Obama: Trayvon 'could have been me'

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
reply to post by neo96

 

I don't understand what's WRONG with what he said. It's the truth. Maybe you should LISTEN to what he said...

I think it's important to recognize that the African- American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that -- that doesn't go away," he said.

“There are very few African-American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they are shopping at a department store. And that includes me.”

“There are very few African- American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars."

"There are very few African-Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off.”

Source

I know a lot of you think this race thing is being manufactured, but you're wrong. I dated a black guy for a couple years and let me tell you, I got treated differently because I was with him. People watched us when we were in a store. It was SO OBVIOUS! People whispered about us in public. They stared and shook their heads. I have just a TINY bit of experience being profiled and not trusted, simply because of the color of my boyfriend's skin, and that's when I really GOT what white privilege is.

The reason why EVERYTHING the freaking HMFIC stated is wrong (AND EXTREMELY STUPID!!!) is simple...there was NO RACIAL BASIS OR MOTIVATION for the actions of Zimmerman...Zimmerman was interested in what a gangster-wannabe, punk, thug, pants-on-the-ground, hoodie-wearin, idiot was doing roaming the neighborhood after midnight, when most law-abiding sensible people are home and asleep...

reply to post by seabag

I’m a racist? I’m not a lover of Liberty??

Tell me you never believed Trayvon Martin is partly to blame because he was wearing a hoodie.

We have the NAACP, Black History Month, Martin Luther King Day, Black Congressional Caucus, National Black Police Association, New Black Panthers, Black Chamber of Commerce, BET, 60+ black colleges, etc.

That tends to happen in Nations with a multicultural citizenry and most especially when the minorities of that citizenry are not treated equal. What's so hard to understand about this concept. So where are the White equivalents? Everywhere else.

Originally posted by kosmicjack

Originally posted by seabag
We have the NAACP, Black History Month, Martin Luther King Day, Black Congressional Caucus, National Black Police Association, New Black Panthers, Black Chamber of Commerce, BET, 60+ black colleges, etc. WHO DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUES??? Yet nothing has changed. Why is that?

Do you even hear yourself? What are you implying? No need to answer, we can all guess.

He is talking about since the creation of those special interest groups there is still inequality existing.

Wasn't that the idea behind them all?

To end the 'unfair' treatment.

reply to post by kosmicjack

an honest discussion on race?

Really don't think that is ever going to happen. Too many feelings are going to be hurt on both sides.

Originally posted by MidnightTide
reply to post by Willtell

 

Come now, at the end of the day no one really cares about anyone else. You care about yourself, your family and perhaps close friends. All this empathy talk is just PC moral saint brownie points on the internet.

I can only hope that guys like you are an Internet forum majority, and only a majority on Internet forums. If not, then to fix what's wrong with this country would literally take physically eliminating two entire generations and starting over again with a generation that hasn't been poisoned by the minds of their parents and grandparents.

That whole "me, my, mine, and the rest of you can go f*ck yourselves" attitude is the primary strategy that TPTB have for keeping all of us weak and controllable, and they depend on guys like you to promote that self-destructive isolationism as some sort of heroic stand that will divide all of us against each other and keep them relatively powerful.

Like the OP's relentless mixture of anxiety and malevolent fantasy, that lone-soldier-against-the-entire-world way of dealing with life is self-destructive at best and dangerous to whatever and whomever is at arm's length of such a person at worst. Living like that is like playing Monopoly by only ever passing GO to collect that 200 dollars until someone wipes you out and ends your game with a hotel on any of the available properties. No investment, and no community means no future, and that's all it ever means.

Only in spaghetti western movies do those lone gunman types ever make any difference in this world. In real life, they end up sitting in their living rooms, friendless, family-less and only sharing their hatred with talkshow hosts getting paid to feed their own hate back to them. Not much of a life.

reply to post by MidnightTide


Regardless there needs to be a discussion about it. Feelings get "hurt" in a lot of different discussions, people are passionate about their beliefs. Politics are no different in that regard.

-SAP-

reply to post by totallackey


Martin was shot at 7:16 PM.

reply to post by GoldenVoyager


OMG you have never been a lippy teenager. Were you really a nun? I was a kid with a big mouth who would have a fist fight. Here is the news teenagers do dumb things and get into trouble. With the exception of you.

reply to post by Kali74

Tell me you never believed Trayvon Martin is partly to blame because he was wearing a hoodie.

I think that was a factor. I have many hoodies and I’m white. It’s kind of hard to tell the race of a person wearing a hoodie at night. Do you think crooks wear only tank tops or something???

That tends to happen in Nations with a multicultural citizenry and most especially when the minorities of that citizenry are not treated equal. What's so hard to understand about this concept. So where are the White equivalents? Everywhere else.

Please tell me where is the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Vietnamese Caucus, the Italian Police Association, the New German Panthers and 60+ Hispanic only colleges?

Oh, that’s right! They don’t have Sharpton, Jackson, Holder, Obama and the left pandering to them for injustices from centuries ago that nobody alive today experienced.

You really don’t see a problem with this? You’re all being played!

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


But you are still alive,so should Trayvon,cowards and their guns.I never was questioned by a cop or security
person off duty or without their courage aka GUN.

Originally posted by neo96

Originally posted by kosmicjack

Originally posted by seabag
We have the NAACP, Black History Month, Martin Luther King Day, Black Congressional Caucus, National Black Police Association, New Black Panthers, Black Chamber of Commerce, BET, 60+ black colleges, etc. WHO DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT THE ISSUES??? Yet nothing has changed. Why is that?

Do you even hear yourself? What are you implying? No need to answer, we can all guess.

He is talking about since the creation of those special interest groups there is still inequality existing.

Wasn't that the idea behind them all?

To end the 'unfair' treatment.

Sigh, the argument is more about the insecurities of Black America, THEN WHAT IS RIGHT OR WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE CASE. I can understand that being a by product of there history. Yet its not my fault. I will not responsible for it. I don't think any white person should either or fellow citizen for that matter. It just looks like most people are getting sucked into this insecurity story and living in it.. Racism is not as rampet as the civil groups are trying to make it sound. Ex. Black Potus etc.

reply to post by totallackey


Well that makes everything clear then. Anyone who is not in bed asleep before midnight is a criminal and should be arrested and thrown in jail by your definition (which is not mine).

How do youknow what Zimmerman was thinking just before he decided to follow Mr Martin. So the kid was dressed like modern kids do. So what? When you were a kid your wore a three piece suit all the time?

Originally posted by neo96

President Obama said Friday that all Americans should respect the George Zimmerman verdict, but white Americans should also understand that African Americans continue to face racial discrimination.

Hey? Let's expand the great racial divide even further

"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," Obama said during a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room.

Mr. president not a very smart thing to say considering what happened.

I am sick of this out of all the things that he should be talking about he decides to expand the great racial divide even further.

Both Martins Parents. and The FBI said that race was not an issue, the court itself said race was not an issue either so WHY MR. PRESIDENT did you decide to open your mouth?

Wouldn't your time be better served answering on things this like:

Benghazi ?
IRS Spying?
Holder being in contempt?
NSA Spying?
Gun running to Mexico that has killed thousands of the people who you are currently trying to legalize in one breathe and turn them in to a Mata Hari in another breathe.

Correct me if I am wrong here, the current 'racist' country elected YOU as POTUS well that's not a very 'racist' thing to do on their part considering how much they supposedly 'hate' certain ethnic groups.

Mr. President and i do use the term loosely definately not a 'uniter' and most definately a divider of using politics best weapons of mass destruction, racism.

If it's not race warfare it's class warfare.
If it's not either of those then is sex warfare.

Contrary to the dogma that is being peddle by the current divider in chief I am not obsessed with psychological warfare as the Potus and his party is,because their entire platform is nothing but manipulation to keep us fighting between ourselves.

A divided house is easily conquered a united house will stand up to the most corrupt administration in US history.

Seems anytime they want to take the heat of domestic, or foreign issues the warfare card gets played.

People take yourselves out of the game of political machination's..

I report you decide.

edit on 19-7-2013 by neo96 because: (no reason given)

Oh yeah. You are just asking the hard questions. Just reporting the facts. No opinion. Just like Fox news. What a laugh.

I can not think of one reason the President shouldn't relate to the case. Sarcasm.

Maybe he should have flown over the court session and said, done nothing.

.....he has the right to empathize. Thats something you probably wont ever have the capacity to do.

Someone is dead. There was no criminal. Just an accident with a purpose.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


As far as discrimination goes, I am a woman and I can tell you a thing or two about that!!!! Women's rights and the treatment of women isn't a big concern of our president, guess we'll have our day once we elect a female for president, or at least that's the way it is beginning to look after Obama. He is supposed to represent the PEOPLE... not the African American people.

I happen to have JUST resigned from a really good job that took me almost 2 years to get in this crappy economy, and I did so because no amount of money is worth being degraded and discriminated against. I was the minority and my direct supervisor was a black man. There were two women I became extremely close to and am still in touch with, both of which were also black (for the record). I felt comfortable enough with these ladies to talk openly about how I felt and neither one of them disagreed, it was that blatant and obvious.

It went past being overlooked for projects and promotions... I was actually REMOVED from projects and training that I was placed in due to my job performance and quality of customer service. I have 20 years of experience in what I do and happen to be very good at it. My direct supervisor's attitude and behavior held me back in a corporation where there was a lot of opportunity. It went past the discrimination and on to degrading comments and mockery. Myself and others were also being given way too much workload while others were allowed to do absolutely nothing. It was horrible and made me miserable and HURT me emotionally!!!! I came home so many days so stressed and upset and ANGRY... I don't know how many times I said that IF I were a black female under 30, I'd have it made in that place. This was so disturbing Especially when I am not and never have been prejudice EVER. In fact, my biggest pet peeve is ANY type of injustice.

There is a lot of reverse discrimination going on in this country, and no one wants to discuss it, or cares. I feel like the African American community of 2013, has one response to this subject and that is to say "awww, poor thing...sucks doesn't it??" I feel like there is a "revenge" mentality that has come about now that WE the (black and white and Asian and Hispanic) people have elected an African American president.

THIS is what NO ONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT!

reply to post by reaganero


Read this post

Say that reply is what that post is reference to.

Originally posted by stillsearchin
Hello all. Im normally a lurker more than a contributor but i have to say a few things on this matter. I was born and raised in Apopka Fl. about 20 miles from where all this happened. I know the people and the area.. This wasnt a racial thing ,it was a stupid people thing.
I have been Trayvon.A bigger than normal man/boy with a temper.I was 6'4" ,250 lbs with an attitude at 17 I would have done the same as he.I would have come back looking for a fight. Stupid person #1
George Zimmerman tried to play superhero despite being told to stay in his truck and picked a fight with the wrong person, Was Zimmerman in danger of his life ? Probably not ,but how was to know that?.
He put himself in a bad situation. Stupid person # 2

Then you have all the people argue the right and wrong of this.It was all wrong. Stupid kids ,Idiot neighborhood watchman, poor Florida laws, Al Sharpton and his cronies. All wrong, all misguided and to make matters worse the POTUS has to throw in his 2 cents just to stir the pot.

All this over stupid and as we all know ,you cant fix stupid.


Rob

Wow Rob we are not twins but I was similar to you but shorter and broad. I think some people here cannot or will not remember their own teenage ways. I was a good student but I had attitude because i was indestructable...

Yes it was all stupid and stupid cannot be fixed.

reply to post by NorEaster


and blah blah blah...if I had a dime for every moral saint I met on the internet I would have more money then Bill Gates. This is one of the reasons why things will never change, some of you are simply naive / live in a comfortable lifestyle and have no concept of how the world really works. You don't care about me, and I don't care about you. You see a bum on the sidewalk, you may even go so far as giving some food, throw some spare change his way - then you move along and forget about them.

Do blacks have it harder to make ends meat? Perhaps....and yes perhaps they have to deal with more racist attitudes in their daily lives - but guess what, that is life and you have to deal with it. People are racist and they can be cold and uncaring - and they will always be that way. So go ahead and cry and whine about it. You will get a lot of pseudo sympathy about it, but can you eat that? Will someone saying "YA MAN, FIGHT THE WHITE MAN" make your problems go away? Not a chance. Stop looking to others to solve your issues, because they really don't care.

Young black men need to stop glorifying the gangster lifestyle, stop crying about being profiled when you look like a thug. I don't care what ethnic group you are from, you look like a thug you are going to be treated like one. Black men need to start raising their children, they need to start working hard at their jobs, at school. They need to stop looking for the easy way out.

Now I know the racist card has already been thrown in this thread. Go ahead and play that - but after all this Trayvon drama is done and over with where will the black community be. They will still have the same problems. Obama can say whatever he wants, can put in whatever regulations / laws that he wants - the black community will still have the same problems.

The black community has the keys to their own success.


edit:

and thanks for all the ad hominen in your post, you should have thrown in a "live in your parents basement" line as well. It appears you don't have much of an opinion of me do you. Well guess what, don't think too much of your shtick either sunshine. Kind of proves my point, you don't care for me and vise versa. Thanks for playing the Game of Life.

reply to post by kosmicjack

We have a black POTUS and yet so many young African-American boys and men still cannot go about their daily lives, minding their own business without being profiled.

Until such time as you can match up the claims of profiling made by these "many young African-American boys and men," with the actual facts of their behavior and the entire situation as presented, then you need to file this statement in #13, AKA the circular file to your immediate right....

reply to post by Bicent76


I agree, and I do not understand?? I mean I may be wrong and not exactly sure but the way I look at it is... no one alive TODAY had anything to do with the PAST! All we can do is, is change the future. That means MY responsibility as a mother is to NOT raise racist children (done)- as a citizen is to be fair and treat everyone equally and with respect (done).. etc etc.. I believe that as a JUROR those 12 individuals did what they were asked and instructed to do.. END OF STORY!!!

A couple of things that confuse me (I'm not being sarcastic, it's just that HISTORY is my least favorite subject) and that I am not sure I have exactly straight..

1.Why doesn't the Jewish community make headlines constantly, and have the President holding press conferences?? I mean come on, the Jewish people have suffered horrific discrimination. Were they not mistreated, murdered, tortured and still victims of hate crimes daily?? Seriously though, do the KKK not hate JEWS just as much as blacks?? Yet no one "Talks" about it, we never HEAR about it on MSM.

2. Is it not correct that the African American people were sold into slavery by their homeland and then brought here to this country? Were they not then freed when slavery was abolished, which did not come without an extremely bloody civil war that had brother fighting against brother in order for it to happen?

It seems like the people of this country did all they could do at that time to bring about change, and things have gotten better and continue to get better still, what our President is doing is not a PROGRESSION of that change. It's taking a step or 3 backwards!!!