Is Obama telling us not to kill black boys because one could potentially become president? I don't think we should shoot black boys no matter what they become. Potential value doesn't determine who should or should not be killed.

Im not being nitpicky. Language/ideas that a society adopts is important.

a black teenager. It's letting people see that even the President can see himself in that kid. We all should see ourselves in him.

I'm a white woman in my 40s who has strolled down the street alone late at night in a neighborhood that has had a few violent episodes.

Anyone who has walked down the street at night minding their own business might be able to see themselves in Trayvon Martin.

And empathy by proxy to the listeners; IOW, if we cannot empathize with Trayvon Martin, then we can empathize with a famous/powerful person that can empathize with Trayvon Martin. I still have concerns though about people only relating to the social value aspect (as that preserves the notion some individuals beyond redemption can be permissibly purged).

He is relating to the inherent racism in this country - how people treat black kids different than they do white kids.

Like this, captioned "Still not guilty?"

What I am wondering is what message is he intending to send to society with this statement? What comes to mind is:

1) I (the president) can relate to this situation do to my ethnicity
2) Don't shoot people who might have potential social value

Is it not important what messages are sent to society? I ask this on an implicit level as well as an explicit one.

Its also sad that others cannot empathize with Trayvon Martin unless someone powerful/famous has to publicly state how they are similar. We are all fucking humans. We are all similar. We don't need potential value to avoid killing eachother. We don't need famous people to tell us we are all the same. What is fucking wrong with people? If people don't get it, regardless of what the president is trying to say, they aren't going to

Are you just trying to be dishonest about what he said? Or maybe you simply can't get past your own prejudices.

Frankly, I don't want an argument about stalking and killing black children to be dictated by what they may become. Its wrong no matter who and what they are now or in the future. That is my point, plain and simple. What prejudices are you suggesting I have?

He has never said there is any group of people in this country who don't have potential social value. If anything he has said the complete opposite. But maybe facts just confuse you. You can have the last word.

But maybe facts just confuse you

And I was waiting.

A lot of people most certainly take what he said in many different ways. I don't think its absurd to suggest one message is: "don't kill some people because they could potentially become the president/ceo/professor".

One of the reason SYG laws don't work is because they make the law subjective and vulnerable to prejudice. Those people who are deemed as non-valuable to society are permissable to kill to juries. We know these people to be former convicts, prostitutes, the mentally ill, minorities and most certainly the homeless. Anyone that society (or communities) judge to have no value most certainly do not get a fair shake as a defendant, and people cannot properly empathize with them as victims (thereby letting their killers go free). This is a social sickness that needs to be addressed, and not necessarily reinforced by suggesting we just eliminate what groups we devalue. Value should not be part of the way we treat each other. Our perceptions of value (or potential value) should not be part of how we apply laws. It does not matter who and what a victim is, or who and what an offender is. Are we a civil society or not?

At the end of the day, if what the president says makes one less person get profiled, stalked and killed, thats a positive. Its beyond ludicrous though if a human would only do that because they think their potential victim might have potential value.

you!!!

Do you disagree with anything? Or do you just like posting ROFL icons?

impromptu speech

Way to go!

it is breathtaking. Whoever did this is amazing at photo manipulation.

I took it to mean that any innocent young black male could be the victim of such violence merely because of the color of his skin. It is the same feeling I got when I heard about the plane that crashed in SFO. My son had flown in to that airport from Seoul a few days earlier and I literally felt sick knowing that had that happened three days earlier he would have been in danger.

If Zimmerman racially profiled Trayvon before killing him and then was literally given a "get out of jail free" card because his victim was a young black male wearing a hoodie, then it makes sense for all black males to think "yes, that could have been me". The state of Florid has (IMHO) just legalized the right to kill any black citizen, because they are black. What happened to that blindfolded lady with the scales, symbolizing that we live in a country where justice is blind.

If anyone has any doubts about how this law disproportionally affects blacks, look at what happened to Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville, when she fired a warning shot to get an abusive spouse to leave her property. She did not even aim the gun at him but she got twenty years in jail. She was a young black female with no criminal record dealing with an abusive husband and unless I am missing some important details, why was she not protected by this law.

The moral of this saga, at least to me, is if you are black and live in Florida, be afraid, be very afraid. You are living in a state that has legalized year round hunting season on all black people with just one caveat, it cannot be used as a defense by the any black people.

Is water wet? He had two things to go on...a hoodie (which I have successfully worn as a white guy for years without being shot) and the color of his skin, which he told to the 911 operator.

There is no "if".

I don't think there is a soul alive who doesn't know this. Those people claiming he didn't are just having a giggle

that there was no conclusive proof that Trayvon was profiled. I prefer to state positively only established facts. I try never to feed the trolls.

I am also fairly sure that there people out there refuse to believe Zimmerman did profile Trayvon and I believe that includes some of the posts on this board.

It's like he's shifting the goalposts of worth from race to class or social position.

With all due respect Mr. President, these people will shoot you tomorrow given a chance. Age has nothing to do with it.

Those people would shoot you or me just as quickly. It's what they live for. It's what they daydream about as they stroke their guns. Zimmerman was the one who got to be lucky enough to live the fantasy as far as they're concerned.

Creepy.

The President (and the Secret Service) have been KEENLY aware of all the people who'd like to off him and his family for no other reason than his skin color.

But for those who don't live that existence and may not be able to empathize, he is reminding them that the "otherization" of Trayvon Martin was an ugly act that gives people an excuse to eliminate others who are visually different based on nothing other than stereotypes.

And he pointed out that he was no different years ago - a black male minding his own business while people around him reacted in fear and suspicion.

But I think it was specifically designed for blacks and it's about hatred not crime. It's legalized lynching.

They are exploding Oh I am having so much fun turn on your TV's they are fucking freaking out

I cannot STAND pundits and cannot stand to hear them blather, but good.

So much for KKKarl Rove's "advice" to the DOJ (and President) to 'let this be the end of it'.

Fuck that.

every racist ignorant talking head is on tv. they are calling on the telephone and running to satellite stations to say the President will only be the President for black people. Oh help me this is good!!!

nt

The President was outstanding today.

Let us not just hear this and cheer him on. Let's start to do something positive towards making changes.