Trayvon Martin: The Story Continues

Sigh. Big HUGE sigh. The racial ignorance that plagues America's non-visibly Black people, at times, knows no boundaries. I just read an article about a company selling shooting range targets with the now ubiquitously known Trayvon adornments of a hoodie, Skittles, and a can of ice tea because the sellers "support Zimmerman and believe he is innocent and that he shot a thug". Innocent? The man has confessed to shooting Trayvon Martin. A thug? The kid was just 17. Now, could Trayvon have been on the road to thug-dom? Sure. But that night, he wasn't doing thuggish things. That night, he was just walking through the neighborhood, minding his own business, unlike the thuggish behavior of George Zimmerman.

Selling those targets was tasteless and a poor showing of humanity. Labeling the boy as just a thug takes away the fact that he was still a human being. It's what people do, this labeling, so that they feel better about what transpires. History is filled with labeled people, the "they" versus "us", ones stripped of their humanity. It happened to the Jews, the Africans, women, Japanese, Cubans, girls, Protestants, Catholics, and many, many other people. This type of labeling is just simply wrong.

So, within the space of a few minutes, I land on another article which talks about some Cornell students pelting other students, Black students, with bottles as the Black students walked by. The assailants even told one of the students, "Come up here, Trayvon", referring to the young man who was killed in February. This incident reminded me of my stay in Santander, Espana just 11 years ago. While there, I was pelted by bread, shot at with water guns, and called many names in Spanish by a few of the inhabitants there. Apparently, Black people don't live in that part of the country.

It is so unfortunate that Black people have to be repeatedly discriminated against. I want to yell that this is 2012 and all of our knowledge proves there's very little difference between a Black person and the Others and that most people, including those who don't look it, possess "Black" blood. But, as I'm finding, the world is not an intelligent place. This country, for instance, boasts an 80% illiteracy rate. Can I really expect a person who can not really read to understand something that isn't explicitly and verbally taught? Some people still think Black people are 3/5 of a person, that a Black person can not lead a country (at least, Betty White doesn't feel that way), that laziness and a fondness for chicken are only reserved for melanin-endowed.

Big big BIG sigh.

Positive note: Trayvon's mother's colleagues have donated sick time to her, accumulating over 8 months worth of sick time, time she's definitely going to need to see this case through. It's good to know there's some good out here in this world.

QoMV

About Time

Today, George Zimmerman has been charged with 2nd degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin. Today, George Zimmerman has turned himself in. Today doesn't feel like a victory. A child is dead and the justice system may as well as killed him. It is a justice system that allows regular citizens to wield guns in their cars as if all people on Earth are certifiably sane. It is easier to get a gun than it is to (legally) get a driver's license. It is, also, a justice system that allows people to say they feel threatened even when they, themselves, are the threat; even when they, themselves, stalk a young man (too tall to be called a boy, I suppose) with a car; even when they, themselves, disobey the police; even when they, themselves, get out of their car with a gun; and I repeat, even when they, themselves, are the threat.

A man, slowly following you through a neighborhood, at night, gets out of his car with a gun. What would you do? Adrenaline tells us to fight or flight. Trayvon, a human being in the eyes of the law, of God, did what anyone might have thought to do-- defend himself. So even if Trayvon did reach for the gun, as Zimmerman says, that would mean it was visible and out in the open. Everyone knows that if you have a gun out in the open, you better know how to use it. Trayvon, from Miami, would know that rule. Trayvon, from Miami Gardens, would know the real danger a gun poses.

Given the grasping straws that we call facts in this case, it only made sense to, at least, arrest the guy. And, today, we finally have that arrest but the police didn't do it; Zimmerman did it himself. So, no, it doesn't feel like justice has been served. All I feel is that now I can stop holding my breath only to drag in oxygen before clamming up again because I don't think, given the shoddy work of the Sanford police, that Zimmerman will get that conviction-- not of 2nd degree murder.

And, should he get released, it's guaranteed that all hell is going to break loose.

QoMV

A (Un)Healthy Dose of Fear

Amandla aka Rue

I'm tired of talking about race. Tired of having it occupy my mind. Tired of having fear furrowed inside the fiber of my being. But I must admit, after recent news happenings regarding the Trayvon Martin case, an Iraqi woman's death filled by hate in California, and the world wide whine (click the link, it's an enlightening read) about the movie casting of a character found within the imaginings of a fictional book, I'm a little scared.

Growing up in the 80s/90s in a very decent neighborhood had allowed me a certain level of naivety. Oh, I knew racism existed but I thought it was just in pockets. Common sense would tell you that all Black people are not evil and all Middle-Eastern folks are not terrorists. Technology has given voice and, in some cases, anonymity, to those filled with ignorance and the ability to use a computer. And the ignorant follow blindly behind the ignorant. That doesn't bode well for our future.

Twitter Hate on the Hunger Games Casting of Rue

As I said on Facebook: You would think I would be used to this. But, strangely, I'm not. It still hurts. But it also makes me all the more determined. Hate over the Hunger Games. Smh...just leaves me to ask the question, what's a Black life worth? Surely it should be the same as a life. Period. What does color truly matter? It's less than a 1% difference in the DNA. 


But I've got to realize that racism is taught and tolerance isn't and, if it is, it's, sometimes, taught with a blithe sense of superiority: "This is our duty to help the poor starving Black children of Africa..." Sigh. I'm just so tired of it all but it doesn't seem to be going away. 

Black is not a disease. It is not an impairment. It is not a disability or a disadvantage. It is just another level of difference to the outer layer, the surface of a person. Not all that different than having blue or green eyes, red or blonde hair. It's a mutation that evolution saw as advantageous. Guess evolution didn't plan on some mammals obtaining and retaining a prehistoric-reptilian-sized barbaric brain. I bet these are the same people who profess a love of God, who ask to be accepted because of their sexuality, who plot on bursting through cafeteria doors, wielding high-powered rifles and laying waste to the lives of their peers. It must make them feel worth something to glare at a person with an obvious difference. I have pity for them. But I'm not stupid; I, also, have a healthy dose of fear.


QoMV

Source: tyrawm

Mental (Un)Rest

I wanted to find something else to talk about this weekend other than Trayvon Martin but, until today, the case consumed me-- the injustice, the ramifications, the likelihood that any of my children could be just as affected, the realization that I, as a Black mother, have to have a talk with my sons about what it means to be Black males in this society and that I, as a Black woman, wasn't aware that there was a difference between the two genders.

Unlike the President, I do have a son, two of them. My oldest son could be Trayvon; in fact, with a quick glance, he is. So I'm terrified scared shitless of what the future holds for my children until they cross the line of 25 years old, the year, it seems, when maturity catches up to physicality. My heart is arrested with the possibilities and the uncertainty. There is so much hatred in this world, as well as fear. And, sometimes, justifiably so because, sometimes, especially in certain neighborhoods/cities, the bogeyman is Black.

But I have to wonder if the knowledge of knowing you are guilty by pigmentation does not assist in creating the problem. It hurts to be judge by the content of my skin rather than the content of my character. But, with the news and the stories from Black men detailing similar situations in which they were unfairly regarded as something to fear, I'm realizing Black men have it far worse. It's hard not to have a chip on your shoulder, to not fulfill the prophecy because everyone already thinks they know how the story goes, so why not give it to them. And I'm going to have to somehow let my children know the rule of this game called Life without making them feel less than because of the circumstances of their birth.

How do you do that? How do you tell them to behave less than without making them feel less than? How do you tell them that their difference is dangerous and detrimental to their well-being because of some perceived notion that has nothing to do with them and everything to do with the scary nigger stories told around white/other campfires or the lies laid out in white/other living rooms? Not all, mind you, but enough of them, enough to make cases like the Trayvon Martin tragedy reverberate through Black households all across the nation, inspiring men to reveal the silent degradation they had to endure, inspiring mothers to reveal their fears for their children.

I wanted to talk about something else, to not allow my fear to take hold of my mind, to live as if that day never happened. But it did and I can't talk about much else-- not the GOP's War on Women, not the Miami Heat winning over Orlando or getting slaughtered by Oklahoma City, not even the fact that I'm not sure that I want to continue blogging under this page now that my students have stalked me and now read up on my thoughts (that'll be another post, maybe. I hate the thought of having to censor myself).

The Miami Heat showing support.

This case, well, not a case seeing as how dude has YET to be arrested and, apparently, his whereabouts are unknown (safe for him I suppose. No neighborhood watchman to be on the alert for). Anyway, this tragedy has given me a reason to not sleep at night. I am now a parent who worries about something I can't change:

My son could be Trayvon Martin.

Rest in Peace/Paradise, Trayvon. <3

QoMV

Race Card Pulled

I'm usually the last black person in the building to holler about race, even when I was pulled over by cops while in the Falls area b/c they said they saw smoke coming from my car (I don't smoke), even asked me how I, a college educated-- hell, high school educated person, knew the word "valid" when I used the word regarding my driver's license, even when a friend (Tq) and I were followed by cops while driving in the Pinecrest area at night b/c, I guess, we didn't fit the profile of million-dollar home inhabitants, even when an older white gentleman moved his wallet from his back pocket to his front while walking in front of me, even when I sat unwaited on in the Hard Rock in Puerto Rico (again w/ Tq) for about half an hour before we complained to the manager (and was given whatever we wanted for free-- we ordered all kinds of sh*t [we were tipsy from our visit to the Bacardi Factory]), even when the northern Spaniards pelted me w/ bread and shot me w/ water guns, calling me all kinds of names in Spanish, leaving me to hide in my dorm room for two weeks before I finally said f*ck it and flaunted my big beautiful black body all over Santander. But, even I've got to say something about this Trayvon Martin case. This sh*t right here, this sh*t right here is pure RACISM. For real. (In case it's not clear, each highlighted word is a link to a different article pertaining to this case-- except for one).

This case has so many black parents afraid for their child(ren). It underlines everything we whisper about. And, in Miami, not just black parents but Spanish/Cuban/Latin ones too b/c our kids come pre-labeled. What is there to say when the state's standardized test is used to determine how many jails to build? 


The police tapes have been released and I can't bring myself to listen to them. Just reading about how his mother ran out of the room while they played was enough to break my heart. I never want to feel what she's feeling, never want to have to go through the pain of losing a child, especially one so young and so sudden. I can't even bear the thought. 


QoMV

The Harsh Reality of Injustice

This could easily have been my child. What are we supposed to teach our children? "Since you happen to be black and a male, it would be best if you stayed inside the house until the sun comes up so that no one will mistake a jungle juice for a gun." "Since you happen to be black and a male, anyone who feels threatened by your mere existence on Earth is able to gun you down." "Since you happen to be black and male..." Look, I'm already afraid for my child for those very same reasons, he is black and male so society already has a prejudice against him; society already fears him and will not accept him unless he's toting a ball of some sort. It doesn't matter that he speaks proper English, has a quite decent GPA, and is quite mannerable. It all boils down to those two things: 1) black and 2) male. That condition makes him Sisyphus: doomed to push a rock forever up a hill. It's the reality.
Update: Leonard Pitts addressed this better than I could. 

QoMV