He was wearing his hoodie up because it was raining. The bulge in his pocket was from his Icetea, he was talking to his girlfriend on the phone. I don't know how she recorded it but she has a record of the conversation.
Zimmerman is screwed. You just can't shoot the wrong guy. There is no way around it. There is a responsibility that comes with using a gun. You are betting your entire life when you pull that trigger.
It does not matter that homes were broken into or that Zimmerman helped to catch one of the robbers and that it was black young people who were doing the robberies.
Treyvon was the wrong guy.
So, was it worse than what happened in this story? I lifted the link from someone else.
Racism makes money and gives power to people and they are not going to turn loose of it. Racism will never be solved when we accept the manipulation.
I object to the manipulation. The whole hoodie argument where no one can accept the idea that a piece of clothing can take on such significance as to raise suspicion when seen at night. I would tell Hispanic kids not to wear stocking caps when it is 80 degrees at night and white kids not to show off their tattoos and wear those stupid wife beater t-shirts and a baseball cap turned backwards either.
Read the comment from stanchaz as quoted below. He could apply his own argument to himself. The example of a manipulated society is this very comment on my blog. It takes what may be a tragic mistake and turns it into racism. It is a perfect excuse for the public to be manipulated in some way. A child "victim," a Southern police department, and no possible criticism of anything sacred like the Feds or the President or the real issue of why people get uptight when they see people who fit a certain profile in their neighborhood.
Blame the Hoodie? Walking while black with a hoodie, punishable by death?? Have we come to this???
GIVE ME A BREAK. Hey, the poor kid was running in the rain .....and being stalked .......and ....I’M SORRY...but we don't ALL use Totes umbrellas when going to the corner grocery store for a snack. NOR should we risk losing our very lives while doing so! Mr. Rivera: you should be ashamed of your inane, insensitive comments about Trayvon’s death, and your attempts to create "excuses" for the inexcusable actions of judge-jury-and-executioner George Zimmerman (...AND...those that would imitate him). We are becoming a society that seeks and sees threats under every rock; a frightened society that sees danger with every “other” that is not just like us; a manipulated society with control-freaks running rampant (whether politicians or mayors or police chiefs or individuals). Power-hungry people that are only too eager to take advantage of our fears; that are only too willing to get away with anything and everything that they can, as they deprive us of our our liberty (and sometimes our lives).....all in the name of defending it. What a shell game. But were it only a game. For it includes the worst provisions of the Patriot Act, the police spying on innocent people, “papers-please” and stop&frisk gone wild, the “right” to indefinitely detain Americans without trial, and out-of-control homicidal vigilantes such as we have tragically seen here. It’s a serious, slippery slope... one that ultimately leads to a police state/Orwellian mentality that is more typical of places such as China or Cuba - NOT the America that I know and love. We USED to stand proud and free, and contrasted our open society to such sorry places. Now we imitate them. Our country is better than this. Our values are better than this. WE are better than this. Don’t blame the hoodie......blame what we are becoming, and allowing, and doing as a society. As Shakespeare once said: the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves: For we have come to accept things that should NEVER be accepted by a freedom-loving people. It’s time... it’s way past time, to reverse course. Let bring some good out of this tragedy.... and work to never let it happen again. You DO have the power, my friend. USE IT.
GIVE ME A BREAK. Hey, the poor kid was running in the rain .....and being stalked .......and ....I’M SORRY...but we don't ALL use Totes umbrellas when going to the corner grocery store for a snack. NOR should we risk losing our very lives while doing so! Mr. Rivera: you should be ashamed of your inane, insensitive comments about Trayvon’s death, and your attempts to create "excuses" for the inexcusable actions of judge-jury-and-executioner George Zimmerman (...AND...those that would imitate him). We are becoming a society that seeks and sees threats under every rock; a frightened society that sees danger with every “other” that is not just like us; a manipulated society with control-freaks running rampant (whether politicians or mayors or police chiefs or individuals). Power-hungry people that are only too eager to take advantage of our fears; that are only too willing to get away with anything and everything that they can, as they deprive us of our our liberty (and sometimes our lives).....all in the name of defending it. What a shell game. But were it only a game. For it includes the worst provisions of the Patriot Act, the police spying on innocent people, “papers-please” and stop&frisk gone wild, the “right” to indefinitely detain Americans without trial, and out-of-control homicidal vigilantes such as we have tragically seen here. It’s a serious, slippery slope... one that ultimately leads to a police state/Orwellian mentality that is more typical of places such as China or Cuba - NOT the America that I know and love. We USED to stand proud and free, and contrasted our open society to such sorry places. Now we imitate them. Our country is better than this. Our values are better than this. WE are better than this. Don’t blame the hoodie......blame what we are becoming, and allowing, and doing as a society. As Shakespeare once said: the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves: For we have come to accept things that should NEVER be accepted by a freedom-loving people. It’s time... it’s way past time, to reverse course. Let bring some good out of this tragedy.... and work to never let it happen again. You DO have the power, my friend. USE IT.
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ReplyDeleteWell said! i suspect that Zimmerman will pay for his actions in court. At least I certainly hope so. Which won't help Treyvon a bit. However, as far as attire: Why on earth would some kids decide it is cool to emulate a convict who has had his belt confiscated and whose pants therefore hang halfway to his knees? The purpose of the "hoodie" is to hide the identity of the wearer and to emulate the "gangsta" types. And can not these people also be somewhat "power hungry"? Like bullies? Not that all of this has bearing on the Treyvon case, or that it excuses Zimmerman's actions in any way, but I can digress just as well as you. :-) Kids will follow a fad without realizing that as in this case, it is akin to wearing a smoked ham necklace while swimming with sharks. Which is not to say that I am the type that thinks a woman who has been raped might have brought it on by wearing revealing clothing. She can always just say no. My guess is that Treyvon took offense at a racial slur instead of just keeping cool. You don't bring a cell phone to a gun fight. The Man is always right at night, and when he is carrying a gun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing up an excellent point. It is the more delicate points that are quite important and can't be understood by people.
ReplyDeleteThe woman who was raped did not bring it on by wearing revealing clothing yet... wouldn't it be prudent for any woman to be aware of her surroundings and do what she can to minimize risk? And would not it seem imprudent to wear almost nothing and teeter on high heels and then walk around by yourself after dark?
Minimize your risk...