Posted on 03/28/2012 6:01:19 PM PDT by imardmd1
Right now, there isn't enough known about the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a black, by a 28-year-old part-Hispanic, during his neighborhood watch tour in an Orlando, Fla., suburb. If evidence emerges that Zimmerman's actions were not justified, he should be prosecuted and punished; however, there's a larger issue that few people understand or have the courage to acknowledge, namely that black and young has become synonymous with crime and, hence, suspicion. To make that connection does not make one a racist. Let's look at it. Twelve years ago, a black Washington, D.C., commissioner warned cabbies, most of whom were black, against picking up dangerous-looking passengers. She described "dangerous-looking" as a "young black guy ... with shirttail hanging down longer than his coat, baggy pants, unlaced tennis shoes." She also warned cabbies to stay away from low-income black neighborhoods. Did that make the D.C. commissioner a racist?
In some cities, such as St. Louis, black pizza deliverers have complained about having to deliver pizzas to certain black neighborhoods, including neighborhoods in which they live. Are they racists? The Rev. Jesse Jackson once remarked, "There is nothing more painful for me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery -- (and) then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved." Does that make the reverend a racist?
The former Charleston, S.C., black chief of police, Reuben Greenberg, said the problem facing black America is not racial profiling. He said, "The greatest problem in the black community is the tolerance for high levels of criminality." Former Los Angeles black police Chief Bernard Parks, defending racial profiling, said: "It's not the fault of the police when they stop minority males or put them in jail. It's the fault of the minority males for committing the crime. In my mind, it is not a great revelation that if officers are looking for criminal activity, they're going to look at the kind of people who are listed on crime reports." Are former police Chiefs Greenberg and Parks racist?
According to the Uniform Crime Report for 2009, among people 18 or younger, blacks were charged with 58 percent of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, 67 percent of robberies, 42 percent of aggravated assaults and 43 percent of auto thefts. As for murder, more than 90 percent of the time, their victims were black. These statistics, showing a strong interconnection among race, youth and crime, are a far better explanation for racial profiling and suspicion than simple racism.
Black Americans have spoken out against racial profiling by police. They've been insulted by store personnel who might give them extra scrutiny. There's the insult of the sound of a car door being locked when a black approaches. It's insulting to have taxi drivers pass up a black person and pick up white people down the street. In a similar vein, I'm sure that a law-abiding Muslim is insulted when given extra scrutiny at airports or listening to Fox News reporter Juan Williams, who was fired by National Public Radio in 2010 for publicly saying that he gets nervous when he sees people on a plane with clothing that identifies them as Muslim. Blacks and Muslims who face the insults of being profiled might direct their anger toward those who've made blacks and crime synonymous and terrorism and Muslims synonymous.
God would never racially profile, because he knows everything, including who is a criminal or terrorist. We humans are not gods; therefore, we must often base our decisions on guesses and hunches. It turns out that easily observed physical characteristics, such as race, are highly interconnected with other characteristics less easily observed.
For most blacks to own up to the high crime rate among blacks is a source of considerable discomfort. Beyond that, it creates suspicions and resentment, which are destructive of good race relations, and it's devastating to the black community, which is its primary victim.
Does the straight line route between the skittles store and home go through Zimmerman’s gated community?
Young black males are about 900% more likely to commit a serious crime than young white males. And young white males about 3500% more likely to commit a crime than young asian females.
To ignore reality is idiocy. I your daughter had the choice of getting a ride home with one of three strangers from the group above or being left alone in a bad neighborhood, which would you choose (without any other information)?
Sorry, but I’m going with the odds.
I know good honest, hard working people of every color, but we live in a real world where we can’t subordinate knowledge to fancy.
The criminals profile - why shouldn’t law-abiding citizens? If the authorities publish statistics, who are they to tell us how we can use them? If the law-abiding citizen profiles people surrounding them, they are safer. If the law-abiding citizen is packing, all the better.
I certainly haven’t seen enough evidence to be certain as to what actually happened.I’ve seen basically nothing...good *or* bad...about the shooters character but I *have* seen “tweets” allegedly written by the kid shortly before his death.If these “tweets” were,in fact,written by the kid they don’t paint a picture of him that’s even *slightly* flattering.
Good question.
Profiling is not racism. Racism is hating all of a type of minority, or all minorities, true racists do not care if a minority is an outstanding citizen, or the lowest scum possible. As my uncle has said, there are white people I don’t like, and there are black people I don’t like. When did we cross the line into territory where disliking the character of a minority makes you a racist?
What is never mentioned in these type of articles is that at the end of the day, IT IS an either or situation.
Some kid spends several hundred dollars on doo-dads: fake gold teeth, gang tattoos, ghetto style clothing, etc., etc., etc. All with the goal of looking “ghetto”, “gangster” a “banger” etc.
Approaching a white person, there ARE only two responses:
“good grief, he’s one of those ghetto gangsters, he’s going to whip out a Mac 9 and any moment and start shooting”
or
“oh look, he’s just a young black man playing dress up, kind of like little kids did when they put on mommy and daddies clothes.
Poor old Geraldo Rivera actually got it about half correct. When you go to this much trouble to dress “gangster”, either people are actually going to think you are a gangster, or you’ve wasted a great deal of money to be the joke that people laugh at under there breath.
There is no winning outcome. Through your actions, you are requesting to be profiled – and you will be. Either as a gangbanger or a fool.
I'd have to go 'way back in this, but Trayvon's father's girl friend's home was in the community, and that was his terminus, IIRC.
the kid was going to the house of his dad’s girlfriend. The confrontation and shooting occurred 1 house away from his destination. I don’t know where the store is. But he was almost to his destination. And I haven’t followed all the other details to know what really happened.
For the future of all of us the question is “What would you do next time?” When to follow, when to escalae, when to let go.
What combination of clues lead one to make the choice? the cops have the same problem. They see clues. they play the odds. Escalation is the step to avoid usually. Collect more clues. If a crime has been committed, convict the guy in court.
In my younger days I took a lot of guys to court, providing the police with the clues for them to follow, and the evidence when they were to lazy to get it.
The illegal immigration debate is all about the rule of law. Somehow we need to have that respect in our real life. Both Martin and Zimmerman are innocent until proven guilty. that is the rule of law. In the future, suspects and people in the wrong neighborhood are innocent til proven guilty.
Thnx. I’ve been wondering about that for a while. If he actually “belonged” there, that’s a point against Zimmerman (maybe he is a distant relation to Bob Dylan?).
I have read that after Martin was expelled from school he was staying with his father at the home of his father’s girl friend. She live in the gated community.
Zimmerman did not know Martin because he had just started staying there.
Martin had been expelled from school 3 times recently. Drug residue on plastic bag, stolen jewelry in possession, taking swing at bus driver and presence in restricted area at school.
Some of his twitter posts reveal more problems. His twitter account was @No_Limit_Ni**ar
Not exactly like a clean pure little boy as portrayed by press.
I agree -- I don't know enough to firmly pin the blame. But that's not the issue of the article. The question relevant to Zimmerman or Martin is -- were either of their reactions based on a presumption of "profiling"?
There are many anti-authoritarians who have a dislike of the popos much less a community watch pseudo-cop. If Martin was an anti-authoritarian is another good question.
That's true, but ... were any of his recent choices of clothes, language, tweets, gait, attitude -- part of an effort to be perceived as a "gangsta"? If so, and interpreted by others as such, what a foolish image to try to achieve. Is this what Zimmerman saw? Profiling is the facet considered in this Williams article --
Excellent point! One for everybody to keep in mind!
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