
I blame people like spike lee, al sharpton and many other race baiters for pressing the prosecution to go with this weak case from the start. If only they put the manslaugther charge earlier as there was some confusion to the definition of manslaugther.
But this case was never about race, so it’s a shame that it was made into one.How is this even a case about race anyway? Just because a non black killed a black person?
@mstoogood4yall
“i wouldn’t trust my life or my future kids lives to a white woman either”
Stupid and racist.
How is it that we as black people can be annoyed and angered by the distrust against us and then turn around and do it too? Being a victim of racism doesn’t excuse racism.
This is why people say blacks imagine racism, because they really do. This blog is full of ignorant black people. This isn’t how you get equality people(making generalizations). It is quite presumptuous and racist(and sexist) of all of you to assume because they are white women means they can only find if not guilty. Did anyone you even watch the actual trials or just MSNBC commentary?
I shake my head at blogs and comments like these. By the looks of it a lot of the posters so far are people from older generations(figures)
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@ Peanut, I am in total and absolute agreement with your sentiments towards POC leaving that kray kray state (aka Florida), as I used to live there-and even though my fam is mixed, trust and believe that did noT shield us in any from the vile and rampant racism that was, and still very much is running rampant throughout that region! @ Muse, it is certainly looking as those without passports had better get started in looking for future alternative place to live-because I just to think what may possibly during and after Big O leaves office!
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..because I shudder to think about what may possibly happen, during, and after “Big O” leaves office..typo
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[…] "I thought Zimmerman would get off. I am on record on this blog saying that. So it came as no shock, no surprise. But still my bitterness got a little bit deeper. Just as it did after Troy Davis, after Katrina – and on and on all the way back to Eleanor Bumpurs, an old, unarmed black woman shot dead by the police in Harlem nearly 30 years ago. Each one a little knife in my heart, twisting, twisting, twisting. By twisted people." […]
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My heart goes out to the black community who have been lied to and used by demagogues and race baiters to get riled up over this case. Zim looks like a cross between Hugo Chavez and Obama, and is descended from Peruvian Indians who were decimated by the Spanish, but he’s still an evil “white” person. Forget that the standard is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”. Actually, don’t forget it. That standard must be racist. The jury members must be racist to apply the law, when what happened was “wrong”.
Abagond, you mentioned that you are concerned for your sons, so I guess you, and many others, can look beyond the actual law. Or maybe you can try to get your sons to help change the law, so we don’t have such an unreasonable standard (guilty beyond a reasonable doubt). Instead, we can just do what feels right and is politically correct at the time, and clearly Zim is a world class a-hole (don’t think anyone has disagreed with that), so we can be sure he committed murder, even if the events happened mostly as he says and some witnesses thought they saw, just like Emmett Till, because what happened to Martin is EXACTLY the same, with KKK and all!
One more thing to forget.. the 1000+ messages in Martin’s phone relating to criminal activities, some of them violent, that were EXCLUDED from evidence. Get back to mourning him as a great hero and martyr.
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I was disappointed but I can’t honestly say I was surprised. Hatred runs deep in this country.
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I’d like to address one thing to my black sisters and brothers trying to figure out why we are still in this situation. Every successful revolution, every successful overthrowing of an empire requires many things. We’ll stay in the same spot more or less until circumstances change. Its not enough to have a will to freedom and good leaders. We need larger numbers, access to resources and specific education, a weakened economy, another group of oppressed people to rebell (like the native americans) and either a contagious disease that disportionately affects whites or an overseas aggressor attacking on Amerikkkan soil.
Unless those circumstances come together our situation won’t really change. The only other possibly workable solutions are the peaceful ones that we are frustrated with or leaving and taking our chances elsewhere.
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@biff:
Your whole sarcastic post misses a fundamental, obvious point. If Zimmerman had been black and Trayvon white, Zimmerman would be on death row now – regardless of any possible criminality or criminal associations in the victims past.
Zimmerman walked because he was white. If he’d been black – even a law-abiding, black neighbourhood watch guy – he would have been nailed.
The case is part of an undeniable, uncomfortable bias pattern in the criminal justcice system. Black=bad guy / white=innocent victim of circumstance.
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A vigilante arms himself, confronts an innocent youth aggressively, in a manner that initiates conflict, and then shoots that young man. When I was in law school I was taught that this set of facts supports a manslaughter or murder conviction every time. It’s like rear-ending somebody with a car.
The fact that this man obtained a verdict of not guilty, that fact should not exist in America.
As far as I know, the only living witness to the moments surrounding the shooting itself is George Zimmerman, who did not testify. Therefore, this case was built on police investigatory evidence and on circumstantial evidence.
As to the police investigatory evidence, it was evident from the start that the police softballed this investigation based on a predisposition to find Zimmerman innocent. For example, the police never checked Trayvon’s cell phone to see whether he was talking to anybody at the time of the confrontation, and thus they did not know about Rachel Jeantel. The officers have of course come under intense criticism since then, and not surprisingly the pig who lead the investigation was defiant and combative with the prosecution at the trial.
It is well known that police investigations play a huge role in subsequent criminal convictions. There have been many studies of the effects of coercive police interrogation techniques — the “Central Park Five” case being one of the more notorious examples. But I’m not sure how many studies have been done concerning police softball investigations.
As to the circumstantial evidence, it’s tough to win a criminal prosecution using circumstantial evidence, but it does happen. The jury is free to believe or disbelieve statements by witnesses. It is free to disregard evidence, or to draw inferences from evidence.
It is the inference part that interests me. We know there was a confrontation between Trayvon and Zimmerman, and it appears that Zimmerman was punched and perhaps knocked down. There is no direct evidence whether Trayvon gave Zimmerman a well-deserved couple of punches and was getting up, or whether Trayvon was a berserker wailing on Zimmerman in an attempt to kill him, which is what the defense contended.
Zimmerman’s own account of this confrontation, filtered through the softball police investigation, formed the bulk of the circumstantial evidence on this point. Zimmerman’s account was filled with inconsistencies and lies. Further, on the fundamental point, nobody seems to have asked him: “How did you manage to unholster your gun from a hip holster if Trayvon was kneeling over you beating the shit out of you?”
The jury was free to see these inconsistencies and lies and infer that Zimmerman was lying about the whole encounter. This conclusion would have been supported by Rachael Jeantel’s testimony.
It’s election to believe the Zimmerman version is what is interesting to me. The choice to believe this version to me speaks to the mindset of white America, the “Black Brute” trope that Agabond has set out on this blog.
Conservative blogosphere and Twitter is echoing with versions of “Trayvon was a thug and went out like a thug.” That pretty much sums it up. In the eyes of white American, Trayvon needed killing. It’s a disgusting position, but one that does reveal exactly where America is in terms of so-called “race relations” right now.
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@biff,
No. Reasonable doubt IS racists because a person can actually doubt a scenario biased on racial prejudice. In other words, if a white person believes black people are mostly criminals they would believe it reasonable to doubt that a black teenager was simply walking home from a convenience store.
And one must also remember that despite old cell phone messages and Facebook posts that Zimmerman did not know about when he stopped to stalk Trayvon, there is absolutely NO evidence that Trayvon was doing anything illegal that night. THAT is why this is seen as a racial issue. The assumption of guilt without the existence of evidence. Trayvon was guilty because of the way he looked.
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Anne said: “Reasonable doubt IS racists because a person can actually doubt a scenario biased on racial prejudice. In other words, if a white person believes black people are mostly criminals they would believe it reasonable to doubt that a black teenager was simply walking home from a convenience store.”
Absolutely right. The (deliberately) conditioned reflex felt by many white people when shown an instance of black person vs white person conflict is to assume the fault lies with the black person and to collect evidence based on that presumption.
The same thing happens in the UK.
Over here some years back we had an 18 year-old black lad named Stephen Lawrence murdered by racist scum. He was a straight-as-a-die, hard-working student. It took 20 years to convict just two of the group who attacked him. Stephen had no criminal past to be dragged up to “justify” the attack on him so, instead, the police implemented surveillance on his family and other activists who campaigned for justice, hoping to gather ammunition for a smear campaign.
Emphasis: Stephen Lawrence was totally innocent of, and not associated with, any criminal activity (except as a victim).
His case has had profound impact on British society and many aspects of our police and legal system. Small consolation though it is, a very few, very small things have been recognised and changed as a result.
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[…] George Zimmerman is found not guilty (abagond.wordpress.com) […]
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This thread is about to get littered with crazy screennames regular posters have never seen before…
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I forgot to add that this case had one quite unusual aspect: the prosecution lacked the support of the police. In fact, the police had determined that Zimmerman should not have been charged. They were defiant and hostile toward the prosecution.
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Rick Marauderdad Buddhuu Cadger
@biff:
Your whole sarcastic post misses a fundamental, obvious point. If Zimmerman had been black and Trayvon white, Zimmerman would be on death row now – regardless of any possible criminality or criminal associations in the victims past.
————
I respectfully, disagree, Rick. Maybe you should try talking with some lawyers who deal with this kind of thing (and yes, I do legal work). If some witnesses think they saw the black neighborhood watch guy being beaten down by a young white guy, dressed in a hoodie (at least looks like a thug), the guy should not get convicted of murder, because they couldn’t prove the necessary intent beyond a reasonable doubt, in light of the evidence available and the stand your ground law. IF THEY DID FIND THAT BLACK GUY GUILTY, that would be the circumstance to have black people getting angry (go find that case if you want, though you’d have to ignore counterexamples). Not where the Florida jury correctly applied Florida law (whether or not you agree with it) in at least not convicting of murder.
Also, this mention of black and white is pure BS. I’ve grown up in primarily Hispanice areas, but NEVER heard of a “white hispanic”.. if such a thing exists, it would be a dude from Spain or Argentina and not this guy. So you and the media bringing up “black” and “white” is actually totally inappropriate and factually inaccurate.
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@Rick, You know this how? Wasn’t OJ acquitted?
@Anne That doesn’t make the concept of reasonable doubt racist, that just makes that person who makes such a basis racist. Than that isn’t actually reasonable doubt, just someone being racist.
@biff: Well technically hispanic is only an ethnicty and not a race (going my the whole mongo/negro/caucasoid model), but most people in america don’t think of what he call hispanics as a non race.
I wonder, would anyone call mario lopez white? Spaniards aren’t hispanic, they are eurpoeans
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Rick:
Seems you are from the UK. As a counterpoint to this travesty of race-baiting by the media (which is why this post being on-topic), consider the case of the UK soldier recently beheaded. UK and most US news sources deliberately did not mention the attacker was black and the victim white. They did not mention that a beheading occurred. And they did not mention that the attacker said this was all in the name of Allah and that such attacks would continue. These are very basic facts that were intentionally suppressed so that the masses would not get upset.
The media is racist and you are too. It sickens me. Your country is going down the tubes. I hope that you live to see it.
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Blanc2:
The burden of proof was on the prosecution. The jury did not need to believe Zimmerman to acquit. A person who attended law school ought to understand this basic principle.
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A travesty of justice, again. Was hoping for a different outcome.
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@ biff
Re: the media race-baiting meme
1. Just so you know, white people kill unarmed blacks all the time. Most killings never get anywhere near the attention that the Trayvon Martin case got. Not even close. I do posts on such killings from time to time, particularly those that are clearly racist or where there is a miscarriage of justice:
At first Trayvon Martin was just another one of those – until the 911 tape came out. Then the national press picked it up. Then white people started paying attention.
If the press was race-baiting, there are tons of cases they could make a big deal about – but they do not. Trayvon Martin is not even the worst one.
2. Black people saw the racism in this case BEFORE it was picked up by the national press. This blog gives proof of that. Blacks do not need Al Sharpton or MSNBC to see it – only those with whitewashed minds do.
3. The race-baiting meme is part of WHITE DENIAL, a way for whites to discredit those that call out the racism in the Zimmerman case.
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biff said:
“Seems you are from the UK. As a counterpoint to this travesty of race-baiting by the media (which is why this post being on-topic), consider the case of the UK soldier recently beheaded. UK and most US news sources deliberately did not mention the attacker was black and the victim white. They did not mention that a beheading occurred. And they did not mention that the attacker said this was all in the name of Allah and that such attacks would continue. These are very basic facts that were intentionally suppressed so that the masses would not get upset.”
Nonsense. The ITV website showed footage of one of the killers speaking to camera before the shootings and arrests. The BBC quoted the Islamic phrases used by the perpetrators.
Specific, graphic details were not included, but they rarely are in UK mainstream news broadcasting.
As for what the US media did… I really wouldn’t know how it was reported there. As you observed, I am in the UK.
biff said:
“Your country is going down the tubes”.
Way to wheel out a favourite, cliched fascist war cry.
The Islamist thing is a red-herring and off topic here. So there are some Islamist extremist lunatics. There are lunatics in all parts of society. They don’t speak for anyone who doesn’t allow them to.
biff said:
“The media is racist and you are too.”
The media in the UK is racist, but I think it is trying to balance itself better.
As for me being racist… Meh. Whatever. There is an imbalance; a plague of injustice that favours white over black. Is it racist to be uncomfortable, embarrassed and pissed off about that? My white sister has a criminal record. She is never stop/searched by the police. My dark-skinned, mixed-race stepson has no record, doesn’t hang with gangs, obeys the law and works for a living. He gets stopped.
Abagond said in another post that Americans are either racists or recovering racists. I think the the same is true here in the UK. I accept that I’m likely to be no different from anyone else. We all have room for improvement.
Denial isn’t going to improve anything very much.
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Abagond, alright, I understand that if you label something as a “meme” it may mean you don’t have to discuss specific facts (it’s therefore an effective dismissal technique). However, what if the jury actually reached the correct legal conclusion based on the available evidence and relevant law without respect to race (i.e., they could not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that “murder” had taken place), would you still say there was racism in the Zimmerman case (apart from what Zimmerman’s own motives may have been–and we’ll never know if we could have also followed a white guy dressed like a thug). If so, why?
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By the way, I would tend to agree that both white and black jurors tend to show racial preferences in their decisions, and I don’t doubt this could negatively affect many black defendants facting white jurors (or white defendants facting black jurors). What I’m saying is that that doesn’t necessarily mean that the jury reached the wrong decision “legally speaking” in this particular case, and I haven’t seen anything really persuasive in that regard. Maybe “morally” speaking, Zim at least deserved manslaughter.
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But the media was Race baiting with the altered 911 tapes that is why this case got so much attention. To deny the media majorly race baited this case would be ignorant.
How can you say it was racism when you don’t know the man? It was stupid yes, but racist? That is a serious accusation so one should have a good bit of proof to back up such a claim.
Not every time a non black (white) person commits a crime against a black person means it was fueled by racism. Those stories you posted are full of injustices, but are they racially motivated? That is just jumping to conclusions and racial prejudice.
BTW many non whites don’t buy into the race baiting BS.
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To say the jury only based this case on race ignores that they just may have actually acted looked at the evidence and came to their conclusion. What if this verdict was reached when not guilty and the races were switched?
Do you feel the verdict was in line with the evidence? To you did the prosecution prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was ill will to kill?
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I phrased part of my comment poorly. I’m not trying to say racism doesn’t exist, but it is a serious accusation to make, so unless someone is actually saying something racist one should be more reserved in throwing around racist. Sure all of those guys are major asshole,but racist is a moot.
Not to say I’m denying a pattern. As young black man who has lived a relatively sheltered life and high standard of what qualifies as racist, I’ve never been one to experience racism personally, but this GZ trial has opened my eyes to potential problems for me and so have the other articles you’ve linked. but i refuse to by cynical of whites.
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He got out of his car with a gun to confront someone who he’d claimed (on the 911 tape) is suspicious, was looking at him threateningly and probably was ‘on drugs’. Unless I was very open to using my gun I wouldn’t engage after making such an assessment of a stranger especially when I’ve already called the police, I didn’t witness a crime, and individual is running AWAY.
Then the murderer wasn’t even charged for over a month then acquitted in a kangaroo court. The term race-baiting is just white racists rubbing shit under black people’s nose and saying it doesn’t stink. Stop wasting your time.
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@Charles, when you come up for air from tossin that egg salad, do take some time take a gander at how of your porcelain idols REALLY see you:
(http://youtu.be/IHMo64KSApQ)
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I’m a truck driver, so I have plenty of time to listen to the radio each day, and I spent a lot of time on CNN radio and the like listening to the testimony and the various arguments made by both sides. In the end, the prosecution simply didn’t prove its case. That said, neither did the defense, really, but in the American justice system, that burden only falls on the prosecution.
If we accept the narrative that George Zimmerman chased down Trayvon Martin and attacked him for being suspicious, then yes, I think that he should have been found guilty. However, another possibility is that Zimmerman did stop following Martin when asked to, and was then ambushed by Martin in a surprise attack (which is what he claimed). Under that premise, then self-defense is a completely legitimate argument.
I imagine the truth lies somewhere between those two extremes. Where, exactly, is impossible to pin down. Unfortunately, since Zimmerman is innocent until the prosecution can prove otherwise, there was very little chance he would ever be convicted of anything. That’s simply analysis of the facts of the case.
Some, though, have cited racism as the most likely reason for the acquittal. I find that a huge stretch. I’m supposed to believe that five white women and one black one were all so hopelessly racist that they ignored obvious evidence and freed Zimmerman? That assumes that not one of them was willing to stick to even a manslaughter conviction and hang the jury. If even one of them had dissented there could have been a retrial. Instead, you assume five random women of various backgrounds were all blindly racist?
I’ve seen arguments here that all white people are obviously racist. Based on what? The color of their skin? There’s a deep irony there.
I know that there are times where the system does not work. Sometimes its because of incompetence on the part of those prosecuting or defending, or because of procedural errors. Yes, sometimes its because of bias. Looking at the few facts we have, though, this doesn’t seem to be one of those times.
In the end, this is all a vicious circle. If you choose to distrust and hate the system and the white people around you, it will be evident in your actions and your attitudes. That contempt will be show, and they will return it; not because they are racist, but because they can sense your seething anger. Ultimately, believing that you can trust no one is a self-fullfiling prophecy.
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You sir, made my day! Well said
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Meanwhile, for those who can psychologically bare-up under the weight of reality as it is, here’s a post at DK, interestingly enough written by a non-black person, titled; ” Race and Prejudice in America Today – a Series: Image, Perception & Racism”.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/15/1223721/-Race-a
Side note: I also got the first YT vid from one of the commentators on the given DK link.
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Randy, one of the charges the jury could have returned a verdict on was manslaughter. The specific definition varies by state, but the basic idea is reckless conduct that could have been avoided by the defenant but, because the defendant chose not to avoid the conduct, somebody ended up dead. There was plenty of evidence in this case to support a verdict of manslaughter. Zimmerman made a series of avoidable choices that created a situation that resulted in the death of an innocent boy. In fact, the jury had to reach to make inferences to return a “not guilty” on the manslaughter charge.
Compare, for example, the Trevor Dooley verdict, a manslaughter conviction vs. the defendant on facts that were more sympathetic to the defendant than the facts here.
Most commentators here, including you, misunderstand what it means to present evidence of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. As noted, criminal convictions are obtained all the time on circumstantial or otherwise iimperfect evidence, because a jury is free to draw inferences from circumstantial evidence to eliminate reaonsable doubt. “Beyond reasonable doubt” does not mean “beyond every scintilla of doubt.”
It will be interesting to see the civil wrongful death case. In that case, Zimmerman will not be able to refuse to testify. A skilled cross examiner will eat his fat pathetic ass for dinner.
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[…] this essay, he wrote: ”And it seemed like every black person was turning his clock back to 1955. […]
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I will end with this:
“Who taught you to hate the texture of your hair? Who taught you to hate the color of your skin? Who taught you to hate the shape of your nose and the shape of your lips? Who taught you to hate yourself from the top of your head to the soles of your feet? Who taught you to hate your own kind? Who taught you to hate the race that you belong to so much so that you don’t want to be around each other?” (Malcolm X – May 22, 1962, Los Angeles)
No need to respond to me @Charles, rather, take some time to reflect/introspect these questions, if you’re psychologically able that is, long enough to warmly, proudly embrace your blackness rather than desperately and neurotically trying to shun it.
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My brothers and I are close, really close. I told my brothers that if this happened to any of their sons: do not call the police, do not tell anyone, call myself and the other brother first. The appearance of the shooter does not matter because it is irrelevant to his death. If the perpetrator dies before we can deal with him, then someone in his immediate family will take his place. Anyone. Even his children.
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Here’s my question; could the this unabashed national disdain for black people be part of a larger agenda? I.e.:
(http://youtu.be/efrTSnvhll0)
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@ phoebeprunelle
“This thread is about to get littered with crazy screennames regular posters have never seen before…”
How right u are, i just encourage my brothers and sisters to ignore them, all they are here for is a reaction, i say don’t give them the satisfaction.
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@ Goldfire
Please put your YouTube links in parentheses. This thread could well go over 300 comments.
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@ goldfire
Yep, Our brothers and sisters in the motherland better wake up.
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This is mindless.
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With this desician , another lane has been paved on the 10 lane highway of racial division in the USA, and the message to black Americans isnt a good one…I sure cant expect them to trust a system that cant break this down and show that a bully who self appoints himself neighborhood watch, carries a gun and cant even identify himself as neihborhood watch in their first verbal encounter, and take this shooter to task for his recless behavior..
I do say , to think this is just black and white would be a mistake, but , it is very much about attitudes against black Americans in America…but this is very much about the new dynamic that is emerging i the USA, that includes Hispanic Americans, and another high immigrant community, Asian Americans, and how it breaks down in the mix…which isnt stereotypicly one way or another, but a complex mix of points of view.
Florida hispanic voters vote concervativly many times, I dont think you could say they automaticly take one side or another in this, it depends on their background etc,and the Hispancic presence is part of this trial
Its interesting to note that both Zimmerman and Martin used derrogatory racial terms describing each other on their phone calls which just speaks to the racial division that hangs over the USA anyway, and is at the root of this problem..these young men angrily confronted each other…Zimmerman couldnt even identify right away he is with neighborhood watch…he was looking for trouble
The thing is, the racial discusion is very high in the USA, without it, there might have been no trial, and at the very least, this needed to be scrutinised…it could have been swept under the table with no attention at all…but, for sure, the hightened discusion brings stress.
You can go to another country, hey I did, but , you may find even more racism and less hightened discussion…Brazil just went through a lot of protests, but none of it mentioned racism, and racism in Brazil is as bad if not worse than the USA, there is no hightened discission in Brazil, but more brown and black people get killed by police in Sao Paulo by the police than all people killed by police in the USA
Peanut, I dont think you should postphone a trip to South Beach to boycott Florida….South Beach has a tremendous black American presence, they come en masse as tourists, and there are hip hop weekends that bring a lot of black Americans to South Beach…as soon as you get out of South Beach,things do start changing, but black Americans have a stake in South Beach, and rather than cutting yourself off from that, you ought to be able to go enjoy that and make your feelings known about this trial in another way…black Americans are not going to stop coming to South Beach, so, why not enjoy what could be a great trip for yourself
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@ Retribution,
Yeah, considering that’s exactly how FOX news would LOVE black people to react, I’m hard pressed to believe you’re black at all. Thanks for playing. 🙂
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@abagond,
Okay, will do. 🙂
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I’ll tell you why it’s mindless. Because the government puts out “Talking points” and you are all following this like sheep.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPepWP5czn4)
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@Abagond
I would like to add to my earlier post by saying that if this could have been proven to be a racist crime, I would have loved to have seen Zimmerman get what he deserved. Which would have been no less than what he did to Trayvon. IMO, if you kill someone based on race, you should suffer the same. But all these people bringing up old cases is ridiculous. Zimmermans actions were HIS. Past cases have nothing to do with that. Also, that comment being acquitted by women who would have clutched their purses when Trayvon walked by is stupid. Nowadays, women of any race need to clutch their purse when ANYONE walks by. I clutch mine in broad daylight when white teenage girls walk by me! I can’t wait til the civil case. Like I said, even with the issue of race aside, his actions resulted in the death of a child and I hope he is found guilty in a civil case.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jan_Pawel_and_Quiana_Jenkins_Pietrzak
This is one of the worst race crimes I’ve ever seen and I barely remember hearing anything about it. Don’t get me wrong, the ones responsible will serve their time, but there’s no question whether this was murder or that it was racially based. Unlike the TM case.
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@abagond
That was just one link that I found. Not posting all the others. But some don’t list it as a racial crime while others include the racially based info. Just gotta do your research.
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Irony. The use of words to convey the opposite meaning. Not to be confused with the word hypocracy. Dictionaries are useful things.
Anyway, the funny thing about pointing out that not trusting a corrupt system (group of people) is a self fulfilling prophecy, is how the same can be said about the people running the system. Or has the fact that a young black teenager being shot dead because he was seen as dangerous already been forgotten.
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@Peanut
“I’m getting tired of the way some white people keep saying that black people keep racism alive by talking about the injustice and discrimination we face…”
White America is more interested in ignoring racial issues than confronting them because to confront them means having to admit to a number of realities that would not be congruent with their high perception of themselves. White people view themselves as well intentioned, heroic and powerful. It is an old narrative within White culture as evinced in the “White savior” trope.
Take the novel A Princess of Mars in which the hero, John Carter, is a confederate veteran that mysteriously arrives on Mars and puts an end to its civil war (an eerie yet unsublte commentary by all means) and becomes a Martian prince. One of the initial descriptions of John Carter states that even the slaves on earth found John to be a remarkable man. Whites view themselves as great and have the distorted view that others share that perception.
Any conversation about racism will ultimately undermine the illusion of White greatness and innocence. So they don’t want to think about how Christopher Columbus initiated a genoicide or how he never landed on the North American continent in the first place, because that is not the delusion they subscribe to. They don’t want to think about the impact that centuries of White led tyranny has done to establish the context that informs the social ills for many people and regions of the world. White denial is in the interest of preserving their delusions. White Americans are somnabulists, walking through a dream and they are loathed to be woken from their slumber, lest that dream come to an end.
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I really dont think this is over. There is to far many eyes on this for it to be so, or maybe it is the non-american in me that think this?
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You cant really say rest in peace Trayvon 😦
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http://www.slate.com/blogs/crime/2013/07/10/george_zimmerman_trial_trayvon_martin_s_shooter_is_probably_going_to_walk.html?wpisrc=most_viral
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Honestly I hope White America pays for this. They better. Jeremiah Wright was right when he said God damn America! I don’t understand why White Americans want us to trust them. I don’t trust MOST White Americans at all. And I don’t need to. Jeremiah Wright was right when he said that American’s chickens are coming home to roost. Yes, they are. in fact, White America is going to pay for all of their sins and errors that they have done to Blacks, minorities and the world.
And this is my narrative that I wrote in school about White America:
”White America will and are paying for the sins they committed. White America has mistreated Blacks for centuries and continue to do so to this day. White America stole land from Mexicans and killed off Native Americans and took their land. They served as a imperialistic power over third world nations, exploiting and taking over their natural resources. They took the Bible out of their schools and legalized abortion. White America promotes the filthy, godless industry of Hollyweird. Americans recklessly spend money on things that didn’t need which led to the Housing bubble collapsing and Great Recession started. The White media promoting White beauty as the standard and degrading the beauty of Black women. Grass root groups such as the Tea Party rose when Obama became president to protest his policies and spew their racial biases against the president. Gay marriage is soon set to be the law of the land. White America fighting a meaningless war in Afghanistan based on lies that former President Bush made up. The racist education system doesn’t adequately teach students what they need to learn to survive and compete in this world. The prison system is overloaded with Black males and Latino males, which many of them are there for petty crimes. The issue of guns is a big issue in this country. And the effects of Obamacare might either positively or negatively affect White America. ”
I am so upset right now. Zimmerman should be in jail. Without many Whites on his side, I don’t know why they side with Zimmerman. All I can say is I don’t trust 70%-80% of White Americans and I probably never will. And I don’t need to trust them.
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I mea with. Most Whites in America aren’t to be trusted. Only a few of them are nice
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Kidnapped Girl Rescued By Black Teen On Bike Temar Boggs
( http://youtu.be/Js_RQHKL_HQ )
Temar looks like he could be about 17, don’t ya think?
Interestingly, the YT clip titled “Temar Boggs: Teen Boys Help Find Abducted Girl Jocelyn Rojas,” which had the most views, was blocked on copyright grounds. I guess they didn’t want the story to go viral.
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@ barchan
YEs it is over all they can do is file a civil lawsuit and get some money, but zimmerman will not face jail time for this. Some ppl are trying to get federal civil rights charges but i highly doubt that will happen.
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@ Goldfire
That is great, but u know the media will not show this, as they just love showing black males as aggressive not heroes. The only way they would show it would be if he was acting like charles ramsay and gave an animated interview. That is good for him, but i can’t help but think about how that black woman asked for help when her sons were drowning during hurricane sandy and they refused to help her.
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@ Adeen
Girl u bold if u turned that paper in rofl lmbao. U may be suspended and they may alert the fbi and sheit and be like add her to cointelpro add her to the list right along with assata shakur. You know they don’t like to hear the truth, undiluted. ALl i can say adeen is don’t show them how u feel, we gotta get our poker faces together. THat is why they thought we would riot, they think they know us. time to flip the script, they don’t know us, no matter how much they study us. We must act like we don’t know anything and tell them nothing.
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@Adeen:
From what you say about school and from the tone of your writing you seem to be a young person.
I’m not in the USA, so I’m really not qualified to assess things are there, but please don’t start out in your adult life thinking that an overwhelming majority of white people hate black people. There are plenty of us who actually like the fact that there is variety amongst people. Conditioning goes deep though, and I’m sure even those of us who feel that way have to be on guard against falling for the stereotypes and negative generalisations that our parents believed, and that some people would still like us to believe.
It would be crass and stupid of me to deny that there is a huge racism problem – apparently especially in the USA. It is real and it is shameful. It happens in my country too.
But there are plenty of us who hate that, and who will fight against it beside you if you’ll have us.
(And I don’t mean because we’re the self aggrandizing heroes and white saviours described by Lwanda – who surely do exist – but simply because some of us recognise something bad when we see it.)
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Check out this article i fished from CNN:
Why should blacks trust the U.S Justice?
Editor’s note: Nicole Austin-Hillery is the Director and Counsel of the Washington Office of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
(CNN) — In the iconic film, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch, a white lawyer defending a black man accused of attempting to rape a white woman in the deep South, is delivering his closing argument to an all-white-male jury: “In this country, our courts are the great levelers … in our courts, all men are created equal,” he says.
Like the fictional defendant in the film, black America knows all too well that in this country, the promise of equal justice for all is often a hollow one. That is never more true than in cases where a black man or boy is killed by a non-black.
There will be much debate in the coming days about whether the not guilty verdict in the Zimmerman self-defense trial was the right or wrong outcome. Experts will analyze the strategy, tactics and performance of the prosecutors and the defense attorneys, seeking to explain it. This, however, will miss the bigger and more important point: In truth, when black boys and men are killed by non-blacks, more often than not, justice will not be served.
Nicole Austin-Hillery
Nicole Austin-Hillery
Many black parents will try to explain to their children, especially their sons, what to make of the verdict, and they may be at a loss for words. How is it possible that a black child, walking where he had a right to walk, doing absolutely nothing wrong, could be pursued, confronted and ultimately shot dead by a neighborhood watch volunteer — and the killer escape punishment?
LZ Granderson: Trayvon could have been my son
White America cannot conceive of such a thing happening to its children, nor can it imagine that, were such a travesty to occur, the killer would escape punishment. But for black America, Trayvon Martin is the latest name on a long list of African-American men and boys whose non-black killers escaped justice in America’s courts — a list that runs from Emmett Till to Amadou Diallo to Oscar Grant to Sean Bell.
The George Zimmerman Trial: Not Guilty
Jones: Dress now in tux to buy Skittles?
A Special Preview of CNN’s “Crossfire”
Often, the killers are never even charged and brought to trial, which is precisely the course that the Zimmerman case would have taken were it not for the protests of African-Americans and others across the country.
Waldman: Zimmerman case echoes issues of race, guns
There was a time in this nation’s history, not so very long ago, when black America looked to the courts, particularly its federal courts, for justice, and received it, most notably in the area of civil rights. The courts, particularly the Supreme Court, were places where black America’s rights were validated and vindicated.
Now, our courts are places where black America’s rights are often eviscerated.
Black America’s belief in the possibility of receiving justice from our legal system is eroded by every verdict that fails to hold a killer who is not black accountable for the death of a black man or boy.
I was at the mall in my predominantly African-American community doing late-night shopping when the verdict was read. Like the Black store clerks who waited on me, I did not expect that Zimmerman would be found guilty, but I did harbor that hope.
Brazile: Doing what’s right not just about law
Now, my heart is heavy, not merely because Zimmerman was acquitted, but also because we as a nation have yet to make Atticus Finch’s words ring true. Until we do — until our courts are really “the great levelers” in which “all men are created equal,” African-Americans killed by non-blacks will not find justice in a system that fails to demand accountability for their lost lives.
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@ sondis
” delivering his closing argument to an all-white-male jury: “In this country, our courts are the great levelers … in our courts, all men are created equal,” he says.”
Yeah that is also what their founding fathers said while owning slaves.
He got his gun back, so ppl need to be careful. no charges with stick because his dad is a judge.
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no charges will stick….. typo
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mstoogood4yall
The Dept. Of Justice is looking into a civil rights case, against the killer Zimmerman.
I hope they make a solid case against him.
Then there is a possibility that the martin family, will bring forth a civil suit or wrongful death suit, against George Zimmerman.
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@mstoogood4yall,
You said: “That is great, but u know the media will not show this, as they just love showing black males as aggressive not heroes. The only way they would show it would be if he was acting like Charles Ramsey and gave an animated interview.”
Exactly. 🙂
Speaking of how blacks are portrayed in the media, ever notice how racist Huffing Post always manages to put the pictures of monkeys next to black folks?
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“Honestly I hope White America pays for this.”
This is the sentiment that concerns me. Who is White America? All white people? The very idea of it is troubling.
Yeah, I’ve seen some white people posting racist stuff about the trial on various sites. Even then, when I see posts like this that go the other way: “Black people should suffer” or something similar, I know the person is crazy and I can disregard them. When people on this board talk about whites that way, though, there is general support for that notion.
People who want to punish an entire race for the sins of a few would be the very definition of racists, wouldn’t they?
I get that there is anger over the verdict. As a private citizen you can hate George Zimmerman all you want and believe him to be guilty as sin. Unfortunately, there is a legal definition of guilt that this did not meet. Please stop blaming an entire race for that; it doesn’t help your case.
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I am a brown (Indian) man myself. This blog and a few books written by African Americans opened my eyes towards the filth that is white America today. I had some hope that GZ would be convicted of atleast manslaughter, although everyone here was saying otherwise.
I found it hard to believe that he got away with murder.
THere is so much hatred on the boards that it makes me sick to my stomach. Reddit was one of my favorite boards. Even in reddit, there was so much hatred and latent racism.
I know that being non-white makes me a second class citizen in the US. I am seriously wondering whether I should return to my corrupt (and sometimes violent) homeland. Atleast, its home!
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Can’t he be charged with violations of trayvons civil right to life?
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Jane the jew:
Yes, its being looked into by the Dept. Of Justice as we speak.
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Pardon me is there any way of knowing what was said during the jury discussion?
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AlanH,
So when white people say racists things you disregard it, but you come here to speak up against black people saying racists things.
America gives general support to racists notions and actions of white people, but that is not worth you speaking up.
Don’t you think that is racist?
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AlanH,
what is meant by that statement is that “white american power structure”.
There is an elaborate power structure that ensures that “white people” feel normal and well adjusted in this country, while the others feel “othered”.
It is not against “the race”, its against the power structure that benefits the “race”. The difference is subtle and as a white person, you might find it very difficult to digest or grasp, because you have not come on the other side of an oppressive power structure. Blacks have on a daily basis. Us brown folks on a much lesser basis than the blacks, but significant enough for us to sit up and take note.
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@Sondis
Did you read my post above? LOL aren’t you fed up with White America and their excuses and reverse psychology on us yet they still practice their racism and will never give it up? I know I am. I am sick of the way they smile in your face and say hello to me yet say bad things about Black people behind our backs. I am sick of the way they hold up ugly or average looking White women like Jennifer Aniston, Mila Kunis etc up as standards of beauty when in reality MANY women of ALL races and color look better than them. I am sick of their ways and I am sick of them. I haven’t gone out of my house since the verdict!
@Mstoogood4yall
Thanks but I never turned that paper in lol. I am getting sick of White America. No, MOST of White America don’t see Blacks as humans or even people. I am sick and tired of White America and their lame excuses not to get rid of racism. 70% to 80% of White Americans will never admit to their racism and try to change things for the better. Only a few White Americans 20% to 30% are to be trusted and aren’t racist.
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@AlanH
I am fed up with most Whites in this country. I am sick of the way many of you guys think that Black people are less than human. Of course most of you guys are happy that Zimmerman got off. The lives of Black people don’t better to you or most Whites in America. So why are you even on here? I don’t care about your opinion and it doesn’t matter to me.
Yes I want White America to pay for this and they better! Jeremiah Wright was right!!!!!
Only a few White people in America(20% to 30%) are too be trusted.
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^^^^^^^^continued
….or stories about blacks next to images of black criminals? Interesting when considering Huffington Post is thought of as being liberal (progressive) site. Next time you visit (and I don’t anymore) just take a look around at their editors picture placements. Rank racism is what you’ll find every day of the week outside of Sundays. Yes, they really do take a rest from cyber bullying blacks on that site for the Sabbath. lol.
Remember when NBC aired a monkey doing gymnastics after Gabby Douglas won the gold? Watch these progressives attempt to win their own gymnastic Olympic gold medals in denial by refusing to admit that the commercial was racist EVEN WHEN one of them explains to the rest that the NBC segment wasn’t live but pre-produced and edited prior to its airing. Amazing.
(http://youtu.be/RIhILD_FfZs)
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My point was that when I see white people saying racist things I immediately write them off as idiots. Anyone who wants to return to the days of lynchings is clearly deluded, wrong, and is summarily told so by everyone else in the conversation. I don’t need to speak up because this is the truth of the situation. Here, however, people are openly speaking up against all whites and there is no dissent. It’s the exact opposite of what I’ve seen on boards where white people are discussing.
You argue that America’s underlying structure provides a basis for racism. I’ve seen that shouted her many times, but I want to know what specifically you mean. Quite honestly, if white Americans are working hard to create a society that openly and regularly oppresses non-whites, they are doing a truly awful job of it. I’ve read accounts of the racism suffered in the south during the Jim Crow era. The system was definitely crooked then. I’ve read about Las Vegas’ Moulin Rouge casino during the segregation era and saw accounts of how the black performers weren’t even allowed to stay in the hotel where they were performing (on the rare occassion when one WAS allowed to stay in the all-white hotel, her sheets were burned after she left.)
Yes, I totally agree that THAT is racism. That is so blatantly wrong that it makes me furious just thinking about it. But I look around and I don’t see anything resembling that.
For the sake of argument, let’s say that I accept the premise that the justice system is completely racist and that white men will always get away with killing blacks (since I know it would be the first example you cite and I want to explore deeper). Where else is this white juggernaut rolling? How else is the racism so deeply ingrained that it destroys you at your deepest levels? I”m not mocking you; this is an honest query. I’ve never seen anything that approaches the levels of institutionalized racism that you cite, but maybe it’s because I haven’t been looking for them.
I guess some of it is the fact that “the race card” gets played all the time when it doesn’t mean anything. I’ve been called racist for not supporting the policies of President Obama. It’s heavily implied by some here that I’m racist for my opinion the George Zimmerman verdict. These aren’t the only times I have had the label thrown at me, and the truth is that it actually makes me less likely to listen the next time racism is called. After being falsely accused enough times, you start to doubt the claim when it’s leveled at others. Crying wolf, and all that.
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@Adeen
You assume that I don’t value the life of black people because I’m white? I can’t even put into words how wrong that statement is. I think the death of Trayvon Martin is a tragedy, as is the loss of any human life. I definitely do not value the life of a black person less than that of a white. Period.
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@ Fleecyhead Milagrero
I accidentally deleted one of your comments that got stuck in the spam filter. My apologies. Please feel free to resubmit. You did not break the comment policy or anything.
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and another thing, is it me or do Alex Jones and his like, alongside their extremely panicked acolytes,
fail to see that the NWO, at least on the western side of the equation, is totally ruled by whites? What makes them think that POC are new to this type of treatment to presume we’re the sheep? Isn’t it clear that POC of color have BEEN TALKING ABOUT this reality since Marcus Garvey and before, if not earlier?!!! Hellooooooooooooooooo!!! What do they think White supremacy means for God’s sake? And lastly, could this cognitive dissonance be due to white “conspiracy theorists” unwillingness to acknowledge that these corporate fascists they’re gnashing teeth about are white themselves? Inquiring minds want to know?
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@ sondis
I hope that works but i’m not holding my breath. Another commenter on truths blog posted the link to this article http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/07/zimmerman-accused-of-child-molestation-by-family-friend-who-says-his-family-never-liked-black-people/comment-page-1/#comments
pay attention to what his attorney said, Now ain’t that some bullsheit?
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@AlanH
Yes I do want White America and you too to pay for their sins of mistreating minorities. Thank God their numbers are dwindling!
This case just intensified racial tensions between Blacks and Whites and most of all, the Trayvon Martin intensified my mistrust of most Whites. Yes I will keep mistrusting Whites and staying away from them. Majority of them are just pale faced vultures out to me who look down on Blacks and other minorities in America.
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Trayboon was a thug negro and deseved to be shot.
White Amerikkka 4EVER.
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@ goldfire
I hardly go to huffpost, too many trolls and racists on huffpost and yahoo. i do remember that commercial, and ppl will not see the racism in it. They always try to be slick with their mess, we gotta start beating them at their own game….
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@Goldfire, considering you baseless throw around the accusation of racist, it’s no surpise you would also throw the self hating argument to any black person that doesn’t jump on the racist bandwagon. I don’t hate myself, could I use some aesthetic improvements? Are there things about myself I’d prefer not to have? Sure plenty of people do, but it is not because of my race.
Considering how MSNBC edited tapes to make it sound like he said “coons” I think the race baiting in this case is obvious.
Can someone tell me this? Is every time a non black person wrongs a black person is it out of racism? If not how can you tell it apart from non racism? If it is, how can you know? Couldn’t not simply be ill will towards another person?
@Adeen: So sound like the crazy religious people who used their religion to uphold slavery. How do you know which ones are to be trusted? You sound no different than racist white distrusting of blacks.
What is with the cynicism here blacks argue how they are wrongfully profiled by whites yet are so quick to do it to several white folks they haven’t even met?
I feel this cynicism is counterproductive. I’m not saying be ok with racism,but don’t become what you hate.
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@ peanut
I feel for his mom and father as well. I don’t know what that feels like to lose a child or even what its like to have a child to worry about. His younger brother looks so much like him i hope he is ok. I know it must be hard for him to see all the crazy ppl talking bad about his brother, I don’t even know how those kids will treat him when he goes back to school. smh
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I see we have some ppl in our midst that are just as whitewashed as that black woman who interned for george zimmermans defense and the black man that came out saying george is my friend, aint heard from him since. smh
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Charles,
“Can someone tell me this? Is every time a non black person wrongs a black person is it out of racism? ”
Its not out of racism, but if the non-white person “GETS AWAY” with murdering a black person almost all the time. Then it IS racism. Not of the person who wronged the black person, but the institution that let him/her get away.
its subtle and white people usually dont get it.
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@mstoogood4ya,
Zimmermann a child molester did you say?
Uuuuuuuuuuuuup, looks like Zimmerman is about to become Mexican in a hot minute.
Meantime, we all know why he got so much support from the likes of aryandawn now don’t we? lol
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@Charles
I don’t hate Whites Americans, I mistrust them. I am fed up with the ways of most White Americans. I really am at this point. And the bad White Americans make it hard for me to trust the good White Americans.
You see I stay away from people regardless of race in real life. I find it hard to trust White people though. I really do
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Hey, have you seen this? It is titled – l am not Travon Martin. People sharing their thoughts in a different way…all starting out with-I’m not Travon Martin. Stimnled upon it. Check it out.
http://wearenottrayvonmartin.tumblr.com/
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Sorry about the misspelling.
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Great link ^ I liked it a lot. You see it is a double standard in this country.
Right now, I feel sorry for Trayvon’s family and friends who have to go through this. I have a 14 year old brother at home and I don’t want this to happen to him. I always wondered why people see a Black man and feel threatened by the sight of him? I wonder that.
I also wondered why there wasn’t any Black person on the juror? Only five White women and one Latina. Of course, they were going to let Zimmerman get off!
I also wondered why did most White Americans took Zimmerman’s side? Do they see most Blacks as thugs? That I wonder too. A reason for me to mistrust Whites.
@Charles
I never racially profiled a White person in person. That is not me. I am a quiet and timid person in person. I come on this blog to express my feelings. If you don’t like it tough. Why do you want me to like your race of people? Why do you want minorities to like you guys for? What positive things have Whites done for Blacks? I don’t hate Whites. I don’t trust you guys either.
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I am so depressed and saddened by this “verdict” that I don’t know what to do. My heart aches for Trayvon’s friends and family. I’m so confused, just dazed, and angry. I shouldn’t be surprised but I’d had a small glimmer (very small) of hope that Zimmerman would have been held accountable for his actions.
@Thuy Thank you for posting that. I had a euro-american guy in a coffee shop today ask me if I went to the rally yesterday. I was surprised. He talked to me about how fucked up he thought the situation was and how confused he was that more people weren’t talking about it and expressing anger over the situation.
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I feel so sorry for Trayvon Martin’s family and for anyone ( and I bet there are many) who deal with the murder of a relative where the murderer is never charged. Must be so painful.
As for those defending Zimmerman and slandering Trayvon and his family, stick around to read what else they post. 99% are racists which you cannot reason with so don’t waiste your time. The same ones saying Travyon was a thug are the same ones making up lies, slandering him, hating on his mother and moreover hating on Obama, Blacks and the like. I checked out CNN and came back and noticed the commenters siding against Trayvon’s family were the same ones saying the media was too liberal and saying anti-Martin Luther King comments.
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Lwanda Magere:
“White America is more interested in ignoring racial issues than confronting them because to confront them means having to admit to a number of realities that would not be congruent with their high perception of themselves.”
They willingly trick themselves but a lot of us have also been bamboozled. There was a time when I was too. This is not going to be a turning point for America but it ought to be a turning point for some Americans. They should know where they stand. Yet another young black male has been killed by someone white-idenitified and the perpetrator gets a slap on the wrist or even a pat on the back. And this time he wasn’t even a cop. This has happened throughout the sands of time and across the length and breadth of the land. We know there is this thing called Cause and Effect. If you are observing an effect then there is a cause. The entire study of science is based on this understanding. Anyone who claims otherwise is just blowing smoke. So what could be the cause of this dispensability of black life? It must be something systematic and whose presence is coincident with the timeframes and geographical locations within which the effect is observed. It is white racism. It may prance ostentatiously in the foreground or lurk surreptitiously in the background but it is ALWAYS PRESENT wherever they settle. So its effect is ALWAYS OBSERVED. Look around. Am I lying?
‘Western’ white culture defines itself subtractively. That is, by difference from the rest of humanity. Whiteness equals Humanity minus Otherness. So if Otherness is equivalent to Humanity, then Whiteness becomes equivalent to ZERO. Acceptance of other people as humanly equivalent to themselves is, in the white mind, equivalent to SELF-ANNIHILATION. It is not going to happen as long as their identity crisis prevails because they are NOTHING apart from what they are NOT! So those that are NOT themselves must continue to exist for them to have any sense of self at all. This mindset does not allow the possibility of true unity with others. The poor things do not even realize what they have done to themselves. The psychospiritual PRICE (as mentioned before by abagond) that whites have paid for racism is as REAL as this chair I’m sitting in. It’s almost as if nature demands balance in all things. For example, if you work more to provide more ‘stuff’ for your family you’ll necessarily reduce your emotional presence in their lives. Again, if you’re leaving the house to buy groceries you’ll empty your produce bag of your previous purchases first. If you left home with items in it you’ll necessarily be unable to purchase as much. And even when empty it has a finite capacity. However, whites have cut open the bottom of the produce bag so that there will always be space for more things. But everything inexplicably (!?) falls out once placed therein so it’s always seen as empty. This illustrates the pervasive sense of emptiness that plagues the culture despite all its ‘achievements’. That’s why they grope for the meaning of being white. It means absolutely NOTHING apart from its instrumentality as a bottomless bag. There is never anything in it, by definition. That’s the only way it can retain the capacity to capture all things. “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” IMO, these sayings of JC are but retellings of truisms. To build the grandest empire of things, whites have sold their souls. Some more perceptive people-with-pale-skin have figured this out but most have no clue what ails them. http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1242141/thumbs/o-MILEY-570.jpg?6
So in view of the definition of white that has come about it should be clear that true ‘integration’ of people not so classified is not possible. But they’ll tell you that you can integrate. Why? So that you relinquish all creative power and instead spin your wheels forever striving for something that they and only they can grant. And they’ll never grant it. A show of it can be made through the installation of ‘tokens’ such as Obama or Clarence Thomas. But the hoped-for unity will never come about within the current system. Do you know a way to morph a wooden countertop into a granite countertop? Or do you remove the wooden countertop and install a different one of granite? This empire is built out of racism. It cannot be morphed into something it is not. At best, it can be cleverly painted to fool the casual observer that it is something else. Both integration and anti-racism are failing for this very reason. In fact, both pursuits are dependent on and hopeful of the continuation of the order constructed from racism rather than its collapse. But only after collapse will there be an opportunity to build a better world on higher principles. Collapse is an uneasy prospect but it is inevitable given the systematic flaws. IMO, Black people’s priority needs to be the rediscovery of community. As abagond said above: “Black people in America are alone”. Every division needs to be put aside and I do mean EVERY (shade, religion, class, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, you name it). And all have to work towards self-sufficiency. I don’t think things are as stable as they look. If whites hate blacks when things appear good can you imagine when “every man is for himself”? Where were Japanese Americans taken during WWII? Who was blamed for the so-called subprime mortgage crisis? What happened to black New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina? If we can’t lean on each other who can we lean on?
So if the heavy straw of Zimmerman’s acquittal causes people to reflect on their precarious position in this country Trayvon’s spirit might have sent a blessing after all. He’s waking us up yo. We can’t be complacent up in here! He might have decided, in death, to fulfill Zimmerman’s claim that the events were “God’s plan”. I’m not cynical. Ultimately, I’m hopeful for a better world and I believe some people-with-pale-skin geuinely want that as well (even if they have less incentive to really examine things). But any new world will rise from the ASHEs of this one not from its root. Lion begts lion, wolf begets wolf, racism begets racism. So I’ve totally transitioned from a mindset of fixing to a mindset of creating. And the long posts are a reflection of the clarity that has emerged over the last few days. Sorry..hah
Stay safe everyone.
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@ goldfire
Too true and rofl.
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Thuy,
Thank you for that link.
it’s nice to read comments from non-black and white people who actually “Get IT” and don’t have to have it explained….
there is NO WAY to explain being and feeling marginalized… either you’ve lived it, experienced it, or felt it — or you haven’t.
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“AlanH
My point was that when I see white people saying racist things I immediately write them off as idiots.”
Linda says,
AlanH, unfortunately for black and brown people, when we read those comments where white people are saying things– we can only look at it in a few wasy:
1. these white people making biased or racist comments are expressing their TRUE feelings because they feel free to do so on the internet (just like some black people on this blog) or
2. the white people making the racist comments are white supremacists who like to go to as many sites, blogs as possible to stir the pot and spread their hate.
3. The people making those racist statements are trolls or kids just trying to cause trouble and disruptions.
With this Zimmerman case, in my opinion, I’ve seen a lot more of #1 on other sites because many white people are upset that Zimmerman was called “white” and feel that the media turned this into a racial issue.
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“AlanH
My point was that when I see white people saying racist things I immediately write them off as i’iots.”
Linda says,
AlanH, unfortunately for black and brown people, when we read those comments where white people are saying things– we can only look at it in a few wasy:
1. these white people making biased or racist comments are expressing their TRUE feelings because they feel free to do so on the internet (just like some black people on this blog) or
2. the white people making the racist comments are white supremacists who like to go to as many sites, blogs as possible to stir the pot and spread their hate.
3. The people making those racist statements are trolls or kids just trying to cause trouble and disruptions.
With this Zimmerman case, in my opinion, I’ve seen a lot more of #1 on other sites because many white people are upset that Zimmerman was called “white” and feel that the media turned this into a racial issue.
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by the way, not all whites are on ZImmerman’s side at all, but I think the vast majority of those slandering Travyon and his family in particular are also Obama haters and tend to be hateful Republicans.
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@Adeen: I’m sorry for your troubles, but you sound no different than people who are afraid of blacks because they’ve been raped robbed and beaten by them. Going by your logic/feelings, is it ok for them to mistrust blacks? I’m not white BTW. I’m black
“Why do you want me to like your race of people? Why do you want minorities to like you guys for? What positive things have Whites done for Blacks?”
Probably because that’s racist, you may lack the constitutional power to really do anything, but such negative feelings and prejudice is never a good thing.
You say you don’t trust them yet don’t profile?
@Lokke: Thanks for the answer. I suppose you have a point with that, I’m just so afraid of wrongfully labeling someone racist.
Many of the comments on these blogs break my heart, because there are plenty of descent white people (that I know of) and yet these comments want to brand most of them as racist or untrustworthy. I don’t appropriate racism or over-generalizations towards anyone, no matter how much privilege they have or lack.
The world may not be perfect, and there is plenty of racism, but I refuse to let take over me(no matter how many times whites discriminate against me) like it seems to have with many of you. So like I said, don’t become what you hate.
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Oh, and according to GZ’s lawyer, O’mara, he gets his gun back and he’ll need it ‘even more’ than before.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/15/george-zimmerman-gun-back_n_3598228.html?ref=topbar
The clear implication is that he’ll need to shoot more black people to protect himself. Does this guy know when it’d be wise not to say anything?
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and because many white people feel that the media made this case into a racial issue, this case became polarized…
White people who would never pay any attention to this case or Zimmerman, gravitated towards supporting Zimmerman because they felt that “once again” — black people were blaming them for something “they” did not do…
so Zimmerman got White support — not because he is white- but because he represented the stick in which they could “fight back” against black people with and feel justified in doing so because they are tired of black people pulling the “race card”
Nothing will be solved in this country until white Americans admit that there IS a problem– Especially when it comes to law enforcement.
This case became “racial” not because of black people but because of Sanford Police Department, the media, and American societies negative PERCEPTIONS of black people in general.
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How come so little was made of Selma Mora and the other three witnesses that saw Zimmerman straddling Trayvon? Were these witnesses deemed unreliable?
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@Linda
Indeed. The case only came up in the media because Zimmerman was not charged. I’m sure his father, who’s a retired judge, pulled some strings. If it weren’t for that, we’d probably have heard about the case but it wouldn’t have attracted the attention it did.
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I also want to point out that in America, Zimmerman is “Not White”, he is Hispanic (the generic term that originally meant Spanish speaking Native Americans mixed with nothing, European and/or African)
Of course he can check the “white” box if he wants to because of daddy but his mother is your typical Peruvian, Native American mixed with Spanish and African… and his mama (true to form mestizo style) married “up”,
no black or brown person would call George “white” if they saw him on the street, just like other mixed-race people don’t get labeled “white” in America either.
that said, George being mixed-race (HIspanic) does not mean that he is not prejudiced or believe in stereotypes…his whole reason for following Trayvon was based on his assumptions that Trayvon fit the “stereotype”
George knows how to play the game just like everyone else — he knew what to say immediately to the police to invoke SYG and I bet he reeled off his and his daddy’s credentials (police uncle too) just as fast as he could before he got out the police car.
The police immediately assumed Trayvon was a criminal based on Georges immediate statements because Trayvon was young and black…
so in death, Trayvon was marginalized by the Sanford PD and George was given the benefit of the doubt — that’s why they didn’t even do a drug test on George (where they would have seen his Benzo levels)
The Sanford police also made “assumptions” about Trayvon (just like George) because Trayvon “looked like” the stereotypical criminal — young and black… this is why the case was Racial from jump.
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@ linda
“so Zimmerman got White support — not because he is white- but because he represented the stick in which they could “fight back” against black people with and feel justified in doing so because they are tired of black people pulling the “race card”
Yea that sums it up. They always say zimmerman is not white, trying to distance themselves yet they throw themselves right into it by supporting him. They love to either instigate things and step back,or they love to give support to ppl they feel stuck it to black ppl. They don’t want to get their hands dirty but will praise and lend support to someone who does. This is how white supremacy continues, it may not be all directly causing things but they silently cheer on the people who are.
“This case became “racial” not because of black people but because of Sanford Police Department, the media, and American societies negative PERCEPTIONS of black people in general.”
Amen. Just like paula deen going down is not our fault it was a white woman that is suing her and put her out there not us. They get stuff confused when they see jesse and al they start foaming at the mouth. Black people were upset with the police department not white america, we became upset at them when they started trying to downplay it and supporting george and saying racist things. Its the same way with slavery, some black ppl talked about reparations and they said oh no even the ones who claimed they owned no slaves. If that is true why are u mad that some ppl want to sue the whites that did, it don’t include u. They say they don’t care yet they stay supporting people they say they don’t care about. The simple answer is they don’t really care about that person but they do agree with the actions of that person.
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@Linda, I would like to think being a stranger in the neighborhood (to GZ’s knowledge) looking around at houses at night had more to do with him looking suspicious also taking into consideration that the neighborhood was subject to several recent crimes, so can you blame him for being on edge a little bit.
Thought I agree it was foolish of him to act on his suspicious with out changeling it properly and even worse of the police department for not handling the situation right either. Racial part of the SPD likely, but GZ? Probably not.
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But if a group of people support someone just because you want the person to face justice…that’s like the definition of enemy. Say it aint so. And the right-wingers who’re most guilty of spouting pro-Zimmerman rhetoric wonder why minorities vote overwhelmngly democratic.
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Dearest Charles, what’s baseless is your comment back to me. lol Every “accusation of racism I’ve made on this blog has been thoroughly backed up outside of the one I made against Huffington post wherein I didn’t supply the link but invited others to check it out at their leisure, and I suggest you do the same over several days when you get a chance. Similarly, as it regards your self-hate, it’s obvious and a little more than skin deep I’m afraid; evidenced by multiple things but specifically your inability to empathize with the experience of a boy/man of your own race protecting himself from an armed man stalking, harassing, and then murdering him in cold blood for no reason. What’s pathetically hilarious about whitewashed people like yourself is that you actually believe that advocating for the status quo, which by the way completely requires a POC to willfully forget about the trauma’s inflicted upon and endured by them and their peoples, the untold wealth stolen from their lands and their peoples for centuries solely to build the western hemisphere, and the complete denunciation of ones identity, which has clearly done its job in impairing the natural empathetic response that whites still enjoy for one another to this day, is an ethos that helps rather than hinders you and yours. I mean, what a perfect way to try and ensure the continuation of the centuries old pillaging and plundering game the west has had going, unabated, until as of late? All the while aided and abetted by blacks such as yourself who’re so ashamed of being black, due to white owned media knowingly and cynically portraying you in the worst light possible as compared with themselves, you’re willing to give up everything you have, including your self-respect, dignity and pride, indeed left to adamantly parrot points of view that do little to further your own interests, as you seem to be aptly doing no doubt, just in the hopes that you could ingratiate yourself thoroughly enough to white folks so that they and then ultimately you yourself can forget that you too are the dreaded black.
I’ll let “someone” else answer your next question. 🙂 Meantime, stick around, look through, read up on abagonds site; you’ll learn a lot.
cheers 🙂
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@Goldfire
“your inability to empathize with the experience of a boy/man of your own race”
You’re very presumptuous you know that? Where did I say I lack sympathy for him (which I don’t). I have even said myself that he doesn’t deserve to get away with it (but just not murder).
But note you mentioned stalking, harassing, but did GZ ever touch TM first(as far as we know)? My mother always though me NEVER touch any first no matter what they say do unless they touch you first. And he wasn’t killed for no reason or “in cold blood”(as far as anyone can know)
I’m sorry you got the impression that I am ashamed of myself, but sorry you don’t know me, nor can you get a grasp of my whole history of my self opinion just by a few posts that happen to disagree with you.
Your accusations of self hate are not only baseless,but false. I may not have the most self confidence, but it certainly is not due to my race. I would prefer if you didn’t needlessly throw false accusation like you know me because in the end, no matter what I post you don’t. So please stick to arguing with my points instead of trying to dismiss them with ad hominem.
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correction: *natural empathic response for one’s own race*
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I feel empathy for anyone wrong regardless of race FYI. I don’t feel more sorry for when a white person dies than a blacks person(because if i did that would just be racist). If the races were switched and the circumstance the same I would still feel the same way for both parties.
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“Charles
@Linda, I would like to think being a stranger in the neighborhood (to GZ’s knowledge) looking around at houses at night had more to do with him looking suspicious also taking into consideration that the neighborhood was subject to several recent crimes, so can you blame him for being on edge a little bit.”
Linda says,
yes, I do blame him for being on edge. We all live in neighborhoods where strange people hang around who we don’t know.. but most of us don’t follow them or assume they will rob us because the house down the street got robbed.
as a former board member of a Condo Assn, I know for a fact that there are protocols that have to be followed for homeowners and their guest, as well as by gate security and rolling patrolman (who actually identifies himself unlike George) .. Homeowners have to pay monthly fees and dues and expect to not have their rights and liberties Trampled by the board and paranoid neighbors.
ALL neighborhoods have some sort of trouble or crime… where I lived, the troublemakers were the white grandchildren of our elderly white homeowners, who thought it would be fun to break the pool door locks so they could swim at night or steal the video equipment from the clubhouse
I guess from your standard, we should have stopped and frisked every 13-18 year old white boy and girl that looked like they were loitering a little too long outside.
George’s sorry excuse and paranoia should not be repeated by anyone because what he called looking around at houses, was really Trayvon walking and Minding his own business.
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Linda says,
Charles, yes, I do blame George for being on edge based on his assumptions.
We all live in neighborhoods where strange people hang around who we don’t know, but most of us don’t follow them or assume they will rob us because the house down the street got robbed.
as a former board member of a Condo Assn, I know for a fact that there are protocols that have to be followed for homeowners and their guest, as well as by gate security and rolling patrolman (who actually identify themselves unlike George) .. Homeowners have to pay monthly fees and dues and expect to not have their rights and liberty(s) Trampled by the board and paranoid neighbors.
ALL neighborhoods have some sort of trouble or crime… where I lived, the troublemakers were the white grandchildren of our elderly white homeowners, who thought it would be fun to break the pool door locks so they could swim at night or steal the video equipment from the clubhouse
I guess from your standard, we should have stopped and frisked every 13-18 year old white boy and girl that looked like they were loitering a little too long outside.
George’s sorry excuse and paranoia should not be repeated by anyone because what he called “looking around at houses”, was really Trayvon walking and Minding his own business — Georges assumptions is what started this sorry mess in the first place.
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abagond, can you delete the my comment Tue 16 Jul 2013 at 01:00:58 and this one too.
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ad hominem?
Dearest Clarence, oops, I mean Charles,
irrespective of your protestations I stand by my post a thousand percent. Pffffffffft, were it that you got as worked up about the death of a young unarmed black boy as you seem to be getting about being called a self-hating negro, which in my estimation, and I’m sure that of many other’s who’ve had the misfortune of reading read your hideous posts, you are. Your response is more than telling let me assure you. I mean, you altogether sound like a white person being called a racist, for phucks sake, lol, You ‘re a perfect simulation aren’t you darling…but then again, like I said, I stand by my post……
Please don’t respond to me, I’m just not into you. I like my men more…. black.
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@Linda, Yeah every neighborhood has their crime, and some people try and make an effort to prevent it. I’m not giving if a pass for making himself look threatening to TM. I just personally find it reasonable for him to have at least been a little suspicious(and just meet up with police like he should have).
Following (while not illegal TMK) I don’t condone. Nor is what I’m referring to as understandable.
“I guess from your standard, we should have stopped and frisked every 13-18 year old white boy and girl that looked like they were loitering a little too long outside.”
Well considering that incident I’d think it be wise to be weary of anyone loitering around the pool area at night.
Not just white people anyone of any age or race.
Besides(excuse me if this is too far of a stretch) but based off of what I’ve seen here wouldn’t you all prefer it if white people didn’t get away with what blacks don’t anyways?
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@Goldfire, You can stand by it all you like it’s still false.
“irrespective of your protestations I stand by my post”
AKA put your fingers in your ears and scream LALALA.
I don’t exactly know what I did to imply I don’t feel sorry for him. Nothing I’ve said is even self hating either(I checked). Mind telling me why you think that?
All I see is advocacy of not being quick to judge.
“were it that you got as worked up about the death of a young unarmed black boy”
And who says I haven’t(which I have) Like I’ve said you don’t know my history, so my self opinion isn’t your place to have an opinion one, because it will always be misinformed.
He’d dead, it’s terrible and there is nothing that can be done about it no matter how sorry I am. And considering that you don’t listen to anything I say it’s not like you’d consider it. My first comment on this blog post even says that he shouldn’t be free(but not jailed for murder).
I hope you’re not grown,it would be shameful for an adult to be so catty. You’re (in principal) just like GZ, making assumptions of people you don’t know and then act on them as if you’re right.
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Some in there room are naive enough to believe not guilty equals innocent. It does not. Sorry but plenty people get off for crimes that they have committed but because of whatever reason they are out free to commit again.
Secondly people put too much faith in evidence. All one has to do is convince the jury to believe as they do. Play on their emotions and regardless of evidence you can get a guilty or not guilty. We would love to believe the system some how works like tv were jury is not biased or the evidence did it all but sorry it does not. Lawyers know this and is why they are so eloquent with their closing arguments.
Thirdly I don’t know if some of you saw the layout of the area, but there was no place for Martin to “jump out.” So that blows that idea out of the water. Then it is the part of the 911 call where Zimmerman tells the operator…”have the police call me and I will tell them where I am at.” Take from it what you may. Rationalize it if you may, but I see people are ignoring some obvious information to push the I don’t know agenda. Truth is you don’t know because you don’t want to know.
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So so sad, JUSTICE NOW!
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“Charles,
Besides(excuse me if this is too far of a stretch) but based off of what I’ve seen here wouldn’t you all prefer it if white people didn’t get away with what blacks don’t anyways?”
Linda says,
I think in general, white people get a touch more passes and “get away” with things that black people cant get away with… from the ridiculous to more serious issues.
In the incident with pool, we fined the grandparents for the broken lock and proceeded to fine the h’ll out of them for every rule the grandchildren broke (Thanks to our zealous “condo commandos” {like George}, the board was kept notified of every step these kids made.
The grandparents felt harassed (rightfully so) and they had their attorney’s call the Condo board. It took us 6 months (and an hefty attorney bill) to finally get the one of the grandchildren banned…. see, that’s how white folks handle business… Litigation
and the most beautiful part was the white grandson got to live to see another day and bother someone else
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@ AlanH
From my stand point I don’t hate all whites. I see them out marching and protesting with blacks in this case, but this case was a sh*tty one whether people want to admit it or not.
There was a lot of things that should have been said or done on the part of the prosecution to atleast have him guilty of manslaughter and of that it was either not heard in court or heard but not elaborated. I could have done better. Basically Martin was on trial and as long as they convinced people that Martin was xyz then Zimmerman was free to get out. Not because he did not commit the crime or evidence did not point to him having more to do with the crime than he did. but because to them Martin was the criminal and he got what he deserved. It is like a rape victim. You know that man raped her. You have suttle evidence that points to he raped her and if you just dig a bit more you can prove he raped her, but wa la the defense shows her as a wh*re that wanted it so rapist is free to rape again.
This is America. Home of the blame the victim. They would rather see the innocent as the criminal than to own up to the faulty reality that they are bigots.
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@Linda
” think in general, white people get a touch more passes and “get away” with things that black people cant get away with”
I know, that’s the point I was making.
I’m not sure how to interpret the rest of your post, it almost sounds like you’re on the side of the grandparents as if they were wrongfully charged. I’m sorry if I am missing something.
“Thanks to our zealous “condo commandos” {like George}, the board was kept notified of every step these kids made.”
So wasn’t that a good thing?
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@Charles
You are Black? IMAO You sound like some White Conservative to me who does reverse psychology on Black people! My questions weren’t racist at all.
I sense that you are some White troll pretending to be Black. And you aren’t doing a good job hiding it either. You always compare me to Whites being distrustful and hateful of Blacks. Honestly I don’t care because I know many Whites distrust Blacks. I catch people on their bullshit.
Honestly I laugh at people like you. You make me laugh. I don’t care about being liked by White people because I know Whites don’t like Black people. Please get off my back! I don’t like or trust you! This is my last time responding to you.
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“Charles,
I’m not sure how to interpret the rest of your post, it almost sounds like you’re on the side of the grandparents as if they were wrongfully charged. I’m sorry if I am missing something.”
Linda says,
As a board member, I had to do what was best for the homeowners and the community but I also recognized that the grandparents had rights —
the grandparents owned their property and paid their dues, so yes, I did feel bad for them because they were being persecuted for the sins of their grandchildren — a lot of bad blood was build up between the board and the grandparents.
As to our over zealous “condo commandos” being a good thing?? you must have never lived in a condo with a bunch of nosy neighbors 🙂 they will drive you crazy and as a board member, they had my phone number and called me Constantly
all that aside, they do serve their purpose and mean well but I do think that they sometimes they go overboard and their zeal turns into “persecution”, especially, if they don’t like the homeowner and/or if the condo commando serves on the board, committee, or on the watch team.
That was the point of my story, which is that, most condo/ homeowner assn. handle “crime” using protocols and that Litigation was the tool used to help deter “crime” in our community because it was mostly the homeowners kids who did them — for this, the commandos serve their purpose.
We rarely got outsiders who came in to commit crime because we had a “trained” professional security who patrolled in their vehicles … something that Georges community should have looked into after their break-ins.
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@Adeen Well I think I’d like to know my race more than any of you. Of course you don’t believe I’m black it’s easy to be dismissive of anyone of any race just because they don’t agree with you.
“You always compare me to Whites being distrustful and hateful of Blacks.”
Because you are. I’m aware that there are many whites that distrust blacks and they are foolish for over generalizing, just as you are. I’m not saying trust virulent racists, just saying when you make blanket claims and prejudice you end up falsely accusing people. So like I’ve been saying, don’t become what you hate.
” I don’t like or trust you!”
Good for you. I can’t really say the same of you because I don’t know you and I’m mature enough not to make such a judgement just because we disagree.
@Linda
Thank you very much for the story and bringing your point across, really appreciate it.
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Adeen:
I guarantee you, that Charles IS white. He’s defending George Zimmerman a little too much for a black person. I’m sorry, he plays the black sock puppet of a white person to the T!
I know a white troll when i see one, Charles isn’t a black person.
white people love to come on this blog and pretend to be black, so they can oppose us without being accused of being a white racist, so they come off as black, so we will not be suspicious of their motives.
Another white troll, busted!!
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Adeen:
Charles isn’t black, he’s defending George Zimmerman, way too much. That’s a dead give away, right there.
Its so funny that white people have to go as far to hide their race, just so they can oppose us on a blog. How pitiful are you, Charles?
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@Charles
I hate you as a troll! I don’t know you personally but I assume you are White from your comments. You are not Black. No Black person thinks like you not even the biggest Black sellout of all time, Clarence Thomas is not that backwards.
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You don’t know every black person in the world. You can’t say that. And really no black person thinks that sometimes when a white wrongs a black person they may be doing it because they are an asshole, not so much a racist?
This has gotten farther than it should of. If you don’t want to address things I’ve said just ignore them. But don’t attack my race.
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@Charles
I thought about it. I apologize to you on this. You are a Black man with different opinions from the rest and I should respect that. I am only 17 and my opinions constantly change but I should have respected you more and your opinions.
I am so sorry. No, I realize you aren’t a troll. I am sure you are concerned about the state of the Black Community. I know I am. The state of the Black Community is in dire straits and it is up to us to fix it.
We both know Zimmerman should NOT have been found not guilty. What is wrong with these jurors? Are they crazy?
And sorry Charles. Sorry for my disrespect and rants. I was so mad the verdict and the Whites who sided with Zimmerman. Of course not all Whites did side with Zimmerman but many did.
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Thanks you, and I am sorry for anything snide I have have said. I don’t think anything is wrong with the jurors per say, they may just be racist, but we don’t know. It could be they just didn’t think it was murder, and they were unsure of manslaugther.
The parents should get him in a civil case though.
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Adeen there has to be a time when we all “Ramble on” from this madness and become one American community. Life is tough hun. Believe me I know I am a struggling business owner with two small kids. I hope by the time they are old enough to realize we will all be passed this. You need to realize that some of this is by design to separate us. I know it took on a life of it’s own online , but the mainstream media saw their opportunity seeing how polarizing it had become and ran with it. Race baiting does exist and they are permanently guilty of that. NBC had to admit to doctoring the 911 tapes remember it sounded like he said “These c0ons always get away” instead of “punks” or “aholes” well that was doctored admittedly. The question I have is why? Why would they do that? is it just for ratings or is it something far more insidious than that that?
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@Charles
No, you were the gentlemen in this, trust me. My comments were uncalled for. I do agree that the parents should file a civil case suit. I really think this case should go to Supreme Court.
@Dave
I agree and I am a 17 year old black girl and I live in a racist, small town in the South but I am originally from New York. Many of the Whites in my town are so racist though and they show it to me. It gets worse when I go online and see many Whites post racial garbage about Black people. And it was worse when I read many comments of Whites supporting Zimmerman on blogs.
I know not all Whites are like that. The bad ones make the good Whites look bad. There is good and bad people in all races.
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I have some issues to settle too. I get angry too easily and often times for no reason.
And Zimmerman should go to jail. I wonder why anyone would side with Zimmerman? He is clearly the guilty one here.
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@Adeen I am sorry for the town you live in. I don’t think all whites in the South are “Rednecks” or “Racists” or “Inbred” or “Creepy arse kraccas” I’m sure there are some diamonds in the ruff there. Maybe you will find some. Remember what I warned you about letting other people’s rage creep into you. You are the good guy. Really the good girl. Those bloggers you are fighting with probably haven’t even watched the case. So I know you are just venting. Be easy, and have a good night.
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@Dave I have met a few nice, Whites in my town but not enough sad to say. I hate racism and I want to fight it but I don’t want to become the thing I hate. That is not my intention. My intention is I am against racism. Thanks you too.
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@ Charles and Adeen, you both made my morning. Everyone had to process on some level, but yes, we do not want to become the thing we hate. I am half Asian and I had a native American, not white (although I’ve experienced it from them too) say all kinds of demeaning things to me about being Asian. In fact he was really in my face. I simply and innocently said to him, why are you making fun of my culture, being Asian, etc. When l have not done this to you regarding your culture, etc. ? That guy was so shocked at my response and felt so convicted of his behavior that he could not apologize enough. I used to be real angry, and I still am at the system, the
institutionalized racism, but not all whites are racist. And as in the one example I gave, one of many I’ve experienced, they weren’t all from whites. I even had other Asians discriminate against me both inVietam and the U.S. for being what is termed Amerasian.
What I do appreciate is this platform to vent, to try and make sense of it all, and what Abagond has given all of us. Thanks to all who shared. Charles n Adeen, I admire you both for your humility and honesty and the willingness to remain open. If there are white people who want to stand with all of us, isn’t that a great thing? 🙂
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Thuy said:
“@ Charles and Adeen, you both made my morning. Everyone had to process on some level, but yes, we do not want to become the thing we hate. […snip…] I used to be real angry, and I still am at the system, the institutionalized racism, but not all whites are racist. And as in the one example I gave, one of many I’ve experienced, they weren’t all from whites. I even had other Asians discriminate against me both inVietam and the U.S. for being what is termed Amerasian.
“What I do appreciate is this platform to vent, to try and make sense of it all, and what Abagond has given all of us. Thanks to all who shared. Charles n Adeen, I admire you both for your humility and honesty and the willingness to remain open. If there are white people who want to stand with all of us, isn’t that a great thing?”
Totally this ^. Seriously, that really is what some white people want – even if we may still sometimes make mistakes.
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I knew this rat b@stard would get off…SMH IMO the prosecution threw the case. They didn’t even want to arrest/charge Zimmerman in the first place. What a joke. SMH
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@ Dave
I understand what you are saying, but I think we are the reason this racism continues. All of us. I look at the comments and all I see is move on etc. We are moving on but we are not fixing these problems. Then they pop up again (probably hidden this time) and we give the same old move on rhetoric. So what good does it do? Calms down people until another life is taken.
Telling Adeen not to be angry and upset is bs. She should be angry and upset. She should be angry knowing give it a little time something like this will happen again. Should she be angry at all whites? No. What she should be doing is use that collection of emotion to get out of the bs town she is in and stand to make change.
@ Charles
They are talking about an interview with one of the jurors on the case. She all but admitted that she was willing to believe the bad about Trayvon which became the deciding factor in her not convicting zimmerman. black brute stereotype. One also has or had a book deal in the works, so I guess we can see the writing on the wall here.
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We have all got to stop lying to ourselves here. If we don’t take action to put a stop to racist and racism then we are all pretty f*cked.
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@Y, I question that as well about the prosecution. They really have nothing to lose because they get paid no matter what, It may have been a better move for their career in the long run to not “win”. IMO it is ironic they did such a shitty job when normally they are ruthless with their cases in pursuit of guilty convictions no matter what the situation…..all for the win, the next notch in their belt. Why fight what the majority believes for the most part and hurt your career? Trayvon is only one case that they may have felt they could afford to lose, rather than couldn’t. Someone might say paranoid and conspiracy theory, but I think we have seen more than enough through history about our so called upstanding law enforcement on several levels. It just seems to weird to me about the prosecuters lack of arguments.
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@Y. and Thuy
Me too. I am not one for conspiracy theories myself, but it is like they did not even try.
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@Sharina
I am sorry I went off on Charles. He didn’t deserve it. I believe in Black unity and we shouldn’t be arguing amongst each other. That is one we can’t get ahead: many of us don’t stick together or want to stick together. It was wrong for me to argue with Charles like that.
I want to leave the town I live in so much. I hate it. I want to go back to New York. I fear for my safety everyday because I live in Florida and because of the racists in my area. I wish I can convince my mother to let me move back up north. I know up north isn’t perfect but it is better than where I am living now. I want to be a journalist/author and I can’t be one here
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@Y and Thuy
Do you think there was a lack of evidence in this case?
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Yes, I agree. Majority of whites don’t like to hear any people of color “whine”. They would love to have us shut up and walk away. Imo, I think we can be angry and should be so we can fight to change things, but just not give them more amunition to use on us by us not acknowledging even some whites who want to fight this injustice too.
Someone posted earlier about the marginalization of black men in the prison system with drug convictions….the new Jim Crowe. I have a very close relative who is white that faced the minimum mandatory sentencing of 8 years for a non-violent drug conviction with absolutely no other crime attached. Even after time is served, the system is set up to now have you fail being that you have a felony on your record.This relative of mine simply made a mistake due to his struggle with addiction. This person has been clean for 20 years, but that felony continues to set up challeges. My point, the system is set up to hurt many people….blacks, other people of color, people with mental health issues and addictions, the poor black or white. Many don’t care about any of these and demonize them. However, as I stated earlier, I do believe black people especially experinced this.
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I am not saying I could have done a better job either in hindsight, but I don’t believe they pressed hard enough certain points. It is hard to really say in the end, but I tend to be more suspicious of law enforcement, especially D.As anyway and that is for very valid reasons.
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@ Dave, I also agree about the media and seeking ratings, but the media need to also, if they are good journalists, to really call out this stuff too, but acurately with only the facts all the way around and NOT just sensationalism. Sometimes the media, the true journalists, can’t win either. If there wasn’t any push on some journalists end this issue would just be on the sidelines like many others. Maybe I am wrong, but I believed part of the media coverage was because Travon’s family and others would not let up with their protests.
I am sorry for always refering back to Vietnam, but talk about a huge divide in our country. The media was blamed by some for causing the divide and even for the loss of the war, but the media was relentless in exposing different things that our government wasn’t being honest about and helped to finally bring an end to the war. If media or others question war and related policies today, u r accused of not being patriotic and helping to perpetuate another divide among people, but I would hope true journalists never back down from acurate reporting and helping to NOT let this issue just go away either unjustly like so many would like to have done.
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@ Adeen
Charles did not deserve it, but no need to apologize to me. This topic is hot and gets heated, but regardless of the race of the poster just remember to give them always the benefit of the doubt before jumping on them. Hear them out first.
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@ Thuy
“Yes, I agree. Majority of whites don’t like to hear any people of color “whine”. They would love to have us shut up and walk away. Imo, I think we can be angry and should be so we can fight to change things, but just not give them more amunition to use on us by us not acknowledging even some whites who want to fight this injustice too.”–That is very true and I agree.
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From laromana:
Peanut
so its okay for Zimmerman to stalk and shoot an unarmed black teenager and use the stand your ground/self-defense nonsense even when he should have stayed his hind parts in the car like the operator told him, but Trayvon didn’t have the right to defend himself after being stalked and probably accosted by Zimmerman…stand your ground only applies to white and white-identified non-blacks apparently…
making it sound like trayvon attacked Zimmerman is sickening, this country has no common sense…all they do is complicate things that aren’t complicated.
it’s nonsense. I hate it.
laromana says,
Peanut I share your outrage/sadness (and that of other TM/TM family supporters) at the tremendous miscarriage of justice displayed in the GZ trial.
Contrary to the views of many ANTI-BLACK HATERS in America, there was NO JUSTIFICATION for GZ’s irresponsible racial profiling/violent racist vigilantism that led to the SENSELESS/UNNECESSARY DEATH of Trayvon Martin.
GZ had NO LEGITIMATE reason to RACIALLY PROFILE Trayvon, agressively pursue an unarmed minor (when he was asked by 911NOT TO FOLLOW Trayvon/when Trayvon initially ran away from him to stop GZ from continuing to follow him) and to pull out his gun when Trayvon asked why he was being followed by GZ.
It disturbs me that many ANTI-BLACK HATERS are behaving as if Trayvon’s death was unavoidable when it’s clear that GZ made several WRONG/IRRESPONSIBLE choices (initiating a violent confrontation with an unarmed minor/shooting/murdering the unarmed minor once the confrontation escalated/claiming self defense to justify his irresponsible behavior) that led to the UNNESSARY NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE of Trayvon Martin.
I’m heartened by those Americans (of all races) who are willing to be honest about the injustice of Trayvon’s murder/the GZ trial and admit thatinstitutional ANTI-BLACK HATE is still deeply ingrained in American culture/affects the way African Americans are treated by the justice system.
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From laromana:
-A legal system that creates ways for ANYONE to GET AWAY WITH MURDER is WRONG.
–ANTI-BLACK HATERS who believe BLACK people “don’t deserve” EQUAL protection under the law are WRONG.
–ANTI-BLACK HATERS who excuse/justify the IRRESPONSIBLEchoices/BULLYING VIGILANTISM that led to GZ’sAVOIDABLE/RECKLESS murder of Trayvon Martin are WRONG.
–ANTI-BLACK HATERS who celebrate GZ’s acquittal/claim he’s “not guilty” but have no empathy/concern for the Martin family and the AVOIDABLE/RECKLESS murder of their son are WRONG.
–ANTI-BLACK HATERS who engage in blatant acts of racism and then pretend that “they’re not racists/race has NOTHING to do with it” areWRONG.
–ANTI-BLACK HATERS who deny/dismiss claims of racism because they are not targeted/affected by it are WRONG.
–ANTI-BLACK HATERS who believe they should “get a pass” for the MANYBRANDS OF RACISM they practice are WRONG.
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“Sharina
@ Thuy
“Yes, I agree. Majority of whites don’t like to hear any people of color “whine”. They would love to have us shut up and walk away. Imo, I think we can be angry and should be so we can fight to change things, but just not give them more amunition to use on us by us not acknowledging even some whites who want to fight this injustice too.”–That is very true and I agree.”
– – –
Yes, I also agree.
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GZ is not White he is Half White just like Obama, also i do think he should have got Jail Time for what he did. He was a Person trying to play Cop when he is not one and he took a Life so he should have to Pay with his Own.
You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma’uled Al-Nabi.
You have the NAACP. You have BET. If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we’d be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.
If we had White History Month, we’d be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites to ‘advance’ OUR lives, we’d be racists.
We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that??
A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.
If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships… You know we’d be racists.
There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US … Yet if there were ‘White colleges’, that would be a racist college.
In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.
and before you call me Racist, im Married to a Beautiful Asian Women, My Best Friend of 21 Years is Hispanic.
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Please, i beg of everyone to not bother with SadWorld.
I find it way more appropriate, to introduce him to…..THE BROKEN RECORD DEPT. Don’t waste your breathe…
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Watch This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqS6OFuUXe8
Bet you never saw this on TV, it’s a Sad Story.
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@Sondis: I respect your request to not bother with SadWorld, but I’d ask you to excuse me if I do respond. I’m white, so it’s not like SadWorld has managed to drag a POC into his BS.
I haven’t clicked the “broken record” link (I will later) – I don’t think I need to for this…
@SadWorld: where the hell to start?
Whites don’t NEED white days, months, support organisations, advocacy groups. FFS, we have it all. To do the if-we-did-it-you’d-call-us-racist thing in that regard is TOTALLY racist, crass and fatuous. It’s like a healthy person complaining that a diabetic got some insulin.
We’re fine. Any disadvantages white people face are either through our own failings (yeh, try accepting responsibility for your life), or through CLASS/ECONOMIC-based discrimination, not racial considerations. Even where racism does occur against whites, when your the privileged majority it really doesn’t harm you that much. Get the f|_|ck over yourself.
The plutocratic class, the corporations and vested interests, will screw us ordinary white people the same as they will our friends of colour. The difference is that we don’t have the ADDITIONAL disadvantages that black, native American, and Asian people do. Even when we get screwed we are better off than non-whites.
You say:
“[…]and before you call me Racist, im Married to a Beautiful Asian Women, My Best Friend of 21 Years is Hispanic.”
That means nothing. Hispanic, as long as it isn’t too black, is white enough for many white people. When you say Asian, I presume you mean it in the sense usually meant in the US – i.e. south east Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Thai etc). In the UK if we speak of Asian people we usually mean Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan or Bangladeshi people. Well, south east Asian people are also white enough for many white racists. I have heard a real racist a$$hole who used to work at my day job bragging about a “Chinese” prostitute he used to visit (her name actually sounds Thai to me, but I’m kind of not surprised he doesn’t see a difference). I have heard his opinions on black, Indian and Pakistani people (and, yes, I did call it). No way would he have visited any of those for his purposes.
You can marry a non-white person and still be a racist SOB. You can have a few non-white “friends” (read “accessories”) and still be racist.
Do you realise how close that all sounds to the “some of my best friends are black” cliche?
If we walk like racists and quack like racists, we are usually are racists.
Your post seems, to me, to be full of quack.
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Actually, the diabetic analogy was pretty clumsy. I apologise if anyone here (or loved ones) is sick. I meant to change it before clicking “Post”. 😦
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@ Rick Marauderdad Buddhuu Cadger; I like your commentary Sir. You bring flavor to our discourse. You are a fresh voice.
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Rick Marauderdad Buddhuu Cadger:
I’m shocked, that you, ( A white person ) can eloquently explain to this ignorant fool, how his logic makes no sense.
It’s apparent that you as a white person, GETS IT!
Now if we had 99.9999999% more of white people who are able to see things for how they truly are, it would be bliss. *_*
I am curious as to how you are able to come to these conclusions but the majority of whites in America, do not.
What’s your secret, recipe?
Perhaps you should consider, passing on the family secret recipe to your extended family of fellow, white folks.
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I don’t always get it, but I’m trying. I have failed plenty of times to make the point I thought I was trying to make when commenting on posts on this blog. But thanks for the kind words, Sondis and Mary.
And thanks to Abagond. This blog (and the comments from readers) is one hell of an eye opener – even for those of us who *thought* we knew what was going on.
It’s 2pm here. A very good night to all.
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Jeez. I mean 2AM. See how tired I am?
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Yay for Rick! Thank you for sharing!
@ Sondis-they are out there, maybe rare, but as I’ve been saying in my posts, not all whites are. Some actually do get it just as Rick and my husband.
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Again, thanks Rick for your honesty and humility. There are other whites too who may not fully get it, but are or have been trying. Some may never, some don’t want to try.
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Thuy:
I’m not concerned so much with a small minority ( no pun intended ) of white people that, Get it. My concern is that the majority of white people get it.
I mean, if we perform a consensus of whites, that feel the same way that rick does from the civil rights movement, over 40 years ago Til present and all we have to show for it is rick? LMFAOO!
I know there are more than Rick but not to the amount we would need to make life equal or even, remotely better for black people as a race of people, across the nation.
That’s not progress, sorry to burst your bubble.
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@ Sondis: I read in this magazine an article titled. Beyond The Pale. It was about a White Priviledge convention. (WPC14) They have conventions where they discuss how white people have oppressed Black peole and other marginalized people in society,and how they can correct this. It was very interesting. Have you gone to Tim Wise’s blog site?
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NO, i have not. I am familiar with Time wise as i read his book, “Dear white people”. I’ve seen him speak on the treyvon martin case on my IPAD 2 with the CNN app.
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@ sondis, I agree with you completely. I had no bubble to burst. I was only simply stating that in response to statements that All whites are racist, and when you say all, that usually means 100%. If whites are open, and just need to be educated as Rick even acknowledged he did, than I simply want to be aware that it can be possible and not push them out before we give them a chance.
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Thuy:
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I am glad u are open to whatever percentage of white people that are or may be in the future still trying to be understanding and speak out or make changes themselves. That was my thoughts to what I wrote. I have seen that post before and agree with it, but thanks for sharing it .
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@Thuy; Another fresh perspective, another fresh voice.
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Rick Marauderdad Buddhuu Cadger and Thuy, I appreciate your comments, and want to say I concur with most of the points you have made in your posts.
I was just reading Daily Kos, and there was a discussion about Zimmerman’s gun and how it was holstered. They made some fascinating observations about how (and when) he drew his gun — how, if Trayvon were straddling him and pummeling him and making Zimmerman afraid for his life — how was Zimmerman able to draw his gun, and get off so accurate a shot as to pierce Trayvon through the heart? Another poster also noted the direction of the blood oozing from Zimmerman’s wounds — it was moving forward, toward the ears rather than backward toward the nape of the neck, which would have been the natural flow had Zimmerman been on the bottom having his head banged against the sidewalk. The blood flowing up and toward his ears suggests that Zimmerman was leaning forward, with his head angled in a downward direction.
Neither the prosecution (nor the police) took any of that into consideration, but further compounded the situation when they allowed Trayvon to be “tried” and characterized as a thug by the defense, without contesting or challenging those assertions. Furthermore, I heard many in the media refer to it as the Trayvon Martin trial or the Trayvon Martin case, even though Trayvon wasn’t the one being tried.
I hope when the civil rights and wrongful death charges are filed these issues will be given due consideration.
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I am not sure if these are even her words or not, being she is reading then and speaking these out loud but none the less, they are courageous words by a young, white female.
America needs more white people like this, that not only thinks this way but actually “acts” this way.
Its not enough for white people to just think in a none racist way but to be, proactive by shutting down friends or family, that make racist jokes and think its OK, because its the norm.
Watch the short video clip, below.
( http://youtu.be/TBRwiuJ8K7w )
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@sondis
Yeah, she’s on point. If she remains that aware, she’s in for a life of frustration!
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Origin:
what frustration is that?
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What might come from trying to educate other whites…
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Origin:
Oh, gotcha! ^_^
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sondis
that is good she knows not to be wearing stuff saying i am trayvon or i am troy davis. Too many whites see that and try to jump on the bandwagon, just like when some listened to rap saying fight the power and they didn’t know what that meant. All we as black people can do is unify and help each other. Its up to whites like her to work on educating other whites and trying to dismantle the glass ceilings they put in place.
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mstoogood4yall:
I agree ^_^
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sondis how u doin?
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mstoogood4yall:
I’m doing alright, thanks for asking.
Heading to bed…. Goodnight ^_^
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To kind of step outside of the topic a tad bit, I heard GZ had a rape charge in Virginia which was supposedly his reason to move to Florida. It’s funny – well, who are we kidding after seeing the trial that it was never mentioned – that it was not brought up.
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I don’t know if this is of any interest, and it may be off topic. It’s a link to something I wrote in May when, in England, a white soldier was murdered by two black men. The colour of the attackers and the victim was not an issue so much as the attackers apparently being Muslim. The piece was a reaction to the knee-jerk reactions that happened in the aftermath.
I hope it gives some insight on how people, and the media, in the UK function in such circumstances.
(https://www.facebook.com/notes/rick-marauderdad-buddhuu-cadger/bigots-idiots-muslims-and-football-shirts/533940313315121)
Abagond, if the link is inappropriate or off topic then please delete with my approval and apologies.
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We can’t expect a Euro-American jury, especially in the racist state of Florida, to be just…they don’t know anything about justice, they never have and never will.
Glad he got off…now it’s time for street justice. Hope he booked his one-way ticket to some far-off land…and even there, he will forever have to watch his back. That’s punishment enough.
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@Abagond Zimmerman isn’t even white, although his light skinned, he have an afro-peruvian grandmother mother and an jewish father. So he is an mestizo.
Why so try put the guilty on white america, because the criminal is mixed-race!
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There is a Justice For Trayvon Martin Rally in my city on Saturday, I will be there in my hoodie.
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^ Great for you! 🙂
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Hey sis
That is wonderful. let us know how it goes. oh take pics if u can:)
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Did’nt get to make the rally had to work.
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I was wondering if this verdict and the case of Marissa Alexander be classified as gross miscarriages of justice? It would seem so to me because a murderer was acquitted,and a woman defending herself is incarcerated for twenty years.
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I think it would be mary. Something is wrong when she is in prison for 20 yrs and didn’t kill or shoot anybody. I wonder if she did kill her husband if they would’ve let her go…
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According to Pew research:
Dissatisfaction with the verdict:
100%
90%
86% blacks
80%
70%
68% Democrats
60%
58% Hispanics
56% white Democrats
53% 18 to 29 years old
50%
48% women
44% 30 to 49 years old
42% Americans
41% young whites (age 18-29)
40%
37% 50 to 64 years old
37% Independents
36% men
34% white women
33% 65 years or older
30% whites
30%
28% white Independents
27% old whites (age 65+)
25% white men
20% Republicans
20%
13% white Republicans
10%
7% of those who agree with the Tea Party
0%
The deepest divisions are those of race and party.
More:
http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/22/big-racial-divide-over-zimmerman-verdict/
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Those who think the Zimmerman case raises important issues about race that need to be discussed:
78% blacks
53% white Democrats
47% Hispanics
36% Americans
28% whites
14% white Republicans
which falls roughly in line with dissatisfaction with the verdict.
More:
http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/22/big-racial-divide-over-zimmerman-verdict/
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He was found not guilty. Won’t change. Quit bitching.
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@ lol
Whose b*tch’in again? Seems to me you are doing just fine with that. 🙂
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@ Lol
Telling someone that they are bitching or whining is not an argument. It is a silencing technique, mostly used by the privileged against the marginalized: parents against children, men against women, whites against people of colour, the rich against the poor, etc.
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I wonder What would have happened had George George Zimmermann met a George Zimmerman type on the road in Texas?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2382127/The-moment-George-Zimmerman-pulled-cops-Texas-speeding-Sunday–told-GUN-going-particular.html
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Well it seems he loves the media attention.
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Sharina,
Yep, just like a wanna be, white cop, always wants to be the center of attention.
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I’m not buying that the police officer, didn’t recognize who he was, bull!
He got a warning, because he was George Zimmerman.
white people are behind him all the way, because he killed a black teenager!
Don’t be fooled by the claim that NOBODY knew who he was!
This cop was being very friendly and have him a pass in the way of a warning.
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And always armed too.
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The acquittal of Zimmerman shows how racist this country truly is. And all those Whites rallying behind Zimmerman. SMH. Yet a Black woman is put in jail for 20 years using a gun to defend herself. It just shows that the justice system isn’t fair and only protects White life.
Most of all, the acquittal and White support of the Zimmerman acquittal shows me that MOST Whites can’t be trusted. I was right along about MOST of them plus I live around them so I know their nature.
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Everyone ignores the fact that if Trayvon had just keep walking home, ran away, called the police himself, or done anything other than physically assault George Zimmerman, he would still be alive today.
The fact is that it is not illegal to follow someone you think is suspicious, it is not illegal to get out of your car and look around when you lose sight of them, even if a 911 operator tells you they don’t need you to do so. Its also not illegal to defend yourself when you are physically assaulted, or to use deadly force against someone who you can reasonably assume is a threat to your life, like when someone runs up, punches you in the nose and knocks you down, jumps on top of you and starts slamming your head into the sidewalk. The only person that did anything illegal that night was Trayvon Martin and sadly it cost him his life.
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I dont care what the jury said. He is a murderer, pure and simple.
God will judge him. I believe there is a special place in hell for him, right next to hitler.
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yes, and everyone ignores the fact that a young man was minding his own business, was stalked by some asshole WHO WAS TOLD TO LEAVE THE BOY ALONE BY THE POLICE and lost his life
travyon had a right to go to the store, buy whatever he wanted, and walk home in peace….oh sorry I forgot this is AMERICA where blacks are guilty until proven innocent
my bad
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@ ifarmturnips
Women “done anything other than physically assault George Zimmerman, he would still be alive today.”—And you can be 100% certain of this? Nope because you don’/t really have a clue what could have happened just what you think might have happened.
“The only person that did anything illegal that night was Trayvon Martin and sadly it cost him his life.”—Know what I f ind funny about your statement…if you said this prior ” Its also not illegal to defend yourself when you are physically assaulted, or to use deadly force against someone who you can reasonably assume is a threat to your life,” so tell me again what was illegal in what Martin did?
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@ Karen your facts are mixed up. A civilian 911 operator told Zimmerman “we don’t need you to do that” when Zimmerman said he was going to get out of his vehicle to look for Trayvon because he lost sight of him.
You are correct that Trayvon had every right to go to the store, buy what ever he wanted, and go home in peace . . . but what he did not have the right to do was physically assault George Zimmerman.
@Sharina, would you consider someone following you down the street while talking on a cell phone a physical assault or that you were in imminent danger of losing your life?
You are correct though I do not know for certain what happened that night, because I was not there. My statements are all based on the police reports that were made public and evidence presented in the trial. The narrative I see being presented of George Zimmerman stalking and murdering an innocent teenager just because he was black is not supported by any evidence, and in fact ignores evidence to the contrary.
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Shocking.
(http://news.yahoo.com/lawyer-george-zimmermans-wife-filing-divorce-213817140.html)
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@ ifarmturnips
” would you consider someone following you down the street while talking on a cell phone a physical assault or that you were in imminent danger of losing your life?”—I don’t like deflection questions as they are just simply ways to avoid people addressing the issues to their own comments, but I will humor you.
If someone is following me period…cell phone or no I would feel in danger as you do not know what that person is thinking and as a woman I could risk being raped or murdered. So in short if Zimmerman followed me like he did Martin then I would most certainly be preparing to do one or two things…fight or flight.
As for your supposed evidence…it does not indicate that Martin did something illegal. In fact what it does end up indicating is both men feared for their life and stood their ground. Just one had a gun and the other did not.
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“. The narrative I see being presented of George Zimmerman stalking and murdering an innocent teenager just because he was black is not supported by any evidence, and in fact ignores evidence to the contrary.”—Don’t see where I said that or even hinted at I believe this, but keep putting words in my mouth or making up what you think I might believe simply because I support Martin. I like watching people foolishly take that route and be wrong.
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Trayvon was on suspension for drugs. Marijuana was found in his autopsy. He attacked Zimmerman, and paid the price. And black guys who kill whites have gone free. (OJ Simpson)
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@Bobby Martnen
guy and guys are two different things. One is singular and the other is plural. Now opinions are welcome, but facts can get you far.
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I’ve never read soooo much racism and stupity in my life. Did anyone even study the FACTS of the case? Tens of thousands of black kids have been killed before, after and during all of this, and ALOT of white kids some by wait for it… Black people. I’ve never seen the outcry of racism from the white community like I have here. Put blame where it goes. The police perhaps for not arresting him when he should’ve after they found the stolen jewelry in his locker, or the time before when they found drugs on him, both times he should’ve been in jail but the higher ups didn’t want crime to LOOK so bad, they needed their numbers down! He was wandering the streets because he was suspended from school, not arrested as the law states he should’ve been. Had they not been worried about the crime elevation numbers he would’ve been in jail not walking to the store. Maybe their should’ve been some punishment at one for being suspended for the umpteenth time, restricted perhaps to his room? That picture shows a much younger and smaller trayvon, so let’s all please stop thinking hes the 12 yr old in the picture, he was 17 and in constant trouble. Had he been punished for his trouble none of this would’ve happened. I want to know what these same people would think if it were a white troubled teen and a mexican man that shot him. How outraged would you be? Honestly? It certainly wouldn’t have made the news, but if some HOW you would’ve heard that, how outraged would you have been? Nothing different but the race of the teen. Why is there so much racism toward white men here, there were NO white men involved, where is all the white hate coming from with this particular case? Did you hear of the black woman who kidnapped the white 12 yr old and burned the kid to death? Again where is the outrage. Look up all the statistics and FACTS, on murder, self defense, zimmermans personal life, Trayvons personal life, and the race statistics of killings, with whites at fault, Mexicans at fault, amd blacks at fault. I got lost why again are we hating and distrusting WHITE people. Perhaps I missed something in the case.
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@ Confused:
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@Confused
“I’ve never read soooo much racism and stupity in my life.”—So I am guessing you did not read your comment before submitting it?
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@Confused
(quite a fitting name). That is because the only outcry from white people (such as yourself) happens when they seek to quilt black people for caring enough about a death to speak up. If you as a white person do not care enough to protest, call your local government and media, or even make a n outcry, then why are you looking for black people to care as much about you and white people? I think this has been one of the top most ridiculous arguments I have heard from white people and it gets more silly by the moment. Casey Anthony trial got national outcry because someone cared to make it known (whether it be media or whatever). You people get mad at black people, but how many blacks are in the media business pushing one story or another to the front? You need to check who that anger really needs to be directed at and I can almost promise you that it is a…wait for it….WHITE PERSON.
As to correct you on facts of Martin, He was not suspended for the umpteenth time but 3 times. He was not wandering the streets he was going home after getting snacks at a store (there is video footage). Your post is contradictory at this point as it seems you can’t get your little FACTS aka opinions straight. I am guessing this is a results of your opinions fighting with the facts of the case. The reason why individuals like you are still holding on to the 12 year old pictures is because most were too lazy to look for the 17 year old. Had he been punished for his troubles or not would in no way have stopped Zimmerman for what he chose to do. One persons actions do not negate another. Martin could have been a choir boy going to the store that night singing hymnals and it would not have changed Zimmerman’s choice to engage him. This is false sense of projections and it reminds me of when people excuse the rape of certain type of women. It is called victim blaming.
You missed a lot, but I just covered the basics.
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It’s hysterical that white men think the world is oppressing them.
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I don’t know if you’d consider me white since coming here ( to america and to this site i came across when looking for information about the case) it seems everyone has titled themselves accordingly, so I supposed that make me an English American? My skin color is white. African Americans call themselves black too, Spanish Americans and so on. I’d really hoped to learn something and you are right, confused definitely, I didn’t read all the information at the top just knew the outcome of the case, my black friend was standing beside me at work and got a post on his phone that said Zimmerman was dead, apparently an internet hoax, although I thought it’d be a great idea for him to fake his own death, since I’ve read he’s pretty much on the run since the verdict, wearing a bullet proof vest with a bounty on his head. I’m truly not trying to be an ass here, I was a bit angry when I read all the mistrust and hatred posts for “white” people and whoever gets lumped int that category ( Irish English German etc) I truly want to understand why everyone on this site I guess it doesnt speak for everyone that is black I’m assuming most are. Except for maybe who was called soccer mom and called out as quickly as I was for having a different opinion. Just as ALOT of OPINIONS have been expressed here as well as facts. And yes if he had been punished for his troubles during that exact time frame it would have stopped what happened because he wouldn’t have been in that location at that time. I’m not one to blame a victim, ofcourse everyone wishes he wasn’t killed EVERYONE! (okay I can’t speak for crazy murdering white pointy hat wearing people) but everyone with a brain, did not want anyone to die, that day or anyday for that matter, and I’ve thought to myself a million times, if he’s protecting himself and feared for his life maybe a shot to the toe would’ve stopped the fight, and he’d still be here. There still would’ve been outcry but not to this extreme. Just curious as to why this one case has ignited more fire in the hate that exists between whites and blacks. The OJ case had similar effects too. And I do see some white oppression as well, referring to the last comment. Do you picture all white men (which I’m neither) as rich, closed minded, privileged above it all holier than thou types? I work in downtown atlanta and see just as many tents and buggies under the overpass for the white men as the black. Maybe I don’t understand what white oppression is, would you mind expanding on that? In your opinion how are ( I’m assuming you are or feel oppressed and are black? ) black people oppressed currently and how are white people not having some of the same experiences currently as you? Guess I’m asking brothawolf? I apologize for using the word stupity, we are all entitled to our own opinions I was angry after reading so much anger, hate and hypocrisy. Expressing options isn’t stupid and I let MY frustration get to me, that’s when our minds close to others thoughts and opinions when we only speak out of anger. I’m here to learn why people feel the way they feel now. I’m just a waitress, there are many more successful people than me by far of all races and I don’t feel like its anyone’s fault but my own that I’m where I am now, is that what oppression is? Feeling like someone else has held you down to not fulfill your own dreams? I know I could google the word, but living in what wiki calls the “black Mecca” for 35 years, I feel like I should certainly have a better grasp on why the racial tension between white people and black people run so high, everyone acts like its not there, but it’s obvious from this websites comments and in my everyday life ( yeah I get skipped over at work ALOT when our guests see a black waiter and say we want him, they’ve never been to the restaurant but they are black guests and their preference is a black server to each his own I’ll get the next table, but I’m just trying to understand why it’s still this way.) I’ve tried to get a job at another Atlanta restaurant years ago and they said they don’t hire women. Again to each his own, the owner is allowed to do as he see’s fit, I don’t have to agree with it, but I should damn well have a better understanding of these things as I’m steps from the MLK center, and I’m too old not to have a grasp on these things, I know I’ve gotten completely off topic, but they all seem to be tied into why people got so outraged at the verdict, because I think I know if it were 2 white men or 2 black men it certainly wouldn’t have gotten any attention and it all connects to why. And why do you suppose so much has to do with skin color? Like the server I referred to earlier is mixed, but his skin is black be seen his mother on several occasions and she is white, but he’s considered black? As is the president. When he is half white as well? Why is everyone at this present time still so focused on race? Is it because of the past? And if so when does that stop? I don’t think of the past wrongs of my heritage. ( done on to my ancestors, not to me or anyone I’ve been alive long enough to meet) I have too many questions maybe brothawolf could just start with the oppression thing and I’ll continue to try and find the current source of peoples anger thru my studies. Thanks for yur time.
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Sharina, saying ” you people” do you mean, overworked, underpaid, confused on this race issue English Americans? Or just everyone with white skin? I’m quite sure we’ve all got different opinions, very different lives, and if Ive seen all the very different walks of life’s thru all of the comments, I’m guessing most are from African Americans, but you are all individuals, so I wouldn’t ever utter the phrase “you people” we are all way too different to be lumped into one basket. Ever seen a story on black sphere? He’s black and his opinion is almost the opposite of everyone’ s I’ve read here. It just sounds really bad, as did my stupity comment which I’ll apologize again for. I’m sorry I let my anger get a hold of my emotions and chose a very “stupid” word. Thanks for YOUR time.
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@Confused:
What was the large run on sentence/paragraph about? I am confused.
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@ Confused
Your were not called out for your opinion so much as you trying to deliver your opinion as fact. With that being said you continue to try to push your opinion as if it is fact. For starters the reason he was not arrested was not because of some hidden agenda so much as it would have been a circumstantial case. No one reported the jewelry they found on him missing and a screw driver could be used for anything so they really had no real way to tie it to a robbery. The mere fact that he was suspended is a sign he got in trouble or something was done for other misbehavior at school. You seem to have confusion in regards to how school discipline works as well as juvenile justice system. In most cases they are sent to one parent to watch over and directed to complete some form of community service. Sorry but it is likely that the outcome would have been the same and as I stated you can’t dictate or excuse one behavior because of another’s deeds. If you beat children all day in a daycare and I decided to hit you with my car, I can’t go to court and argue that had you been in jail for beating those kids that you would not have been hit with my car. See how ridiculous that sounds?
Yet your whole post is victim blaming.
Not all racist wear pointy hats. That is yet another spoon-fed delusion that the naïve believe in. This case did not bring about any feelings that were not already below the surface. People go on believing that somehow this case was the beginning (lol). That is why higher ups keep you in the dark because it makes it so easy to produce more people willing to fall pray to the lies they tell. I personally don’t picture white men anyway. I usually prefer to meet people in person and go that route.
Thing is Zimmerman put himself in that situation. I have no real doubt in my mind that he played a very pivotal role in the incident. I am sure he knows this as well, but he has been puffed up to be a certain way and most people that once supported him are now beginning to questions the truthfulness in what he said. Some just don’t care because they see it as a tit for tat.
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Mr Ryder, I don’t know why that is? And I will look up Jim Crow. I’ve been pulled over 3 times this year per my new car so they said ( old car but “sporty”) but its been by black officers, when I went to court to pay for a missing brake light it was a black judge. Aren’t these the same people making the arrests? Would they be a twisted sort of racist to their own race? I’m sorry if I’m not getting this fast enough, I’ve only started my learning and research referring to racism, never really noticed any at all until my late twenties, then I’d just assumed it was few and far between, but not after the Zimmerman case and reading these comments. Thanks for your time.
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@ Confused
Stick to one user name or you are going to find yourself banned.
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hey hey, abagond! long time no see! I see you’ve been busy as a bee as I’m constantly getting email updates with several articles a week. Keepin em honest is your motto!
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My apologies, didn’t know the rules. No need to ban, I’ll ban myself and read everyones opinions from afar, no comments again from me much to your relief I’m sure. Thank you to anyone who I trying to express thoughts and opinions that I may learn from all posts, putting myself in your shoes and hopefully one or some of you will do the same. It’s hard to find the true facts when all of the different new stations, newspapers, and websites have their own agendas, but will try to see through the fog of un truths. I dislike the anger and hatred I’m creating, I thought it could be more “this is how I feel about this and why” and I could learn something as could someone else open to hearing other opinions and I am truly trying to find the whys of the way people feel. The start of understanding. I know pointy hats aren’t the only sign of racism, I experience it everyday at work myself, that statement was made toward the only sociopaths that I could think of that would want someone, anyone, of any age, hurt or dead. No one wants that ever. I’m clearly out numbered and uneducated in the history of racism beyond my own heritage, was hoping to get a better grasp on why the anger, not create more, its been my experience that’s what people do on these chat sites, debate, learn things and figure out why other people think the way they think, amd come up with solutions, I hope I’ll gain some insight from each others opinions and thoughts, this isn’t the site for that I see. I’m sorry for your struggles, and I’ll continue with mine, I don’t want to continue hurting people if asking questions is opening up wounds, I deal with enough in day to day, I cant continue to create anger, or sadness for you or myself. Thank you for any words of wisdom in the last couple of posts, any that may come in the future. Wish you all the best. I know you’re feeling thoughts of good riddance but please swallow down that one opinion and move on from my thoughts that you all disagree with, I’ve gotten that much so I guess I did learn a thing or two. Good luck to you all.
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@ Phoebe
A stark reminder that the Civil Rights movement for integration was a huge mistake; we should have fought to have our own cities, school systems, law enforcement, political system…
Not a good idea. Pretty easy to paint a bullseye on such a discrete target.
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I don’t know if you’d consider me white since coming here ( to america and to this site i came across when looking for information about the case) it seems everyone has titled themselves accordingly, so I supposed that make me an English American? My skin color is white
Confused? You will be…,lol
I know pointy hats aren’t the only sign of racism, I experience it everyday at work myself, that statement was made toward the only sociopaths that I could think of that would want someone, anyone, of any age, hurt or dead. No one wants that ever.
I suspect you are conflicted. I dont reckon you are ‘white’ in what race realists would feel is white….and I think you know it. I hope for your sake you get some clarity and this blog is a good place to start.
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Was watching the news on last week, and heard it reported that Zimmerman was at a gun show signing autographs.And that the crowed was lined up outside the door. America, what a country. SMH.
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*crowd*
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@ mary. Gun owners may be George’s only friends. Recently he was promoting a boxing match with DMX. The promoter cancelled the event due to tremendous backlash. He’s either really liked or strongly disliked :).
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@ Sondis
You were not gone that long. Peanut has been gone longer.
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