Quote from: Hubbs on Jul 16, 2013, 06:31:47 PM
No he's a black man who isn't afraid to speak truthfully and not JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON or USE THE RACE CARD.
I can tell that you didn't read one single word of my post, so I'm just going to repost it for you. Enjoy the reading this time around!
"What does that have to do with anything? Black on black crime is a part of the same embedded indirectly and directly racist structures and errors that a lot of, if not most, black people are victims to. "Our" society and culture don't perceive their lives as valuable as others, hence the authorities' and the communities' laxness and negligence of poor/underprivileged young black men killing each other over scraps - their lives don't matter - not even to other black people in the same situation since they are a part of "our" society and culture too, i.e. a culture where some people just don't matter. They've lost hope, because it's people on the bottom fighting each other sideways. They where doomed from the beginning, so who cares, right?
But when someone more or less privileged, someone above all of that, stalks and kills a black teenager in a rich, mostly white neighborhood just because the said black teenager "didn't belong there", and then gets away with it (killing the black teen), it unveils the much alive racism against black people, and especially against young black men. It reminds us all (not just black people) that things are still unfair, that we haven't successfully rooted our embarrassing past, which is painful to see, and for some of us it is impossible to admit.
To a minority, and especially to African-Americans with their history as slaves, cases like these are unifying factors. And I am absolutely sure that this will raise awareness and attention to the lax way black-on-black crimes are dealt with, but also on how important it is to strengthen the community, to keep on struggling and start demanding the Government apparatus to truly govern - to invest in its people instead of cutting them off. In other words it is just as much a class issue as it has to do with hidden and embedded structural racism.
But to start bringing up black-on-black violence while calling black people out, calling them hypocrites as a whole for getting pissed off about the verdict, is just a cowardly and reactionary way to divert attention, to marginalize and to finally make people shut up. He (the guy in the video) might think he is doing something brave by schooling African-Americans as whole, but in reality he is just playing the hands of the viral remnants of racism of our culture/country and the people who benefit from, and are deeply comfortable with these structures.
It's one thing to tell people to calm down and to stop running around saying that you're gonna go after Zimmerman, and it's one thing to remind people that young black men are killed daily (...usually by other young black men) and the urgency to do something about it. But only focusing on and highlighting the negative parts of the black people's reactions and calling them hypocrites etc. because they give the Zimmerman case so much attention is just counterproductive.
The man you posted is a complete fool. He doesn't deserve a reward at all.
NOTE: And btw. the absolute majority of these protests have been peaceful and respectful. Saying that 50% of the protesters are out there to deliberately cause trouble, is a pure lie. And accusing people for playing the race card when this whole thing is a about structural racism at its finest (note: I'm talking about the verdict and the way this case was handled and the mechanisms leading to it; not talking about George Zimmerman), just makes you sound ignorant."
QuoteBottom line, there was no hard evidence or witnesses to prove what happened, so you can't imprison someone without actual proof of what is claimed, law 101. Everyone is claiming Zimmerman murdered the young man, really? prove it, oh you can't well geez. Yes he could of killed him in cold blood, on the other hand the black youth could have been attacking him badly, we don't know.
What we do know is that George Zimmerman was armed and made the decision to follow and confront Trayvon Martin instead of calling the authorities / the police. Being followed by someone on the street is highly unpleasant to say the least and very threatening, it makes you scared and gets your adrenaline going. If the peruser on top of that comes up to you and confronts you, asking who you are and what you are doing there in an accusing and hostile way, making you feel like you don't have the right to be there even though your relative lives there, will make you feel even worse. It is provocative and makes you mad. Now, we don't know who started attacking the other physically, but let's say it was Trayvon Martin, it doesn't matter since violence is never justified... Anyhow, pretend you're in Martin's shoes... he was no saint and it was probably not the first time someone has confronted him like that on the street. But this time around comes an adult, he follows you through a pretty much all-white neighborhood where you already feel you're not welcome. Probably received a lot of looks on your way over there. That adult then confronts and corner you, and it is safe to say that Zimmerman didn't back off - being the armed adult and all. Trayvon Martin panics, or snaps, and decides to attack Zimmerman. The two of them starts fighting and to Zimmerman's dismay it seems like Martin is getting the upper hand.
Now, let's give George Zimmerman the benefit of a doubt that Trayvon Martin, high on adrenaline, lost it and just kept on pummeling Zimmerman, and Zimmerman, fearing for his life, decides to grab his gun to shoot Trayvon Martin in "self-defense" --- taken all that in account the fact still remains that Zimmerman was armed and purposely decided to peruse and confront an, according to Zimmerman himself, potentially dangerous man. Zimmerman chose to end up in a potentially dangerous situation instead of calling the authorities, and he did it because he was armed (his testimony pretty much confirms that in an indirect way). He knew that if things went wrong that he always had the option to draw his gun to end the fight, by scaring Martin away, or even shooting him as a last resort. But, whenever you decide to shoot at someone, especially in a heated situation, there is always the chance that you might kill your 'opponent'.
No matter how you look at it Zimmerman made the fight happen, he insisted on it, and then shot Martin. That is at least manslaughter. It wasn't Martin who jumped Zimmerman from behind in some dark alleyway, trying to stab Zimmerman.
Martin was completely unarmed (unless you consider candy and a can of iced tea a lethal weapon) and Zimmerman wasn't. Zimmerman picked the fight not Martin.
QuoteJesus why isn't there all this fuss and rioting when school kids get killed in shootings?
You know what (as I have repeated in several posts before this one), it is a part of the same bigger problem, namely U.S. gun laws (and especially in states like Florida with "Stand your ground" laws and where you easily can get a permit to carry a gun around on the street). Zimmerman would never have pursued and confronted Martin if he (Zimmerman) wasn't armed in the first place, which indirectly means that Martin would've never been shot either. Zimmerman would've done the 'right' thing instead, namely calling the authorities.
Being a legal gun owner in most of the U.S. pretty much gives you special exempt status thanks to the immensely powerful and almighty NRA. They have made the 2nd Amendment (...well, their interpretation of it...) the most prestigious, holy and important amendment of them all. Whenever there is a legal gun issue the NRA and their affiliates make sure that guns are portrayed in a positive matter - that more guns and easier access to guns are the solution whatever the problem is. Greed, greed, greed...
And I don't know if you know but Zimmerman is getting his gun (the murder weapon) back - the same gun he shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
"Because he needs to defend himself, and the gun saved his life in the first place" - so f****d up. So incredibly f****d up.
