Deep inside of me there is the belief that if my child were
to meet an untimely end at the hands of a stranger there would be justice. Police would investigate; prosecutors
would involve me as the parent of the victim. My community would recognize the tragedy.
In my grief I would be comforted. Words of compassion would
wash over me. The disbelief of everyone I know would remind me that in this
nation we can seek justice, expect action, find closure.
But of course I AM WHITE.
If an individual who the police told to not follow him,
gunned down my white son, there would be justice. Our culture would stand proclaiming that the individual who
shot my son was responsible because he did not follow the lawful instructions
of the police.
Anyone attempting to paint my son as having caused his own
death by defending himself would be swiftly denounced as a victim blamer,
unable to see the tragedy of this young blond haired and blue-eyed boy having
lost his life.
But of course my son IS WHITE.
His mother would not be bombarded by images and opinions
attempting to paint her lost child as a thug. When a photo is discovered of him
flipping his middle finger, it would be dismissed as the normal actions of
teenager expressing his defiance and crossing boundaries. Just a part of
growing up
But of course his middle finger IS WHITE.
Those who say, “The verdict is in, lets move on” are
ignoring the devastating consequences of this case on people of color in this
nation. Mothers across this nation
are in fear for the lives of their children. Boys are shot down, never to
become men and families grieve without the expectation of justice or
accountability.
Of course these sons are Black
This is nothing new, the lives of young African Americans
have long been held as less valuable in our communities. There is no international attention
when these boys loose their lives, no discussion of breaking the cycle of
violence in the mainstream press. No national empathy for the grieving parents.
Of course these victims are BLACK
This is racism, yours mine and our entire cultures. No, it is
not the racism of the KKK burning crosses in the 60’s. No, it is not the racism
of our grandparents still using the “n” word. No, it is not the racism of job
discrimination. This is the racism that belongs to every person who enjoys the
benefits of not having to worry about our children being shot for who they are. In our belief that our children are safe, in our belief that such things happen
to others, in our collective lack of action in response to the injustice
recently perpetuated in a courtroom in Florida, we are responsible.
George Zimmerman is not the boogieman, he is us; an
individual whose actions reflected unconscious beliefs and prejudices held by
our culture, our families’ and our selves. We have an opportunity to confront our own privilege, to speak
out, to stand in unity with our brothers and sisters of color and loudly proclaim
enough, we will hold our community accountable for its unjust attitudes, we
will confront the vestiges of racism instilled in us by our cultural
experiences. We will work to transcend the mirage that is our legal system. We
will seek compassion, openness, and self-awareness in all that we do.
A young Black man is dead; let his life be the call to
action, the event that finally calls us to a real solution to the false and
destructive lie that is equal protection under the law. Let us no longer
tolerate this system that ignores the real racism in our society and ourselves.
All that is needed for the evil that is racism to prevail is for us to do nothing, to move on in our lives. Now is the time to spread this message far and wide, we will act, protest, join in the cause of real justice, call our system to account; shed the racism that encumbers real change!
16 comments:
Thank you for this posting. It is profoundly honest. Blessed be.
Very profound
First, I am saddened by the verdict, but I told a friend 3 days ago that Zimmerman would be acquitted. However, not necessarily for the reason many think. See what you think of this, and yes, you're free to disagree. 1) it is a sad statistical truth that US courts are biased in regard to "black vs. white" crime. 2) Zimmerman is not white, but Mexican/Jewish. He may or may not be racist himself, though he did "profile" Martin based on recent crimes in the neighborhood perpetrated by teenaged black kids. Using this profile doesn't *necessarily* mean Zimmerman is racist. 3) What we can say with greater certainty is that he is a wannabe cop and a narcissist, who believes he can take the law into his own hands, even when told by authorities "Don't do that", when he tells 911 that he is following a suspect. 4) Zimmerman actually violated Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which states that you are to attempt to flee, if you are not on your own property. Now, here is why I believe (but cannot prove in a court) that Zimmerman got away with murder. 5) nobody witnessed the altercation from beginning to end, except Martin and Zimmerman. Even the neighbor (white guy whose name I forget) who testified said that he saw about ten seconds of the fight, and he believed that Martin was atop Zimmerman, but it was dark outside. 6) Martin may well have "gained advantage" at that particular time, but nobody saw who attacked first, and had initial advantage. 7) I believe first attack/advantage was had by Zimmerman, as he began the pursuit. As they tussled, Martin rolled Zimmerman over, and onto the concrete sidewalk, which easily could have caused the minor scalp injuries. If the head were slammed, bleeding would have been profuse. 8.) The saddest fact of all is that a judge is not allowed to define "manslaughter" in layman's terms, and that a jury is required to interpret "llegalese". I believe that there was probably a "holdout" juror, who said they thought manslaughter was the appropriate verdict, but needed a concise definition of the term. They already agreed they did not have enough evidence to prove "murder two", which requires specific intent to kill. Therefore, the jurors had to acquit, without the clarification of "manslaughter".
Thank you for this wise and honest post.
Here in NY City there is an average of about one murder per day. Thus, you can easily estimate the number of murders that have occurred here since Martin was shot. About 75 percent of the victims were black males. About 20 percent were hispanic. The other 5 five percent are white and asian. Though it's possible the black and hispanic totals are higher than a combined 95%.
Since Martin was shot, there have been NO cases of whites murdering blacks. So, the plea for "justice" makes it painfully clear that murder only matters if it happens to involve someone perceived as white who has shot and killed a black victim.
The other murders -- involving blacks killing blacks -- are seemingly of no significance. It must be the staggeringly high numbers of these black-killing-black cases that reduces them to nothing more than annoying statistics. The callous disregard for these black victims means the families of those victims have no standing in the culture of violence that defines black life in most cities.
Thank you for these simple words. It is true that liberal whites have a lot to do not just to speak up as allies in anti-racism work, but to act as well.
Profound! I am a mother of two young black men, and though I do not live in a community where there is a lot of violence, I did grow up in one. It breaks my heart to think what my boys have to go through, simply because of the color their skin. They attend schools that are generally mixed if all different races, but the majority of the teachers are white, and I have seen and experienced the teachers secret disregard for having to teach black students. Though I don't love in the city, I'm seriously contemplating putting my son back into a city school just so they would have teachers that actually care about their education. It breaks my heart, and I hate myself sometimes for even bringing them into a life that could most likely destroy them, before they even have a chance to live, to learn who they are, to cultivate their gifts into something that can be contributed to society. My heart hurts, not just because of this case, but because I live it everyday.
I meant I don't live in the city
Thank You for commenting, I am honored that you read this post. Your comments brought a tear to my eye. It is my hope that the current situation caal Americans to action in such a way that your sons lives can be spent in safety.
Blessings, Peter
I am a white woman who had 3 sons, my first born reached the age of 24 before his life was taken by 3 black teens because they wanted his 17 dollars he had in his wallet. Yes he was sitting in his car with my 16 year old son. They approached the car with intent to commit a robbery. My youngest son only had a dollar on him, he gave it to them. My first born was expecting his first child in 6 weeks, he needed every dollar he had, he refused to give it to them, he was shot through the heart. Now my religious believes where in jeopardy due to this tragedy but I can honestly say that I do not hold any grudges against any black person because of what these boys did to my family. No one rioted in the streets, no one beat up blacks in my sons name. No we were civil, descent human beings. There were just as many black people at my sons funeral as white people. He was an innocent child, a gift that changed many peoples live. We did not cry racism, if you are truly a Pagan you would not give in to such behavior. I feel for the parents who lost their son but I also feel for Zimmerman too. This tragedy has affect so many people especially after Zimmerman was found not guilty. It has resulted in people acting worse than wild animals. Hurting innocent people just because they are white, black, yellow or brown is a crime against humanity and shows that these people have no morals or dignity. Just because the 3 boys that killed my son went to jail for 10, 20, and 30 years does not help me in any way with the fact that my son is dead and his son never even got to know him. I am addressing this to Anonymous: I live in a town where most of the teachers are black and the white students have a very hard time learning from them because they can't understand what they are saying. The white teaches are leaving the public school system because of the racism that rules our school, they are going to the private sector. Maybe the solution is to send the whites to a white school and the blacks to a black school then all the students might have a chance at learning something! Oh ya I remember when they thought this was racism but that is just what you are talking about doing with your children.
First, let me say my condolences go out to you and your family, no one has should lose their life like that. I'm pretty sure, your son was not robbed because he was white, he was robbed because he had something those three boys wanted. That is the difference, between racial profiling, and random acts of violence, at the end of the day both actions are inhuman. I myself have been hunted down, and chased by KKK members and it wasn't a random act of violence, the wanted to kill me simply because I was black riding in the car. To answer your question on racism, to be told you cannot go to a certain school, you cannot walk through the front door of the building, you cannot ride the front of a bus, simply because of the color of your skin...to deem someone as unworthy to have the same privileges as any other human being ....only because their skin is a different color, that is racism. For me to say I want my children to have a teacher that cares about their education, is not racism, it is a mother who wants the best for her children, be it their teacher is white, black, Hispanic, or a alien, it doesn't matter...as long as my children get what they need to learn do that they my become productive members of society.
Suppose that it were the other way around?
This case is an almost perfect mirror of George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin, yet no national figures pronounce on it. There are no demonstrations. No Walmarts are looted. No one asks the Justice Dept. to go after Roderick Scott in a civil rights case.
Why do you suppose that is?
First Chas,
If you have an opinion, fishing for "Why do you think that is" with out stating your opinion is an attempt to stir a pot, sorry not biting.
As to you your statement "perfact Mirror", In the case you cite the individual clearly stated he saw a crime happening, a mirror, an innocient teen verses someone engaged in criminal activity? Far from it!
Go stick your head in a hole little liberal.
I was a newspaper reporter for six years, so my question is not meant to be provocative. I am still trying to understand the news media.
As for the Rochester, NY, case, it was a mirror in that the shooter claimed self-defense. (You cannot use lethal force to stop someone from stealing from a car -- that would not pass the legal test.)
But if you are going to talk about the Zimmerman case chiefly in racial terms, how would you talk about the Roderick Scott case in racial terms??
Or is race just maybe not the real issue here, although some people want it to be?
Chas, the cases are not the same, and I see no reason to treat them as if they were. Race is a real issue in the Zimmerman case because the defence used the worst kinds of race based sterotypes to paint a yound man with no criminal history as a thug. The racism in the system is the issue, not what motivated an individual to get out of his car.
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