You're taking it too seriously, but it's clear that the 2nd amendment would be written very differently if the founding fathers lived in the modern world with access to its many advanced weapons. Either the government would have to sell you a F-22 if you had the money, or we wouldn't be allowed anything. I think the supreme court's handgun view is pretty accurate for today.
Obama: "Trayvon Martin could have been me."
- Thread starter The Librarian
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He's not talking about the guilty verdict, he's talking about the profiling of black men as assumed lawbreakers. He's talking about the systematic issues that exist within culture that are exemplified in Zimmerman's initial profiling of Trayvon.
They can't vote so he doesn't care about them.
Exactly..I'm proud of what the president said.
Yeah. Heck, that's the point having three different branches that are equal to one another in power; so that they can disagree without having chaos.
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
Not only is he too influential, he's too busy. Get back to running the country! George R.R. Martin, get back to writing that next book!
I'm talking about Trayvon Martin, that specific case, not Driving While Black.
We have no evidence or anything to suggest that Zimmerman profiled Martin. Do you have something to suggest this?
Based on Obama's biography, he could've easily been Travon had that happened 35 years ago.
And I don't think he should stay out of it. I'm tired of presidents taking the easy way out of serious issues just because they need to play things safe. He got elected because he is an influential and opinionated person. Let him speak his mind, just like he did with other hot button issues like gay marriage and marihuana.
By the way, I love this pic:
And I don't think he should stay out of it. I'm tired of presidents taking the easy way out of serious issues just because they need to play things safe. He got elected because he is an influential and opinionated person. Let him speak his mind, just like he did with other hot button issues like gay marriage and marihuana.
By the way, I love this pic:
He should speak out about it more. I don't want my leaders to act as if they need to strike the middle ground all the time to appease the masses, lets get a serious conversation going on instead of expecting our politicians to continue parading a manufactured image on television to keep their approval rating up.
I have no problem with Obama speaking out on this. His opinion is just as valid as anyone else's. I also don't see how ANYTHING he said was wrong or political.
Obama could also be all the people sitting in jail and having their lives ruined by these drug laws (given his past drug use and the disproportionate bias towards minorities under these laws). There is a lot of things wrong with the American justice system.
Also for those that missed Obama's initial comment on the verdict:
Obama could also be all the people sitting in jail and having their lives ruined by these drug laws (given his past drug use and the disproportionate bias towards minorities under these laws). There is a lot of things wrong with the American justice system.
Also for those that missed Obama's initial comment on the verdict:
No, he was not. He was followed because George observed behavior that he, in his mind, found to be suspicious. Had nothing to do with him being black. The media turned this into a racial circus, even going so far as to doctor GZ's 911 call.
Deified Data
Banned
He's not commenting on the decision.
gutter_trash
Banned
or a personal drone
I heard that private bounty hunters can get their own private drones.. LOL
Is that the way that works? I suppose that the President also isn't allowed to comment on the passage of laws or the approval/disapproval of a budget at all, because that's not part of his jurisdiction. Also, I don't want to hear any talk of senators expressing disappointment because of an executive veto, that's disrespectful.
The President respected the law and made a public statement affirming that this is the decision and we have to deal with it, that doesn't mean he can't empathize with Trayvon or the plight he and people like Trayvon Martin face(d) on a daily basis.
PhoenixDark
Banned
Enough of the bullshit, I'm tired of it.
He raised racial tensions....by saying the verdict should be respected and that the few minor riots that have occurred are wrong/disrespect Martin's legacy? What exactly did he say that raises tension.
He merely pointed out the reason why this case has angered so many people, and how it is viewed by black people.
That he was followed by Zimmerman for no reason other than the fact that he was black and wearing a hoodie? Ask yourself: If Trayvon was white, would he have been followed? And why? Probably not. It's a hypothetical. I can't sneak into Zimmerman's mind. But it's a systematic issue that we have in this country. Trayvon was an innocent kid doing nothing wrong that was stalked and then called in as a potential law breaker. Why?
That doesn't speak to the guilt verdict, but more to the assumption of guilt that black people, especially black men, have to deal with.
The Librarian
Banned
This defies the history of the executive in the United States going all the way back to Marbury v. Madison.
The Lamonster
Member
And yet he's never bothered much with the discussion on the prison population and drug offenders. This one just fell into his lap and was a convenient way to score some approval points.
Deified Data
Banned
I'm gonna keep quoting this sentiment every time I see it because I absolutely agree.
I won't disagree with you there, but that's a different conversation. Does that make him a hypocrite? Sure. But he's right to have sympathy here.
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
I for one am proud to have a president who has an opinion and isn't afraid to express it.
+1 respect Mr. President.
+1 respect Mr. President.
Shrennin
Didn't get the memo regarding the 14th Amendment
And his past history shows no case of racism. It does however show that Zimmerman often lacked judgment surrounding situations, and even his ex-wife later stated that he showed no signs of racial bias. Zimmerman didn't have a clean record before this, but it had nothing to do with signs of racism.
What behavior exactly? Walking while black?
The defense themselves brought up a witness saying that two young black men broke into her house.
What was the "behavior" that was suspicious? He was wearing a hoodie? Again, do you think this would have happen, hypothetically, if Trayvon was any white kid?
That has nothing to do with profiling?
You don't have to be a raging n word using racist to exhibit tendencies of assuming bad things of black people. That is what is so insidious about it.
Please provide proof of how George racially profiled Trayvon.
Actually, there was break-ins the week before in his neighborhood with "black suspects". Pretty sure Zimmerman followed him because he was black (or at least, that was a factor in him following him).
But I could be wrong.
EDIT: Here is the transcripts of the 911 call. I assume everyone commenting on this case have heard the tapes, or read this?
http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/326700-full-transcript-zimmerman.html
Where are you getting this information that he followed him because he was black? Did Zimmerman say that? No. Did he use racial slurs in his 911 call? No. Does he have a history of saying racist things? No.
Like I said, we have no reason to suspect that racial profiling was involved.
From what we do know of Zimmerman's history, he's a want-to-be cop who overzealously patrolled his neighborhood after some recent break-ins. There's no evidence that Martin's race affected Zimmerman's actions. At least not to my knowledge. If you can provide some evidence, let me know.
With a hoodie up, it would be hard to see skin color. He didnt say "he's black", I believe he said "it looks like he's black" and that was after being prompted by the dispatch.
The more the opposition fights even having the discussion about SYG and self-defense, the better. It just shows how childish and fear-driven their worldview is - it's obvious to everyone except for the most fanatical true believers. Please continue pretending that Trayvon brought it upon himself, and good luck during the elections.
Wings 嫩翼翻せ
so it's not nice
He should not. Unfortunately though, something bad can come out of it.
And also:
This has nothing to do with the verdict.
Ghost_Protocol
Member
I just watched the video. Is he speaking off the cuff? Because that's incredible. It doesn't look like he's reading off anything.
People are too riled up to have a discussion about it though, even if the statement is very much true.
Pseudo_Sam
Survives without air, food, or water
Where does this "profiling" bullshit even come from? What makes Zimmerman a racist? I've yet to see any evidence.
Trying to paint Zimmerman as a racist is over the top and counter productive. It is too strong a word for how race likely played a role in this case and just causes lots of people to get overly defensive about what role race did play.
If race played a role in the events, it was likely a subconscious suspicion that Martin's race elevated in Zimmerman. And that makes it way harder to confront and as a society overcome.
If race played a role in the events, it was likely a subconscious suspicion that Martin's race elevated in Zimmerman. And that makes it way harder to confront and as a society overcome.
The defense argued that there were previous break-ins which were done by black teens. That was Zimmerman's defense.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Living up to your tag, I see.
There's no way his being black had nothing to do with it. It's literally impossible. Zimmerman made a decision based on visual appearance. Would he have done the same thing to a white person? Maybe, maybe not. We do know that he did what he did when he saw a black dude, though.
HerbertFish
Member
Obama not reading off something for once would indeed be truly incredible.
I kid I kid.
That is correct. It was dark, raining and he was wearing a hoodie. He was asked to describe the person by the 911 dispatch. When asked he said " I think he's black." The dispatch then asked George what he was doing and George said "It looks like he is on drugs. He is moving back and forth, looks like he's up to something." This could be anyone, white, black, brown, red whatever. This whole "hoodie" controversy is another piece of the manufactured outrage the craven media has helped gin up.
Mr.Wreckless
Banned
Yeah because being black played no part in his observation that Trayvon should be followed.
Guess when im followed around in stores its because unknowingly i did something suspicious that warranted being followed.
Ghost_Protocol
Member
Seriously. I cannot stand him.
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