Obama: "Trayvon Martin could have been me."

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royalan

Member
He should really stay out of this.

Fuck that.

I think it's important that Obama said something here, or are we supposed to forget that he's a black man that might have at one point shared the experiences of the community that's most outraged by this?

+10 respect, Pres.
 

JDSN

Banned
Who more qualified to talk about racism against african american than a mean that is in a position of power and still has to deal with it? If you cant tolerate certain issue being discussed go back to the kid's table.

I never pictured Obama as the type to have a picture of a gun on his bed.

Trayvon was a gangster wanna-be, something Obama wasn't.

Perhaps he was showing his patriotism through his right to bear arms. Or is that for white people only?
 

RDreamer

Member
I never pictured Obama as the type to have a picture of a gun on his bed.

Trayvon was a gangster wanna-be, something Obama wasn't.

We sure live in a strange country. Picture of a gun? Gangster wanna-be. Carry a gun around and actually end up shooting someone with it? Law-abiding citizen defending yourself.
 

Measley

Junior Member
It definitely could have been President Obama and/or anyone else. However, the outcome might have been different with each individual person. Would there have been a physical confrontation if the person was someone else? Not necessarily. Every person is different in temperament and in the way they deal with confrontation.

If you believe Zimmerman's side of the story.

Zimmerman could have just as easily started the entire fight. Thus, it doesn't matter who you put there, the end result would have been Zimmerman putting a hole in someone's chest, or Zimmerman pinning some innocent black kid on the concrete.
 

akira28

Member
Fuck that.

I think it's important that Obama said something here, or are we supposed to forget that he's a black man that might have at one point shared the experiences of the community that's most outraged by this?
.

he's half-white! dammit! I'm so sick of having to remind people of that...
what about the experiences of white people?
 
Great, now republicans will mention this for the next 3 years.

Because Lords knows they keep bringing up the "Looked like my son" comment he made.

Fuck it, I'm glad he said it. I personally would like to see the Stand Your Ground laws rewritten the rules for lethal self defense should be crystal clear in terms of what's acceptable and not acceptable.

he's half-white! dammit! I'm so sick of having to remind people of that...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule
 

casmith07

Member
LMAO. 'Cause racism is over and we should suppress any discourse on the objective disparity in equality blacks face when dealing with any law enforcement scenario. Damnit Obama, now we might have to get off of our lazy asses and have a conversation!



--- this is about as bold of a statement he could make without people igniting the pitchforks.

He's our first black President. When he wakes up in the morning people ignite the pitchforks.
 

T'Zariah

Banned
So...let me get this straight. Obama should "stay out of this"...why?

Why is that there's this idea that if we *don't* talk about race then somehow the issue will go away!?

The idea that we can't have a serious and open minded discussion about race is fucking ludicrous!

You literally wouldn't say that about ANY other social issue.

World Hunger. "You know, I'm worried about those starving children....but SHHH be quiet! If we just stop talking about it, food will just miraculously appear on the table!"

Crime. "You know, crime in this country is ridiculous, but SHHHH be quiet. We can't talk about crime! It only makes the criminals worse!"
 

Josh7289

Member
Is it entirely about race? Last I heard, evidence pointed toward Zimmerman not profiling Martin based on his race. It's being made about race, but I don't see much evidence pointing toward the original case being about race at all (in regards to Zimmerman's motivations for what happened that night).

This seems like a poorly chosen case for this type of argument.

And what evidence would this be? The judge ordered that race not even be brought up in the courtroom, because sweeping problems under the rug always works out well in the end.
 

Shrennin

Didn't get the memo regarding the 14th Amendment
And what evidence would this be? The judge ordered that race not even be brought up in the courtroom, because sweeping problems under the rug always works out well in the end.

Jurors have been asked about it and the ones that I have heard said that they didn't think the original motivation was in regards to Martin's race.

There's also this:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/12/justice/florida-teen-shooting

Then you have people like Stevie Wonder vowing to never play in Florida again? This has been made a racially charged case, but this case hasn't shown much proof in regards to any racial motivations.
 

Baraka in the White House

2-Terms of Kombat
We sure live in a strange country. Picture of a gun? Gangster wanna-be. Carry a gun around and actually end up shooting someone with it? Law-abiding citizen defending yourself.

Shit, it's simpler than that.

White guy brandishing a gun in a photo? 2nd Amendment patriot

Black guy brandishing a gun in a photo? Thug
 
GZ can do better... he had an ACTUAL LOADED GUN. In his hand. Which he then shot TM to death with. I'd say that makes him more of a gun enthusiast.

For real. Zimmerman supporters attempting to question Martin's character by associating him with guns, of all things, is ridiculous. It would be hilarious if the subject weren't so depressing.
 

KingGondo

Banned
We sure live in a strange country. Picture of a gun? Gangster wanna-be. Carry a gun around and actually end up shooting someone with it? Law-abiding citizen defending yourself.
Thank you for expressing this way better than I could have.

Also, I propose that the next person to quote the second post and type "THIS" or "." without elaborating be banned. Adds nothing to the conversation we're trying to have in this thread.
 
I don't see anything wrong with Obama commenting on this. The atmosphere surrounding this case is something that I think America needs to have a discussion about. Its just so messed that our society is still in a state where Black Americans feel so insecure about their place in society. Whether you think posts expressing fear over the value of black lives are hyperbolic or not, the fact that that kind of fear is still lingering is just disturbing and heartbreaking. We can't keep sweeping these kinds of discussions under the rug.
 

BLACKLAC

Member
The funny thing about the pathetic outrage some GAFers(and a lot of right-wing Americans) have to the Presidents comments is that nothing he said was false.
 

Jarmel

Banned
No.

I'm actually really glad that he talked about it, and that he spoke honestly about it.

Race issues aren't going to be resolved in America without having an open, honest dialog about them.

I agree. That shit shouldn't be swept under a rug. There needs to be a honest and open dialogue about this.
 

GreekWolf

Member
Had Obama came out and said this after all this had died down I could see some validity in your comment.

But now? Your comment appears desperate.

Not at all. You can't bring water to the boiling point if the burner has already been switched off.

To be fair, I don't think the President's intention is to fan the flame. I'm just a bit concerned that an ill-timed comment, regardless of it's validity, can be potentially inflammatory.
 
Hispanic is not a race. Hispanics can be white, black or brown.

images

martin-sheen.jpg

tve93238-20090531-2541.jpg
 

Yoritomo

Member
He says all this while continuing the war on drugs.

Sure it's bad when it happens with everyday people, but it's systemically bad when those same actions of presumed guilt occur by law enforcement and courts.

Good could come of this in changing some of those issues but it's now going to be about a law that didn't really apply to the case.
 

Zhengi

Member
If you believe Zimmerman's side of the story.

Zimmerman could have just as easily started the entire fight. Thus, it doesn't matter who you put there, the end result would have been Zimmerman putting a hole in someone's chest, or Zimmerman pinning some innocent black kid on the concrete.

I agree on the part of Zimmerman could have started the fight.

However, every person is still different and they could have handled the situation in another manner. Some could have tried to escape. Some could have tried calling 911 to report Zimmerman for assault. Not everyone is gungho about wanting to fight. So you are wrong that the situation would have been 100% the same across the board as the Trayvon Martin incident.
 

akira28

Member
The funny thing about the pathetic outrage some GAFers(and a lot of right-wing Americans) have the the Presidents comments is that nothing he said was false.

But he shouldn't say anything, so it can all go away faster. Too many things in the news.
 
No, that's not what I meant to say at all. Which group of white people do you think might possibly be compelled to think deeper about the underlying issues? Certainly not the braindead soccer moms and white collar joes, residing within the safety bubble of suburbia, which is almost certainly the demographic that needs a healthy dose of self-reflection.

Yeah, but the reason those people can ignore it is because it isn't out there and loud enough. When the president is talking about race issues, it's harder to ignore.
 

KingGondo

Banned
I agree on the part of Zimmerman could have started the fight.

However, every person is still different and they could have handled the situation in another manner. Some could have tried to escape. Some could have tried calling 911 to report Zimmerman for assault. Not everyone is gungho about wanting to fight. So you are wrong that the situation would have been 100% the same across the board as the Trayvon Martin incident.
Even if Trayvon punched Zimmerman first--heck, even if he beat the hell out of Zimmerman--he didn't deserve to die.
 

Aristion

Banned
Obama is as white as Zimmerman.

Again, I have no idea what you're talking about. Zimmerman is white (he has a somewhat Mestizo appearance from his mother) but he is mostly white.

Race is something that is attributed to you based upon your appearance.

Society sees Zimmerman as hell of a lot whiter than Obama.
 

ivysaur12

Banned

Again, why? We don't have national conversations about race and this is one of the few times in recent memory (probably since the 2008 election) that we have. Why should the first minority "stay out of this"? He made a very nuanced statement, but one that also reflects that there was some level of profiling of Trayvon and how we initially perceive black men in this country.
 

coldfoot

Banned
You can't "change" the second amendment per say but the second amendment is so ambiguous that it has been reinterpreted many times over the history of the United States. The most recent interpretation of "any citizen has the right to own a HANDgun" is fairly recent if my history is correct (could be wrong). That's why states are free to restrict assault rifles and the like.
Should be changed to "any citizen has the right to own whatever weapons were available when the constitution was written", so you're limited to flintlock pistols and breech loaded muskets at best.
 
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