Politics & Current Events
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Will the Martin case change anything?
Just a question I have been asking myself. As much as it enrages me, angers, me, sickens me, I can't help but to wonder where was the outrage when the last number of black teens in, say, Baltimore, were killed in 2011 accounted for almost 90% of the 196 murders. I feel the only news you hear of the anger and fight to stop it (at least locally) is our religious community. Not to say others are not fighting, but just from a standpoint of vigils, talking to the media, going into schools....
I would love to carry this anger forward with how many are no longer with us because of violence but fear it will not. I am not really sure what my point is other than I hope this will not stop with this awful case.
Older, less cynical Tef
Re: Will the Martin case change anything?
On a broader scale? I don't know. Terrible crimes happens every day but we just keep on the same path.*
As for Florida, if Zimmerman walks, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see politicians forced to amend the Stand Your Ground law. I'm shocked by the number of prosecutors that apparently refuse to move forward in such cases because of the broad interpretation of the law. I can see this being changed as a result of public pressure.
*ETA: I don't mean to sound glib but I am most certainly cynical, ergo, not optimistic that a broader change will happen.
I think it is telling when Jeb Bush and the main sponsor the the Stand You Ground Bill come out and say that it wasn't intended for this situation.
As for the situation in Baltimore, I'm not hopeful they'll be outrage over inner city murders that were probably gang related. This case was somewhat different in that we have a young boy walking through a presumably safe suburban neighborhood gunned down . If George Zimmerman had been in MS-13 and Trayvon a member of the crips this wouldn't have made the news.
Above Us Only Sky
Whether it's a black boy killed by a white man holding a certain stereotypical view of black men, or whether it is a black boy killed by another black boy in gang violence or similar type crime, I don't think this case will change anything. Both are such complex issues that have so many triggers and causes and deal with ideologies that are so entrenched into our minds and culture. Either one would require multifaceted, nuanced solutions and a huge cultural shift, and frankly, I don't think a sizeable portion of America would be willing to do any of the work that would be necessary to attack this issue.
At the core of the issue is the fact that the lives of Black boys and young men simply are not and have never been valued by American society. They are just not seen as equally important and some people see their presence as a threat to some sort of American way of life. And I don't see that changing anytime soon. Why would it?
Click me, click me!
I agree that the two situations are different. Here in Baltimore the mentality of the murder rate in the city is more like "eh, let them kill each other" kind of attitude until it encroaches on the more general population as in what happened during 4th of July around the Inner Harbor a couple of years ago. We see outrage and fury over the violence when it touches the "places we go" but when it stays in the West/Northwest or "places you know not to go" people aren't really that surprised nor care that much (IMO) about the murder rate.
That is the question....it doesn't seem like it is valued among their community (and I am speaking now just to my field-education, with experience in the inner city) nor society as a whole and that is a HUGE problem. Even starting small seems hard, imo.
Ditto. The bolded 100x over. (see the bump post from last Thursday for evidence)
Zuma Zoom
Umm, who is THEIR in this statement? I need the noun to which this pronoun refers please before I can add to this discussion.
I can't believe the nest ate my extremely long post that I wrote on this.
Basically the black community does care. But the issue is not just violence, it is also poverty, education an mistrust of the judicial system, etc. How do you easily solve those issues? How does a poor community with little resources solve these issues? And then once these issues are solved, it doesn't change the perceptions of those outside the community who hold positions of power. We can't even get the war on drugs legislation repealed even after people who put the legislation in place have recognized it failed and it disproportionately impacted minorities. There are outside forces that need for the community to stay just where it is so it can fill its for-profit jails and provide the face of what is negative in our country.
The answer to all your questions.
Agreed. In fact, I think it's causing them to dig in their heels even more and create a wider rift between people who do see a problem, and those who do not.
*nods*
Black young men in the inner city of Baltimore (sorry, I thought my post was clear). I know many do care, but I have seen too many die and the anger is not to the level as reflected by this case with, say, demonstrations, vigils, etc.
Care was not the best choice for my point as I admit, I am angry and it is more just a thought here, but the public demonstrations were more my focus. I am trying to think of the public demonstrations that have occured in my area, Baltimore, with all the murders that happen year in and year out where so many young men are losing their lives. There is a local paper that lists the murders every week and it is rare that it is not "AA, age 12-18" being spoken about.
I think these issues are very deep and need to be addressed and I am hoping this will spark it, but fear it won't. Some will fear the discussion for fear of looking racist; others will not want to because of it appearing too large to overcome and on and on.
Ok. Got it.
Is it possible that maybe some kids just gave up on caring? If no one takes the time to tell you that you are more than the gang banging images displayed on the nightly news, or that you achieve something other than being the next Kobe or Derrick Rose, then what hope would you have. Look at the most popular movies about black males - the Blind Side, Coach Carter, and now the film P. Diddy wants to make - Against all Odds - it's about black males in the quest to beat all odds through sports. Not that it's a bad thing, but let's be real, everybody is not the next Jordan.