It's not irrelevant. Though that seems to be the narrative that many people are going with.
Obama: "Trayvon Martin could have been me."
- Thread starter The Librarian
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What do you think politicized means?
It is important, I for one think Zimmerman should have been charged with manslaughter, but politics should have no say in such a case like this. It's only adding fuel to the fire.
Because America gives a shit about NSA?
It's a conspiracy theory to say that our administration would want another news story to divert the negative attention away from them if one is available? Ya ok there buddy, keep trolling.
American's should.
Marion Cobretti
Member
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
The hell he shouldn't. He's the president of the United States. He's allowed and sometimes needs to speak on issues like this. It's literally what Presidents do.
KINGofCRA5H
Member
Pollux
Member
I love how Obama is black...but Zimmerman is White.
Gold_Loot
Member
I somewhat agree. He doesn't need to publicly talk about the issue just yet. It would be like throwing logs on the fire , BUT I DO think it would only be responsible to look into the issues at hand when it comes to our laws.
Mr_Antimatter
Member
Whats funny is for the last week people have been griping that he hadn't said anything. Now that he has, they are saying he should have stayed quiet.
Often, the very same people were complaining each time.
TangoAlphaLima
Member
For the record, I agree with you. The U.S. Supreme Court on the other hand, does not.
And really, I just don't think the Second Amendment was ever meant to be applied directly to the states, as the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted it to do.
Agreed. It also keep racial tensions high, which is despicable.
Yes, actually. Do you think that Obama is the White House, twiddling his fingers, sighing in relief at how happy it is that the sheeple have been focused away from the NSA to the GZ/TM case? No. You know who hasn't really responded to the charges against the NSA? The general public. They're even supportive of programs like PRISM by a ~60% margin. That's not a statement of support for the program, it's the reality of the situation. People did not care when it was news.
Twenty7KVN
Member
What does that have to do with anything.
Yeah, totally, let's keep perpetuating the false idea that because Obama is in the white house, institutionalized racism is over.
RIP Racism 2008.
Deified Data
Banned
"Trayvon Martin could have been me."
Cue the conservative masses: "It should have been!"
Cue the conservative masses: "It should have been!"
The Librarian
Banned
How is Obama politicizing this? He's speaking the truth here, and it's not like he announced some sort of action he'd take to convict Zimmerman.
This will totally hurt his re-election chances.
Obama's view of America for one thing.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I have no clue why he should. He's the president and he's a distinguished attorney. I sort of care what he thinks about it.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
I cannot fathom how a rational, reasonable mind could come to that conclusion. I honestly have no idea.
entremet
Member
Memento_Mori15
Member
I don't get why people are saying he should stay out of it. What reason do you believe it would be best for him to stay out? He's pointing out that the laws should be reexamined, which I agree.
empty vessel
Member
Stand Your Ground is not an irrelevant detail. And policy is exactly what politicians should talk about. Policy should be politicized.
Pollux
Member
Obama is as white as Zimmerman.
Zoramon089
Banned
I didn't realize Obama had the power to override state laws and judicial decisions. Thanks for letting us know!
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Unsure why "politicizing" the issue is a bad thing.
"politics" is how things actually change, legally. No use in pretending otherwise.
"politics" is how things actually change, legally. No use in pretending otherwise.
The Obama administration was getting CRUSHED before this Zimmerman verdict. Any news story that can run headlines over the NSA scandal is fine with them.
I know many people that do. It's sad that you don't care about our rights.
Not in America, or the general world.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
It seems to me like these are fairly temperate words;
- He has no public opinion on the verdict, redirects the conversation away from the jury and towards the cultural consensus on self-defence that underlies the laws that allow something like this to happen.
- He offers that in a situation like this, self-defence is not clear because both participants would have some basis of a claim to self defence (Zimmerman because Trayvon purportedly hit him, Trayvon because he felt Zimmerman was following or stalking him) and notes that situations like these pose a challenge to the initial assumption that the escalation of violence in the name of self defence is justifiable
- He details the racial undercurrent of the case and how it's perceived in black America without suggesting that Zimmerman had racial intent.
- He talks about how it registers for him personally
It matches his earlier reaction, which was basically "Juries are a part of our society, let's set the verdict aside and peacefully reflect on the tragedy itself and what discussion we can have as a society so that we have fewer than them"
I'm not sure they'll have a particularly positive impact or that the people he hopes to reach will hear him, but as a comment I don't see anything unwise here.
- He has no public opinion on the verdict, redirects the conversation away from the jury and towards the cultural consensus on self-defence that underlies the laws that allow something like this to happen.
- He offers that in a situation like this, self-defence is not clear because both participants would have some basis of a claim to self defence (Zimmerman because Trayvon purportedly hit him, Trayvon because he felt Zimmerman was following or stalking him) and notes that situations like these pose a challenge to the initial assumption that the escalation of violence in the name of self defence is justifiable
- He details the racial undercurrent of the case and how it's perceived in black America without suggesting that Zimmerman had racial intent.
- He talks about how it registers for him personally
It matches his earlier reaction, which was basically "Juries are a part of our society, let's set the verdict aside and peacefully reflect on the tragedy itself and what discussion we can have as a society so that we have fewer than them"
I'm not sure they'll have a particularly positive impact or that the people he hopes to reach will hear him, but as a comment I don't see anything unwise here.
talisayNon
Member
no he fucking shouldnt
Pollux
Member
True, because that doenst match the message of Zimmerman being the white man keeping the black man down.
Tell that to the Census or anyone who ever sees them. That's where the race comes in.
??????????????
People do not care about PRISM or the NSA.
I care about it. But people don't. Stop thinking that Obama was in "deep trouble" over the NSA before this. You're making things up.
Kano on the Phone
Member
Racial tensions are already high, I think you meant to say "makes white people have to think about racism."
Because the power of the U.S. govt. is split between three branches means the President can't speak his honest opinion on a national issue (which the case has become)? What? This is almost as stupid as me linking something like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_the_United_States. Completely irrelevant here.
I think you need to stay out of this.
It is true, but not for the reasons you're trying to conjure.
Yeah, why the hell should he remain quiet? Presidents are supposedly trendsetters and able to inform a large swath of the public. Whether Zimmerman was racist or not, Obama needed to speak on how extremely disproportionate the criminal justice system is in prosecuting blacks vs whites. I've spoken to educated whites who truly have no clue anything is awry nowadays. Millions of "well meaning" Americans honestly believe racism in all forms is behind us, outside of a few extremists, and incorrectly believe race played no factor at any level of this case. They have no clue black people and all people of color constantly deal with with subtle, pervasive racism like the kind Obama mentioned today.
I dont give a fuck if you think this was none of his business. Someone very high up in power needed to set things straight about race definitely playing a factor. It's a sad joke that a majority white panel of jurors can deliberate at length and never once bring up racism. This new standard of color blindness, acting or oblivious believing the problem isn't there, needs to be torn down.
I dont give a fuck if you think this was none of his business. Someone very high up in power needed to set things straight about race definitely playing a factor. It's a sad joke that a majority white panel of jurors can deliberate at length and never once bring up racism. This new standard of color blindness, acting or oblivious believing the problem isn't there, needs to be torn down.
They're going to go super nuts over it anyway.
Marion Cobretti
Member
QFT.
Would be awesome if the president would really address the issue at hand here, but alas, seems like we're another generation away from that discussion happening beginning.
There's always this at least
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4f9zR5yzY
But... bu... Clearly this is all a political ploy!!!
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