Today the subject I am going to talk about is a little bit of both, not because I made it that way but because the current administration made it that way. Now let me start this by saying....if you are a friend of mine on facebook, regardless of your political affiliations, you are my friend for a reason. You are my friend because you are intelligent and you have common sense. The same goes for those who frequent my blog. Of course there are the occasional hit and run sh!t disturbers who comment just to start something but for the most part.....I surround myself with educated people. Now as you read this, please think about what I am saying and please, don't feel you have to agree or disagree.....just think about the facts.
Trayvon Martin was murdered. It was a tragic situation. Was Martin completely innocent and George Zimmerman just shot him or was Zimmerman in fact shooting for his life? A jury of his peers said that Zimmerman was innocent of 2nd degree murder but most felt he was not completely innocent of the death. In my humble opinion......since I was not there and not privy to all the evidence that the jury was, I would say that the most likely case scenario was that both had some culpability. The end result though was that a young man died, his family suffers, another man's life changed forever and his family also must suffer. Nothing good came from that one fateful night except pain and suffering for all involved. Tragic to say the least. In all its tragedy though, the bottom line was this was a killing...like thousands of killings that happen in our country's cities and towns everyday. So why did the president decide to step in and make this case political? It was no surprise that Al Sharpton and his band of merry white haters (yes....I did just say that) along with Oprah and much of Hollywood joined in with hate speech and death threats against Zimmerman in the guise of justice for Martin (and may I point out here that Zimmerman was NOT white but Hispanic). Apparently though, Zimmerman was close enough to white. Why though did the president of the United States with the death rate from violence continually climbing, choose the Martin/Zimmerman case to chime in? Why did he decide to make this personal by making his famous..."If I had a son he would look like Trayvon," speech? Why did the president get involved at all? Am I the only one who questions this? I can understand him weighing in on a terrorist act, a school shooting or something major that affects the entire country but a random murder? One would almost believe that Martin was in fact his son! Perhaps though, the reason for his involvement was far more political than it was "personal." Maybe it was because he was pushing for gun control and he decided to make this one of his many attempts to turn Americans on each other and disarm them in the name of Martin? I do in fact think this is what started it, however the case took on a completely different light as the word "racism" started getting bandied about. When in doubt, play the race card! It is because Martin was black and Zimmerman was not and because high profile people stepped in and stirred the pot that Zimmerman will likely have to watch his back for the rest of his life. Heck....Casey Anthony has a better chance of living a normal life than Zimmerman does and that is actually pretty sad.
Now most of you are likely scratching your heads and wondering...."What was that she said about NOT beating a dead horse?" Yes, the Zimmerman case although still pertinent water cooler talk, is pretty much old news. However, there have been multiple cases of late where innocent people die not because they looked suspicious or someone was afraid of them but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh and did I forget to mention.....they were white and were killed by blacks? Is this a race issue or just a tragic turn our country has taken?
Last week some young teens, two black and one white, killed Australian student Christopher Lane who was going to school in Oklahoma on a baseball scholarship. He had done nothing wrong but these young men wanted to kill someone. They were bored and preliminary reports stated that they wanted to know how it felt to fatally injure someone and watch them die. One even posted their exploits on facebook. As a white American I will NOT stand up and call racist on this. I will however say that if the president were to speak out on street killings, this incident might have been the time and place. Lane was not an American but he was here legally and thus deserved better from this country. Also, the president is as much white as he is black. Why has there been no impassioned words that if he had a son, he might have looked like Lane? Does our president only identify with the black side of his DNA? To me it speaks volumes.
Then there was the killing of Delbert Belton, the 88 year old WWII vet from Washington state. Again a horrific crime where Belton was in the wrong place at the wrong time and randomly selected by two black teens who overpowered him and beat him to death. This time there were no guns involved so likely this did not send any kind of anti-gun message but for goodness sake there were many reasons that the president should have spoken out on this one. Belton was elderly, he was a United States Vet having served his country in WWII and he was a random target. The first two should have been reason enough for the president to speak out but although the media has covered both...you could have heard crickets where the current administration, Sharpton and Hollywood are concerned. Could Belton have not been your grandfather Mr. President? Apparently a truly innocent foreign exchange student and a military vet don't deserve the same outrage that a wannabe thug deserves (I am calling him this because of his own facebook picture postings).
So now I ask....what is wrong with the big picture here? Bottom line is no one should have to die at the hands of another. That being said, we all have the fight or flight instinct and often we don't have any choice but to fight. There is enough reasonable doubt about that being the case in the Zimmerman trial that the jury found him innocent. However, Zimmerman did not get off scott free. In fact, not only does he have to live with the fact that he killed another human being but he also has to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder and fearing for his life. There were no winners in this case. The other two cases though, they were deliberate....willful and calculated. They were cold blooded and the alleged criminals did it for fun. THAT is where the outrage should be. THAT is where we should start looking at ourselves and this generation who thinks killing someone is a good way to stop boredom. THAT is when the president should speak out and speak up, not to stir the pot and play the race card but to point out the REAL state of the Union and send the message that regardless of political stance, race, creed or color.....these acts will not be tolerated. Instead we get crickets.
So now my friends, think about what I have said. Compare the outrage in the Martin/Zimmerman case from all the movers and shakers to the complete silence over the Lane and Belton case. Ask yourself why. Does it really have to do with race, does it have to do with agenda or does it have to do with a little bit of both? Are Lane and Beltons lives any less precious to their families than Martins was to his? Think about it and please let me know what you think.
Until Monday.....here's hoping you have a fantastic weekend!
4 comments:
I had not heard about the Belton case. Of course I don't pay much attention to the news. You make some valid points. I am very interested to see where the comments on this blog go.
Race is a two sided card. Blacks are every bit as racist as they claim whites are. They wish whites dead publicly and without fear of persecution. White people could not and would not do the same and yet we get pegged as the racists. Great blog.
I agree that Obama made the Martin case political. I also think that you are right when you talk about his agenda being gun control. I think all those Hollywood libs who line their pockets with our hard earned money and yet say we shouldn't make so much need to shut their pie holes and stay out of politics. Many an actor I refuse to spend money on their movies now because they chose to use their fame politically. I really liked todays blog but I bet others will not.
Well said. I'm with you. The world/US has been steadily going to poo in a hand basket. People pick and choose what they stand up for/against. I don't like Actors who politic. I don't care for the current administration. I honestly think the government is crap and full of self glory. I often question why we only hear the bad news, I'm sure there is plenty of good out there. Wish the news was more balanced in its reports. I really like your points you made. Have an awesome weekend as well.
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