Rage consumes African Americans over racially motivated murder of Trayvon Martin

CAUTION:  If while reading this post you find yourself being offended by the content, chances are this post pertains to you.  I make no apology for what you are about to read.

     On February 26, 2012, a young African American (black) male by the name of Trayvon Martin was murdered by a Caucasian/Latino man by the name of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood's watch captain.  The killing took place in Sanford, Florida, in the United States of America.  According to Zimmerman, Trayvon was looking suspicious.  What I find interesting is that fact that when Zimmerman dialed 911 (the phone number used to reach emergency personnel) he never told the police what Trayvon was doing that raised his suspicion.  The truth of the matter is that the only suspicion was that Trayvon was a seventeen year old African American male walking in a predominately Caucasian (white) neighborhood wearing a hoodie while carrying an iced-tea and Skittles candy.  Trayvon was not armed, he posed no threat and yet he was shot and killed by a racist!!!  He was shot and killed by a man who was racial profiling!  Trayvon was killed by a man who felt that his life was in imminent danger because an African American child was walking in his neighborhood!  The Sanford police seem to believe that the shooting was justifiable according to their “Stand your ground law,” therefore Mr. Zimmerman was not arrested.  I feel that the reason they believe that the shooting was justifiable is because it is a black child that was killed.  If the roles were reversed; if a Caucasian (White) male would have been shot by a black male, the black male would have been arrested and denied bail. 

     I am beyond outraged over the modern day lynching of Trayvon Martin!  During the years of slavery whites used a noose to kill blacks; in 2012 guns have replaced the noose.  At one point the only people that killed unarmed blacks legally after slavery and got away with it were police officers; today, it seems as though if you are white and you shoot a black it is justifiable homicide.  It seems to me that it is open season on the black male of all ages.

To prove my point here are a few previous injustices that have taken place over the years:

·         In New York City, Sean Bell died by a hail of bullets (50 bullets) fired by a group of five police officers (November 25, 2006)

·         In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Jordan Miles, teen violinist: Beat by police over Mt. Dew bottle (2010)

·         In White Plains New York, Ex-Marine (Kenneth Chamberlain) killed by police, raises questions (March 7, 2012).

     When I read the Newspaper, watch the news, or listen to the radio and hear about unarmed blacks being killed by police officers or civilians I often ask myself, what have we (blacks) done to whites to deserve this?  What have we done to you?  Why are we the most hated race by whites in America?  My people were slaves, beaten almost to death and sometimes to death, hung, raped, tortured, humiliated and more by white people and yet we are the ones who are hated; why is that?   Shouldn’t we be the ones hating?  Shouldn’t we be the ones racial profiling?  Don’t we have a reason to hate?  I don’t see this boomerang of racism ending anytime soon.  As a matter of fact, I feel that it is only going to get worse.  Imagine if we (blacks) truly get fed up and begin to hate.  What will the end result be?  The late Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Intimacy replaced by hand-held devices:

Have you ever gone to a restaurant with a family member, friend, or even a significant other hoping to enjoy a nice meal and catch up on lost time only to be annoyed by the other person’s constant texting or internet surfing on their phone?  Since the conversation is limited because of this annoying behavior you decide to look around the restaurant and realize that out of the ten tables around you there is at least one person at each table either texting or surfing the internet.  I do not know about you but nothing irritates me more than trying to have a conversation with a person that finds texting or internet surfing more important than what you are trying to talk about.

     The cell phones that are being manufactured have the same capabilities as a home computer.  In many cases they are better than an average home computer.  These hand-held devices are known in the United States as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or smart phones.  Having these devices can be fun if you are considerate when using them, convenient if you are in a business profession, and in my opinion problematic because they seem to be replacing the intimacy in relationships.  I say this because I believe intimate conversations should be discussed either over the phone or in person; instead many people are texting intimate conversations.  For example, I once received a text from my son and daughter who reside in North Carolina, on Christmas day that said, “Merry Christmas.”  I would have loved for them to pick up the phone and call me to tell me Merry Christmas instead of texting it to me.  You’re probably wondering as a father why didn’t I pick up the phone and call them; I called and unfortunately they did not answer their cell phones.  Another example of intimate conversations that I feel should not be discussed via text messaging is when my son had gotten in trouble in school.  Instead of calling me to discuss his behavior his mother decided to text.  I asked her to call me so that we could talk about his behavior and she didn’t; for some strange reason she wanted to have a full blown conversation via text messaging.

     These are only a couple of examples of why I feel that intimacy has been replaced by hand-held devices.  If someone wanted to tell you that they love you; would you rather they text it to you or would you rather hear it?  That may sound like a silly question but how many times have you received a text message and thought, why didn’t he/she just pick up the phone and call?  I am sure there has been at least one time in your life that this has happened to you.  Isn’t it irritating?  Does it make you want to scream?  I do not know about you but it frustrates me!!!

Forgive, don’t ever forget, and then move on:

     I recently read an article on ABCNEWS.com titled, “Rihanna, Chris Brown Collaboration Sparks Outrage.”  I must say I was very disappointed in what some fans had to say about the collaboration.  For those of you who don’t know who Rihanna or Chris Brown is and what sparked such an outrage let me explain.

     Rihanna and Chris Brown are two very well-known R&B artists in the United States.  They both make very good music and at one point they were in a romantic relationship with one another.  That relationship dissolved about three years ago because it was said that Chris Brown was physically abusing her.  It was later proven to be true because Chris Brown plead guilty to domestic assault.

     Fast forward to the present; on Monday (2/27/2012) Rihanna released a remix of her song titled “Birthday Cake” featuring Chris Brown.  To add to their collaboration, Chris Brown also released a remix of his song titled “Turn up the music,” guess when……….on Monday.  Guess who is featured on this song………………..Rihanna.

     Many people are outraged because of the physical abuse Rihanna endured while dating Chris Brown.  It is said in the article that, “While some fans have expressed acceptance and even excitement about the collaboration, others are outraged, announcing their loss of respect for Rihanna after seemingly welcoming her former abuser back into her life.”  You’ve got to be kidding me!!  I am not by any means making light of the previous abuse; I am totally against any and all forms of abuse but what ever happened to forgiving, not forgetting, and then moving on with your life?  In my opinion, not forgiving is the start of many problems in the United States.  This woman forgave this man and people are outraged, why is that?  I commend her for having the courage to forgive.  How many times have we wronged someone?  Imagine if they didn’t forgive us and held on to that anger for three or more years.  Is there a thin line between what a person should forgive for and things that they shouldn’t?  Could you forgive a person for what Chris Brown did to Rihanna if they did it to you?  Here is something to think about; Imagine if your higher power didn’t forgive you for your transgressions.