Since it continues to be asked in the past week in news interviews and during protests I thought I would share the advice I would give my son if he finds himself being followed while walking home from the store, like Trayvon Martin did.
…or to the home of the nearest friend or relative. And to any parent who would advise their teen to turn and confront the follower I would say you are telling your kid to put themselves in potential danger versus doing what they were doing before detecting a follower.
APRIL 29, 1992- THE L.A. South Central Riots begin following a jury’s acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers for Assault and Excessive Force against Rodney King. The background to the story read as follows in Wikipedia:
On March 3, 1991, Rodney King and two passengers were driving west on the Foothill Freeway (I-210) through the Lake View Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) attempted to initiate a traffic stop. A high-speed pursuit ensued with speeds estimated at up to 115 mph first over freeways and then through residential neighborhoods. When King came to a stop, CHP Officer Timothy Singer and his wife, CHP Officer Melanie Singer, ordered the occupants under arrest.[5]
After two passengers were placed in the patrol car, five white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers (Stacey Koon, Laurence Powell, Timothy Wind, Theodore Briseno, and Rolando Solano) attempted to subdue King, who came out of the car last. In a departure from the usual procedure, which is to tackle and cuff a suspect[citation needed], King was tasered, kicked in the head, beaten with PR-24 batons for over one minute, then tackled and cuffed.
The video of the beating can be seen here in an ABC News report from the time:
Fifty-three people were killed in the riots that followed the jury’s verdict. The riots were spurred on by outrage in the black community over the exclusively white jury’s verdict. They were the worst riots in the United States since the 1960s, and worst in terms of death toll since the New York riots of 1863 (as depicted in Martin Scorsese film The Gangs of New York).
I’m afraid it might happen again.
George Zimmerman
The murder trial of George Zimmerman is the most racially polarizing event in this country since that time. We don’t know what the jury’s verdict will be at the time of this writing; but even the most liberal news sources have reported nightly for the past three weeks that the Prosecution’s case is not going well. From what I’ve seen, that’s an understatement. The prosecution’s very own witnesses have testified that the 17 year old victim was on top of Zimmerman beating him in what they termed a “MMA style ground and pound”. A forensic expert testified that the gunshot wounds and powder on Martin’s clothes were consistent with Zimmerman’s claim that he shot the young man in self defense, and that Martin was on top of him leaning forward. Not a single witness has testified seeing Zimmerman initiate the fight between the two. And a police officer said that in interviewing Trayvon Martin’s father, the father acknowledged that the voice screaming for help in the background of 9-1-1 audio tapes was not his son. Numerous witnesses testified that the voice was that of George Zimmerman. In fairness, Martin’s brother and mother both testified that the voice was that of Trayvon. But what else would you expect them to say? And I’m sure the jury will see it this same way.
In spite of this seemingly overwhelming evidence which should exonerate Zimmerman, Black America wants a conviction. The people I’ve spoken with and those I’ve read about and seen on TV see Zimmerman as the aggressor since he got out of his car and followed the teen who was walking home in the rain, in the dark, in a neighborhood in which he was merely visiting, carrying only a soda and some Skittles candy. In part because of the repeated televised pictures of a very young (maybe 10 year old) Trayvon Martin in March 2012 they see the victim as an innocent young child who died because of racial profiling. They don’t see the 6-foot tall 17-year-old who was staying at his Aunt’s home because he had been suspended from school. Or the one who’s phone’s text messages seem to indicate that he had been in repeated fights and was looking to buy a gun.
Let me be clear: None of what we’ve just written is reason enough for this boy to die. His death is tragic. But according to the evidence it was justified, at least in the mind of George Zimmerman. And legally speaking, that’s all that matters. Zimmerman felt this larger “man” who was beating him and smashing his head into concrete was threatening his life. Zimmerman even claims that upon seeing his gun in his waist band Martin said, “You’re going to die tonight!” and tried reaching for it. And there is zero testimony or evidence to refute this claim.
But thanks to Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and apparently according to new news reports, President Obama’s Justice Department the public was whipped into a frenzy over this case. Remember, the Sanford, Florida police chose not to arrest Zimmerman, and Prosecutors failed to charge him, choosing to believe his story and the evidence that supported it. This isn’t the first time Sharpton, in particular, whipped black people in this country into a frenzy over a perceived injustice done to a young black person by whites.
Tawana Brawley at a press conference in 1987. Standing next to her is Al Sharpton.
Remember Tawana Brawley? In 1987 Sharpton was the primary civil agitator when the 15 year old Brawley falsely accused 6 New York City white men of rape.
My fears this time may be unwarranted. I hope they are. But at the risk of the hateful retribution I may receive, I say this appears to be another instance of false claims of black victimization. Racism exists and its insidious. Those with hateful thoughts and actions directed at black people need to be punished when their thoughts and actions create victims. But it’s also a damned shame there is no punishment for those who have made careers and wealth out of crying wolf, lying, exaggerating and fomenting a sense in the black community that they are held back by the evil white race that wants nothing more than to stalk their children and kill them.
The internet hacking group Anonymoushas posted a video showing members of the Steubenville (OH) High School football team laughing and joking about the rape of a sixteen year old girl by members of their team, and apparently individuals appearing in the video. And Anonymous has posted a threat to “those responsible” and school officials who supposedly protected some of the suspected culprits. Let me be clear Anonymous is threatening people who were not present and had nothing to do with the rape.
The rape occurred August 22, 2012. The girl was drugged, sexually assaulted and transported by the group of football players from party to party where she was photographed and raped repeatedly. Two members of the football team were charged with rape of a minor. But rumors persisted that many more teen boys were involved.
We post the video here with the warning: This video contains extremely crude language. And you are advised that if you have a problem with the efforts by Anonymous to promote this vigilante justice, then you shouldn’t watch this video.
The problem with Anonymous is their efforts indict, at least in public opinion, almost every kid on the Steubenville High School football team whether they were involved in the rape or not. Anonymous and others who engage in vigilantism have made themselves Judge, Jury, and possibly Executioner. They are fomenting a mob-mentality that in the end can only be bad.
4-7-12 March for Justice for Trayvon Martin
One need look no further than the Trayvon Martin case to see the ill effects of what a mob frenzy will do. I wrote a blog called “Trayvon Martin’s Killer Should be Punished, Right?”on March 28, 2012; a tongue-in-cheek effort to point out how the mob mentality drove police and local prosecuting attorneys to reverse their initial, and seemingly correct, decision not to bring murder charges to the teen’s killer George Zimmerman. As I wrote in my blog “Trayvon Martin beat his Killer”and as has become apparent through released photographs and doctor’s testimony since the frenzy that caused the arrest there is more than a little evidence to verify Zimmerman’s claim that he shot Martin in order to protect his own life.
George Zimmerman
I don’t know if Zimmerman is guilty or not, but I think NOT is far more likely. And since I took the heat for my earlier blogs questioning the mob indictment of this poor little man, Zimmerman, I won’t feel the least bit of problem proclaiming “I told you so” when his trial results in his acquittal.
I don’t know if more kids were involved in the Steubenville rape. I don’t know if the primary trash talkers in the video aren’t the two individuals who were charged in the case. I don’t like the laughing being done in the video by several other KIDS. I can’t emphasize enough I’m disgusted by the behavior of those in the video and I believe anyone who was present, eye witness to and cheering on the rape of the girl needs to face criminal prosecution. But regarding those in the video I know laughing is not against the law. Nor is being stupid. At least, it’s not currently against the law. The wave of ugly political correctness that covered this country like a blanket in the 1990s never fully went away. So laws forbidding laughing at crude humor may be just around the corner.
I’m sure Anonymousfeels fully justified and righteous in trying to expose the guilty in this horrible crime perpetrated against a young girl. And I sincerely hope those responsible face justice. But I also pray innocents are not swept up in the wave Anonymous is trying to generate. I fear they will be. Just like before.
M Schuett blah blah blah 