This says a mouthful. This is why Zimmerman felt he had permission to just go for it and kill a black kid for no good reason than he had a gun. What a big man to put down a child not even out of his teens.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
More On Trayvon Martin's Killing
The more the murder of Trayvon Martin unravels, the sicker, more heartsick and more disgusted I become.
I loath the racism of so many of my fellow whites who've weighed in. It's as nasty and twisted as anything I remember seeing and fearing when I was a kid. I've seen the smears that have been laid down about this kid and they're as predictably cynical, contrived and stereotypical as can be - people leaking school records in an attempt to paint the kid as a dyed in the wool hard core thug when his trangressions are mild and innocuous for a kid his age and certainly no where near violent. Academically he's an achiever, reportedly As & Bs. So he not a fool. Fake photos have been circulated that are clearly NOT the same person and some even appear to have been photoshopped.
Ersatz friends in the shape of Joe Oliver are trotted around the talk circuit until finally Lawrence O'Donnell, Charles Blow and Jon Capehart bust him. People who genuinely fill the roles of work friend, a mentor, or adult family friend --what we called in my family --a "Dutch Uncle" (or Aunt as the case may be), know us way beyond the basic, most banal of superficialities. They have a handle on what we like, what we aspire to, what motivates us and they know the downsides to our characters as well as the good. Even if we don't ordinarily think of it as such, these kinds of relationships are intimate relationships. But Joe Oliver couldn't explain a single thing about what George Zimmerman had ever done or said that made him worthy of defending as a friend, not even for a split second.
Well, lemme tell ya about a work friend. I remember a young man I once worked with that I got to know pretty well. His nickname was Taz. I'd seen him around for about a year. Good looking, scowled, wore his hair in intricate braids and cornrows. Latino. Tall. In a way, his mien was a bit intimidating. Then one day, I saw him smile over something. Lit up his eyes. That made him less intimidating. Hard folks, evil folks smiles don't hit their eyes. Things go apace and eventually we find ourselves on the same team at work. We had a lot of onsite training for our jobs... at the time it was ongoing. One day we had a team building exercise in which I learned this young man was 1.) a widower 2.) a father with 2 daughters under the age of 6 who he adored and doted on; 3.) he was a legal emigre` from Mexico. 4.) he practiced Capoiera 5. he had a crush on Halle Berry and lastly, he "looked tough on the outside, but on the inside was "Ferdinand the bull". I was very fond of Ferdinand the bull as a child. And learning that little tidbit about him won me over. I never felt intimidated around him again. He'd tease me and call me "Mami" which I hardly was, but hey it was cute and he wasn't being insulting. We mostly talked about his girls, their school, their test grades, how proud he was of them, occassionally his eyes would shutter when their mother came up. We often talked lightly about his training for his Capoiera, the tournaments he was competing in and how well he did. We commiserated over quality scores and ever changing call metrics, meeting handle times that progressively got shorter and shorter. Oh, and always nattering about the latest Halle pics on his computer and cube wall while shooting the breeze between tech calls. I haven't seen this young man in several years as we no longer work there. We've moved on, but even after almost 8 years I can speak to how I knew my work friend and would be able to say, "I think he is a man of good character and this is why I think it!".
So yeah, I'm glad Mssrs. O'Donnell, Blow and Capehart blew the lid off the sham of Joe Oliver's show. IF Joe Oliver had really been Zimmerman's friends, he could have been able to discuss similar kinds of intimate tidbits. Joe Oliver would have been able to speak with a certain amount of confidence, pride and the tone of regard or affection would have been clear in his voice and it was not there! Not for a nano-second.
When I see pictures from ABC news showing Zimmerman in the police station's unloading bay and see his closely shaven head and face and I don't see blood, I don't see abrasions or cuts on the head, I don't see a taped broken nose with rolls of gauze in the nostrils, I really doubt the claim of self defence. When I see a handcuffed man walk adroitly, it becomes easy to doubt that he was uninjured entirely. When I learn his father is a retired judge, I think, "Well connected." When police reports don't jibe, when a mortician says they saw no wounds on the hands of the deceased, I think "Where are the forensic photos? Don't they take pictures for the body, top to bottom, fore and aft?" I think, "What the fuck are they hiding?" And when I learn that groups like ALEC provided the Florida legislation's boiler plate text, used for the "Stand your ground law" in several states, I think there's a lot fishy going on. On the one hand, we have a murder and on the other a state legislature that is practically fomenting murder and that murder is the expected outcome and minorities, especially young black men are the expected targets.
This is a race crime. Let there be no doubt among us.
I loath the racism of so many of my fellow whites who've weighed in. It's as nasty and twisted as anything I remember seeing and fearing when I was a kid. I've seen the smears that have been laid down about this kid and they're as predictably cynical, contrived and stereotypical as can be - people leaking school records in an attempt to paint the kid as a dyed in the wool hard core thug when his trangressions are mild and innocuous for a kid his age and certainly no where near violent. Academically he's an achiever, reportedly As & Bs. So he not a fool. Fake photos have been circulated that are clearly NOT the same person and some even appear to have been photoshopped.
Ersatz friends in the shape of Joe Oliver are trotted around the talk circuit until finally Lawrence O'Donnell, Charles Blow and Jon Capehart bust him. People who genuinely fill the roles of work friend, a mentor, or adult family friend --what we called in my family --a "Dutch Uncle" (or Aunt as the case may be), know us way beyond the basic, most banal of superficialities. They have a handle on what we like, what we aspire to, what motivates us and they know the downsides to our characters as well as the good. Even if we don't ordinarily think of it as such, these kinds of relationships are intimate relationships. But Joe Oliver couldn't explain a single thing about what George Zimmerman had ever done or said that made him worthy of defending as a friend, not even for a split second.
Well, lemme tell ya about a work friend. I remember a young man I once worked with that I got to know pretty well. His nickname was Taz. I'd seen him around for about a year. Good looking, scowled, wore his hair in intricate braids and cornrows. Latino. Tall. In a way, his mien was a bit intimidating. Then one day, I saw him smile over something. Lit up his eyes. That made him less intimidating. Hard folks, evil folks smiles don't hit their eyes. Things go apace and eventually we find ourselves on the same team at work. We had a lot of onsite training for our jobs... at the time it was ongoing. One day we had a team building exercise in which I learned this young man was 1.) a widower 2.) a father with 2 daughters under the age of 6 who he adored and doted on; 3.) he was a legal emigre` from Mexico. 4.) he practiced Capoiera 5. he had a crush on Halle Berry and lastly, he "looked tough on the outside, but on the inside was "Ferdinand the bull". I was very fond of Ferdinand the bull as a child. And learning that little tidbit about him won me over. I never felt intimidated around him again. He'd tease me and call me "Mami" which I hardly was, but hey it was cute and he wasn't being insulting. We mostly talked about his girls, their school, their test grades, how proud he was of them, occassionally his eyes would shutter when their mother came up. We often talked lightly about his training for his Capoiera, the tournaments he was competing in and how well he did. We commiserated over quality scores and ever changing call metrics, meeting handle times that progressively got shorter and shorter. Oh, and always nattering about the latest Halle pics on his computer and cube wall while shooting the breeze between tech calls. I haven't seen this young man in several years as we no longer work there. We've moved on, but even after almost 8 years I can speak to how I knew my work friend and would be able to say, "I think he is a man of good character and this is why I think it!".
So yeah, I'm glad Mssrs. O'Donnell, Blow and Capehart blew the lid off the sham of Joe Oliver's show. IF Joe Oliver had really been Zimmerman's friends, he could have been able to discuss similar kinds of intimate tidbits. Joe Oliver would have been able to speak with a certain amount of confidence, pride and the tone of regard or affection would have been clear in his voice and it was not there! Not for a nano-second.
When I see pictures from ABC news showing Zimmerman in the police station's unloading bay and see his closely shaven head and face and I don't see blood, I don't see abrasions or cuts on the head, I don't see a taped broken nose with rolls of gauze in the nostrils, I really doubt the claim of self defence. When I see a handcuffed man walk adroitly, it becomes easy to doubt that he was uninjured entirely. When I learn his father is a retired judge, I think, "Well connected." When police reports don't jibe, when a mortician says they saw no wounds on the hands of the deceased, I think "Where are the forensic photos? Don't they take pictures for the body, top to bottom, fore and aft?" I think, "What the fuck are they hiding?" And when I learn that groups like ALEC provided the Florida legislation's boiler plate text, used for the "Stand your ground law" in several states, I think there's a lot fishy going on. On the one hand, we have a murder and on the other a state legislature that is practically fomenting murder and that murder is the expected outcome and minorities, especially young black men are the expected targets.
This is a race crime. Let there be no doubt among us.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
The Unacceptable Death of Trayvon Martin in 2012
In Memoriam: Trayvon Martin. Age 17.
We ARE Trayvon Martin's legacy now and it is our shared duty to seek justice for him and his surviving family.
I join my voice to those demanding justice for Trayvon. My heart is full of sorrow for his family, for his mother and father who loved him and who were raising a good son. I recognize the injustice of Trayvon Martin's murder. I am not a mother, I've never been with child, so I cannot begin to imagine the depth of pain Mrs. Martin and her husband feel over the loss of their son and the way their dreams and aspirations have been ripped away. I recognize the injustice of Trayvon Martin's murder.
I've listened to the tapes that were released yesterday and there is no doubt this young man was murdered. There is no doubt in my mind that Zimmerman had no intention of letting Trayvon Martin live. "These assholes always get away." Zimmerman complained to the 911 operator after being told to stand down and back off. I'm convinced in that moment, Zimmerman had committed to murdering Trayvon Martin.
Lets look at this. Zimmerman is not a cop. He was a neighborhood watch type of guy. Not a cop. Some people think he helped protect their property. But others experience of him was as a guy who liked to throw his weight around, to impose himself on them. And Zimmerman acted anyway. He knew better than the police. He "knew" the kid was "on drugs or something". Bullshit. That part of his statement to the 911 operator was part of the set up because he had already determined he was gonna throw his weight around with Trayvon and that he was gonna kill that teenager - who was, to all who knew him a good kid - did decently in school, was handy and, like my own beloved husband, liked fixing things and understanding how to make things work. One report said he aspired to be a pilot. In other words, Trayvon Martin was on his way to being a builder, a creator, within the larger community. A person whose work builds and helps sustain others. His life was stolen by a wannabe cop with a past record of assault on a cop. How fucked up is that?
I join my voice in demanding justice for Trayvon Martin.
Killed by a white man for walking while black.
Killed by a white man who believed he had the right to interfere with Trayvon's coming and going AFTER being told by the 911 people to back off, to leave well enough alone.
Killed with Skittles candy and soda in hand.
We all know if the shooter was black, and if Trayvon were white, the shooter would be in jail and already under indictment. History bears that out again and again and again. I'm white, but I still see, I still witness, that justice in America is biased. Particularly against young black men. That is why today, on March 17th, 2012, George Zimmerman is has not been arrested. That is why George Zimmerman has not been charged. That bias, that prejudice is exactly why the Sanford police and the Seminole County sheriff's department have done nothing.
Why else would the Sanford police "blow off" witnesses who contradict Zimmerman's story?
Why else would the police "correct" a witness trying to make a statement?
Shame on them.
There are legions of comments defending Zimmerman. They are shameless and self serving at best and deeply racist at worst. Those defenses are nothing short of excuses for perpetuating racism and inequality. Some of Zimmerman's defenders cite his being part Hispanic therefore the murder couldn't possibly be racially motivated. Still others say if you're white and defend young Mr. Martin, you do so because of your own racial self-hatred. I do not accept those defenses. I don't buy it. Simply put: the defenses are insupportable.
Shame on them.
We know.
We ARE Trayvon Martin's legacy now and it is our shared duty to seek justice for him and his surviving family.
I join my voice to those demanding justice for Trayvon. My heart is full of sorrow for his family, for his mother and father who loved him and who were raising a good son. I recognize the injustice of Trayvon Martin's murder. I am not a mother, I've never been with child, so I cannot begin to imagine the depth of pain Mrs. Martin and her husband feel over the loss of their son and the way their dreams and aspirations have been ripped away. I recognize the injustice of Trayvon Martin's murder.
I've listened to the tapes that were released yesterday and there is no doubt this young man was murdered. There is no doubt in my mind that Zimmerman had no intention of letting Trayvon Martin live. "These assholes always get away." Zimmerman complained to the 911 operator after being told to stand down and back off. I'm convinced in that moment, Zimmerman had committed to murdering Trayvon Martin.
Lets look at this. Zimmerman is not a cop. He was a neighborhood watch type of guy. Not a cop. Some people think he helped protect their property. But others experience of him was as a guy who liked to throw his weight around, to impose himself on them. And Zimmerman acted anyway. He knew better than the police. He "knew" the kid was "on drugs or something". Bullshit. That part of his statement to the 911 operator was part of the set up because he had already determined he was gonna throw his weight around with Trayvon and that he was gonna kill that teenager - who was, to all who knew him a good kid - did decently in school, was handy and, like my own beloved husband, liked fixing things and understanding how to make things work. One report said he aspired to be a pilot. In other words, Trayvon Martin was on his way to being a builder, a creator, within the larger community. A person whose work builds and helps sustain others. His life was stolen by a wannabe cop with a past record of assault on a cop. How fucked up is that?
I join my voice in demanding justice for Trayvon Martin.
Killed by a white man for walking while black.
Killed by a white man who believed he had the right to interfere with Trayvon's coming and going AFTER being told by the 911 people to back off, to leave well enough alone.
Killed with Skittles candy and soda in hand.
We all know if the shooter was black, and if Trayvon were white, the shooter would be in jail and already under indictment. History bears that out again and again and again. I'm white, but I still see, I still witness, that justice in America is biased. Particularly against young black men. That is why today, on March 17th, 2012, George Zimmerman is has not been arrested. That is why George Zimmerman has not been charged. That bias, that prejudice is exactly why the Sanford police and the Seminole County sheriff's department have done nothing.
Why else would the Sanford police "blow off" witnesses who contradict Zimmerman's story?
Why else would the police "correct" a witness trying to make a statement?
Shame on them.
There are legions of comments defending Zimmerman. They are shameless and self serving at best and deeply racist at worst. Those defenses are nothing short of excuses for perpetuating racism and inequality. Some of Zimmerman's defenders cite his being part Hispanic therefore the murder couldn't possibly be racially motivated. Still others say if you're white and defend young Mr. Martin, you do so because of your own racial self-hatred. I do not accept those defenses. I don't buy it. Simply put: the defenses are insupportable.
Shame on them.
We know.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
It Has Been A While Since I've Blogged
It has been a while since I've blogged. The world is still here, the sun still rises and sets.
I had to stop for a bit. I had to take time off. Politics became dispiriting. Some crimes too disgusting to even want to write about. I needed to mourn my dog Raven's death. I needed to learn about our new dog, Godric, who we adopted way too soon after Raven's death. I went along with my hubby's desire for another dog "sooner rather than later." I'd rather have waited, but married people make these kinds of accommodations from time to time, so I can't say Godric is a mistake. Yes, I could have been firmer about "not yet", but grief makes people do atypical things and I also know that I've insisted that my husband wait and delay on things he's been excited about.
Now it's March. Spring is around the corner. This winter was fairly mild. I hope to write more.
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