Shock. Anger. Grief. Confusion. These are all the emotions that ran through peoples minds when a jury of white women told the world that in their belief system, it is perfectly okay for a white man to stalk, attack, and murder a black child. The same emotion that ran through peoples minds when Troy Davis was executed even though the evidence was murky. We’re back here again. How could a jury of mothers not understand the fear Trayvon Benjamin Martin felt when a stranger with a gun accosted him on a dark rainy night for no reason except for the color of his skin? How could a black woman who fired shots into her ceiling because she felt threatened but didn’t kill anyone get 20 years in prison while George Zimmerman walked away with no consequences due to the “Stand Your Ground” law? How does a man who was told to stay in his car and not follow Trayvon Martin walk away free? The simple answer? Sanford, Florida is 80% white conservative gun owners. The other answer? Society doesn’t value a black life as they do a white one and it seems to want to break black people down every single time by saying “hey, you’re inferior….hey you’re worthless….hey the President of the United States is black and you will pay for it every single time you step out of your home because you share the same color of skin as he does.”
Read the rest of this piece here
****
Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY BABY TRAY
— Tracy Martin (@BTraymartin9) July 14, 2013
God blessed Me & Sybrina with Tray and even in his death I know my baby proud of the FIGHT we along with all of you put up for him GOD BLESS
— Tracy Martin (@BTraymartin9) July 14, 2013
****
I’m at the #Beyoncé concert: “Can we please have a moment of silence… for #Trayvon.” Proceeds to sing “I Will Always Love You” & “Halo”.
— Christian Bingham (@chrizvb) July 14, 2013
****
As a Sandy Hook parent, this feels like a punch in the stomach. Once again, guns are more important than kids & now racism=insult 2 injury
— Gina McDade (@McDGG) July 14, 2013
****
Last year:
CBS (May 2012): A Florida woman who fired warning shots against her allegedly abusive husband has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville had said the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law should apply to her because she was defending herself against her allegedly abusive husband when she fired warning shots inside her home in August 2010. She told police it was to escape a brutal beating by her husband, against whom she had already taken out a protective order.
…. She was recently denied a new trial after appealing to the judge to reconsider her case based on Florida’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law.
…. Alexander’s case has drawn support from domestic abuse advocates – and comparison to the case of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who has claimed a “Stand Your Ground” defense in his fatal shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
Full post here
****
ONLY issue in the Zimmerman trial is race. Trayvon is dead b/c he was a black teenager whose existence outraged the racist who killed him,
— MJ Rosenberg (@MJayRosenberg) July 13, 2013
****
Under Florida law, Zimmerman will get back this gun which he used to kill Trayvon Martin pic.twitter.com/gAk3uZ7ZuO
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 14, 2013
****
Right wingers spreading “Miami riot” video. Ironic since its actually a bunch of white Canadians rioting over HOCKEY in 2011. #Morons
— Teresa (@TeresaKopec) July 14, 2013
****
March 2012:
****
"A black 17-year-old child should be able to walk home from a store and not be shot." Natalie Jackson, Martin family attorney
—
Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) July 14, 2013****
Hanna Brianna, 5, holds a sign in front of her home in the Goldsboro Historical neighborhood, Saturday, July 13, in Sanford, Fla. while residents waited for word on the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial
****
We must mourn the unnecessary & unjust death of a child, but to honor him we must rededicate ourselves to the very ideals that were violated
—
Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 14, 2013"For Trayvon to rest in peace, we must all be peaceful."--Martin's attorney. In a classy speech indicative of how family has acted thruout.
—
Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) July 14, 2013Benjamin Crump: Trayvon Martin will join Medgar Evers and Emmett Till as symbols for the fight for equal justice for all.
—
Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) July 14, 2013****
The Obama Diary 
Thank you everyone. Our work continues. Civil rights is still a dream not realized.
Good Morning Taiping1. If we want to continue to progress, we can’t stop working. Complacency is what will cause us to regress.
“You cannot give up until a black child can walk the streets free of fear. You cannot give up until a black child is treated the same as a white child. You cannot give up until all human life is regarded as precious despite name, color, who they love, who they worship or don’t worship, and their socioeconomic level. The battle to change laws and society’s heart will be long, tough, and painful. But please, please, please, do not give up. There is a precious life out there in the world who is counting on you.”
UT? Love ya. Thank you for this.
Right back at ya Chips and thank you.
UT….Thank You for your commentary…..
talked to my grandson this morning…about the world as it is…and the world as it should be….and the role that we all have in bringing justice/equality to the world…also schooled him on how the world is…and to have an awareness of that as he moves thru the world as it is…but I do not wish to create a victim mentality…so he must empower himself buy not only striving towards excellence in his personal life but to be come an organizer in his community around the issues…such as voting and voter registration…to name just two….he is only 22…but I want him to live to see 23…
March towards Freedom Continues>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thank you for this wonderful statement, UT!
UT, every one of us should study your words and put them into our version of a letter to the editor of our local paper. This miscarriage of justice will embolden the vigilantes with their damn guns. I’m still in shock!
I asked this on the bottom of the last post…
Is anyone else having problems connecting to the NAACP’s website?
I have not tried today. But I did sign the petition last night.
Folks at POU said the same. Probably inundated with sign -ins.
Yeah.. the error message says “…The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy…” I’m assuming it’s as you said edp4bho, it’s probably inundated with sign-ins.
I got that same message yesterday, but after two tries was able to open it and sign the petition on my third try. In just a few hours last night, 100K people had already signed – I’m sure the total is greatly enlarged today.
swbluega, keep trying. We need the DOJ to give Trayvon justice since the racists town of Sanford couldn’t. And that white jury refuse too.
Oh I’m not giving up…just wondered if anyone else was having problems.
Thanks.
Amen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130714/eu-italy-racism/?utm_hp_ref=homepage&ir=homepage
ROME — A leading Italian senator has been chastised by Premier Enrico Letta for likening the country’s first black Cabinet minister to an orangutan, the latest high-profile racist episode in a nation grappling with immigration.
GM TODers.
I have been saddened that people are asked to respect the Jurors decision……for that We have the greatest system on Earth? Hmm? 20 yrs ago, almost with the OJ simpson case…..those in the media said that the Jurors were wrong and OJ was guilty. Today, I have heard on TV some using the word Innocent with Zimmerman?
Twisted.
Amk thank you for reminding Us here of the 2007 case where the Black Man was convicted of Manslaughter in his domain. So please, can that NY piece be included on this thread or at least as a stand alone thread for the Horrific lie told by O’Mara…….thank you.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/nyregion/23trial.html?_r=4&
I am still sick to my stomach over the verdict last night. Is there anything that can be done to help Marissa Alexander? (especially in light of this verdict) She didn’t kill anyone and she gets 20 years. SMH
“…they want us to believe that children’s lives have no value.” The only time RWNJs believe children lives have value is before they are born! Then they will fight tooth & nail to deny women the right to control their own bodies.
It seems to me that this is a good time for a Presidential pardon. I do not know the process for this to happen,
Marisa Alexander has to apply for a pardon. It’s also possible that Dept. of Justice can recommend a pardon. But I strongly with you that this a perfect case for a presidential pardon.
The Governor could Pardon her, but the State of Florida needs new Governor.
My hope is that this injustice will spark a movement to oust the RW bigots who are prevalent in our political and criminal justice system. The first place to start is to register every single voter in this nation, and to inspire them to vote in every single election making justice for all the number one issue.
oh that’s a good one chips. read it and tweeted.
“Yes, that’s right, juries are infallible and never get it wrong….
Except, of course, when juries are made up of majority Blacks. Then their verdicts are irrational!
That was the point I was trying to make last night. Altho the defense did not pursue the “stand your ground” defense, the instructions to the jury were essentially the same——-that there is no longer a duty to retreat, that if one feels their life or bodily harm is threatened, they now can claim self-defense and be acquitted. (I surmised that’s what the jury question about manslaughter was all about—-that clarification) It seems to me under almost any circumstance, one could claim they felt threatened and had the legal right to use deadly force. Florida’s gun/justice laws have been so loosened with NRA/ALEC lobbying and influence that the pursuit of justice in these kind of cases becomes almost impossible. The jury actually followed Florida law with its verdict, as disgusting as that outcome was.
Great point, dotster3. They also followed the Judge’s instructions. They is why it is so important to listen to how the instructions of the court are given to the jury in a case.
And more importantly, it is so important that we are so engaged in making sure that a president’s nominations to the benches in our courtrooms are vetted in the highest manner, and then make sure those that are fair and just get confirmed. And Very important that those who are appointed by these state governors are worthy of the appointments. Watch who you vote for regarding judges in your state. Please. I will leave it at that. HZ
One can only imagine the heaviness of PBO’s heart right now!
Yep, thinking of him today as well.
I do not like that there are those though who are trying to make this verdict, and all its implications, “Obama’s fault”, trying to drag him into the center of this, make it all about President Obama, as they are inclined to do about everything.
UT, Thank you so much!
” It hurts. It is painful. It makes my heart bleed that we are here once again. It makes me scream WHY!!! Why are we here again? Why is it a constant struggle for society to see black people as human beings? Why do we always have to prove our worth every second of every day? Why can’t society see that a black child deserves the same protections as a white child? That a black child deserves the same bountiful life as a white child? Yes, we will continue to march on…we will not give up because “There is a precious life out there in the world who is counting on you.”
May be this is indictment on white race, may be it is not. But the fact remains that white entitlement mentality has managed to piss off an entire continent of Africa, a few sub-continents in Asia, the entire continent of South America, the entire middle east and top of it, an entire religion. Wonder how long they think they can keep doing this, especially given today’s connected world where hiding horrific gross injustices can not be hidden any more.
This is not an indictment on an entire race. Not all whites are racist. Many well known and unknown whites have fought for justice for centuries.
Yes, I know that and appreciate that. Hence, my ambivalence. But one cannot deny that their pols/people they put in power did all these things under their names even if they were directly responsible for the atrocities committed in their name.
even if they were not directly responsible….
The world is much more complex than your suggesting an entire race is racist, but your are entitled to your opinion regardless of the facts.
I have not mentioned about racism. I have mentioned about the white entitlement mentality, which is a fact, whether you accept it or not. Just like the other facts I mentioned.
Emotions are very raw right now, rightfully so. Tolerance is of the utmost importance as people are hurting. In a while we should have a discussion about a concrete plan to eliminate such travesties.
I agree Bill.
Thank you, Anniebella.
the issue is White Privilege…
http://immasmartypants.blogspot.com/2013/07/hey-white-peopleits-on-us.html
Surely every parent of a black child in this country has to grapple with teaching them some form of the Black Male Code. I remember the profound sense of what white privilege means hit me when one of my co-workers talked about how she had to make her son cut off his dreads when he was 13 so as not to make him a target. What mother of a white child has to think about those kinds of things? And what mother of a white child has to fear for their lives when they’re walking home from the store
Tru dat, amk. I am African with family in different countries of Africa, they are really pissed off, shocked, mad and dismayed at the verdict. Also was talking to family in Europe, and Asia. They are stunned and my brother who was to come here in two weeks from Germany just cancelled his trip and meanwhile my mum is swearing up and down that she is going to do all she can to stop my two younger brothers from coming in Sept. They are 15 and 16yrs old, but their tickets had been bought last week and my mum says, she bought them and she is going to cancel them. This is such a traversity. People are looking at America in a very bad way.
I’m currently reading an excellent book, written by a sociologist of religion, about evangelical preacher Rob Bell and the changing nature of Christianity in the U.S. (“Rob Bell and a New American Christianity” by James K. Wellman, Jr.). One issue he deals with is the continuing influence of Calvinism on the Christian religion in the U.S., especially fundamentalism, conservatism, evangelicalism, and the growing phenomenon of mega-churches (which he has studied quantitatively and qualitatively). Stemming from this tradition are assumptions about “the Elect” and “everybody else” (us vs. them). Another trait that is present most especially in our society, due to Calvinism and our particular history, is what social scientists term “the ideology of supremacy.” This is a factor present in 17 mega-churches in the northwest that he has studied. He notes how this correlates with support for American empire, military force, and support for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is simply an extension to the nation of “We’re Number 1!!!” and “WE are God’s Chosen People” (since, in their perspective, Jews rejected Jesus, many Puritan’s believed they were creating a new “City on the Hill,” non-northern European immigrants were more likely to be Roman Catholic, etc., etc.). It is also correlated with a sense of entitlement. We’re more godly, we’ve earned and merited more than “others” and others appropriately do not merit because they are not as godly as we are and don’t work as hard as we do (Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic). Therefore “they” are simply getting what they deserve.
The book I just finished before this was “The Coming Interspiritual Age” by Kurt Johnson and David Robert Ord. This book focuses on the growing trend of interspirituality in the U.S. – and around the world. Interestingly, this trend seems to be more common among Catholics, Jews, and Muslims. (I suspect this might be a bit more difficult to measure among Protestants. Are more Protestant interspirituals simply dropping out of organized religion altogether?)
The juxtaposition of these two books, combined with the Zimmerman verdict, led me to ponder the white Republican conservative Protestant “ideology of superiority” and “sense of entitlement” that we are witnessing so many ramifications of in our nation since the election of PBO. This segment of society, as many have noted, appears to be suffering from Obama Derangement Syndrome. Rob Bell is an example of an evangelical preacher from a Calvinist background and Reagan Republican family who is questioning many assumptions of his tradition and attracting many young people and many who desire a more humane form of Christianity (not liberal, as he sees the term, although he focuses a great deal on the marginalized and spiritual and actual liberation). His Christianity is increasingly popular for many evangelicals (he focuses more on the “presence of Jesus” (Jesus mysticism, academically) than on dogma and creed. And it is increasingly problematic for the more strongly Calvinistic evangelicals, many of whom are vilifying Bell.
It appears to me it is primarily this segment of old-time white Calvinists who are virulently anti-PBO and anything he seemingly represents. This groups does feel existentially threatened – as they are becoming increasingly smaller and there has been so much social progress that they hate. What we are seeing, in a sense, is their final fight – and they are fighting to the death. Anti-racial minorities, anti-women’s rights, anti-gay, pro-white men with guns. And the 1% is more than eager to pull their strings.
Yup. They know the comeuppance is on the way and hence all the rabid frenzy of stocking up of guns. When a more caring response would have gone a long way in healing the wounds.
This has been so hard for me to digest. This really hurts. I basically couldn’t breath when the verdict came, had to gasp for air. That is how painful it felt for me. And what really made it so hurtful was that, when that jury was announced, I pretty much said to family and friends that, he will be found not guilty. And boy, they didn’t “disappoint.” What kind of women/mothers these women are? You, can’t relate to a child/person because you aren’t the same colour? I know most blame the stand your ground laws, but to me as a female, these women are the worst kind of humans to walk the earth. Karma will come knocking at these racist women jurors’ doors and hope it comes sooner than later.
Wow. Same thing happened to me. And your last sentiment about Karma….I share wholeheartedly. Hard to get started today but I need to get busy to keep my sanity.
I am a guy who thinks violently sometimes which I don’t often share with others on here but I’ve been having an active imagination what I would like to do to Zimmerman.
Time to get some sleep, if I can.
Try to rest Jeff. Know also that I am a 60 yr old woman and I think violently often. Good thing is, I don’t act on it. Absolutely nothing wrong with righteous indignation. Even Jesus used it on occasion.
I am hoping that people who are rightfully distressed by this verdict do not let hate enter their hearts. Instead, I hope that all have a renewed determination to be proactive in working to bring needed change. Protecting voting rights becomes the #1 priority and do all that is possible to make clear to all our citizens how important it is to vote in every single election, local, state and national.
x1,000,000,000!
While I agree with most of what you said, I must be honest to let you know that Black people are tired of always being reminded not hate. I know of no other ethnic group in this country that has worked as hard for love, forgiveness and reconciliation. Yet the hatred of Black people, simply because on how we look and not what we do has continued to fester in large portion of the white community. I am sorry, but in moments like this I find it difficult not to hate those who continue to inflict injustice on Black people. I must never hate a person because of his skin, but I see no reason not to hate those who commit these dastardly deeds and then the system lets them get away with it.
Listen to dotster. Turn that into something that benefits….and tries to right the wrongs. Your heart will feel better.
Jeff, I’m right there with you, my friend. We’d see that smirk wipe off his bloated face REAL fast.
I might not feel so bitter if the U.S. Supreme Court had not just gutted the Voting Rights Act. I might not feel so bitter if the same court had not just effectively established, in my estimation, an unattainable standard for constitutionally permissible consideration of race in pursuit of diversity in admission to colleges and universities. Indeed, I might not feel so bitter if stop and frisk was not an accepted practice in arguably the most tolerant city in America. But all of these things are true. And it sickens me.
Aggravating me almost as much is the lack of any organized, focused response to all these conditions from within the African-American community. To be sure, this is not the place or time for another critique of black leadership or the black middle class.
Were he still with us, I think Derrick Bell would counsel realism, which to him meant giving up on the naive dream that America would ever relinquish a commitment to racism and white supremacy. I am angry, outraged and disappointed with this verdict, but even at this moment, I cannot embrace this level of pessimism.
More here: http://www.theroot.com/views/why-zimmerman-jury-failed-us
Sorry 😦 Got carried away.
A hug for you DF
{{{{Layla}}}}}
Exactly Chips this “open season” is what is at it’s core. And here’s what angers me and I can quote from that tweet I just posted above:
“The most elemental facts of this case will never change. A teenager went out to buy Skittles and iced tea. At some point, he was confronted by a man with a gun who killed him. There is no universe I understand where this can be declared a noncriminal act. Not in a sane, just and racism-free universe.” – Prof. Lawrence Bobo
And not only was young Trayvon Martin who had skittles and ice tead confronted by a man with a gun. The man with a gun was TOLD by law enforcement to not pursue. And he gets his flipping gun back. How is this not a murder?
and this is what has enraged me from the start. How does a grown man get to stalk and persue a young man, a child.. and kill him for simply walking home from a store.. and then be allowed to ‘stand his ground’ after killing him?? I will NEVER understand this. He attacked, provoked and executed Trayvon Martin.
Peace and Love to my TOD family on this very sad day.
A friend of mine was performing at this event last night and gave this report:
Let’s pray for Mr. Lester Chambers of legendary The Chambers Brothers who was viciously attacked by a deranged woman at The Russell/Hayward Blues Festival. Mr. Chambers was into his set and dedicated “People Get Ready” to Trayvon Martin and out of nowhere this woman jumped onstage kicking and knocked Mr. Chambers down. She was quickly apprehended by security but was not handcuffed until the audience starting yelling, “arrest her”. Mr. Chambers laid of the floor of the stage for a good while until the ambulance arrived and took him away. He held up the peace sign as he was rolled away. None of us now what provoked this woman. But I overheard the officers say, she told them Mr. Chambers started it. He nor anybody in his band knew her.
I saw a photo of Mr. Chambers, who is 70 years old. He is pretty banged up. His son says he has bruised ribs among other injuries. Again, let send out those prayers and well wishes to Mr. Chambers.
Also, those that are having problems with the NAACP website, please keep trying. Don’t give up. We need your support now more than ever.
People have become psychotic. Is it our food? the water? the air we breathe? What the HELL is going ON!??
Some white people are losing their minds about the fact that whites will become a minority in America in a few decades. All the hysteria of the last five years is rooted in that fear. Because the election of Barack Obama illustrates the raising power of non-white America. The election of a black president made it “real”. A certain portion of white American was sent in a state of shock.
I think we are witnessing a phenomena similar to what happened in the late 18s and early 19s, when there was a big backlash against the progress of civil rights that had occurred after the North won the Civil War.
I’m sure we’ll see more incidents like the one that happened at the show. It will get worse before it gets better.
It is more than this…In order to maintain power….the powers that be …have a vested interest in keeping the masses of Americans at each others throats….and in disarray…be it the RWNJs or the PL…
.as it has been…it has been the movement of the oppressed peoples of color that has moved this country forward…it is our continue struggle that moves our country forward…despite the set backs…it is the tenacity of women…black and brown peoples…unions….lgbt communities etc…that continue to wage the ongoing battle of….. as PBO says…perfecting our UNION!
Marching on the Road to Freedom…
I think you are spot on Lovepolitics.
Let’s pray that justice will be served in the upcoming trail of Jordan Davis. Florida, again the world will be watching.
UT, this is an incredible essay. I’d like to see it on every op ed page in the country, every LTE section, linked on every blog, all over FB, Twitter etc. To help that effort, could you post the essay itself as a post? On my phone the essay is last, though on computer first. I don’t want to risk anyone following the link, reading a few of the tweets, and missing your powerful call.
A version of this request may be in pending, since I tried posting from my phone without being able to login.
Yes Betsey, I will post this essay as a separate thread when this gets crowded. Thank you for reading and the suggestion.
I know POTUS and FLOTUS have had a talk with Malia and Sasha about this verdict.
I agree anniebella! as painful as it is…
Everything about this case sickens me. This racist was a wannabe cop who stalked an unarmed teenager. He was told to not pursue him. If “stand your ground” could be applied, it should be the right of Trayvon to stand his ground. Who would just lie there and not fight for their life? Those cries for help give me chills. In my heart and my gut, they are Trayvon’s cries. I still have trouble believing Zimmerman’s alleged injuries and the fact they did not charge this guy right away is clearly an obstruction of justice. If he is not found guilty, this country is going to react and we are going to either come out of it stronger and more civilized, or we are going to lose years of progress. I know that Miami is on high alert. My heart goes out to Trayvon’s parents. I have lost a son and there is a huge hole that cannot ever be filled.
Let’s not forget that this man is also a pedophile and his parent admitted racists. Everything about these people is vile and disgusting.
{{{{{Jackie}}}}}} I put my son in the Martin’s place and I can hardly bear the thought. Hugs to you and I struggle to feel your unimaginable loss.
Thanks DF. It has been 10 years and I still struggle with it. My heart weeps for these parents.
I can’t imagine that pain. I’m so sorry.
Jackie…my heart also goes out to you for your loss. I don’t have a son, but I have also suffered the senseless loss of male family and friends to gun violence, even so, I can’t begin to imagine your pain. Blessings.
Tom Mesereau .
A black life doesn’t mean anything, thank you jury for showing that.
http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2013/07/14/cartoons-of-the-day-zimmerman-trial-verdict/
UT – (finally got to the bottom of the post)
THIS:
“That is what they want. That is what the racists, bigots, ALEC, and the NRA want. Cynicism. Defeat. That is what they want. But you must not give in to them. You must never give in to them. The worst thing a civilized society can breed is cynicism and indifference. This fight is not over. I want you to look at Trayvon Martin’s family and have hope. They are not giving up. They are not broken (though they have every right to be). They are not defeated. They are out there continuing the fight for the Trayvon Martin’s of the country regardless of color. They are out there making sure that society realizes that dangerous laws such as ‘Stand Your Ground” must be stopped. Activists are out there making sure people know that ALEC is not your friendly neighborhood club but a poison to society. We cannot give up now. There are millions of lives counting on us. There are future generations whose lives we hold in our hands. We cannot give up now. I understand the rage, the pain, the hurt that you feel; especially if you are black. But you cannot give up now.”
Your writing these words gives me hope for young people. Thanks for this post.
PinkBunny had a thoughtful comment on the previous post to which I replied:
“Quote: “This horrible law Stand Your Ground is a license to murder, and the Zimmerman Trial has ok’d the murder of black teens.”
That’s exactly right, PB. This law. Now this court decision. The evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, the promotion of gun rights, conceal and carry etc are all things that tell me that there are people who want this country desperately to go backwards.
And in another arena the state by state systematic stomping on women’s health are all actions which is only going to lead to one thing and that is: bringing up Roe vs Wade to a supreme court that has too many conservatives in it. Confiscating women’s personal hygiene products is only meant to humiliate.
I am afraid for what is happening here in our country.”
But I am going to take what you wrote and believe that your generation can help to make things better.
sorry. My post is too long. thanks UT.
Thanks for your commentary a4alice.
“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr
Good day all. I’m very late. Did not sleep well at all. Cried mostly mixed with a good dose of deep seated anger with the “soap opera” of a trial. I probably won’t have much to say today as I watch the ‘experts’ render their opinions on this “horrible” tragedy.
While I have some definitive thoughts about what has happened and potential courses of action, I will not speak them now. I must retire to a dark place and search for another source of light. I pray I find it.
Bless your heart yardarm!
Thank you.
{{Yard}} 😦
Thanks alice.
I feel your pain. I can’t get my head around this.
{{{{Mr. Yardarm}}}}
Thank you Pamela.
{{{{yardarm}}}}}
Thanks df.
Keep the light shining, yardarm!
I’ll try but it gets dimmer and dimmer with each injustice I feel and see. My problem is I’ve seen too many and suffered too many disappointments.
Take all the time you need to pose and reflect. We should all heed your discipline. Like you, at almost 68 years, I have seen so many injustices and suffering that it’s hard not to be angry. As a student of history, I also know that progress for Black people in this country is always followed by periods of regress. There is one thing that I am absolutely certain of: Despair is not an option. As Dr. King often said, “We have come too far to turn around.”
I hear ya nathkatun7. I appreciate your comments from early this morning too. I had retired to weep/sleep by that time.
Although I got you by about 6 years, I think we both sing from the same sheet of music and have read the same road signs. That’s a blessing.
Thanks, yardarm! I am by nature a late night person and being in Cal. I forget that people in the Eastern and Central time zones. Yes, We seem to have been shaped by the same events and the same experiences, but I still appreciate the wisdom you share with us. I was touched when I read that Emmett Till was your friend. The murder of Trayvon followed by the “not guilty” verdict for his murderer really invoked my childhood memory of Emmett Till.
What’s really over the top for me was during that time it was not uncommon for us to go away with our friends to camp or visit each others folks “down home”. I could have easily been down there with Emmitt or any number of my friends. In my neighborhood our parents all knew each other from their high school days or working in the factories during WWII.
(((yard)))
Thanks pretty.
(((((((((( Yardarm)))))))) I am trying very hard to move closer to my center as well. I am with you because I too have seen, and even had to stand with my youngest and beautiful niece as she laid to rest her young teen son. The pain will always be alive because he is and always will be a part of my blood. So we hug and send loving strong hugs to each other. HZ
I luv ya.
Praying for the family today but sick at heart for the loss.
Good job ut, thank you. Its a sorrowful day, way too sad.
I won’t be giving up. I’ll be StandingMyGround for my black sons. And it ain’t with a gun.
I saw a tweet this morning that said “Zimmerman set free, but is he really free?” He is very dim-witted so maybe he doesn’t realize the impact of this verdict. He will live in fear for the rest of his life.
I really do not feel he will live in fear, after all he has been given a ‘license to kill’!
He will get his gun back. To carry and conceal as usual.
Karma will doom him……Hubris will get him for his mightier than thou to kill empowered him.
Reblogged this on The Will to be True Blog and commented:
Today matters because a child is forever lost to his parents through no fault of his own.
Vetivera – maybe we can get a bunch of people to read UT’s blog post. It’s really wonderful. Sad. But wonderful
Thanks for the heads up, I don’t generally reblog TOD out of respect but I did today because it is special. UT has done an incredible heartfelt job. This will also go to my FB and twitter.
have been too angry and sad with the verdict to say much last night
thanks for this, ut.
“Thou Shalt Not Kill”. I’m unaware this rule for living correctly has been modified to ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill unless…..’
This is exactly what I have been thinking and saying.
UT, though this comes late in the thread, but please let me say that your essay is heart searingly brilliant. You capture everything–the anger, the despair, the need for hope, the call for positive action. I know you’re a young person, but you are a born leader and a phenomenal communicator. You speak to people’s hearts and you inspire them. I wish every person who is sick at heart today could read your essay. Injustice can choke us and stifle our life and our ability to fight back in productive ways, or, it can spur us to work harder than ever so that no child born today or in the future has to face with Travor did. Your words point us in the right direction. Thank you with all of my heart.
Thank you Jackie.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/07/14/2297121/urban-league-alec-zimmerman/
When the story of Trayvon Martin’s killing first made national news, attention quickly turned to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — a conservative group with corporate backing that crafts model legislation and recruits members of local governments to propose and pass it. ALEC is the group that crafted Stand Your Ground, the law that allowed Zimmerman to walk free on the night that he shot and killed the unarmed 17-year-old Martin, but which he did not ultimately use in his defense. Since the trial started, though, discussion of ALEC has faded from the national conversation. On Sunday, in the wake of the jury finding George Zimmerman not guilty, President of the National Urban League Marc Morial tried to refocus people’s attention back on ALEC, calling for concerned activists to demand that ALEC’s corporate partners denounce the group.
Morial made the call on MSNBC’s Up With Steve Kornacki:
In addition to registering every voter, and putting justice for all front and center, we now need a movement to use economic power, consumer power, to target those businesses and economic interests who are responsible for enacting RW bigotry and gun violence into law. Statewide and nationwide consumer boycotts are a powerful tool. We can begin with the state of Florida and the tourist industry. Not one dime to Florida.
At the request of TODers.
New post.
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/07/14/you-cannot-give-up/
Is it just me or does anyone else see the irony in the same person who prosecuted, and got 20 years for the woman in FL, was the Chief prosecutor for the Trayvon trail? I think something is very rotten in FL.
omg I didn’t know this yardarm. THAT needs to be investigated imo.
Yup. That Corey babe is a piece of work. Not sure about her name but a house fell on her sister.
Sometimes humor allows us to hear the bitter truth.
https://www.upworthy.com/sometimes-it-takes-a-white-dude-to-get-real-about-racism?c=bl3
UT(((((((((((( Thank you for your word.))))))))))))))))) I felt like you and I were in my library/music room at the same time this morning speaking out aloud in our moments. Love you for this so much. HZ