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Trayvon Martin and Making Whiteness Visible (The acknowledgement of "white privilege")
Time Magazine ^ | July 17, 2013 | Eric Liu

Posted on 07/18/2013 11:10:35 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

If there is one hopeful note amid all the anguish and recrimination from the acquittal of George Zimmerman, it’s that growing numbers of white people have come to appreciate whiteness for what it is: an unearned set of privileges. And as a result of that dawning awareness, it’s become possible to imagine a day when that structure of privilege is dismantled — by white people.

Recall that immediately after the killing of Trayvon Martin, people of every race took to the Internet to declare “I am Trayvon Martin.” They wore hoodies. They proclaimed solidarity. That was a well-meaning and earnest attempt to express empathy, but it also obscured the core issue, which is that Martin died not because he was wearing a hoodie but because he was wearing a hoodie while black. Blackness was the fatal variable.

And so now, postverdict, a more realistic meme has taken root. On Tumblr and Facebook and elsewhere there is a new viral phenomenon: “We are not Trayvon Martin” (emphasis mine). Huge numbers of white Americans are posting testimonials and images to declare that it is precisely because they are not black that they have never had to confront the awful choices Martin faced when Zimmerman began to pursue him.

This isn’t about empathy or the posture of equivalency that empathy can tempt us to assume. It’s about owning up to the unequal privilege of being nonblack and saying, in essence, “I am George Zimmerman.” And because I am George Zimmerman, I get to have my fears trump reality. I get get-out-of-jail-free cards. I get a presumption of innocent victimhood, no matter what my own acts or attitudes....

(Excerpt) Read more at ideas.time.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: blackrage; blacks; holder; racecard; trayvon; whites; zimmerman
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To: x

Yes. You are well-informed, and correct.


101 posted on 07/18/2013 2:13:25 PM PDT by expat2
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The whole fr3eaking media is like this. This is what happens hen e give so many tax breaks to the rich, they suddenly become liberals. We need to change our MO and raise the taxes on them until we have fair media, a secure border and control of spending.


102 posted on 07/18/2013 2:28:11 PM PDT by amnestynone
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The spin cycle continuous to ramp up. What these shills for the regime are doing is trying their best to prevent the TRUTH of the trial and the incident from dawning on HISPANICS. You see, Treyvon Martin targeted what he perceived to be an Hispanic man smaller than him and thus more attackable.

St Skittles had not been in the neighborhood long enough to know who George was, personally, so pitiful purple drank dude made the mistake of jumping on George Zimmerman and trying to bash his brains out with a concrete sidewalk. He failed, bigtime.

That a black teen thug-wannabe chose to try and kill an Hispanic man, and that this attitude toward Hispanics is very heavy int he black community is the reality the spin cycle is working to prevent from discussion. The democrips have concluded that the black community is doing such a good job self limiting their population that the Hispanic community stands a good chance of becoming the #2 voting demographic in America. The democrip amnesty scheme is the way the democrips will try to retain power, so the true distain the democrips have for Hispanics must not be discussed openly.

Every time you read or hear that someone wants to 'honor the memory' of Treyvon Martin, aka Saint Skittles, just remember what they are trying to divert attention from, that the true memory of what St Skittle did was try to bash the brains out of an Hispanic man little Treyvon saw as smaller than him, more vulnerable, and most of all Hispanic.

103 posted on 07/18/2013 2:42:26 PM PDT by MHGinTN (Being deceived can be cured.)
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To: Razz Barry
You have a point. Asians and arabs don't like blacks, and local race wars already exist between hispanics and blacks. Their behavior has turned off just about everybody, except for white guilt-ridden liberals.

The sad thing is that there are many good upright black citizens, but they get tarred by the same brush wielded by the race hustlers and the feral urban youths.

104 posted on 07/18/2013 2:47:04 PM PDT by expat2
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
I just can't believe all this kind of crap that people apparently take seriously.
105 posted on 07/18/2013 3:23:57 PM PDT by MileHi ( "It's coming down to patriots vs the politicians." - ovrtaxt)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I don’t think Blacks get it yet. They’ve already lost their status to Hispanics.

DC knows this, though, obviously.

Hispanics also come from the Napoleonic Code tradition of guilty 1st. Innocent TBD.

DC likes that, too. For us.


106 posted on 07/18/2013 3:26:19 PM PDT by combat_boots (The Lion of Judah cometh. Hallelujah. Gloria Patri, Filio et Spiritui Sancto!)
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To: expat2
"Privileged" as the Leftists use it, implies an undeserved position, or an unearned position. You are using the term, certainly, in an acceptable sense, meaning the benefits of earned achievement; a position where one can afford luxuries, etc..

I do not think that we really have a disagreement on the underlying philosophy.

Of course, you will never see some people really apply themselves--even their limited talents--towards getting ahead. Not everyone has a positive bent. But you would see a vastly greater number, doing so, if the media would stop humoring (& carrying water for) the demagogues who play the Blame & Envy Game.

The whole Trayvon Martin gambit, now being played by the Left is like one of the examples of the Big Lie, endlessly repeated exercises of the Jacobins, Marxists or Nazis, and speaks to something incredibly ugly about their intentions.

William Flax

107 posted on 07/19/2013 7:46:37 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: x
You are quite right about the publisher of Time, Life & Fortune. Luce's wife was a Republican Senator, as you will recall, and a featured speaker at Republican Conventions, before she ran for the Senate.

U.S. News was certainly less tabloidy than Time or Newsweek, and its readership was more business oriented. Its circulation, as I recall was somewhat lower than Times', but not really dramatically lower. They simply appealed to a different demographic.

108 posted on 07/19/2013 7:57:30 AM PDT by Ohioan
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To: SoCalRight

Have you read Unbroken, about Louis Zamplolini, who was also held in a Japanese POW camp?

Such a good book, and really inspiring.

Zampolini is still alive, he’s an amazing man.

Ed


109 posted on 07/20/2013 5:56:53 PM PDT by Sir_Ed
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