[News] The Trayvon Martin Discussion Thread

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Staff member
I know, right? It's also a good thing that this one case about a young black male completely negates all those pretty white girl media cases, so we should all be happy now and get off our stupid equal rights high horses.
 
It sounds to me like the wrong that must be righted is digging into why the police, according to news reports, had to be cajoled into further investigation. That an unarmed kid was killed by a man under questionable circumstances seems like more than enough reason. Whatever that guy or that kid were doing the day, week, or year before that is immaterial.
 
S

SeraRelm

If the kid was white, would this have come to such ridiculous levels of media attention?
 

ElJuski

Staff member
Mathias, wish I could. They're actually really good kids, despite, you know, being angry, misguided teens. And either way, I wasn't saying I knew more about black culture; I will say what I have learned, especially about inner city kids--I teach them, did you know that?--has totally changed my perspective on plenty of things. And hell yes I'm the Jon Lovitz character. I wish I had Pfeiffer's physique. But really I'm mostly the chubby, non-crack-head Ryan Gossling in Half Nelson.

It all just adds up to all of those ivory tower african-american lit and soc classes I took back in college, and there are plenty things about this case that are inherently revealing about people's culture and upbringing. Meanwhile the media is definitely in high gear of playing into as much bullshit as it can, and really obscuring the fact that something really tragic happened.
 
M

makare

In this case there is the racial issue, the gun issue, the youth issue, the vigilante issue it has a lot going on that makes it noteworthy.
 
You shouldn't even be able to claim self-defense after following someone around and approaching them in a hostile matter while wearing a hidden piece regardless of age, sex or race.

The fact that a person can do so, in my eyes, makes me mock not only the current system but those who encourage or ignore it.

It's pretty damn pathetic.
 

ElJuski

Staff member
You shouldn't even be able to claim self-defense after following someone around and approaching them in a hostile matter while wearing a hidden piece.
But you sure can get people on the internet to argue about it!
 
I don't think the facts of this case will ever be perfectly clear. But it definitely seems that Zimmerman escalated the situation by following Martin after calling 911. Without that act, the whole chain of tragic events seems unlikely to have occurred. Does that make him a murderer? No. But while I fully support the right to carry a firearm for self defense, the first responsibility of any reasonable person is to avoid pushing a situation towards violence. Zimmerman's actions reflect poorly on the vast majority of responsible gun owners in the US.

And that's where I'm going to leave it.
 
Mathias, wish I could. They're actually really good kids, despite, you know, being angry, misguided teens. And either way, I wasn't saying I knew more about black culture; I will say what I have learned, especially about inner city kids--I teach them, did you know that?--has totally changed my perspective on plenty of things. And hell yes I'm the Jon Lovitz character. I wish I had Pfeiffer's physique. But really I'm mostly the chubby, non-crack-head Ryan Gossling in Half Nelson.

It all just adds up to all of those ivory tower african-american lit and soc classes I took back in college, and there are plenty things about this case that are inherently revealing about people's culture and upbringing. Meanwhile the media is definitely in high gear of playing into as much bullshit as it can, and really obscuring the fact that something really tragic happened.
I grew up a couple blocks from where 50 Cent lived if that gives you any perspective on my interaction with black culture. I agree with you completely about the media (and Charlie too).

Bottom line: A kid (yes, 17 years old is still a damn kid) has been murdered over something stupid. Take ethnicity and race completely out of it, and that's what you have. As a kid I remember getting in trouble in school, skipping, etc... Treyvon Martin was a regular kid. He was confronted for no reason, raised a stink, and died because of it. As an adult, Zimmerman should have known to lay off and not follow him. I think he should be put away for murder.
 
S

SeraRelm

No one is saying Zimmerman did the right thing, just that Martin was a stupid fucking kid for swinging. Kids are stupid, even ones at 17, even ones 6'3", they're stupid. And that stupidity TIED IN to his getting killed.

Maybe we should try to help kids not be so fucking stupid? Not laying blame with that, just saying it should be a bit of a wake up call for people.

See also the boondocks video I posted.
 
And maybe, just maybe, they'll grow up into adults who aren't stupid and disregard the advice of police dispatchers and start a fight they can't win.
 
one of the problems is there is a systemic culture among the ~institution of the police~ that makes sure that no one faces consequences for ruining people's lives
That is literally as true as saying that black people are hoodlums, women are sluts, jews are greedy, whites are fat, etc, etc, etc. If you believe what you've just written, then you have no place to stand in a lot of the other arguments you maintain on this forum.
 
S

SeraRelm

That is literally as true as saying that black people are hoodlums, women are sluts, jews are greedy, whites are fat, etc, etc, etc. If you believe what you've just written, then you have no place to stand in a lot of the other arguments you maintain on this forum.
I'm gonna retract what I posted in this one. I'm just gonna say that you're pretty much as bad as any racist you point out when it comes to cops.
 
Wait, choosing to be a police officer and swearing an oath to a community is now the same as belonging to a genetically-determined sub-group of society?

Are you guys serious?
 
M

makare

No the point is Charlie is always bitching about generalities and here he is generalizing every police officer everywhere. He is just being called on his hypocrisy.
 
No the point is Charlie is always bitching about generalities and here he is generalizing every police officer everywhere. He is just being called on his hypocrisy.
Yeah, no. Folks could have said, "that's like saying all politicians are corrupt, or all teachers are incompetent drains on society, or all union-workers are lazy, or all democrats are whiners", etc. Perfectly correct, calls his crap, all good.

So why race, folks?
 
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