Trayvon Martin and Race Relations in America
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-03-26/trayvon-martin-and-race-relations-america
On Friday President Obama said, "If i had a son, he’d look like Trayvon." Though the President didn’t specifically mention race in his comments, race has been the discussion since the death of the Florida teenager made news. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed one month ago today by a white Hispanic man. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, said he shot the teen in self defense. Police cited Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law as one reason they didn’t arrest him. Diane and her panel discuss the questions the killing of Trayvon Martin raises about state laws and race relations in America.
Guests
Donna Britt
author of "Brothers (and Me): A Memoir of Loving and Giving," journalist and former syndicated columnist for the Washington Post.
Isabel Wilkerson
a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist, author of "The Warmth of Other Suns."
Anthony Cook
Professor of Law at Georgetown, teaches courses in constitutional law, civil rights and African-American critical thought
David Ovalle
reporter for the Miami Herald
Comments
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I am sick of the media sowing photos of this kid when he was in middle school. They try to sow this kid as a Choir Boy. His screen name on twitter was: No_Limit_Nigga. He also has a mouth full of gold teeth. He also has several suspensions from school. Let's show this kid the true thug that he was.
It should also be noted that Zimmerman was overweight and out of shape, while Martin was 6'3" and in good shape. Martin also had youthfulness on his side. If Martin had approached me at night, sporting a hoodie, flashing his gold teeth, I'd feel threatened too.
"Sabrina Fulton is seeking marks for the phrases “I Am Trayvon” and “Justice for Trayvon,” according to filings made last week with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In both instances, Fulton is seeking the trademarks for use on “Digital materials, namely, CDs and DVDs featuring Trayvon Martin,” and other products."
,http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/trayvon-martin-trademarks-769123
Sabrina Fulton is the late Trayvon Martin's mother.
Sorry if I am late to this, but the new twist on Trayvon, the leak from the police, is an everyday occurance of CYA. In Norfolk, a sailor cast on shore by a storm, lost control of his bowels in a police car, and that was considered appropriate for 'coverage' from here to Timbuktu. But with a little insight, you can put the type of coverage that and this have received in the clear light of day. Never before in the history of police and police cars has anyone lost control of their bowels. And never before has a black boy been found 'not wanted' in a gated community. The fact that the 'unfortunate armed citizen' was caught in this 'fuss' and has his facts and script down pat, is SOP as well. Hiring a shill to put the 'sweet smell' on it, is easy for the well funded and 'offended' classes, that have nothing to do with anything, and can not 'foresee' anything but what they have already written the script for. Coverage is as coverage does. They have his back, the police, the neighbors, and they are 'offended, offended, I tell you,' that anyone could see it any other way. Now everyone can start leaking about the golden boys whose daddy's know who to go to to get their son's 'mischievousness' taken care of. Their 'boys will be boys." Anyone elses are up to no good.
Maybe some brave young men whose daddy's took care of them back in the day or recently can step out and state their personal experience, as in "testifying to the ways of the gentry." That kind of bravery is usually not found in their class. That is why they are not fit for flight decks, engine rooms, or anything that requires attention and respect for citizens of the world. They are too busy with lint on their clothes and keeping their cars and yards detailed. Oh, and have they got a little job for you and yours, and the rest of us have a big job cleaning up their sweet mess.
Oct21 you are a major distraction to the guts of this moment and Fox News is a Rupert Murdoch adventure adventure, the Fast and Furious bleacher bums. This matter is getting serious attention at religiondispatches.org from Althea Buter. I suggest you and Roger Ailes take a good look at the easily googled piece and the comments there.
Lee Atwater called white populists--now the tea party--the trump card in the game of politics in the South, and looks like fools like you are rushing to trump wherever you can.
I pray for a day when my Good ol Boy White Brothers in the South are free to hunt game all they want, but the malicious wedge issue politics of the latter day Birchers and White Citizen Council now disguised in all matter of beasts from the NRA to the Southern Baptist Convention that is silent on the Mother Jones recent piece on Self Deportation in Alabama, sees the light and this country can once again slog forward like it was doing in the best days of Bill Clinton, and the promise of Obama when he first took office.
Jeremiah Wright was flawwed in many ways, but it would be hard to fault him, or compare the nature of his worst understood notions to this illgotten law in Florida without which we most likely would not have had this tragedy in Sanford
The lame stream media is now characterizing Zimmerman as a "white Hispanic."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/26/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html
From now on, I'm sure CNN will refer to POTUS Obama as a white African American. Of course a minority shooting another minority would be buried in the media. The media wouldn't want to ruin Al Sharpton and the Black Panthers crusade altogether.
Patsy Nomore,
Were you also glad that President Obama spoke out about the killing of Delric Miller? Oh wait ... you don't know who Delric Miller is, do you? Of course you don't. And neither does Barack Obama. And neither does Al Sharpton. And neither does Jesse Jackson. Delric Miller was a black child (an infant) who was killed by a stray bullet from an AK-47 in Detroit a few weeks ago. The reason that President Obama did not have anything to say about the killing of Delric Miller is because Delric Miller was shot by a black man, not a white man.
The racial division fostered by the mainstream press and by the President and by the likes of Sharpton and Jackson should be an embarassment to African American people across this country. Do you think these "leaders" simply don't care about the Delric Millers? No. They don't. They only care when they can score political points and foster division. Delric Miller is cannon fodder to them.
As johnandere says, blacks die all the time, like rats, so what difference does it make if another one dies in Florida. Blacks are often killed by blacks, so why does anyone get excited if one gets boffed by a non-black -- police should not waste their time on these worthless pieces of humanity (if johnandere condiders them human).
I must agree, johnandere speaks well for the right wing that loves the Florida implementation of the Stand Your Ground statute where if the police think the dead guy was a worthless piece of meat, then it's no big deal. Just make sure the killer says he "felt" threatened, and close the case.
One other interesting thought WRT the Florida SYG statute: If you accept greensborocommentor framing that if due to one's experience (actual or through whatever media) one feels threatened by the presence of a black male, then if one were driving by a playground where there were a number of black children present, gunning the engine and mowing them down fits the "self defense" criteria. Or, if the Nazi's in Germany felt threatened by the Jews (which they in fact did due to the regime's propaganda), the holocaust was justified. It's amazing what you can justify with a simple "I feel threatened" criteria for self defense.
Mike Larson wrote:
"As johnandere says, blacks die all the time, like rats, so what difference does it make if another one dies in Florida"
Mike Larson is a liar. If I may speak for johnandere, he said no such thing. In fact, he said just the OPPOSITE.
"Blacks are often killed by blacks, so why does anyone get excited if one gets boffed by a non-black -- police should not waste their time on these worthless pieces of humanity"
I'm sorry you feel that way, Mike Larson - but it is apparent from your inconsistency with respect to the killing of Delric Miller and Trayvon Martin. Where were you when Delric Miller was killed? Nowhere. Now, weeks later, you claim that you "care" about the Delric Millers?! The fact is, you, the President, Sharpton, Jackson care only about making political points over the body of Trayvon Martin. There's nothing to be gained politically for you from calling attention to the Delric Miller murder so you are silent. As I said, the Delric Millers are just cannon fodder for you.
Your hypocrisy makes me vomit.
The tragedy is black culture. Of course this is a sad day for everyone involved. But in the end where do you think a 17 year old black guy with gold teeth was headed?
The war on women wasn`t working so good for the T-Party radicals,thus the return to the tried and true bigotry towards African Americans. Especially the off color guy in the White House who dares to have an opinion.
Patsy Nomore,
That statement is what is known in logical argument as "non sequitur". It has nothing to do with the questions I asked you. What about Delric Miller? Why don't you, or the President, or Sharpton, or Jackson care about him?!
As I said, Delric Miller is cannon fodder for you. Trayvon Martin is politically useful. That's why we hear about him.
Regardless of the facts in this case. A man who could not subdue an unarmed teenager without using deadly force is not a man. A 17 year old boy wrestled you to the ground really?
vincent23 wrote:
"Regardless of the facts in this case."
So, we have your perspective.
"A man who could not subdue an unarmed teenager without using deadly force is not a man. A 17 year old boy wrestled you to the ground really?"
Could be the most ignorant statement I've seen on any message board ever, anywhere, any time, bar none.
The media picture in words and photos painted of Trayvon Martin are really misleading. He is 6'3 with gold teeth and of much darker complexion, you decide if this matters but it's clear there is a deliberate deception at play in all this by the media. WHY?
Oct21 wrote:
"The media picture in words and photos painted of Trayvon Martin are really misleading. He is 6'3 with gold teeth and of much darker complexion, you decide if this matters but it's clear there is a deliberate deception at play in all this by the media. WHY?"
Oh, c'mon, Oct21. You know the answer to that!
Patsy Nomore wrote:
"The war on women wasn`t working so good for the T-Party radicals,thus the return to the tried and true bigotry towards African Americans. Especially the off color guy in the White House who dares to have an opinion."
---------------------------------------
The general leading the war on women is Bill Maher. I believe he is a liberal. Mr. Zimmerman is also off color. POTUS Obama's public "opinion" on a case that has not gone through the court system, may just result in no justice for Mr. Martin. How ironic.
Marcus,
This President has a bad habit of sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and worse, before all the facts are in. He did it in the Henry Gates case, the Giffords shooting, and others.
The picture on that sign is from years ago.
The media should have been asking the question of why this was so, why did the family block his facebook page, and even his friends/familys facebook pages failed to offer up any more recent pictures.
The drudge report pictures of how this kid actually looks have come out, and he looks like a gold tooth thug, not as convenient a narrative anymore, not the little boy going out for skittles, he could have been a gangster, or even a wanna be gangster with a short fuse, he was already suspended from school. In any case we've been deceived.
I'm sure obama regrets saying this kid would be what his son would have looked like if he had one, the kid was a probable thug. The people working the race card into this issue really need to stop it, they are worse than the tea party when it comes to coursening the discussion, I've seen the screaming of racism on many sites, from either the blog owners or the commenters, its become a mindless mob where they are so married to their narrative that it no longer requires facts.
Mike Larson stated
"Southern Republicans are quick to chime in that whites (and Hispanics and Asians, etc) are justified to shoot blacks on site because we feel threatened by them. This is exactly what the discussion we are having is about -- which is why Republicans are so afraid of having this discussion aired and are desperately trying to change the subject"
The above statement is a perfect examplen of how untruths are spread. Far from it Mike.
Mike Larson wrote: stated
"Angry Pancho speaks well for the NRA/far right wing -- blacks are terrorists and we need to shoot first and then don't ask any questions."
Hey Mike:
I would call the New Black Panther Party terrorists. They are pledging to burn down Detroit if one of their economics requests is not granted. How that for a Black Terrorist group?
meangreen,
Don't waste your time. Mike Larson is clearly not credible as a poster. He's entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. He can't back up anything he says ... in a word, a bloviating flame thrower.
The following comments are simply my opinion about the political use of this tragic happening. Please give it some serious attention, Thank you. Louis Calabro ********************************************************************************************************************************************************
The Trayvon Martin case is just one more example of the African American community creating a distraction from the thousands upon thousands of black on white crimes that are committed each year in America.
Please look at the Christian Channon and Christopher Newsom trial that will be beginning June 6, 2012 in Knoxville, TN.
Five blacks kidnapped Channon and Newsom. They sodomized Newsom, murdered and then burned his body. They raped, tortured Channon and murdered her---and poured bleach all over her to destroy their DNA.
We know, all over America about Trayvon Martin, and maybe we should, but we do not know about Channon and Newsom. Why is that????