PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS ON TRAYVON MARTIN: WHEN "CONTEXT" IS OFFERED AS AN EXCUSE FOR CRIMINALITY AND BAD BEHAVIOR!
If the President wants to speak about “context,” let him speak the truth and then take action …
The President of the United States speaks about the Trayvon Martin case, apparently to bring an awareness of “context” to the unfortunate situation. But, in his remarks, the President does not appear to cite the most obvious context of all. In these times of racial discord and alleged animus, the President of the United States is Black! The Attorney General, the nation’s top law enforcement officer, is Black! And yet they, the President and the progressives, continue to retreat into an historical context that appears to suggest that past historical injustice is an excuse for current criminality and bad behavior.
The facts as I see them …
- The President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, and the Attorney General, Eric Holder, are both African-Americans.
- The mayors and/or the police chiefs of many large cities with violent inner cities are African-Americans.
- A single party, the democrats, has gained or maintained political power by exploiting African-Americans, diverting taxpayer funds meant to clean-up the inner cities, and accepting urban decay and crime as being excusable by reference to past historical injustice. Believing that affirmative action and reparations are the way to overcome current problems within the black community instead of holding everyone to the same standard of individual behavior and performance.
- There exists within the greater African-American community, a number of prominent individuals who have built their personal power and fortunes on exploiting racial divisions in their communities and in the nation.
- The Trayvon Martin case was never about race, but was conflated into a racial incident by the race-baiters in the community, in the Congress, and most unfortunately, in the media. The racial narrative was based on a fundamental racial mistake, that George Zimmerman was white. Had Zimmerman been identified as an Hispanic, this case would have been buried in the sands of time as just another local prosecution.
- Once the politicians and media were invested in an obviously erroneous racial theme, they needed to continue rather than lose face by their retreat. Even to the extent of demonizing George Zimmerman and portraying falsely portraying Trayvon Martin as an innocent youngster.
It is not like the President of the United States is not willing to acknowledge the truth, but the most troublesome portion of his remarks appears to use “context” as an excuse for racial tensions in the United States.
Remarks by the President on Trayvon MartinTHE PRESIDENT: I wanted to come out here, first of all, to tell you that Jay is prepared for all your questions and is very much looking forward to the session. The second thing is I want to let you know that over the next couple of weeks, there’s going to obviously be a whole range of issues -- immigration, economics, et cetera -- we'll try to arrange a fuller press conference to address your questions. The reason I actually wanted to come out today is not to take questions, but to speak to an issue that obviously has gotten a lot of attention over the course of the last week -- the issue of the Trayvon Martin ruling. I gave a preliminary statement right after the ruling on Sunday. But watching the debate over the course of the last week, I thought it might be useful for me to expand on my thoughts a little bit. First of all, I want to make sure that, once again, I send my thoughts and prayers, as well as Michelle’s, to the family of Trayvon Martin, and to remark on the incredible grace and dignity with which they’ve dealt with the entire situation. I can only imagine what they’re going through, and it’s remarkable how they’ve handled it. The second thing I want to say is to reiterate what I said on Sunday, which is there’s going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case -- I'll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues. “The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner. The prosecution and the defense made their arguments. The juries were properly instructed that in a case such as this reasonable doubt was relevant, and they rendered a verdict. And once the jury has spoken, that's how our system works. But I did want to just talk a little bit about context and how people have responded to it and how people are feeling.” You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago. And when you think about why, in the African American community at least, there’s a lot of pain around what happened here, I think it’s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away. There are very few African American men in this country who haven't had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are very few African American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me -- at least before I was a senator. There are very few African Americans who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had a chance to get off. That happens often. And I don't want to exaggerate this, but those sets of experiences inform how the African American community interprets what happened one night in Florida. And it’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear. The African American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws -- everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case. Now, this isn't to say that the African American community is naïve about the fact that African American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system; that they’re disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence. It’s not to make excuses for that fact -- although black folks do interpret the reasons for that in a historical context. They understand that some of the violence that takes place in poor black neighborhoods around the country is born out of a very violent past in this country, and that the poverty and dysfunction that we see in those communities can be traced to a very difficult history. And so the fact that sometimes that’s unacknowledged adds to the frustration. And the fact that a lot of African American boys are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given, well, there are these statistics out there that show that African American boys are more violent -- using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently causes pain. I think the African American community is also not naïve in understanding that, statistically, somebody like Trayvon Martin was statistically more likely to be shot by a peer than he was by somebody else. So folks understand the challenges that exist for African American boys. But they get frustrated, I think, if they feel that there’s no context for it and that context is being denied. And that all contributes I think to a sense that if a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario, that, from top to bottom, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different. Now, the question for me at least, and I think for a lot of folks, is where do we take this? How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction? I think it’s understandable that there have been demonstrations and vigils and protests, and some of that stuff is just going to have to work its way through, as long as it remains nonviolent. If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family. But beyond protests or vigils, the question is, are there some concrete things that we might be able to do. And let me just leave you with a final thought that, as difficult and challenging as this whole episode has been for a lot of people, I don’t want us to lose sight that things are getting better. Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race. It doesn’t mean we’re in a post-racial society. It doesn’t mean that racism is eliminated. But when I talk to Malia and Sasha, and I listen to their friends and I seem them interact, they’re better than we are -- they’re better than we were -- on these issues. And that’s true in every community that I’ve visited all across the country. And so we have to be vigilant and we have to work on these issues. And those of us in authority should be doing everything we can to encourage the better angels of our nature, as opposed to using these episodes to heighten divisions. But we should also have confidence that kids these days, I think, have more sense than we did back then, and certainly more than our parents did or our grandparents did; and that along this long, difficult journey, we’re becoming a more perfect union -- not a perfect union, but a more perfect union. To read the entire speech in context … Remarks by the President on Trayvon Martin | The White House |
Assuming the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, is sincere, let him call for the disbanding of the Congressional Black Caucus, a group of self-promoting racists in Congress. Let him call for the condemnation of “Judas Goats” like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who are leading the black community into believing that because blacks have been historically disadvantaged, they do not have to play by the rules and take individual responsibility for their actions. And, most importantly, let the President declare war on the domestic terrorist – the inner city gangs – that are responsible for a disproportionate share of the gun-related violence in America, relaxing strict gun laws that keep law-abiding citizens from protecting their lives and property from vicious predators.
If the President were sincere, he would be speaking to all citizens and eliminate any “us versus them” bias that is becoming increasingly apparent in the federal government. Perhaps starting with the acknowledgement that Trayvon Martin wasn’t a monster, but certainly wasn’t the person portrayed in the media. And, acknowledging George Zimmerman as a community-minded individual who sacrificed much to assist his community without any thought of reward. Characterizing the Zimmerman-Martin affair as a “teaching moment,” an unfortunate failure to communicate.
It is not like there are not decent, well-informed, articulate leaders or members of the media who happen to be black …
For a moment, consider Jason Riley, an editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal. A man who is clearly capable of seeing the truth and speaking the truth, even though he is roundly condemned some segment of the black community. The same can be said of the distinguished Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams, both well-respected economists, authors, and social commentators. Or, former Florida Representative Colonel Allen West. All demonized by the progressives because they are black conservatives whose arguments are almost irrefutable and who create a broader discussion within the black community. Pointing out an interesting fact: that these men are denigrated as “Uncle Toms” or worse in the very same manner as black children who get good grades are accused of “trying to be white.” All because the democrat socialists are invested in pursuing racial division and social revolution as the basis for gaining and maintaining political power.
Bottom line …
Historically, and contextually, the democrats have exploited the racial divisions in American for their own political purposes. Pointing at the republicans and demonizing them while ignoring the fact that the democrat party was responsible for some of the most egregious racial policies in America and that they continue to exploit race for political advantage.
It appears that the democrats now pose a clear and present danger to America and all Americans with their corrupt and inept administration. And that there exists within the democrat party and organized group of professional racists who do not wish America well, pursuing radical socialism, revolution, and racial discord to bring about a more totalitarian/authoritarian government that will rule rather than govern. That this group of professional racists, viewing everything through the prism of race and self-advantage, is allowed to exist in the Congress of the United States is an abomination. Yes, folks, I am speaking about the progressive Congressional Black Caucus.
When is the black community going to assimilate into the broader culture, not continuing to set themselves apart by language, dress, behavior, and most importantly, a relaxed attitude toward personal irresponsibility, bad behavior, and the acceptance of criminal activity in their neighborhoods?
When is the black community going to realize that the race-baiters and the democrat party are exploiting them for political and financial advantage. Where the entitlement culture supports an ever-growing political and unionized bureacracy to administer the “social services” response to their needs, and a well-paid unionized justice system that demands increasing amounts of crime to justify their existence?
And, when are Americans going to realize that electing inexperienced, incompetent, and corrupt individuals to high office – believing things will change – is fruitless and destructive to America.
We now have the opportunity to start on real reform during the 2014 Congressional election cycle. And, for starters, it might be helpful if the black community reject the race-baiters and corrupt politicians in the Congressional Black Caucus as a show of good faith to their neighbors – rejecting racial animosity and electing leaders who can correctly account for the billions in dollars meant to revitalize or rebuilt the inner cities. Reject the idiots who demand that employers in minority communities be unionized to the extent that it is far easier and more cost effective to operate elsewhere. But, more importantly, to realize that the real key to black achievement is education and personal responsibility for one’s actions. No more allowing some school children to denigrate, demonize, and threaten others because they dare excel.
It’s up to “We the People” to fix the problem – starting out with weeding out and eliminating the professional racists and the democrat party.
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS