Monday, July 15, 2013

Demoralized but not defeated



It is important to record the feelings and emotions connected with a not guilty verdict with regards to the death Trayvon Benjamin Martin. Just as Mamie Till recorded all of the consequences of the lynching of her son so to must we, the conscious, record the consequences of this horrible outcome. The record must be preserved, the rage and anger must be recorded so that future generations know that we were not all complacent in the perpetuation of racial dominance in our justice system.



Zimmerman’s account of events is this:

    While driving home after running errands Zimmerman saw a black boy walking home in the rain. The boy wasn’t running and didn’t appear to be in a hurry so he was inherently suspicious. Zimmerman knew that black people had been committing crimes in that neighborhood so he naturally called the police to report the suspicious character even though this person was committing no crime. He gave the police all the information he had and then CONTINUED to stalk the child. Even though he claims to live in the neighborhood and there are only three streets in that subdivision he could not give the police his exact location. He claims he got out of his car to look at street signs. In reality he left his car to follow the suspicious looking black child. Then there was an altercation and the child ended up dead.

Of course Zimmerman had to lie about what happened. He didn’t want to go to jail. Human nature dictates he tell a story that makes him look as innocent as possible. However, when the police arrived and saw an unarmed dead child and heard a remotely plausible for his dead they assumed no crime committed.  They didn’t check Trayvon’s cell phone, they didn’t go and ask if anyone knew him, they didn’t go door to door to see if anyone was missing from any of the residences. They labeled him a John Doe until his parents called to report him missing and they connected the information.

What is so bothersome about this situation is that everyone agrees that Zimmerman gave several different accounts of the events of that night. Meaning he LIED. He LIED about a lot of things. People who are innocent don’t lie. Additionally his injuries were not consistent with the attack he alleged happened. Lastly, he felt absolutely no remorse for killing an unarmed boy who was committing no crime at the time of his death. It is open season on black boys, make no mistake, this is the reality in America in the year of our Lord 2013.

We as a society criminalize the African American aesthetic.


We have a clear example of this with the Zummerman verdict. In order to find that Zimmerman was justified in his use of self defense the jury had to believe that Trayvon attacked him. Zimmerman's account makes Trayvon sound like a mix between Shaft and Chuck Norris. Zimmerman claims Trayvon told him, "You gonna die tonight". Then after he was shot Trayvon said, "You got me!". I'm sorry WHAT?!  Trayvon grew three new limbs in order to batter Zimmerman in a myriad of different ways while talking shit and after being shot IN THE CHEST he sat up and continued to SPEAK. oooooookaaaaayyyyyyy.

The act of stalking and instilling fear in the black child was of no concern to the jury. The fact that Zimmerman was acting like a creepy stalker weirdo was of no concern to them. 


 The fear before and after the conclusion of this case was that black people would do what comes naturally and act in lawless ways all around the country.

 RIOTS. THERE WILL BE RIOTS. THE BLACKS ARE MOVING. WATCH THE RIOTS.  Let’s be honest and historically accurate, in our nation’s history the majority of riots that occurred were in fact centered around race. However, they were white men coming together as a group for the sole purpose of reinforcing racial superiority. Watch the movie Rosewood. There were dozens of Rosewood's all over America. Additionally, the fear of "the great black riot" is rooted in the fact that if minorities did disrupt the racially subversive system of oppression they would be completely justified in doing so.The oppressors have taught the oppressed that might makes right. Domination is acceptable as long as you remand dominant. Equality is dangerous because power must be retained at all costs. Everyone can't have power because that would take the value away from power. White people are legitimately scared of becoming the minority because they know that they have treated minorities in a horrible manner and that is exactly what they deserve in return.

Luckily minorities have been instructed to be patient.

I suppose that justice is too much to ask from a system that was never built to respect minorities. Our country was founded on inequality and that is the vein that continues to run throughout all of our institutions.The oppressed have been told to be better than their oppressors. They have been called  to be non-violent and forgiving. Minorities have been taught to grin and bear it and eventually things will get better. Minorities are taught to hope and work with their oppressors. Also, y'all have a black president so racism is over and you should just be happy.  . .

I would have been happy if Zimmerman had stayed in his damn car. If Zimmerman had stayed in his car Trayvon would still be alive. If he hadn’t have been carrying a gun Trayvon wold still be alive.   If he wasn’t such a machismo hothead Trayvon would still be alive.  Zimmerman created the situation that resulted in the death of a child and he should be held accountable for that death. But in America the life of a brown baby is expendable.



They had to believe that Trayvon was inherently capable of that severe level of violence and that he used it on Zimmerman without any justification. While Zimmerman had the right to defend himself it does not look like Trayvon had the same right. Even though he was being stalked and there is testimony that he was frightened by his stalker the assumption is that he only had the right to run away because his white stalker could not be as much of a threat as he was.

A black man is assumed to be up to no good until he proves that his presence is not a threat. He must validate his existence or risk death in many cases.
Emmett Till was lynched over 40 years ago and his killers were never held accountable. Today the man who lynched Trayvon Benjamin Martin walks free. He was given his freedom with the blessings of the same racial perverse system that never held the killers Emmett Till accountable. 


 I suppose that justice is too much to ask from a system that was never built to respect or protect minorities.



This terrifies me. I am reluctant to bring a child into this world in this country. If I was Sabrina Fulton I would have set George Zimmerman on fire. I would have literally lit his ass up because he was in the wrong and feels absolutely no remorse for his actions. He is smug and entitled and generally fucked up.  I don’t want to have explain to my child that people believe him or her to be less than human because of a rich deposit of melanin. I couldn’t instruct my sons to bow and scrape in order to survive. I don’t know if I’ll be able to contain my rage and anger when my children invariably ask me about inequality and injustice.

The only brightness I see in this dark situation is the fact that my non-black friends are also enraged at the situation. This is progress. When those who are not affected by the oppression are none the less angered by it then we are headed in the right direction. Fighting the inherent racism of a system that was built to thrive on the subjugation of an entire people is not an easy task but as long as I remember I’m not fighting the battle alone I think I can survive the unforgiving heartache.



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