I’m Black and My Life Matters
I’m black and my life matters.
On Saturday July 13, 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted by a jury of 5 white women and 1 Hispanic woman in the killing of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman said that he shot Trayvon in fear for his life after he was attacked “unnecessarily,” even though Zimmerman trailed Trayvon, initiated a fight, then shot a kid to death once he saw he was losing the fight. Two jurors spoke out about their verdicts and one lost her job and social standing, and another tried to get a book deal out of it, but that got canned, thankfully. That juror also referred to George Zimmerman in the friendliest of terms when discussing the trial. Trayvon was black and was considered a threat because he wore a hoodie and was black in a development where there had been some crimes around the same time. Zimmerman fashioned himself a hero and ignored instructions to let the police handle the situation. He was finally going to get one of those “goons”.
The “goon” and his father.
Jordan Davis, a 17 year-old kid from Florida, was shot and killed when Michael Dunn opened fire on the SUV in which Davis sat, listening to music. Dunn said that the music was so loud that it rattled the mirror in Dunn’s car. He said he instructed the kids in the SUV to turn down the music, to which they didn’t comply and got smart with him. Allegedly, Dunn said they threatened to kill him and pulled out what looked to be a shotgun, so, fearing for his life and his fiancee’s life, he opened fire. No other witnesses testified to a gun being in the SUV and when asked initially by police (after denying shooting them) why he shot at them, Dunn replied, “They defied my order.” Jordan Davis was a threatening teenager listening to rap, and that incensed Dunn who had only stopped at the gas station so his fiancee could buy something. Michael Dunn was convicted of attempted second degree murder and faces a maximum of 75 years, but the jury deadlocked on the idiotic 1st degree murder charge. Jordan Davis’s death is not avenged.
I know that we don’t like to talk about it, but with media portrayals of black men always being thugs with sagging pants, illegal guns, drug dealers, murderers, and rapists, it’s easy to understand why other races (and even our own race) fears black men and black people. Our women are always portrayed as being one second away from popping off and our men live lives of perpetual anger. Allegedly. (Never mind that most black men 18-24 are in college and not in jail, but I digress.) It’s easy to see why black lives don’t matter, because black people are wasting them, right? I heard arguments that it’s better that Trayvon Martin was killed because he liked rap and took “gangsta” pictures, smoked weed, and got suspended for fighting. George W. Bush did much worse as an adult and became President, but little Trayvon had to die, and that’s okay, because he had no future. Whatever.
If this alcoholic cokehead (who put his brother’s life in danger) can be redeemed and become a President of the United States, why couldn’t Trayvon have grown up to at least be a doctor?
Black lives matter. We have value, purpose, and futures. I wish there was more coverage shown in mainstream media of black people who are doing the right thing, but that doesn’t sell ad spots. I’m tired of worrying about my little cousins growing up blissfully unaware they’re living in a world that fears them because of the color of their skin. You’d think President Obama’s election would have curbed some of this sentiment, but considering how these people want him dead, too, I shouldn’t be shocked and should stop asking for so much, right? In this, America, you disgust me. Stop being so racist.
What say you to the fact that number of white on Black crimes PALES in comparison to the incidents of Black on Black crime?
I think it’s about equal (maybe less) than white-white crime. It’s a problem, indeed, but isn’t it driven more by the fact that racial groups tend to live together, so that’s why the numbers seem higher? Is it all just the same but we see it as worse because it’s us?
I guess what I’m saying is everyone is all “Black lives matter” when a White person kills a Black person… but when we kill each other…we’re all “Stop Snitching.” O_____o
It has to be heartbreaking when your son, brother, uncle, father goes unnoticed by the media because it was just another Black on Black crime. It seems like if you want a march, you gotta be killed be a White person in Florida.
No, you’re absolutely right. I guess it’s just more stark this way.