Friday Wrap Up

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What do you mean it's about time I got back here? That weekly blogging is not blogging at all?

That's just ... just ... OH THE HUMANITY!

It's not that I don't have anything to say. I mean, I can always find a way to stir the pot, even if I have to use a dried out ball point pen to do it. What I have discovered is that often times, when the thoughts are bumping into each other in my head, it's next to impossible to organize them enough to get them on paper ... errr ... screen!

This has been one of those weeks.

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I continue to be disturbed by the Trayvon Martin murder, and not just about the circumstances surrounding his murder either. The racial divide (those who feel race/prejudice played a part vs. those who don't) is equally disturbing.

A survey this week of 3,006 adults across the United States found that 73 percent of blacks believe George Zimmerman would have been arrested if Trayvon was white, while only 33 percent of whites believed so. And 52 percent of white Americans polled said race made no difference in the case, while 85 percent of blacks believe that race played at least some roll in the way the events have unfolded thus far (via USA Today/Gallup).

Who's right? Well? I believe that many white folks have a very difficult time accepting that Trayvon's murder (and the way it has been handled) might have anything to do with race, because doing so would imply we might still have race issues in the United States, and then they'd have to change.

You'd have thought electing a black president would have quieted those people!

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Speaking of race/prejudice, and the desire to sweep it under the rug, let me share a story with you. Well, actually THREE stories ... all that occurred within the last SIX days. They exhibit the very behaviors/attitudes that I believe led up to Trayvon's murder.

1.  I read this on my tumblr dash after posting a link to an article titled Trayvon Martin, And When A Black Man Deserves To Die, written by Bomani Jones:

a somewhat response to the Trayvon blog…
... My mom always told me, if you dont want to be treated like a bum, dont look like one. Like it or not, Perception is reality to most people. Im not saying people should stop dressing a certain way or acting a certain way, but if you do, be prepared for how you will be treated by others. If your cool with that then have at it, but dont then turn around and complain about how you were treated because of how you looked, YOU made that choice. Before everyone jumps down my throat with all the myriad of rape scenarios, I dont not believe a woman wearing a short skirt is asking to be raped.

Soooo ... a woman wearing a short skirt is not asking to be raped, but an unarmed, black teenager wearing a hoodie is asking to be killed? Got it! I mean, everyone knows it's not okay to blame the rape victim for the crime committed against her, but apparently society is still okay with blaming the murder victim for the crime committed against him.

AWESOME!

2.  Mike and I went to the laundromat Wednesday night. I know! Can you believe he actually does laundry with me? Anyway, while I was folding clothes - and Mike was across the way blowing his nose - a woman walked in. She was quite chit-chatty with me (Why do people always think I want to talk to them??) as she put her clothes in the drier. Once she got the drier going, she went back out to her car to wait.

Ten minutes later, the clothes were folded and Mike started taking them out to the car ... which just happened to be parked right next to Chatty Cathy. When he headed in the direction of of Chatty Cathy's car, she quickly locked her car doors and rested her elbow on the driver's door window ledge in order to shield her view from the ABMM (Angry Black Man Mike).

3.  Yesterday, I got a call from the school regarding Cam. He had been suspended (again). This time due to his (WAY out of line) response to a teacher (white female) who accused him of "throwing gang signs" who wrote him up and sent him to the Dean's office. Cam insisted he was doing nothing more than showing a classmate the sign language alphabet after that same classmate had asked him if he knew it.

Far fetched? What if I told you the classmate corroborated Cam's story?

Still far fetched?

What if I told you the teacher rescinded her first write up (after learning of the classmates corroboration) and changed her story to "Cam was signing the alphabet with a classmate, and at the completion of the alphabet threw a gang sign"??

I kid you not.

One has to wonder if the same assumptions would have been made had a white, female, AP student been signing the alphabet to a classmate.

Then again, Cam was wearing a hoodie. Good thing his hood was not on his head or he might have been shot instead of suspended.

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When Gated Communities Are The Bad Part Of Town

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By now, you've probably heard the story of Trayvon Martin - a 17-year old A/B student, visiting relatives in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, walking down the street with a hoodie on (it was raining) and armed with the ever threatening can of Arizona Iced Tea and a bag of Skittles.

He was gunned down by 28-year old criminal justice student George Zimmerman, the self-appointed head of the neighborhood watch at the Retreat of Twin Lakes, and the proud owner of a 9mm handgun and a concealed carry permit.

Was George Zimmerman's murder of Trayvon Martin (no, Zimmerman has not been charged, but I fail to see how a 250 lb. man with a 9mm handgun can claim "self defense" against a 140 lb. 17-year old armed with Skittles and an Arizona Ice Tea) racially motivated? I don't know, but I do know:

1) Zimmerman, a citizen, had no legal authority to follow, stop or detain anyone for being "suspicious"

2) Zimmerman, while in a vehicle, followed a teenage boy who was doing nothing more than walking on the side of the street wearing a hoodie

3) When Zimmerman called 9-1-1 to report the "suspicious" teenage boy, police dispatch told him to stop following Trayvon Martin

4) Zimmerman, willfully and intentionally, got out of the safety of his vehicle, bringing his 9mm handgun with him

5) Trayvon Martin was unarmed

6) Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin

As the parent of a black son, I know that Cam sometimes carries the burden of other people’s suspicions.  Some of you might take offense to me referring to Cam as black, but you'll have to trust me here, when people look at Cam they don't say, "Look at that half black, half white kid." Their perception is that Cam is black, therefor Cam is black.

I've had parents of Cam's friends say things like, "You know Cam, if you are standing on a street corner people automatically think you are selling drugs," and, "If you dressed more "white" people would treat you differently." I guess that means the responsibility to avoid racial stereotypes lies squarely on Cam's shoulders? That Cam should never stand on street corners and should only wear khaki cargo shorts and pastel polo shirts?

At 15, and just months after getting his driver's permit, Cam was pulled over in our predominately white community. A local police officer followed us (Cam was driving, I was the passenger) from the strip mall in town to our apartment (about 2 miles). When Cam pulled into a parking space in our lot, the police officer blocked him in. When we got out of the car, the officer demanded to see Cam's permit, but gave no reason nor justification for doing so.

My guess? It was that DWB (Driving While Black) thing we white folks hear about but tend to brush aside as those black folks having a chip on their shoulder. Similar to their demands for a Black History Month, it's just something made up - something they need to get over.

I believe it is likely that race (or, at the very least, prejudice) was a factor in Cam's being pulled over for a "permit check". I believe it is likely that race (or, at the very least, prejudice) was a factor in the murder of Trayvon Martin.

This is the reality I send my (black) son into each and every day ... and it scares the shit out of me.

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