Trayvon Martin

[tomgallagher]

Any thoughts on this topic guys.?

[b.driscoll]

I do not know the whole story as of yet..............and most probably don't. I do however see that ''leaders'' such as Sharpton and Jackson are fanning the flames of race. These race ''hustlers'' only produce more hate and violence. I'll bet THEY don't have all the facts but are throwing up the race card...................and getting a lot of publicity for themselves. I have often wondered just what these two actually do................besides cry ''racism'' and get  a lot of money for doing so.   I'M sorry but they only seem to make things WORSE.

[tomgallagher]

I agree that we do not have all the facts that Law Enforcement has and would hate for a "lynch mob" mentality to get anybody hurt.

[BaldHDbiker]

I don't have the whole story yet either but regardless it's very sad.  

From what i've heard it does sound race related though which is horrible.

It's really sad that racism still exists.

[buddha]

I just read that The Black Panther Party has offered a $10,000.00 bounty for the capture of George Zimmerman (the shooter). I think that this thing shows great promise to get really ugly really soon.
Like most I don't have much of the really relevant info on this. From what I do know the kid had a legally defensible reason to be there. He was on his way to his father's fiance's house. He was armed with Skittles. Zimmerman was told to stand down by a dispatcher and let the real police handle the situation. He failed to comply.
From my experience with neighborhood watch groups there is always a faction within the group that advocates armed citizen patrols, something that makes the skin of most cops crawl. Thankfully the faction is usually miniscule, most of the people in the watch groups do just what they're told.....watch. Zimmerman apparently was in the minority.
As a personal aside I'm thinking that Zimmerman probably should get arrested soon, like prior to $h!t starting to catch on fire. This is a highly charged issue and if the needs of the many do actually outweigh the needs of the few he needs to have his fat a$$ sitting in a cell if, for no other reason, the authorities would like to prevent a whole boatload of further violence.

And here's a new wrinkle:
 http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2012/03/24/Witness-Martin-attacked-Zimmerman
Apparently a witness came forward the night of the shooting in defense of Zimmerman and said that Martin attacked Zimmerman prior to shots being fired. This is apparently the reason that Zimmerman was not arrested at the scene.

[tomgallagher]

If the Black Panthers are involved than the issue has definitly become racist.

It sounds to me like the Sanford PD knows a lot of details that the public is not privy to and that is why he hasn't been arrested. You can't arrest someone that hasn't done anything illegal. I also have heard that there are a few more witnesses that say that Mr. Zimmerman was attacked and the PD after action report states that Zimmerman had fresh bruises to the head and neck and that his clothing was wet and grass stained as if he had just been in a fight. This matched the statement of several witnesses.

I hope a lot of public figures don't contribute to another "Ox Bow Incident" scenario taking place.

[Mikekoz13]

I initially hesitated to post in this thread for obvious reasons but.....

I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in Baltimore City. On most days I was the only white kid on the basketball court at the playground. A very large number of my friends were black. Now that the background info is complete.....

As with any ethnic or socio-economic group of people things can and probably are different in that community from another community with a different predominant group. It doesn't matter if that group is majority white, majority black, majority asian, or majority (enter choice here). Each group/community generally has things inherent to that group of people. Part of the problem in America is that often, one group doesn't understand the differences between itself and other groups.... and quite frankly, this leads to prejudices.

As a college freshman I took a sociolgy course where I was one of three white students in a class of 50 students. The teacher was also white. I thought I knew a lot about my black friends and neighbors since I was the white kid and lived with these folks. But one day the teacher performed several exercises to open the eyes of both groups in the class (the white kids and the black kids). I was stunned by what I didn't know about my black friends and neighbors... and likewise they were stunned by what they learned about white people.
After class, a lot of hugs and handshakes were exchanged between all the students in the class..... along with promises to NEVER forget what we had learned about each other's ethnic group that day. The teacher just stood in the corner and listened and smiled the whole time. He had accomplished his goal of opening eyes AND hearts. I have NEVER forgotten the lessons of that day.

Several weeks later we had a well known leader in the black community come to the school to speak..... Louis Farrakhan. It was a very uncomfortable time for the small group of white students at the school as the day Farrakhan was to speak approached. We all knew that Farrakhan was a black leader that basically spewed hatred of whites..... and Jews in particular. Honestly.... we were scared of racial repercussions.
But an amazing thing happened..... the black students from that sociology class assured us, the white kids, that they would stand with us and for us on that day of Farrakhan's speech. And they did...... there were still those that heard his message and were drawn to it but that day I KNEW there was hope for racial harmony in America.
It's now 33 years later... and no doubt things are much better.... but there is still a long way to go. Now my opinion here..... you can certainly disagree.
One of the biggest problems in the black community is some of the "leaders" that the community has...... the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of the world. They play the race card at every opportunity that benefits THEM. The constant playhing of the race card wears on other groups... I see it and hear it all the time. I often PRAY that the majority of the black community will one day stand up and say "We don't want you speaking for us anymore... we don't agree with your ways".

Society will NEVER be able to eliminate differences in race totally because we ARE different.... and different is good. But.... we can eliminate unfair treatment of others. Sadly that will NEVER happen as long as the "race card" is continually being played.
Why can't people just stand up and say what happened to this kid (as we know the facts now) is JUST WRONG as human beings??? I couldn't care less if this kid was black, white, asian, or from Mars..... what I care about is why the Hell one human being would do this to another.
Lest you think I'm naive.... I can assure you that I saw many things as a teenager growing up in Baltimore City that many of you will never see in your lifetimes.

Peace all.......

[tomgallagher]

The mean streets of Philly here (89 murders in 89 days). Racism has been with us since the beginning of time, just ask the Jews, and will probably never be completely eradicated which is sad. Also, perception can get you killed. Mike if you pulled up on your Harley and came at somebody that was carrying they would probably pull and shoot but if you pulled up in a sedan in a suit and tie and came at that same person they probably wouldn't. In both scenarios you are the same person but perception just got the biker killed.

[schro]

One of the biggest problems in the black community is some of the "leaders" that the community has...... the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons of the world. They play the race card at every opportunity that benefits THEM. The constant playhing of the race card wears on other groups... I see it and hear it all the time. I often PRAY that the majority of the black community will one day stand up and say "We don't want you speaking for us anymore... we don't agree with your ways".

Why can't people just stand up and say what happened to this kid (as we know the facts now) is JUST WRONG as human beings??? I couldn't care less if this kid was black, white, asian, or from Mars..... what I care about is why the Hell one human being would do this to another.

GREAT POST, KOZ. However, I wanted to highlight the two points.

What happened to this kid is a complete shame, and Sharpton / Jackson are trying to "profit" (sick I have to use that word) from this tragedy.

[Slyfive]

Thankyou for sharing Mike. Racism isn't a problem of color, it's a problem of character, and character is an individual trait.

[Baldstu]

I assert racism is born in ignorance

[Slyfive]

I assert racism is born in ignorance

Agreed

[Mikekoz13]

The mean streets of Philly here (89 murders in 89 days). Racism has been with us since the beginning of time, just ask the Jews, and will probably never be completely eradicated which is sad. Also, perception can get you killed. Mike if you pulled up on your Harley and came at somebody that was carrying they would probably pull and shoot but if you pulled up in a sedan in a suit and tie and came at that same person they probably wouldn't. In both scenarios you are the same person but perception just got the biker killed.

You're right Tom. I get this all the time. People actually will cross the road or walk the other way when they see me coming. I just laugh and go about my business.
I've been "pre-judged" most of my life. Big guy, Baltimore accent, a little rough around the edges..... scares the Hell out of people. Too bad more people don't get to know me. Well educated, hard working, very compassionate guy with a great sense of humor and an extreme loyalty to Family and my Friends.

Two Families destroyed by this tragedy..... let's hope the Zimmerman's have compassion for the Martin Family and that the Martin's don't listen to the "hucksters" but grieve in private and find Peace in Prayer and the Love of their Families and Friends.

[tomgallagher]

Amen to that Mike.