Zimmerman found 'not guilty' of Trayvon Martin's murder

[Kveta]

m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23304198

Bloody hell.

How utterly crap for Martin's family and friends :( and how dangerous for race relations in Florida :(

Classy lady!

Chrissie - I don't think someone who promotes racial profiling as you did earlier in this thread should be a judge of someone's class.

JaquelineHyde - I love that thanks for sharing... hope everyone shares and gets it out there.

I also think your post further down is excellent and wish I could lay things clearly out like you do. There was a protest planned for outside the US embassy today at 4 not sure how widespread it was.

chrissie i am not going to engage with you on his thread, about how classy or not I am. I dont find all your s and 'hahas' appropriate at all

B-37 juror signed a book deal??

Thanks chocolate

I'm going to keep an eye out for any demonstrations coming up that I can get to.

Boomba - Take a frickin chill pill, you're stressin me out now!

I am going to Florida next week, will be interesting to see what is happening out there.

JaquelineHyde - are you in London, there is another one tomorrow.

Will try and link to the facebook event page.

Trayvon

Chrissie, if you find Boomba's mild comments so stressful, you may wish to postpone reading all that evidence I posted for your repeated requests that you said you wanted to do. It's extremely painful and stressful to watch that video, see those faces, those names, those popular and academic studies that show that the racial profiling you thought was okay earlier in this thread has cost people their lives, their families, their sense of safety for their entire lives regardless to how liked or rich they are. That it prevents actual justice being done and actual criminals being caught for the soothing of some people's confirmation biases.

Some like myself think educating ourselves and fighting the fight against oppression is all of our jobs, the idea that none of us are free while others are still being oppressed, that saying the problem isn't there is really just a way of saying that one doesn't want to see the problem and face the painful reality that is around us. But the immune bubble you seem to be in is far more comfortable and less stressful. Won't change anything or make anything better, but it's less stressful.

Link for others:Head Prosecutor comes under fire for her record

Chris dietary - just read this thread and your comments and almost gleeful attitude is quite disgusting, especially this little nugget,

"I'm really surprised actually that the majority of you on here seem to think it was ok for Martin to lay into Zimmerman, throwing punches etc - soon shit himself when he saw that this "crazy, creepy cracker" as he put it, had a gun!"

yes he probably did 'shit' himself as he lay dying (so fucking funny). He would still be alive if Z hadn't took matters into his own hands that night and followed him against the advice of the emergency controllers.

You really are vile and coming across as completely disrespectful to these tragic circumstances and yes, totally racist.

Chrissietay of course.

... you don't get to bang a gavel and say thread closed

Can I just point out that surely that applies to everyone on here, not just those who happen to agree with someone's view?

Yes, there appear to be some ghastly, racist white folk about - equally, it seems there are some black folk determined to see offence where none was intended

For example, in response to a suggestion that Trayvon could have responded in a calmer manner, someone implied this involved subservience to the "masser" What the heck's going on in that person's mind??!!!

Wouldn't it be easier to just accept that there are dreadful people of every race - or would that spoil the agenda of some??

There are dreadful people of every race. I certainly wouldn't deny that personally. I think anyone who did would be very ignorant TBH.

Trayvon should have reacted in a calmer way. That I do not disagree with.

I disagree that he could have. Fight/flight is an extremely powerful response to fear.

It would be much easier to say there are dreadful people in every race, Zimmerman was one, let's move on. But many feel the system failed here and I, personally, am shocked Zimmerman is on the streets.

In my mind, it somehow makes it worse that he's free because he got to label Trayvon with his 'self dence' argument when he's in the ground. It's like extra injustice for his family that not only did he get off, Trayvon is blamed for this terribly sad situation. Extra injustice IMO.

On the subject of narrow minded posters, there's one poster here who is disturbingly racist. I'm not so naive to believe that racism doesn't exist (sadly, it's very prevelant, even here... In the US it seems much worse!) But most posters who disagree about my opinion don't seem so bloody... As another poster put it... Gleeful about this tragedy. Like you for example. You don't agree, but you're not sneering at me for disagreeing IYSWIM?

Also I would be surprised to find anyone agreeing that using terminology like 'they' and us' when referring to difference skin colours isn't racist. Never met anyone who in real life doesn't bristle at being called 'they' in a lump group referencing their skin colour - black, white or Asian -

I'm not so naive to believe that racism doesn't exist

Neither am I - though I don't believe it's as prevalent as some would like to suggest. I also totally agree with you about those who sneer at posts which are, after all, just someone's opinion

Granted we might all hope that people base those opinions on facts rather than hysteria, but I'm especially disturbed by assertions that racism can only be committed by white folk. For me, anyone suggesting that people will behave in a certain way simply on the basis of their skin colour is completely off the map ... but surely we do nobody any favours by suggesting it's all a one way street??

I don't think racism can just be committed by white people towards black people.

Look at Rwanda. Or even The Holocaust. (Yes, that one isn't the best example but if we say, Nazis and Jews it makes a bit more sense)

Genocides based on the width of someone's nose or religion.

But I do believe racism is running wild in the American government.

An example not using white people vs black people... Look at the American reaction to illegal immigrants. Hysteria over 'wetbacks' taking their jobs.

I just don't believe the system isn't failing minorities. I just can't when these cases keep cropping up. I can't ignore the prisons brimming with minorities.

Racism exists in many different forms and I, as a white woman, have experienced racism directed at me from someone of a different race.

My son (mixed race), who was 18 months at the time was racially abused by my white neighbour. We reported it to the police and he was charged and it went to court.

My husband who is black but lighter skinned than a lot of people in his home country, was racially abused by people of the same race as him, because he is lighter skinned.

I hate all racism no matter where it comes from as should everyone, however, some people are cunts and think it is excusable in certain circumstances.

I, as a white woman, have experienced racism directed at me from someone of a different race

I know what you mean as I was attacked by a group of asian youths; physically attacked that is, along with a flood of the most filthy racial abuse

Some of my colleagues were also asian, and when I mentioned their claimed respect for women, I was told "ah yes, but that's amongst ourselves - you're white"

Obviously I wasn't impressed about that, but I certainly didn't immediately view all asians as apologists for violence ... I simply noted that those particular ones were

Puzzled your attack sounds awful and no one black, white, Asian, female or male should have to go through that.

Sadly it happens every day and not enough people stand up and challenge it.

Puzzled that sounds horrendous.

I am married to a black man and we have two daughters. I have been abused on public transport, I even had one man shouting at me calling my two year old daughter the n word in front of other passengers and I live in a very multi racial part of London.

special is right, I am not saying what Trayvon is alleged to have done is right but who knows how we would react in a similar situation.

The point is Zimmerman's reaction was disproportionate and his actions criminal.

A child who was minding his business is dead and someone should be held accountable for that, George Zimmerman.

Yes, there appear to be some ghastly, racist white folk about - equally, it seems there are some black folk determined to see offence where none was intended

For example, in response to a suggestion that Trayvon could have responded in a calmer manner, someone implied this involved subservience to the "masser" What the heck's going on in that person's mind??!!!

I said that 'masser' comment.

Firstly I am not black. Im white.

The 'masser' comment was in response to someone [who I think is actually black IIRC] who posted that had Trayvon acted in a polite, subservient way, then he would still be alive.

My post was calling 'bullshit' on that suggestion and the ideology behind it.

The suggestion that if only black people were subservient/polite to the white people that abuse them, then they wouldn't get hurt/killed is bollocks. It is the same as saying Trayvon derserved to be killed for acting the way he did [which we only have the word of his killer to go on BTW]

Which is the same as saying 'well, if she hadn't chose to tempt my husband with fishnet and such extreme cleavage....'