An Incredible Commentary: I am NOT Trayvon Martin

This woman goes in a drops lots of gems on this commentary around Trayvon Martin… She addresses the issue of race, white privilege and activism in the wake of Trayvon’s murder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBRwiuJ8K7w

Transcript:
I AM NOT TRAYVON MARTIN.
I AM NOT TROY DAVIS.

and to the middle class, white, socially concerned activist who wears a shirt emblazoned with those slogans, you are wrong.

I know you wear that shirt to stand in solidarity with Trayvon, Troy, and other victims of injustice. The purpose of those shirts is to humanize these victims of our society, by likening them to the middle class white activist wearing it. And once we’ve humanized the victims, this proves to us the arbitrariness of their deaths and thereby the injustice at play.

But the fact of the matter is that these men’s deaths are anything but arbitrary. The fact that the real Troy Davis and Trayvon Martin and countless other victims of oppression are buried under 6 feet of cold dirt while we middle class white activists are alive, marching, and wearing their names is an indication that our societal system is working exactly as it’s intended.

A more accurate t-shirt to display on my white body would be “I AM GEORGE ZIMMERMAN.” Zimmerman and I were indoctrinated in the same American discourse where we learned that the “other,” particularly black men like Trayvon and Troy, were less human and were to be feared. Society taught me that as a little white girl, I must preserve my purity and goodness, and that the presence of young single males threatened it. Society taught me that being in the presence of a BLACK man compounds that threat exponentially. I have been taught that male, black, bodies are an immediate threat to my safety and the well being of society as a whole, and Zimmerman was taught the same damn thing. We’re all taught it.

I look at George Zimmerman and think, “there, but for the grace of god, go I.” Had it not been for a decent education, intense critical thinking, and some truly excellent parenting, I would never have questioned the societal norms that Zimmerman and I were both taught, and I would have ended up feeling his attack on Trayvon was justified, just as he did, and the state of Florida does.

If we are to effect real change in the wake of Trayvon’s murder, we have to realize this. Realizing that you more closely resemble a homicidal oppressive force than a helpless victim is a really uncomfortable thing to do. I know. But wanting to identify with the victim is weak, and immature when it is not an accurate representation of reality. Real change is effected when we own up to our actions, our privilege, and our complicity with the system that murdered Trayvon and countless others.

Us privileged activists have to realize just how easy it is to be Zimmerman, and work to change this. Subvert stereotypes. Make it harder for others to buy into the bullshit that we’re fed our whole lives about race, class, gender, and other people by identifying and critiquing these messed up norms. Force adults to confront these norms, and raise children without indoctrinating them with the same old bullshit. Use your privilege to actively dismantle this messed up system. Listen to marginalized people like Trayvon’s family and Troy’s family and insure them access to the discourse. Listen to them, stand in solidarity with them. But do not, I repeat, DO NOT claim to be them.

 

Trayvon Martin: 2 Videos Show George Zimmerman Lying & Police Cover Up

Here are a couple of videos folks should peep that shed additional light on the Trayvon Martin controversy.. The latest comes courtesy of ABC News which shows lack of blood, grass stains and a broken nose which contradicts Zimmerman’s claim he was in a life or death struggle with Trayvon….Oakland journalist Zennie Abraham walks us thru the video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hlG1msAcsQ

The second video is one in which someone shows us the Google Earth map of Twin Lakes Gated Community in Sanford, Florida. The video shows just how far and how much of chase George Zimmerman put up when chasing down Trayvon Martin.. I encourage all to take a look..Judge for yourself..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUqUGJ9a3yk

George Zimmerman

Both of these videos add to the overall questions,  I and a whole lot of other people have been asking; What kind of investigation is going on in Florida where all these new witnesses are popping up every 5 minutes to tell their tales on CNN?

Maybe Anderson Cooper should be Chief of Police in Sanford, Fla because he seems to be doing a better investigation then the police.. Heck I need to call up Anderson and tell him I’m a surprise witness who seen the whole thing.. ‘Dear Anderson Cooper, I’m a surprise witness to the Trayvon situation, I was coming around the corner and I seen the whole thing.. I seen the police lie, I seen the police lie some mo’ and then later on I seen the police lie one mo’ again..’ ….

All these damn witnesses is gonna lead to some sort of tainted trial.. In the words of Public Enemy-Can’t Truss It..

 

Looking Beyond the Hoodie, even as Bobby Rush is Booted off the House Floor

Today Congressman Bobby Rush from Chicago got kicked off the House Floor for wearing a Hoodie. He like many others had dawned the attire to bring attention to the case surrounding Trayvon Martin. It was a noble gesture. It helps keep the case in the spotlight, but this has got to go beyond Hoodies. Too many of us are focusing on that and not some of the larger issues at hand.

For example, all of us should be asking; ‘whats the story behind Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee?’ Most of us protesting around Trayvon don’t  know his name. All we know is the police chief stepped down and very few of us are bringing him up in conversation and demanding he be brought to task? He’s just as guilty as George Zimmerman.

Sandford Florida Police Chief Bill Lee

Why was Chief Sanders and his department so sloppy with the initial investigation? Why didn’t they follow standard police procedure of collecting evidence like; keeping Zimmerman’s  gun and running ballistic tests or checking to make sure Zimmerman wasn’t high or drunk? We need to know why Standford police didn’t notify Trayvon’s family for after he was killed and his body was in the morgue.. Martin’s father found out after he filed a missing person’s report. We are just finding out that one of the early investigators wanted to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter. Why wasn’t that allowed to happen?

We need to know what’s the deal with State Attorney Norman R. Wolfinger, why didn’t he press charges? We need to know if there’s a connection with George Zimmerman’s dad Robert Zimmerman a former magistrate and the lawmakers here in Florida?

All of us should be asking those questions and when we see a Congressman like Bobby Rush wearing a hoodie on the house floor, he is not only asking those questions but ideally if he’s being escorted off  the floor it’s because he’s attempting to hold hearings where many of those questions can get answered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ougHdwR8PhI

We need to see Rush and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus hold more briefings and hearings like they did with yesterday’s  Protecting a “Suspect” Community: Racial Profiling & Hate Crimes. We need to see hearings on police misconduct. We can start with the frequent leaks coming from the police departments designed to smear Trayvon’s name. In many states, including Florida, they have in place a Policeman’s Bill of Rights. In many places those Policeman’s Bill of Rights make it difficult to get a hold of personnel files to review complaints against an officer  (I’m not sure if Florida has the same provisions as California where officers are shielded).

In any case all of us need to continuously connect the dots.. Trayvon’s killing can’t be seen in isolation to last week’s brutal vigilante killing of Shaima Alawadi in Lakeside California or the ‘drive by’ shooting death of Rekia Boyd by an off duty Chicago cop who claims he saw a man standing next to Boyd draw gun. Boyd was an innocent bystander yet her shooting was deemed justified even though the police found no weapons on the scene.

These incidents and scores of others need to be investigated. We need to make sure that these incidents are not connected to a larger more sinister plan of action. Are we experiencing co-ordinated and deleibarte terrorist attacks or are people just angry and acting out? Hopefully Rush and the CBC can lead the charge on Capitol Hill and start to really dig into those questions while we start looking into this amongst ourselves in our communities.

Lastly, lets not get caught up in the hoodie thing as if Black people are only suspicious when wearing them.. Try driving a nice car and your suspicious… Try walking around a nice department store and your suspicious.. Try cashing a large check and your suspicious..

Racist People are suspicious of President Obama, with or without a hoodie

This suspiciousness is rooted in racist people holding on to the notion that Black people not being in ‘their place‘ when they do something that defies stereotypes. This is why we see the racial attacks on President Barack Obama who is constantly under suspicion..We already seen the disrespect directed to him by business mogul Donald Trump, who demanded to see the President’s birth certificate. Even after it was shown, we now have Arizona sheriff Joe Arpiao conducting an investigation to make sure it’s not fake..

Sadly we are suspicious of each other..Long after this Trayvon/ Zimmerman thing dies down, even if he’s arrested and convicted, many of us are still gonna be running around not trusting the Black repairman, the Black lawyer, the Black accountant.. Black men will claim they can’t trust ‘skeezing, gold digging sistas and sistas will say they can’t trust these ‘trifling scheming azz’ men..and nobody trusts the kids..How do we intend to change that?.

Not to digress too much… Again we must be clear and push forward with justice and the dismantling of institutionalized racism and oppression as a goal. Our hoodies have got to be connected larger political agenda or understanding. Are we wearing a hoodie to show solidarity?  If so, who or  what are we in solidarity with? Are we wearing the hoodies as an act of defiance? If so what exactly are we defying?   All of us should learned the lesson of what happened after Obama got elected. His historic victory was quickly erased by this onslaught of racist killings all over the country. From Oscar Grant to Trayvon and beyond. If we’re not mindful of this, we will quickly find ourselves back at square one even if Zimmerman is carted off to jail for life or given a death sentence. Bottom line: What good is a symbol if its not connected to a larger politic and plan of action?

written by Davey D

Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman & This Country’s Culture of Suspicion

Nothing exists in a vacuum, so when looking at the tragic shooting death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida because he appeared ‘suspicious’ to a self-appointed Neighborhood Watch captain named George Zimmerman, it can not be viewed in isolation. It’s part of something that’s much larger and systemic.

Many of us don’t like to admit it, but the fact is, this country has a long and sordid history where those who appeared ‘different’, meaning not white and male, were often deemed suspicious resulting in deadly consequences. Call it a Culture of Suspicion if you will, but it one that’s helped shaped social and political policy and impacted damn near everything we’ve done throughout the years.

TheBlack Codes, Vagrancy Laws, Jim Crow, Internment Camps, Salem Witch Craft Trials, Compulsory sterilization, Poll taxes, McCarthyism, Cointel-Pro, The War on Drugs, The War on Terror, The War on ‘Illegals’, The War on Women, these are just a few of the policies and measures that have emerged over the years out of this culture of suspicion…..And let’s be clear, so we’re all on the same page…The Culture of Suspicion is rooted in irrational FEAR and extreme ANGER.

It’s a FEAR and ANGER that dates back to the days of the pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock where those who weren’t Anglo-Saxon in this case Native Peoples were ‘suspected‘ of being  ‘less than human’ and thus needed to be civilized, stripped of their land and exterminated. Can we say Manifest Destiny? That’s what that concept and ideology ultimately meant for Native Peoples..Can we say Genocide?

Nat Turner and FEAR of slave revolts has resulted in deep-seated suspicions of Black people that are alive and well today

This FEAR and ANGER was pervasive among those who brought  Africans to America in chains and enslaved us. Our culture was stripped, our language forbidden, our Africanisms stamped and literally beaten out of us.. Why? because slave owners had deep-seated fear of slaves revolting. All sorts of laws were put into place and all types of measures including divide and conquer tactics were employed to keep those who were then seen as beasts from rising up and doing what slaves like Nat TurnerGabriel Prosser and Denmark Vesey eventually did-kill or in the cases of Prosser and Vesey, plot to kill their white masters.

This FEAR of Black reprisals has resulted in nearly all traces of the over 250 of slave rebellions that went down in the American South being erased from our school history books.

What has remained are disturbing stories of Black men, being lynched and hung from trees in what was described by singer Billie Holiday as Strange Fruit. What’s remained  are eerie stories of entire Black town like Rosewood, Florida and Tulsa, Oklahoma being burned to the ground by angry white mobs because of FEAR and suspicion.of a Black man lusting after a white woman.

Sadly there’s a litny of stories about Black men being accused of looking at or lusting after a white women. This irrational Fear of a Black Dick and ‘suspicion’ gave rise of the Ku Klux Klan especially after the 1915 DW Griffith landmark film Birth of a Nation which had Black men lusting after white women as a main theme. You can see one of the more controversial scenes from that movie...HERE It also led to this country keeping anti-Miscegenation laws on the books up to 1967. Tragically it also led to countless  young Black boys who having their genitals mutilated when those lynchings I mentioned earlier took place.

Again for many this legacy of FEAR and SUSPICION throughout our history is a painful pill to swallow. As a country we don’t wanna have an honest conversation of how pervasive it was and is and how it’s permeated our collective mind-set.. We don’t wanna talk about how this Culture of Suspicion been used toward various   so-called minority groups in this country and the deep scars its left.

We don’t wanna talk about how we executed women who we suspected of being witches during the infamous Salem Witch trials.

We don’t wanna talk about how we rounded up Japanese American citizens during World War II and put them in internment camps because we were suspicious of them..

We don’t wanna talk about harsh and often fatal treatment levied upon men and women we suspected of being gay. How many have been killed, beaten, put into special classes to ‘straighten’ them out..

We don’t wanna talk about the horrific legacy of Cointel-pro a government counter insurgency program headed up by FBI director J Edgar Hoover. We don’t wanna talk about how Hoover kept all sorts of Civil Rights, Black Power, Brown Power and Anti-War organization under a suspicious gaze and actively used every resource possible to destroy them. He went after everyone from Marcus Garvey to Martin Luther King to the Black Panthers and everyone in between.  Irrational fear, deep-seated anger and suspicion that those demanding equal rights were somehow not ‘real’ American were part of the rationale behind Hoover and the FBI actions.

To see how deep this gets.. I urge folks to watch this documentary to that lays out this culture of suspicion and Cointel-Pro.. You can peep it HERE: How the FBI Sabotaged Black America

The Importance of Connecting the Dots

Trayvon Martin

Again Trayvon Martin‘s tragic fate is not isolated. It has to be seen through this historical lens that reflects long-standing racial prejudices and attitudes and race based policy decisions in our society.

The unsavory actions of George Zimmerman coupled with the racial hostility he displayed in widely heard 9-11 call where he refers to Trayvon as a ‘F–king Coons  and his paranoia (calling 9-11 over 40 times in the past year) are not out of the ordinary. He personifies the culture of suspicion.

The questionable actions and neglect displayed by the Sanford police department (not talking to key witnesses and keeping Trayvon’s body for 3 days without telling his parents) not only have the look of an outright cover up, but they too reflects this culture of suspicion… The message their actions convey is that; Trayvon must’ve been in the wrong. A young Black male wearing a hoody is always suspect. There’s no way Mr Zimmerman would’ve shot him for no reason.

In looking at Trayvon’s murder its also important to connect the dots to fear based incidents currently going on.. Look at the type of anger and hostility directed by those we are suspicious of…

Angel Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican basketball player was greeted with chants of Where's Your Green Card by Southern Mississippi band members.

For example,it was just last week during an NCAA basketball game we saw band members from University of Southern Mississippi resort to chanting ‘Where’s your Green card?‘ as rival basketball player Angel Rodriguez attempted to shoot free throws. The band members along with some fans ‘suspected’ that Rodriguez who is Puerto Rican wasn’t in this country legally. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, meaning they’re citizens.

Sadly similar scenarios played out in other schools around the country including last month in San Antonio, Texas where players from mostly white Alamo Heights started chanting ‘USA USA’ after they defeated their mostly Latino rivals from Edison. Again there was a suspicion that the players from Edison weren’t one of us (American) They must be illegall.

Some may be tempted to chalk these incidents up to sport fans being ignorant. And that may be true until we see this same type of attitude displayed by Presidential hopeful, long time Senator Rick Santorum. He recently stood before a crowd and remarked, that before Puerto Rico can become state folks living there will have to learn to speak English. Again that culture of suspicion at play. He’s suspects Puerto Ricans aren’t really one of us.. On a side note as was pointed out in a recent Reuters article, There’s no constitutional requirement to have an official language nor for a territory to adapt English as an official language to become a state.

Sadly the culture of suspicionit doesn’t stop there. There’s been a rash of anti-immigrant bills being passed with the harshest in Arizona (SB 1070), Alabama (SB 56) and just the other day Mississippi passing (HB 56). All are born out FEAR and suspicion.

We’ve had people like Texas lawmaker Debbie Riddle coin the phrase ‘anchor’ babies and ‘terror’ babies when referring to the children of Mexican and Middle eastern immigrants and push to pass laws to stop them.. This sort of fear mongering has resulted in entire communities being profiled and suspect.

9 year old Brisenia Flores was shot and killed after self-styled vigilante border patrollers suspected her family of being in this country illegally

People like Riddle help foster a deadly climate of suspicion with deadly consequences. For example, we should never forget what took place 3 years ago in Arizona when Shawna Forde a self-appointed border patroller formed the group anti-immigrant organization Minutemen Civil Defense Corps.

In May of 2009 she and some accomplices suspecting that a family was living in a neighborhood illegally, raided the home and shot the 29-year-old father Raul and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia to death. The mother was there and left alive. Again the Culture of Suspicion resulting in vigilante justice.

The extreme measures taken on those ‘suspected’ of not being America are not just limited to hard-working, law-abiding immigrants. That anger and suspicion has been directed to President Barack Obama. We have a whole segment of society called birthers with people like businessman  Donald Trump and Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio leading the charge. In a recent poll over 45% of folks in the south believed he was a Muslim and over 25% don’t believe he was born here in the US..

The suspicions of the birthers is unprecedented. First, they demanded the president show his birth certificate. After he did that they demanded he show a long form certificate. After he did that, they accused the documents of being forged and wanted original draft cards. In fact as we speak Arpaio is launching yet another investigation into the president. Can you say Culture of Suspicion gone wild?

It doesn’t help that President Obama has contributed or reacted to this climate of suspicion, by deporting over one million people and increased surveillance in American Muslim communities..His policies dovetail with the policies of many police departments that have also heightened this culture of suspicion.

It was just 3 or 4 weeks ago that a ‘suspicious’ looking Ramarley Graham was standing outside his home in the Bronx when he saw police officers roll by. He walked into his home only to be followed by police who ‘suspected’ he had a gun.. Police busted into his house and shot Graham in his bathroom in front of his grandmother and a 6 year old.. No gun or weapon was ever found..

Jordan Miles is a 18 year old violinist who played for First Lady Michele Obama

Graham was one of over a whooping 680 thousand New Yorkers who police stopped and frisked last year in their attempts to find ‘illegal’ handguns.. Over 80% of those stopped and frisked were Black or Brown men.. less than a 1% of those stops have resulted in any weapons being found. This policy has led to racial profiling and Black and Brown men being seen as suspects before being seen as productive citizens in their community.

The case of Pittsburgh, PA  17-year-old honor student Jordan Miles being stop frisked and beaten beyond recognition with his dreadlocks torn out his head is another example of what happens under this culture of suspicion..

Ironically in both the Jordan and Graham cases the police accused both men of fleeing when in truth, knowing the history of such encounters they probably developed a healthy suspicion of police who are no longer seen as friendly public servant there to protect and serve, but a vicious gang with a badges and license to kill.

There are too many cases to recount.. but the results are damn near always the same death, scarred communities and a legacy of deep mistrust.. Trayvon Martin is the latest casualty in this long line of tragic mishaps.

What if the Shooter was Black and the Victim White?

John White shot a White Teen who showed up at his house with a mob..He was convicted and sentenced

There are many who have rhetorically asked this question. It’s done not so much to plant seeds of racial hatred and be divisive but to point out the inconsistencies and double standards that exist within our justice system. Its way for us to look at situations and hopefully be moved to change them.

One glaring example of a Black man protecting his family and shooting a white youth involves took place a few years ago in Long island New York. In August 2006, John White confronted 17-year-old white teenager named Daniel Cicciaro who had been threatening White’s son. Cicciaro showed up with a group of his friends to get at White’s son. Fearing for his safety White shot the teen who was on his property. He was convicted and sent to jail. You can and should read about that case HERE.

At the time of White’s sentencing there were many who compared his situation with that of a White man out of Texas, named Joe Horn who shot two Black men on his property who he shot and killed after disobeying police orders. Like Zimmerman, Horn wasn’t directly threatned but he went ‘hunting’ for the people he eventually shot..  You can read about that case HERE and HERE.

This should come as no surprise to anyone that we have this type of double standard. The question and challenge before us all, is how will we fix a broken, racially biased justice system?  Do we have to vote in new judges, new DAs and new prosecutors? Do we have to change the entire way we do business in the justice arena?

There are no easy answers and ultimately we are going to have to change people’s hearts and minds. Say what you will, but what fueled these confrontations and uneven results was racism and the suspicion that those who have darker skin are ssuspect..

The Zimmerman Is Hispanic Not White Argument

George Zimmerman

In recent days we’ve seen many in the media play this card and play it hard.. There’s a couple of things going on here that we should all think about.

First, is by playing up the fact that Zimmerman is half Hispanic suggests that he at one point or the other has been subjected to the suspicious FEAR laden gaze of society and hence he’d be a bit more sensitive and perhaps a bit more insightful when confronting folks, in particular Black folks. The implied thought is that Zimmerman, the half Hispanic would know what Black or Brown man to confront and not to confront better than the average white person..That’s utter nonsense so lets put that to rest..

Zimmerman was a racist who had a clear disdain for young Black males. He was as FEARFUL as any of the white person who has held similar attitudes. In short, what does Zimmerman being Hispanic have to do with anything? He drank the kool aid of white supremacy. His Hispanic background didn’t make him immune, the same way it doesn’t immune self-hating Black folks who buy into the same flawed belief systems where even with Black skin and having faced discrimination themselves, will see a young Black male with a hoodie and think the worse and become suspicious. Some of those FEARFUL Negros once they get a position of power or get to wear a gun and badge act out fearfully and suspiciously with the same deadly consequences.. So Zimmerman being Latino means nothing..

The other thing at play here is by the media highlighting Zimmerman’s ethnicity, Black folks are supposed to suddenly unite and start bombing on Latinos. We’re supposed to suddenly be upset with our Mexican, El Salvadorian or Puerto Rican neighbors?  Was Zimmerman acting on their behalf and carrying out their agenda? I think not..

If they’re gonna play the ethnic card with Zimmerman all of us should be asking is Zimmerman repping for a large Latino body of people who are in the same struggles and fighting against an oppressive system. Is he part of an organizations like La Raza, MeCHA , NDLON, Puente, and in are they vouching for him? Would he have been suspicious of one the courageous Dreamers, undocumented youth who actually Marched through Florida a year or so ago pushing for passage of the Dream Act? Has Zimmerman been out there protesting all the anti-immigrant laws popping up all over the country or was he the type to support them, suspicious off other Latinos confronting them asking if they’re criminals or here ‘legally’?

Again either your working to free people from oppression or your working for the system, helping keep people disenfranchised and marginalized. Don’t buy into divide and conquer tactics. Connecting the dots, uniting marginalized communities and addressing institutionalized oppression is not in the best interest of those in power.

I’m not sure what Zimmerman represents and who he rolls with, but his actions deserved to be punished. And while in many places there are Black and Brown tensions which should be addressed the shooting of Trayvon Martin is not the jump off into further divisions. Whats at stake here is the death of an innocent 17 year old coming home in the rain wearing a hoodie and carry a package of skiddles..He was confronted by large, overzealous, suspicious wanna be cop who killed him.. We must resist the attempts to keep this tragedy isolated from these larger issues and histories at hand..We must seek justice and seek it in such a way that it puts a major dent in some of overarching problems and prejudices impacting us all.

written by Davey D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKaJoEyYXyI