The Politics Thread

[Roman]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/24/geraldo-rivera-trayvon-martin-hoodie-comments_n_1377014.html#s810777&title=Wil_Wheaton

There are some Tweets that really express many people's feelings on how sorry it was to execute a 17-year-old kid because of what he's wearing. Justin Bieber wears a hoody...seems he has avoided getting executed by sonme racist azzwhole hasn't he?

[Eric83]

How do you DRESS like a criminal?

I guess young minority youth shouldn't wear hoodies and dress as they please so poor innocent citizens will not think they are a criminal. George Zimmerman is a psycho and what Trayvon had on has nothing to do with it,

[ReddFoxx]

I'm sorry, but I have to be very real here and say that the notion that a hoodie is responsible for Trayvon Martin's death is just plain stupid, ignorant and racist. If that offends, I'm sorry, but I don't hold back words. Racist attitudes don't depend on attire. I was called the "N-word" simply walking from the store just a couple of weeks ago and I didn't have a hoodie on.

George Zimmerman had a record, he resisted arrest and assaulted a police officer, he was obviously unstable. He was told by emergency not to exit his vehicle, but he did so anyway. He is not the victim here, he is still alive and well, with a chance at retaining freedom. Shame on anyone who blames a teenager for being shot by an adult who stalked him while he was minding his own business.

As for Geraldo, he's got issues with race himself. He anglicized his name in the past, so of course he would take an ignorant attitude. But, ignorance is indeed bliss for a lot of people.

[LeClerc]

Gingrich says it's Obama's fault that so many people believe he is Muslim and that he should be bothered by it:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/gingrich-says-it-should-bother-obama-that-people-think-hes-muslim/

I'm Canadian but I have followed American politics much more closely for years as I found it far more fascinating than Canadian politics (case in point: this weekend Canada's official opposition party is having a leadership convention and I have watched all of two minutes of it so far). But I'm getting to a point where I think, for my own sanity, I need to disengage from U.S politics (and I hope that will not be easier said than done, although it probably will be). It has become much too ugly and infuriating and I truly believe that the combination of widespread Obama Derangement Syndrome, the Citizens United ruling, the liberal ( <-sarcasm) media, and the various new voter ID suppression laws spell out what the outcome will be in November.

Comparatively boring old Canadian politics will probably be much more conducive to lowering my blood pressure.

[alphanguy74]

IT was a series of events that contributed to this.

1: Gated community too cheap to hire TRAINED PROFESSIONAL security (so some nut was out doing it)

2: 911 operator "mealy mouthing" around. Saying "We don't need you to do that". She should have given Zimmerman a COMMAND "Do NOT pursue him".

3: The victim walks though a rich neighborhood where people are unfamiliar with him, dressed like a crack dealer (And you all know it) .

Yes...the kid should be able to wear what he wants, and not get shot. That goes without saying. I should be able to walk down main street in a small town in Mississippi wearing a chiffon gown, but would it be wise to do so? It's not the hoodie by itself, it's the combination of the hoodie and pants on the ground that make people suspicious. It may not be right, but it's reality. In the 50's and 60's, long hair and tattoos were looked upon the same way. This is a perfect example how the culture of rap music and thuggery is undermining the civil right movement. And that's why people are being so defensive about it, because they know deep down it's TRUE. People don't denounce it because there is MONEY to be made on it. One thing's for sure, whether you agree with what geraldo said, the man has balls the size of grapefruits for making the statement. Who cares about Geraldo's name? Does Tina Turner have a problem with race because she changed her name from Etta Mae?

Edited March 25, 2012 by alphanguy74

[DRW50]

Didn't they say this man had called the police about 40 times in recent months?

[alphanguy74]

That's a good point, Carl. I certainly don't think the clothes are all to blame, just a "contributing factor" I put the MAJOR part of the blame on the HOA for being too cheap to hire PROPER, TRAINED security, and to permit this loose cannon to run around being a neighborhood watch captain. If I were in charge of that HOA... Zimmerman would have been served with a cease and desist LONG ago. But many of you are saying that this kid was totally fine in what he was wearing for his location and situation, although he was dressed for "The hood". Would feel a rich woman with a fur and jewelry foolish for walking around at night alone in "The hood"? Reverse the situation and see if you feel differently.

Edited March 25, 2012 by alphanguy74

[ReddFoxx]

To clarify why I mentioned Geraldo anglicizing his name in the past, a lot of minorities believe what kind of name you have or how you dress makes some difference of status in society, when that simply is not the case. I do believe that this situation would have occured even if Trayvon wasn't wearing a hoodie, a lot of folks see any minority, regardless of attire, as being trouble in certain neighborhoods.

[Eric83]

If his clothes were such a problem how come the only call about him prior to the altercation was that psycho who was just sitting in his car on a Sunday afternoon waiting for an altercation? A hoodie doesn't equal crack dealer and just because you see pants sagging on tv doesn't mean his were. Believe it or not all black youth do that. This can be argued over and over again, but ultimately this man needs to be arrested.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Eric83

[xtr]

I heard he had called the police several times on people (mostly black men) in recent months. I heard one report on the news that he called the police on a black seven year old boy, because the seven year old looked suspicious. This man needs to be arrested. I agree with Eric83 that not all black youth wear sagging pants, and I don't think there's anything wrong with hoodies. Plus I heard it was raining that night, and if so, it makes even more sense that Trayvon was wearing a hoodie.

I am glad that this case is getting national attention, this type of stuff has got to stop. I actually think that one of the reasons why it is getting so much attention is because Trayvon doesn't look like a "thug" or "criminal" or any or other bad stereotype that some people like to put black people into. He looks like an innocent looking baby faced teenager and that resonates with a lot of people including people that aren't black. His parents seem like decent people too. This doesn't seem like a child that was a bad person or came from a rough background.

He looks like he could be a lot of people's child,brother, nephew, cousin, child's best friend etc. It even reminds a lot of non black people of their own kids. Kids who like things like Skittles and Ice-T. I've seen multiple white people say he reminds them of their own children. It's not just black people that feel that way about him.

I think that this is one of the biggest reasons why this case is getting so much attention. You can't go around killing teens for being black (and/or even if you take race out of it), for being teens. And because you think someone looks suspicious. Lots of teens (and adults) wear hoodies not just black ones.

I don't think that Geraldo should have said what he said. He should have known he would go under fire for that. Newt just needs to hush, trying to create a problem with Obama's comments about Trayvon where there isn't one. Also I actually think that if President Obama had a son he might would have looked like Trayvon. IMO, Trayvon's skin tone does kind of look like Michelle's and Sasha's and his ears are similar to the presidents. And the structure of his cheeks kind of resembles some of the first family members. With the side by side pictures of the two, yes I actually could see Obama having a son that looks like that. But nonetheless Newt's comments about Obama's were ridiculous and unneccessary.

I don't know what will end up happening to George Zimmerman, but I think he will end up paying for this somehow. Even if he doesn't end up getting convicted. At least this case shines light on big problems that needs to be dealt with like the profiling/stereotyping of certain racial groups in this country.)

Edited March 25, 2012 by xtr

[Roman]

So, please explain the "walking through a rich neighborhood dressed like a crack dealer" line. I'm very interested in hearing why you made a truly unfortunate statement such as this. Now he looked like a crack dealer because of what he was wearing? Or was it the color of his skin? Please explain.

[Roman]

You know, i still remember the local news here in STL saying that every time a black man was shot and killed "The police feel that the shooting was drug releated." Never said that any other time but when a black man was involved in ANY CRIME.

[Eric83]

46 times in a gated community in the suburbs. Smh.

Exactly. I didn't know a crack dealer had a certain type of attire and that he saw Trayvon's pants sagging.. smh.

[DRW50]

One of the parts of this conversation which hasn't been picked up as much is that many families probably did talk to their sons or grandsons about the danger they face just for being a black man. I think there's a certain amount of colonialism in someone like Geraldo saying, oh, if he hadn't been wearing a hoodie. In situations like this just being black may have been all it took.

I do think there's some type of instinctual fear and paranoia but I also think a lot of this is down to the Dirty Harry mentality which is so celebrated.

At least, so far, there hasn't been a ton of OBAMA IS PLAYING THE RACE CARD and random flinging around of any mistake Trayvon Martin or anyone in his family ever made. I hope that can continue.

Edited March 25, 2012 by CarlD2

[alphanguy74]

It was because of what he was wearing. What has happened, is that the dress attire of the criminal element has made it's way into mainstream society, and that is why people are suspicious of anyone dressed like that, even if they are white. I agree that it's wrong... don't misunderstand here... but what Geraldo was talking about was not the REALITY of it, but the PERCEPTION. When it comes to white kids, you have that same perception if they look like this:

Or this: