Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

I am not Trayvon MArtin
Truth About Bills ^ | 04/27/2012 | Mark Mayberry

Posted on 04/27/2012 1:49:34 PM PDT by Mark Mayberry

 I am not Trayvon Martin

It is the greatest day of the year for a college student.  My exams are done and I am looking ahead toward a summer of relaxation and no homework in sight.  I stopped by my college bookstore today to return my textbooks and noticed a flyer on the student activities bulletin board that said, “We are Trayvon Martin.”

The picture is featured above and is also goes on to state that it was a meeting held by the NAACP on my college campus on April 4th.  Now this flyer got me thinking as I stood in line to return my books and if you have never returned books on the last day of the semester, let me tell you, I had a lot of time to think.

I decided that even though most people want to believe otherwise, most of us are not Trayvon Martin at all.  As a matter of fact, I am nothing like Trayvon nor would I want to be.  It leads me to ponder this question, what does it say about America that so many people think they want to be like Trayvon Martin?

Why I'm not Trayvon Martin

It is very sad anytime something results in the death of a young man but do we not also have to observe the circumstances that caused this death?  There are several reasons that I say I am not Trayvon; I did well in school and was never suspended for drug possession, possessing burglary tools and stolen property. Also my parents never allowed me to walk to the store after dark, I never made a practice of being crass and foul mouthed publically on Twitter and finally I never put myself out to be a member of the criminal element or in more modern words living the “thug life.”  

My parents were fairly strict on me as a child and although I hated it when I was younger, I now understand why they were and it is driven home a little more every time I see a cautionary tale such as this.   I was never in trouble outside of the normal realms of being a bored teenager.  For that reason I never found myself in a strange neighborhood after dark being pursued by a member of  the neighborhood watch.  I would have never dreamed of bringing drugs or stolen property to school mostly because I was raised with a strict code of decency and in my community we were all good people who didn’t take part in such things.  Also the fact that even at the age of seventeen I am fairly sure my father would not have been opposed to snatching me up for such deeds didn’t hurt as a deterrent.

This story involved my parents quite a bit and I didn’t even realize it until I started to frame out the article.  Much of the things that have been unearthed about Trayvon Martim since his death are a result of absent parenting in my opinion.  My father always instilled in me to respect everyone but most of all women.  For that reason I would never issue public Internet statements through various social media sites using disparaging and misogynistic terms.  I was raised in an atmosphere where that was not permitted and if you broke that rule there was a consequence.

From the time I was young my parents both taught me that there was something to be said for hard work and honest living.  My parents, both of whom are successful in their respective fields of employment were great role models to support their claims.  Because of that influence and example I am now on my way to being a successful person in my chosen field and never once have I thought it would be cool to dress in baggy jeans with a hood covering my face.  Not to say that I don’t own any hoodies but the hood is more of a useless addition to the sweatshirt and not to be worn.  I am a firm believer that how you dress sways people’s initial opinion.  I try to dress my best when I am around town and meeting people so I am taken seriously in public.  For the same reason that I assume the guy wearing a badge is a police officer, I also assume the guy walking around with his pants falling down and wearing an oversized hoodie is a criminal.  If you don’t want to be known as a criminal then don’t wear the uniform.

I have no middle finger pictures online nor do I own any gold teeth and although I do have one tattoo it is covered a majority of the time and no one is any the wiser.  The point I am trying to make here is that Trayvon went to great lengths to convince people that he was a thug, living the lifestyle of a ghetto super star and there are consequences to this decision.

If I had to choose, I would say that I am George Zimmerman.  George Zimmerman is a devoted husband who works diligently and does volunteer work with disadvantaged people and at risk youth.  He also volunteered in his neighborhood and most people only have good things to say about him.  Zimmerman has goals and career dreams that he hopes to attain much as I do and because of that I can understand the hard work that goes into pursuing a dream.

Much like Zimmerman I volunteer in my community and do what I can to help out.  Until I moved to Tennessee for school I was a volunteer firefighter and still take part in many activities to help out those less fortunate.

Also I am a concealed weapons permit holder and this is the reason that this case was originally of particular interest to me.  It wasn’t until later when Zimmerman was crucified in the media with lies and omissions that I took up the cause. (Check out my story on the media bias in the Trayvon Martin case.)  Anyone who carries a gun (legally) understands the responsibility and the risk you take in defending your own life.  Because of this I know that unless some new unforeseen evidence surfaces, Zimmerman didn’t shoot Martin on a whim or for kicks, as some would have you to believe.

So I will ask again in closing, are you really Trayvon Martin?  Do you want your kids to be Trayvon Martin?  I for one, try everyday not be Trayvon Martin and to live my life as a productive member of society and a point of pride for my parents not a point of failure.

 



TOPICS: Government; Local News; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: martin; obama; sleepertroll; trayvon; trayvonmartin; zimmerman
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 161-175 next last

1 posted on 04/27/2012 1:49:39 PM PDT by Mark Mayberry
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Mark Mayberry

How about everyone blindfold themselves and we judge GZ/TM by the content of their character.


2 posted on 04/27/2012 1:51:48 PM PDT by bicyclerepair ( REPLACE D-W-S ! http://www.karenforcongress.com)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bicyclerepair

Live like a thug, die like a thug.


3 posted on 04/27/2012 1:53:57 PM PDT by thethirddegree
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Mark Mayberry

Well written...you reap what you sow.


4 posted on 04/27/2012 2:04:31 PM PDT by GoldenPup (Comrade "O" has got to GO!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: thethirddegree

Why is it that Trayvon Martin is a “thug” because he was suspennded from school? Many currently productive and successful members of society also had issues in high school. Trayvon Martin was a A/B student with no history of violence. As to the notion that he should not have been going to the store while it was dark, that borders on the ridiculous. OTH, Zimmerman does have a history of violence against undercover cops and woman. Why doesn’t that bother you?


5 posted on 04/27/2012 2:08:28 PM PDT by BLOC77 (bloc07)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Mark Mayberry; ntnychik; potlatch; dixiechick2000; onyx

IF I HAD A SON
HE'D LOOK LIKE TRAYVON


6 posted on 04/27/2012 2:12:01 PM PDT by PhilDragoo (Hussein: Islamo-Commie from Kenya)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BLOC77
You forgot to factor in the smashing GZ's head on concrete part.

7 posted on 04/27/2012 2:27:18 PM PDT by I see my hands (If you say what you think then no one will like you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: I see my hands

If Zimmerman’s head had been “smashed” into concrete, there would have been severe damage, most likely scull fracture and concussion. I saw two small cuts, no stitches, no hospitalization. The head, along with the nose, lips, ear lobes, bleed easily and you may see a extreme amount of blood caused by a small cut or abrasion. Untill I see medical records charting severe head trauma and a broken nose, I will continue to question Zimmermans’s story. I feel you see a hero and I fear this is a result of a wanna be cop.


8 posted on 04/27/2012 2:50:15 PM PDT by BLOC77 (bloc07)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: BLOC77

I think you had better look again. Trayvon did have a history of violence. He attacked a school bus driver


9 posted on 04/27/2012 3:11:22 PM PDT by South Dakota (shut up and drill)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: I see my hands; BLOC77
I will say up front I have not delved into the whole Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman matter. I have read some threads here about it, and heard different snippets about it on local and natl television.

I have read a lot of threads where folks have equated Mr. Zimmerman to being a hero and feeling this is pivotal to gun carry and stand your ground.

I did hear the 911 tape where Mr. Zimmerman was told to NOT pursue Mr. Martin. Yet he continued to pursue him. Now, if that's one of the 911 tapes that was edited, then forgive me for commenting in an area where I haven't done enough due diligence. But from the point where I heard that, I have been bothered by those treating Mr. Zimmerman as a hero. The situation was escalated when he chose to pursue Mr. Martin.

I don't know that anyone here has taken a moment and put themselves into Mr. Martin's shoes. Isn't it possible that he thought his life was in danger? Isn't it possible he was “standing his ground” and trying to protect his life? The same thing that Mr. Zimmerman has been applauded for?

I'm not saying that's what happened. I wasn't there. But I do wonder about it.

10 posted on 04/27/2012 3:13:53 PM PDT by green pastures (Cynicism-- it's not just for breakfast anymore...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Mark Mayberry

Excellent article, Mark.

If I had to shoot someone in self defense, I would be upset about it for the loss of human life.

When young people flirt with darkness held out by liberals as cool - like the black thug criminal and racist culture - it’s not long before you are acting it out, playing the part and attacking others. If you choose that path, you will end up dead or in prison. Better Trayvon be stopped than read the obit of Zimmerman - another decent normal person no one cares about taken out by another black thug. All colors of people serve as victim to this thug mentality.

To liberals the good guys are bad guys and the bad guys are good guys. They dominate and direct the culture, leading many young people the way of Trayvon and destructive acts held up for white young people, too.

It will never change with them, but Americans need to understand the choice and not follow blindly along like sheep to the slaughter. You did the best. You listened to your parents and did not fall prey.


11 posted on 04/27/2012 3:16:21 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BLOC77
"I feel you see a hero.."

I see Zimmerman, a lib who is getting his just deserts. I see Martin, a savage who got what was coming to him. Now I see BLOC77. I don't hold any of you in high esteem.


12 posted on 04/27/2012 3:35:43 PM PDT by I see my hands (If you say what you think then no one will like you.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: green pastures
... Mr. Zimmerman was told to NOT pursue Mr. Martin. Yet he continued to pursue him...

Don't take Sharpton's story for the truth. Zimmerman told the operator 'Okay' and says he started back because he lost track of Martin.

This could be the truth.

Martin was obviously a thug wannabe who was both larger than Zimmerman and who obviously, according to witnesses, was assaulting Zimmerman. It is very clear who the agressor was.

13 posted on 04/27/2012 3:48:20 PM PDT by chopperman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: BLOC77
Who knows what is true about Trayvon and not true. The media (the DNC) and his parents have held him out to the public with angelic pictures of him as at a younger age to manipulate the public.

I read that he attacked a bus driver and was caught in school with jewerly. Did you read that? Or did you only read about skittles boy?

I think this is probably true. Trayvon was a good kid and a bad kid - like all kids. He decided to attack and beat a man who had a gun for self defense. The man had the right to stop Trayvon in his thug adventure. Trayvon is dead before he got a chance to grow out of his thug cool phase which often happens to young people who dabble in thug for a season. It's sad and horrible. People who dabble in a season of darkness often receive deadly and suffering consequences. It is a very serious decision young people make.

But the elitists hold up the black thug culture as if it is the meaning of being a righteous black teen. If you cared you would tell them to stop it rather than play dummy for the thug culture. It's not hip. It's deadly.

14 posted on 04/27/2012 3:48:59 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Mark Mayberry
Statement: "I am not Trayvon MArtin"

Response:True.

Comment: However,you can learn "To Trayvon" a new verb recently added to the English language. It means "Planting a .30 caliber,or greater, bullet in the center of mass of a Hoodie wearing assailant." Examples: I trayvon. I am trayvoning.I do trayvon. etc. etc.

15 posted on 04/27/2012 3:56:21 PM PDT by AEMILIUS PAULUS (It is a shame that when these people give a riot)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

All contributions are for the Current Quarter Expenses.


Stop this Madness! Donate to Free Republic!

16 posted on 04/27/2012 3:58:25 PM PDT by RedMDer (https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=93)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: BLOC77

He’s not a thug because he was supended from school, he’s a thug because he was a violent criminal, and now he’s a dead violent criminal.

Good riddance.


17 posted on 04/27/2012 4:00:24 PM PDT by chris37 (Heartless.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: green pastures

Did you hear it?

In the tape I heard, the dispatcher, who is not a law officer, said we don’t need you to do that, to which Zimmerman responded OK, then can be heard to stop running.

He obeyed the suggestion.

What tape did you listen to?


18 posted on 04/27/2012 4:02:09 PM PDT by chris37 (Heartless.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: BLOC77
Why is it that Trayvon Martin is a “thug” because he was suspennded from school?

He is not just a thug because he was suspended from school, but the reasons he was suspended have a lot to do with it. Plus his twitter page in which he gave himself the screen name of "No limit N***a"" and made various comments about being associated with gang bangers had a lot to do with it. Add to that the fact his associates claim he decked a bus driver(no proof of that yet, but his friends think he did)and was suspended Multiple times, not just once, speaks to the fact he was not a model student but was indeed either a full blown thug or a thug wanna be.

Want more? Stolen jewels on his person, burglary tools on his person and MJ on his person at school.

Still not convinced? Well then I guess you are just hopelessly imbued with the PC sickness.

19 posted on 04/27/2012 4:25:15 PM PDT by calex59
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: BLOC77

You and the other Trayvons need some education on how to behave in a civilized society. I don’t live in a gated community, but a community where we all know each other and keep watch on our property.Trayvon would have had multiple gunshot wounds from people of different ethnicities in my neighborhood


20 posted on 04/27/2012 4:29:33 PM PDT by Figment
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 161-175 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson