Our President shared his feelings about what it feels like to be in the racial minority in our country. " When Trayvon Martin was first shot I said this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is that Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why in the African American community at least there's a lot of pain around what happened, I think it's important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and history that doesn't go away."
As a youth our President often felt profiled as a criminal because of his race. Automatic door locks went off when white people spotted him approaching. Obviously he still feels sensitive about being of a minority race. I do feel sorry for Mr. President. It must be tough being both the leader of the free world with a series of jets at your disposal to take you to play golf, the ability to remotely kill via drone anywhere in the world and yet, still a victim. A victim of what other people think.
So, you are
A always proud of your heritage
B often ashamed of your heritage
C positive that your heritage is not what defines you
D who you think you are
E who others think you are
F what you make of yourself
G all and none of the above
The President knows C, D & F are, together, the best answers and for someone who achieves the Presidency, the only answers. His off the cuff speech was clearly a personal shout-out to his black brothers and sisters who are outraged that a little black boy carrying a bag of skittles could be murdered by a gun carrying, racist hater and get away with it. But this is intentionally cynical and is neither helpful nor does it illuminate.
Moving forward: while history doesn’t go away, it doesn’t have to define our, or anybody else's, future.
Charles Barkley, the round mound of rebound (not what I call you Charles, I call you Sir) said the following: "The main thing I feel bad for, [is that the trial] gives every white person and black person who are racist a platform to vent."
The President’s shout out isn’t about venting, it’s about justifying the endless venting about the unfairness of our criminal justice system. Black people are often screwed by our CJS and our prisons hold a disproportionate number of black people. The irony is the victims of most black crime are black people who are intimidated by black thugs and fear the police. Our Attorney General, Eric Holder, said it best. Paraphrasing here: I have to have a personal conversation with my kids and tell them their country isn’t yet a safe place for a young, black man. They’re going to have to watch what they say and to whom, to protect themselves. They can’t just say what they want, freely. It’s not really a country of free speech for young black men.
I think it prudent for all fathers to tell their children to respect authority. To speak when spoken to. To say “yes sir” and “no sir.” But then you have to stand up for yourself, and fight back and cow tow to no man. Complicated stuff. Having a father. Having a father to teach you respect. But then Barack Hussein had his mother to teach him. To get him up early to study. To drive a young boy beyond what he himself would volunteer to do. To give him a sense of self esteem, not based on his heritage but based on his abilities, aptitudes and performance. That over-achieving boy grew up to be a confident, empowered young man who was not defined by his race but by his achievements. He is now President.
Such a man could again transcend and attempt to empower from his bully pulpit. We know Trayvon was a victim of his race. If he had been white George would have felt he belonged in the gated community and not questioned his presence. Trayvon would be alive today. Black people feel that and are angered by it. To say you understand that anger because you are one of us and you feel our pain only feeds the anger and the victimization. It’s understandable but it’s not helpful. We seem to get a better understanding across racial divides by Bill Cosby and Charles Barkley. We need more from our President.
A modest proposal for a modest speech:
“To my black and white brothers and sisters, we are a country of great diversity. Hundreds of countries of origin. A rainbow of colors, sizes, and shapes. Tall, short, rail thin and pleasingly plump. Rich, poor and everything in between. Brilliantly smart and educationally challenged. We will have a multitude of opinions shaded by our diverse experiences. We will not agree on a great many things. Our environments and experiences will cause us a natural separation of viewpoint. Let me say that again. A natural separation of viewpoint. We don’t agree because we don’t see it the same way. We will differ and we will be challenged to find consensus. It will always be difficult. It will always be challenging. Sometimes we will simply agree to disagree. Disagreement amongst brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers and worthy representatives are normal. What is not normal is being driven to hatred over natural and normal disagreement. Because if you would hate, be prepared to be miserable. If you would resort to violence be prepared to suffer. You may prevail today but there will always be a tomorrow and one day violence will make you suffer. You will suffer. Your family will suffer. Your loved ones will suffer because of you. Hating others based on their differences or perceived differences will destroy you. Hatred eats you up inside. Shouting, belittling, arguing, low rating and intending harm means our country will grow mean and small. Polarization of opinion by polemicists drives a wedge between us. If you are glad Trayvon is dead because he attacked a white man and got what he deserved, you are both wrong and badly confused. If you think George Zimmerman purposely murdered Trayvon Martin for the sole reason of his blackness, you are wrong and are ignoring the facts. Distrust of his race led to a confrontation which led to an altercation which led to a death. Trayvon was judged by his color but he wasn't killed for his color. Mutual distrust spiraled out of control and caused the death of Trayvon Martin. What happened was a tragedy and an example of two diverse individuals distrusting each other on sight and resorting to violence.
There are people taking to the streets today because they feel they were failed by our criminal justice system. A justice system that tries to recreate the past for jury members to judge past events they neither witnessed nor will be able to fully understand. It is the best we can do. The law, which doesn’t define right or wrong but defines statutory obligations and definitions, informs jury members not of wisdom but of guidelines. They begin by not agreeing but then compromising and reaching consensus. In this case, in their considered opinion, the state failed to prove either murder or manslaughter because there was not enough evidence presented to justify those charges.
It is now time to turn the page. To mourn Trayvon Martin for his unfulfilled promise and to forgive George Zimmerman for his use of lethal force on an innocent teen. He was tried by a jury of his peers and found innocent of murder. The FBI can find no criminal racial motivation. I can’t tell you what the future holds for Mr. Zimmerman but I wish him well. I want to hate him but I realize that’s wrong. Let me lead by example here. Teach your children compassion over distrust. Teach them to listen and learn from both their friends and their perceived enemies. We will all one day be gone from this earth. Leave behind a legacy of love. Work toward understanding. Abandon distrust on sight and hatred based on diversity. Follow my lead on this. I wish you well. I want to hear your story. I want to try to understand what motivates you. And even though I am black and I identify with Trayvon Martin, I want to understand George Zimmerman. I want to forgive him and I want to move on to tomorrow, where we join hands to face the future together, as brothers and sisters. If we, as a country, can do that, something will have been gained from this tragedy. If not, we are doomed to repeat it."
As a youth our President often felt profiled as a criminal because of his race. Automatic door locks went off when white people spotted him approaching. Obviously he still feels sensitive about being of a minority race. I do feel sorry for Mr. President. It must be tough being both the leader of the free world with a series of jets at your disposal to take you to play golf, the ability to remotely kill via drone anywhere in the world and yet, still a victim. A victim of what other people think.
So, you are
A always proud of your heritage
B often ashamed of your heritage
C positive that your heritage is not what defines you
D who you think you are
E who others think you are
F what you make of yourself
G all and none of the above
The President knows C, D & F are, together, the best answers and for someone who achieves the Presidency, the only answers. His off the cuff speech was clearly a personal shout-out to his black brothers and sisters who are outraged that a little black boy carrying a bag of skittles could be murdered by a gun carrying, racist hater and get away with it. But this is intentionally cynical and is neither helpful nor does it illuminate.
Moving forward: while history doesn’t go away, it doesn’t have to define our, or anybody else's, future.
Charles Barkley, the round mound of rebound (not what I call you Charles, I call you Sir) said the following: "The main thing I feel bad for, [is that the trial] gives every white person and black person who are racist a platform to vent."
The President’s shout out isn’t about venting, it’s about justifying the endless venting about the unfairness of our criminal justice system. Black people are often screwed by our CJS and our prisons hold a disproportionate number of black people. The irony is the victims of most black crime are black people who are intimidated by black thugs and fear the police. Our Attorney General, Eric Holder, said it best. Paraphrasing here: I have to have a personal conversation with my kids and tell them their country isn’t yet a safe place for a young, black man. They’re going to have to watch what they say and to whom, to protect themselves. They can’t just say what they want, freely. It’s not really a country of free speech for young black men.
I think it prudent for all fathers to tell their children to respect authority. To speak when spoken to. To say “yes sir” and “no sir.” But then you have to stand up for yourself, and fight back and cow tow to no man. Complicated stuff. Having a father. Having a father to teach you respect. But then Barack Hussein had his mother to teach him. To get him up early to study. To drive a young boy beyond what he himself would volunteer to do. To give him a sense of self esteem, not based on his heritage but based on his abilities, aptitudes and performance. That over-achieving boy grew up to be a confident, empowered young man who was not defined by his race but by his achievements. He is now President.
Such a man could again transcend and attempt to empower from his bully pulpit. We know Trayvon was a victim of his race. If he had been white George would have felt he belonged in the gated community and not questioned his presence. Trayvon would be alive today. Black people feel that and are angered by it. To say you understand that anger because you are one of us and you feel our pain only feeds the anger and the victimization. It’s understandable but it’s not helpful. We seem to get a better understanding across racial divides by Bill Cosby and Charles Barkley. We need more from our President.
A modest proposal for a modest speech:
“To my black and white brothers and sisters, we are a country of great diversity. Hundreds of countries of origin. A rainbow of colors, sizes, and shapes. Tall, short, rail thin and pleasingly plump. Rich, poor and everything in between. Brilliantly smart and educationally challenged. We will have a multitude of opinions shaded by our diverse experiences. We will not agree on a great many things. Our environments and experiences will cause us a natural separation of viewpoint. Let me say that again. A natural separation of viewpoint. We don’t agree because we don’t see it the same way. We will differ and we will be challenged to find consensus. It will always be difficult. It will always be challenging. Sometimes we will simply agree to disagree. Disagreement amongst brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers and worthy representatives are normal. What is not normal is being driven to hatred over natural and normal disagreement. Because if you would hate, be prepared to be miserable. If you would resort to violence be prepared to suffer. You may prevail today but there will always be a tomorrow and one day violence will make you suffer. You will suffer. Your family will suffer. Your loved ones will suffer because of you. Hating others based on their differences or perceived differences will destroy you. Hatred eats you up inside. Shouting, belittling, arguing, low rating and intending harm means our country will grow mean and small. Polarization of opinion by polemicists drives a wedge between us. If you are glad Trayvon is dead because he attacked a white man and got what he deserved, you are both wrong and badly confused. If you think George Zimmerman purposely murdered Trayvon Martin for the sole reason of his blackness, you are wrong and are ignoring the facts. Distrust of his race led to a confrontation which led to an altercation which led to a death. Trayvon was judged by his color but he wasn't killed for his color. Mutual distrust spiraled out of control and caused the death of Trayvon Martin. What happened was a tragedy and an example of two diverse individuals distrusting each other on sight and resorting to violence.
There are people taking to the streets today because they feel they were failed by our criminal justice system. A justice system that tries to recreate the past for jury members to judge past events they neither witnessed nor will be able to fully understand. It is the best we can do. The law, which doesn’t define right or wrong but defines statutory obligations and definitions, informs jury members not of wisdom but of guidelines. They begin by not agreeing but then compromising and reaching consensus. In this case, in their considered opinion, the state failed to prove either murder or manslaughter because there was not enough evidence presented to justify those charges.
It is now time to turn the page. To mourn Trayvon Martin for his unfulfilled promise and to forgive George Zimmerman for his use of lethal force on an innocent teen. He was tried by a jury of his peers and found innocent of murder. The FBI can find no criminal racial motivation. I can’t tell you what the future holds for Mr. Zimmerman but I wish him well. I want to hate him but I realize that’s wrong. Let me lead by example here. Teach your children compassion over distrust. Teach them to listen and learn from both their friends and their perceived enemies. We will all one day be gone from this earth. Leave behind a legacy of love. Work toward understanding. Abandon distrust on sight and hatred based on diversity. Follow my lead on this. I wish you well. I want to hear your story. I want to try to understand what motivates you. And even though I am black and I identify with Trayvon Martin, I want to understand George Zimmerman. I want to forgive him and I want to move on to tomorrow, where we join hands to face the future together, as brothers and sisters. If we, as a country, can do that, something will have been gained from this tragedy. If not, we are doomed to repeat it."
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