Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1f -- Low people in high places

AP:  South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin face reelection bids in 2014

I believe BFF governors Mary Fallin and Nikki Haley (Fric-n-Frac respectively) long ago put their, silly little heads together and decided that Fric would -- after what seemed to them a reasonable amount of time to be legitimate -- sign that extradition warrant to send Dusten Brown back to South Carolina to face those trumped up felony custodial interference charges cooked up by Frac, the child traffickers Capobiancos and their cadre of politically connected cohorts.

Despite Fric's assurrances on August 13, that she would "not approve the warrant until Dusten Brown has a chance to fight extradition in court, starting with a hearing Sept. 12 in Sequoyah County" and, the fact her office had 90 days to review the warrant, coupled with her smarmy, "My hope, however, continues to be that sending Mr. Brown to face criminal charges in South Carolina is unnecessary" statement -- she decided, less than 30 days later, that Mr. Brown was "not acting in good faith" when he cut off Veronica's visits after Cherokee marshals alerted him the Mister had allegedly threatened to just take her back to South Carolina, in violation of the Oklahoma Supreme Court order to keep her there until Mr. Brown got his day in court.

You've got to be blind if you believe this wasn't all pre-planned once the battlefield changed to Oklahoma.  Hell, they were so confident in their, "On being white and other lies," privileged nonsense, Frac had already gotten her personal "Bull Connor" to dispatch two deputies and a SLED agent to Oklahoma, to the tune of $9,355.96 of SC taxpayer money on August 12!

As I look at all the parties involved in this case, I have to conclude that this is one of the most far-reaching, politically well-protected child trafficking rings in the country.  I'm sure you'll agree that -- from the baby-selling adoption agency and their attorney (who is also the Cabobiancos' attorney -- both currently embroiled in yet another kidnapping from Oklahoma to South Carolina); to the Tea Party enthusiasts who formed The Coalition to Protect Indian Tribes and Families (Melanie Duncan Capobianco and their PR guru, Jessica Munday are founding members), to the SC Guardian Ad Litem who lied to an attachment and bonding expert to get a favorable recommendation; to the attorney for the birth mother who is literally in bed with a clerk in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for SC Justice John Roberts (an adoptive parent himself who should've recused himself when the Supremes ruled on this case) ; to the Family Court judge, a defendant in the Native American Rights Fund civil suit, who ordered the immediate transfer of the child back to the traffickers; to the waffling SC Supreme Court which at first upheld the initial SC Family Court decision to return the child to her father, then flipped and upheld the US Supreme Court's tainted decision; to Melanie Duncan Capobianco's having a "Duncan" in the U.S. House of Representatives; to the BFFs above -- this case is crying out for the Department of Justice investigation this petition demands.  If you care one iota about stopping this madness, please follow the link and add your voice!

To date, Dusten Brown has handled this obvious, "David and Goliath" undertaking to keep his own flesh and blood with a measure of dignity and integrity that I'm certain I would never have been able to muster.  Even after Fric released the hounds with the swipe of her pen, he turned himself in yet again, rather than having his daughter see him arrested -- not what the BFFS or Sequoyah County Sheriff wanted:

With a warrant signed by Oklahoma's governor and Charleston County sheriff's deputies waiting to escort him back to South Carolina, Brown appeared to be running out of options when he surrendered to authorities in Sequoyah County, Okla.

But a short time later, a Sooner State judge granted Brown bail over the protests of the local sheriff, allowing him to remain free until an Oct. 3 hearing decides whether he will be sent to South Carolina to face a custodial-interference charge. He was released on a $10,000 surety bond.

Sequoyah County Sheriff Ron Lockhart said he initially refused to follow Judge Jeff Payton's order because he had never heard of a suspect being released while awaiting extradition on a governor's warrant. “This is the first time in history I have seen that done,” he said.

Lockhart said he called the governor's office and initially was told not to release Brown. The governor's office then called back and told him to follow the court's orders, the sheriff said.

“I lost,” he said. (emphasis mine)

He lost?!  Talk about low people in high places!  They've got operatives every place you turn around!  After the judge let Brown go, who in the hell was the Sheriff to go over his head and call Fric??

Extreme hubris is the natural order of things for the money+things+privilege must = power crowd. Sleeping-her-way--to-the-top attorney, Alvino McGill had the nerve to imply there's some malfeasance going on in Brown's camp with this foolishness from the afore-linked piece:

In a separate statement, Alvino McGill also called into question how Brown was able to post bail Thursday.

“Given that Mr. Brown has miraculously been released on bond yet again in the face of an executed governor's warrant,” she said. “I'd expect the state's lawyers to take a very hard look at what is going on here.”

Meanwhile, Shannon Jones, Brown's attorney in Charleston, called on the governor to retract a statement alleging that her client hadn't agreed to visitation or negotiation.

Last month, Brown had been in tears over thoughts of being apart from his daughter as his attorneys made offers to the Capobiancos, she said. The Capobiancos' attorneys declined those offers, according to Jones.

“We've done everything we could to negotiate,” she said. “But they are confident that they will win this case. They do not believe they need to negotiate.”

Alvino McGill praised the governor's “decisive action” to help end the case.

“Veronica deserves the right to go home now, without yet more court orders or the intervention of law enforcement,” Alvino McGill said. “Brown's continued refusal to abide by the law is hurting everyone involved, especially Veronica.” (emphasis mine)

Really??  After all the behind the scenes machinations in their child-trafficking camp, she could still, as my Grandmother used to say, "fix her mouth to say this??" {smdh}  Of course she praised Fric's action -- she's a part of all of this!  Look Ms. Alvino McGill, Veronica is already home.  She doesn't need any more of you heartless people throwing up more interventions to her living a full and happy life with her father -- something Matt Capobianco will never, ever be to her.  She is neither a "commodity" to be bought and sold, nor one from which you and your friends should profit.  Speaking of profit, what the hayell is this madness!:

Though the idea only came on New Year’s Eve, 2011, the tempest had been brewing in the teapot for quite some time. My friends, Matt and Melanie Capobianco were ordered by a judge in South Carolina to surrender custody of their precious, adopted daughter, Veronica Rose to her biological father, a man whom she’d never met before...

...I meditated on it, daydreamed, and it became painfully obvious. A custom perfume. It’s unique, it’s fitting, and it’s something that I have a talent for. I ran the idea past the family, and with their blessing, I started working on her namesake perfume, Veronica Rose.

Using her name, “Rose” as a starting point, this delightful confection of a fragrance honors Veronica’s Aztec/Mexican Heritage with elements of vanilla, and her Native American heritage with sweet grass, cedar, and sage. One of Veronica’s favorite things is cake, so there are elements of birthday cake to this fragrance as well; Tart fruits, complex herbal and botanical bouquets, and a soft downy finish round out this soft, playful, feminine scent. (emphasis mine)

These people have no shame -- none. at. all.

Just when I thought everybody in my hometown was bat-shit crazy, unable to see the absolute wrongness of this continuing saga, I read this wonderfully empathetic and honest piece from the alternative hometown paper -- The Capobiancos should stop fighting for custody of Baby Veronica.  In it, Chris Haire expresses some deep and fundamental truths that only those NOT blinded by "winning at all costs" would recognize:

A short time ago, an Oklahoma judge ordered the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Department to release Brown from jail. As it stands now, Dusten Brown will return to court on Oct. 3 to learn whether he will be sent to South Carolina to be tried for the crime of custodial interference, namely that he had failed to turn over Baby Veronica to the Capobiancos. And if and when he is extradited, it will do nothing to solve the ongoing custody fight over the three-year-old little girl. In fact, it will only make things worse. Much worse. Especially for the Capobiancos.

Although the Capobiancos may not want to hear this, Ronnie Brown will never be their daughter as long as Dusten Brown is alive. Too much time has passed from when they called Baby Veronica their own and when they were forced to give her up. Today, the bond between Ronnie and her father is probably far too great to break, and anyone who believes that bond should be broken should be ashamed of themselves. When it comes down to it, Ronnie Brown is not a cause; Baby Veronica is. The flesh and blood Ronnie Brown is a child, and Dusten Brown is her flesh and blood father — and by all accounts, he loves her.

Forget the Indian Child Welfare Act. Forget that the Capobiancos raised Baby Veronica from birth until she was two. Forget that they tried desperately to have children of their own for years and years and years. Forget that they loved and cared for her as if she was their own child. She's not. She's Dusten Brown's, and for nearly the past two years, she has been under his care. She has spent her days and nights with him and his family. She has called him "daddy" countless times. Regardless of what happens, she will never call Matt Capobianco "daddy" and mean it in the exact same way she does when she refers to Dusten Brown.

Right now, Ronnie Brown is surely aware that her daddy, Dusten Brown, loves her so much he is willing to go to jail to save her. The Capobiancos will never be able to lay claim to such a heroic sacrifice, and because they can't, Ronnie Brown will never be theirs. And as the years go by, Dusten Brown's sacrifice will only grow in importance to little Ronnie Brown, and it will only poison whatever relationship the Capobiancos hope to have with her if she is handed over to them. Their lives will be ruined. But more importantly, so will hers.

So much has gone wrong when it comes to this case. So much has been mishandled. And too many tears have been shed and hearts have been broken. It's finally time for someone to do something right. And for the Capobiancos that means putting an end to this tragedy right here and right now. If they truly wish for the best for Ronnie Brown, they must quit fighting for custody of Baby Veronica. She doesn't exist. Ronnie Brown does, and Dusten Brown is her father. Let him have her. Her future — and theirs — depends on it (all emphasis mine).

I salute Mr. Haire's courage in writing that piece, Family.  Believe me, if you read the comments, you'll see what I mean!

Predictably, the child traffickers paid no attention to Mr. Haire's entreaty.  According to Michael Overall's piece in the Tulsa World this morning, a very haggard Melanie Duncan Capobianco, accompanied by the Mister and a young, vibrant Dusten Brown and his attorney left yet another round of negotiations.  To date, that's seven different courthouses in six different counties -- and counting.

All we can do now is wait and see what the October 3 extradition hearing in Sequoyah County will bring for this young, determined, grown-assed man.  I'm sending my prayers out to Spirit, for his and Veronica's sake, hoping it will help sound the death knell to these human and sovereign rights atrocities being perpetrated by these low people in high places.

Continued: Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1g: A Poem for "Veronica Brown"

Related:
- Okla. custody dispute compared to SC couple’s case
- United Nations Demands Respect for Baby Veronica's Human Rights
- Baby Veronica: How Dusten Brown could prevail in battle over his daughter
- Veronica Rose Perfume Fundraiser Day 2

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1e -- And the mirror cracks

"Whatever you do in the dark, will come to light!"

My grandmother always used to say that when somebody had done something wrong and thought they'd gotten away with it.  When I clicked over to Indian Country Today Media Network this morning, I knew she was right.

(Photo courtesy of Facebook/Standing Our Ground for Veronica Brown)

The inimitable Suzette Brewer has done it again!  Her, Baby Veronica Case: Capobianco Expert Recants Damning Report on Father is explosive, Family.  Finally, the breadth and depth of the corruption and malfeasance in this case is slowly being exposed.

I don't know who contacted whom and it really doesn't matter.  It's been two years since Jan Hunt wrote the requested letter and since she said it was all handled anonymously, I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt.  She didn't have to say anything, ever.  She couldv'e kept her mouth shut and kept on doing what she does in Oregon -- but she didn't, she told the whole, ugly truth:

“He was a loser and a terrible person to the birth mother, that's how she presented it. [Prowell] told me [Dusten Brown's] family was out of their minds and that this poor adoptive couple [the Capobiancos] were being treated terribly,” says Hunt. “But she wouldn't give me any of the names, or the name of the attorney she was working with or even the name of the baby. And as I was working on my letter [regarding attachment], whenever I asked about the father, she said that he 'was out of the picture,' and that the only reason he was contesting the adoption was because his tribe had put him up to it. She said that his mother would probably be the one raising the child because he didn't really want her.”...

...“Jo Prowell said it was about money,” says Hunt. “And everything she said about the tribe was very negative. She said that the only motivation [the Cherokee Nation] had toward the child was money—that 'they get money for every tribal member they have.'”...(all emphasis mine)

The usual pattern of degradation exercised by white supremacists toward us, "Others" is very apparent in those emphasized parts above.  One can easily substitute Blacks or Latinos for the Native Americans about whom Prowell spoke and see that, not only do they use those exact same "conventional" beliefs that they've created about all of us, they continue to pass them down from generation to generation.  I mean it's 2013 and they're still singing that "same old song" because it suits their purposes.

...“She kept asking me to reorganize my paragraphs in a very specific way and was very persistent and demanding,” says Hunt. “I've written lots of letters to judges, but I was just so motivated to help this baby. My son and I were on vacation scanning and faxing the letter and she just kept changing it to the point where I thought it was really strange. No one had ever done that before.”...

...“I was duped and lied to,” says Hunt. “And I am shocked and angry to have learned the truth about this case. [Dusten Brown] had been lied to and tried since the child was born to reclaim her—not two years afterward, which is what I was told. And he's not some terrible ogre or deadbeat, as I had been led to believe, but a father sincerely trying to be with his daughter.”

Several weeks after Hunt had sent the final version of the letter to Prowell, she received an odd phone call.

“As soon as I picked up, she said, 'Don't say anything. You are not to talk to anybody but me. You cannot talk to anyone about this letter,'” says Hunt. “It was all very mysterious and very strange.”...

...“I literally felt ill when I realized who this letter was for,” says Hunt. “I never had any idea that Veronica was the child in the letter, I just knew it was a child in South Carolina. I have felt angry with myself for not pushing and asking more questions, but [Prowell] kept it from me for a reason. How could anybody think that taking this child from her biological father who obviously loves her very much is a good idea?”

Now this is -- or should be -- the most damning evidence against the Capobiancos, their lawyers, the adoption agency and the U.S. judicial system.  They are all complicit.  The "odd phone call" Ms. Hunt received was a veiled attempt at intimidation and I'm certain there are ways a good private investigator could track down its source.  Pity she didn't have it on tape.

As I've said several times, I'm no lawyer, but it seems Ms. Hunt's recantation alone should be grounds enough to halt any and all attempts to take this man's child away and nullify any agreement he might have signed during that private mediation.  The Capobiancos are not fit to be in this child's life -- at all.  Additionally, it should pave the way for a Department of Justice investigation into the entire case for civil rights violations at the very least and at most, prosecution and jail time.

I know we're all living in Bizarro World here in this country, but this case is an opportunity for all of us, "Others" in particular (our combined numbers are staggering!), in alliance with those alabaster brethren who've stood for what was right from the beginning -- to force the DOJ to do their damned job.  If we don't, it will continue, as it currently is, to yet another Native American child, taken from Oklahoma.  And wonder of wonders!  The Palmetto State, as well as the original adoption attorney for Matt and Melanie Capobianco are involved once again!  Come on Family, these people cannot continue to operate with impunity -- this child trafficking has got to end.

Continued: Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1f -- Low people in high places

Related:
- Listen to Suzette Brewer Discuss Baby Veronica at 1 PM EST (8/23/13)
- Rally Planned In OKC In 'Baby Veronica' Case
- Prayer vigil held for families in Baby Veronica case; rally planned at Capitol on Monday
- Baby Veronica...another "Trail of Tears"?

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1d -- This human and sovereign rights violation is not about Veronica at all

When I read Michael Overall's, Baby Veronica's adoptive parents come to Oklahoma, I thought there might be some breathing room for Dusten Brown and his family.  But as I read through the comments and again came across D. Hammond from Pheonix, AR -- I not only knew his chances were slim to none, I knew my initial ruminations about the assault on the ICWA was confirmed:

D. Hammond - Phoenix, AR
.... But many are also questioning what's really behind all this fuss. One blogger showed how conservative Christian lobby groups are propelling this issue. Their purpose is to get rid of ICWA. Here's what's posted:

"Melanie (Duncan) Capobianco, Mark Fiddler, and their publicist Jessica Munday of Trio Solutions' "Save Veronica" campaign, are all founding members of The Coalition to Protect Indian Tribes and Families (CPIC). CPIC, whose mission is to "amend" ICWA, orchestrated guests Troy Dunn and Johnston Moore (both members of CPIC) on Dr. Phil in 2012 and has an online petition of some 23,700 signatures to reform or get rid of ICWA.

CPIC works closely with the Christian Alliance for Indian Child Welfare (CAICW) for Indian families "at risk" with ICWA along with the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) which, according to their website, declares Federal Indian policy racist and unconstitutional.

Melanie (Duncan) Capobianco has also participated in CAICW events and panels.

These organizations are all part of the "Tea Party Community" that meets regularly in Washington, D.C." (emphasis mine)

Yeah, their "Christian God" condones what they're doing. {smdh}

Family, this is how white supremacy worms its way into positions of complete control -- by pretending they're there to "help" or "protect" (can anyone say NAACP?).  How in the world does the The Coalition to Protect Indian Tribes and Families (CPIC), have anything to do with protecting Veronica?!  It doesn't.  It, through the disrespect of the white gaze -- as Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville) writes here -- enables the same trafficking of Native American children that the ICWA was created to stop.

For a minute there, things were looking pretty good for the Browns once the balance shifted to Oklahoma.  From the afore-linked piece:

Matt and Melanie Capobianco arrived in Tulsa late Tuesday and called a press conference for Wednesday morning. They had threatened earlier this week to come find the 3-year-old girl themselves if law enforcement didn't take physical custody away from her Cherokee family.

Meanwhile, Fallin and the Cherokee Nation expressed hope that a compromise could be reached to end the custody battle, which has been raging for nearly four years now.

Fallin urged the biological father, Dusten Brown, and the adoptive parents "to reconcile and to come to an agreement that best serves their child."

"To be clear, the legal system cannot deliver a happy ending in this case," Fallin said in a prepared statement. "Only Mr. Brown and the Capobianco family can do that."

She will not approve the warrant until Dusten Brown has a chance to fight extradition in court, starting with a hearing Sept. 12 in Sequoyah County, Fallin said.

South Carolina's governor, Nikki Haley, called Fallin personally this week to support the adoptive parents, the Capobiancos.

Fallin's office receives more than 100 extradition warrants a year and routinely approves them, officials said. But it's unusual for the legality of a warrant to be challenged in court, as Brown is doing.

Her office will have 90 days to review the warrant. And if it follows "the letter and spirit of the law," she will sign it, Fallin said.

"My hope, however," she said, "continues to be that sending Mr. Brown to face criminal charges in South Carolina is unnecessary." (emphasis mine)

That the governor and the Cherokee Nation hope for some compromise is troubling to me -- I can't say this enough, this child's mother sold her for money and a car because she didn't want her, but this man wants his flesh and blood!  I don't know anything about Gov. Mary Fallin, but it seemed, based on the above, she was willing to follow the laws of her state.  As I perused the comment section, though, it appears some Oklahomans are not nearly as confident in that observation as I. Here are a few comments:

Dana Asher - Bixby
Mary(no back bone)Fallin,will have to ask the tea party members,what to do.

Joe Doty - TULSA
When it comes to issues of morality, She is a very poor example.

Sean Campbell - Oklahoma City
Fallin taking care of Oklahomans....?

You must not read the news much.

Seems they know her -- Opposing sides in 'Baby Veronica' case talk compromise:

Putting pressure on Brown, Gov. Mary Fallin threatened to speed up the extradition process to South Carolina if he didn't compromise and allow the Capobiancos to visit Veronica.

Brown faces a South Carolina charge of "custodial interference," which can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison upon conviction.

"Mr. and Mrs. Capobianco deserve an opportunity to meet with their adopted daughter," the governor said Wednesday.

"They also deserve the chance to meet with Mr. Brown and put an end to this conflict."

A day earlier, the governor had promised not to send Brown to South Carolina until after a court hearing Sept. 12, when he plans to challenge the extradition request.

"If both parties are meeting in good faith," said Fallin's spokesman, Alex Weintz, "the governor has said she will wait until the September court date to review the extradition request."

Brown's defense attorney told the Tulsa World that the governor shouldn't mix the criminal case with the civil dispute over custody.

"They're two completely separate legal issues," said Clark Brewster, adding that he had been in contact with the Governor's Office. "One involves a criminal allegation, and one involves what is in the best interests of Veronica."

Brown has committed no crime and won't let the criminal case affect any decisions over his daughter's future, Brewster said.

But Brewster was waiting Wednesday night to hear back from the Capobianco camp after "a lengthy conversation" with one of their attorneys.

Earlier in the day, he had suggested that a possible compromise might involve having a "best interest" hearing in Oklahoma, where Veronica has lived with her biological family for nearly 20 months.

"That's the real issue," Brewster said. "What's best for Veronica?"

Now I'm no lawyer, nor am I well-versed in the rules of extraordinary rendition extradition -- but can somebody explain to me how on the one hand,  she said he has a right to a hearing to fight the warrant September 12, and she has 90 says to review it, then turn right around and threaten to speed up the process if he does not do what she says?  Does she have that kind of gubernatorial discretion?  I'm telling you, these folk are experts at talking out of both sides of their mouths!

And their madness continues: Baby Veronica adoptive parents file motion to bring her to court:

After talking compromise in recent days, Veronica's adoptive parents filed a motion Thursday in Cherokee County District Court to have her brought to the courthouse Friday morning, officials said.

The child must appear before a judge in downtown Tahlequah at 9 a.m., according to the court order as officials described it.

The order names not only the biological father, Dusten Brown, but also his wife, Robin Brown, and his parents, Alice and Tommy Brown, who have guardianship of the little girl under Cherokee Nation court orders.

Citing an Oklahoma law that gives him until next Friday to challenge an out-of-state custody order, Brown's attorneys will fight any effort to force him to turn over the girl, officials told the Tulsa World.

The attorneys will also argue that pending motions in tribal court should prevent the girl from being taken away, the officials said.

A reality TV personality, traveling to Tulsa this week with the adoptive parents, discovered where the Brown family has been staying and tried earlier in the day to go there.

Cherokee marshals turned him away. And the order was filed a few hours later at roughly 5:30 p.m., officials said.

Really?? "A reality TV personality" --  and they want you to believe this is all about this child. {smdh}  Troy "The Locator" Dunn has been on this case with the Capobiancos since they showed up on the Dr. Phil Show.  This has never been about Veronica and according to the piece -- he's said as much:

In June, when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered South Carolina to reconsider its earlier decision to take custody of Veronica away from the Capobiancos, Dunn posted "VICTORY!!!!!!!!" on his Facebook page.

"This is a victory for little Veronica, a victory for adoption and a great step forward for the REAL welfare of Indian children everywhere," the Facebook post said. (emphasis mine)

Uttered by a paternalistic opportunist, that last sentence is "White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy" writ large.  I am so-o-o tired of white folk believing they always know what's better for non-white folk -- we don't need parenting, especially from those who've done nothing but oppress us all.

The two scheduled hearings have now ended.  Hopefully the Brown family will have a little peace this weekend.  It's hard to know though, based on this -- Baby Veronica case: Court hearings end, mediation agreement filed:

The biological and adoptive parents for Baby Veronica met in two Tahlequah courthouses today for more than five hours in their continuing custody battle.

After the first court hearing, the Cherokee County District Court filed a mediation agreement, although details are unavailable and a judge has ordered that files be sealed.

Both families then went a few blocks to the Cherokee Nation tribal court for a second closed hearing that ended about 2:50 p.m. and left some members of the 3-year-old girl's biological family subdued.

Veronica didn't attend either hearing, although the state court required her biological family to bring her. Her location has not been disclosed.

The Brown family -- which includes Veronica's biological father, Dusten Brown -- left the tribal courthouse first and had no comment. Veronica's grandmother was in tears, and the child's grandfather shook his head no when asked if there was any good news.

(Note: Original article above removed -- seems to have been incorporated into this one: Baby Veronica case goes to mediation; gag order in effect after Friday's hearings)

Despite the gag order in place, the Capobianco's PR mouthpiece, Munday is still being her "Chatty Cathy" self, making statements all over the place -- another example of how white privilege still trumps all.  If it didn't, Ms. Maldonado would be in jail by now for collusion, intent to defraud and/or obstruction with her attorney and the adoption agency about Mr. Brown's Cherokee Nation status (those FACTS are sitting right there on Page 4 of the S.C. Family Court's initial ruling!), and the head of The Christian Nightlight Adoption agency and the Capobiancos would be cooling their heels in cells on either side of her for at least:  falsification of documents/obstruction of justice, perjury, child trafficking/abduction and malicious prosecution.  But they're not, because white privilege + white supremacy = no accountability.

The rights of a child to be raised in her culture with her biological father, as well as the sovereignty of a Nation hang precariously in the balance as we wait.  While I've got nothing for organized, Christian religions, I will offer up a prayer to the spirits that I do believe guide our lives for this child, the Browns and yes, the Cherokee Nation.  Because, IMHO, a ruling in favor of the child traffickers will cause irreparable harm to them all and go a very long way to realizing the aims of Glenn Beck's "Restoring America" event few years ago.

UPDATE: I serendipitously came across the following video -- American Holocaust: The Destruction of America's Native Peoples -- in a link provided by commenter "jefe" over on Abagond's, Was Hitler evil? post.  It's long, but you can skip the introductions if you wish and go to the 7:40 click where the presentation begins. I'm posting it here because it gives great background for what "Restoring America" means to Native Americans in this country and is a perfect example of what the Capobiancos and their cadre of white supremacists are trying to achieve with this case.  Be educated, Family:




Continued -- Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1e -- And the mirror cracks

Related:
- Agreement reached in Oklahoma court custody hearing regarding Veronica, but results remain under wraps
- Baby Veronica's appearance demanded in Cherokee County court Friday
- Veronica's adoptive parents to hold press conference in Oklahoma
- Why Feminists Should Care About the Baby Veronica Case
- Baby Veronica Is a Victim of Colonial Domination
- What Baby Veronica's Adopters Should Know About Her Cherokee Roots

Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1c -- A jackbooted, "Mission Accomplished"

With the backing and support from a host of supporters, Mr. Brown dug in his heels, trying to fight off the jackboots trying to take his daughter away from him.  Together with the Native American Fund, he immediately filed a request to the U.S. Supreme Court for a postponement of the S.C. Supreme Court ruling -- at least  until a "best interests of the child" hearing, covering the time Veronica has lived with him, could be held.

But after learning two disturbing pieces of information from Suzette Brewer's afore-linked piece (Suzette, thanks so much  for your in-depth reporting on his case -- without your tenacity, the "other side of this story" would have never seen the light of day!),  I could see the under-belly of power and privilege beginning to rear its corruptible head.  I learned that:

1) Chief Justice John Roberts, an adoptive parent himself who sided with the majority against Brown, oversees emergency petitions for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes South Carolina.

2) Sources in Washington have pointed out that Alvino McGill's role in Adoptive Couple is more than that of a spokesperson for Christy Maldonado. As it turns out, Chief Justice Roberts and former solicitor general Ted Olson, both of whom sided with the Capobiancos, attended Ms. Alvino McGill's 2006 wedding to Matthew McGill who, coincidentally, was a clerk for John Roberts in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore, given the cozy nature and small world influence in the Capitol's legal circles, observers say it was no surprise when Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl was granted petition of certiorari in January. (emphasis mine)

“Dusten Brown never had a chance,” said the source. “His biggest sin was that he got on the wrong side of the billion dollar U.S. adoption industry and he was winning. [The Supreme Court] knew this when they took cert on this case, otherwise, why would they bother with a custody dispute that should have been nipped in the bud four years ago?... But it is a system that was stacked against him from the beginning.

Come on people, there are obviously no coincidences here.  And while the first is not a good sign for Mr. Brown (Roberts wouldn't be the only "Supreme" making the final decision)  -- the second is quite simply foreboding.  I don't know about you, but it's clear as day to me -- that plenty in this milk ain't clean (pun intended)!   If you don't see it, it's because you don't want to. But let me help you.  No sooner had the  Capobiancos filed their answer to Mr. Brown's request, did this happen: Challenge to child’s adoption fails.

Yep, in no time flat, the Roberts-led court, in their hubris, issued this 3-sentence decision:

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2013
ORDER IN PENDING CASE
13A115 BIRTH FATHER, ET AL. V. ADOPTIVE COUPLE, ET AL.

The application for stay of judgment presented to The Chief
Justice and by him referred to the Court is denied. The motion of the Guardian ad Litem for leave to file a response with exhibits under seal with redacted copies for the public record is granted.

Justice Ginsburg and Justice Sotomayor would grant the application for stay.

As I told you in Pt. 1b, Mr. Brown is again deployed for 30 days of National Guard training as of July 23.  However, on Sunday, August 4, the Capobiancos were supposed to have had a court-ordered visit with Mr. Brown and his child (apparently scheduled before the final ruling came down).  Understandably, because he was working out of town in Iowa, he didn't show up.

In preparation for his training duty, Mr. Brown had signed over his rights to his wife and parents, anticipating, I'm certain, either the Oklahoma courts would block the physical transfer of the child to South Carolina (he and his family have until August 23 to request a hearing which is two days after his training is over) or, that their already scheduled hearing in tribal court on September 3 would result in a successful challenge to South Carolina's jurisdiction over a case involving a Cherokee child.

Well, according to this piece in the Charleston CityPaper -- by Monday morning, the "mob" had begun circling their wagons in earnest around their white woman's tears:

A Charleston judge on Monday ordered the immediate transfer of 3-year-old Veronica to her adoptive parents and called for action from state and federal authorities after the girl’s birth father failed to appear for a court-ordered visit the day before.

The decree by Family Court Judge Daniel Martin suspended a transition plan intended to gradually re-introduce the toddler to Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island. It also requests assistance from Dusten Brown’s commanding officer as he finishes a 30-day training mission with the Army National Guard ... (emphasis mine)

Though I'm hearing faint strains of "urging for calm" in his last sentence below, on the first, I wholeheartedly agree:

As much as we here in Charleston fail to recognize it, for the Cherokee Nation this is a racial issue and the recent court orders bring up memories of decades upon decades of mistreatment at the hands of the white man. Here's hoping that outrage doesn't manifest in some truly horrible manner. (emphasis mine)

Quiet as it's kept, according to Mike Overall at Tulsa World:

Before a South Carolina judge demanded that she be returned "immediately," Baby Veronica's biological father, Dusten Brown, offered to share custody with her adoptive parents...Brown said the offer would have let Veronica spend summers and holidays in Charleston, where she lived with Matt and Melanie Capobianco for the first two years of her life.
The rest of the time, she would have stayed with her biological family in Nowata, an hour north of Tulsa. (emphasis mine)

Smelling blood in the water, the sharks Capobiancos bare their very well-funded, politically connected teeth and declined, saying:

"After all this time, the begging and the pleading we did, we never got to see her," Melanie Capobianco said Wednesday in an interview with Charleston's Post and Courier.

"Now that we were at the point where they knew the adoption would go through, they offered this as if they've been thoughtful and considerate to us all along."

"Pssst, Hey Melanie -- they had no reason, whatsoever to be "thoughtful and considerate to you all along."  First, you conspired with the birth mother and The Christian NightLife Adoption agency to BUY his child; then, you hired a PR firm, to make him look like an unfit parent when you couldn't keep her, even though he's been fighting for her since she was four months-old; then, you called in your white-privileged favors to doggedly pursue him in the courts (and either arranged for, if not paid for, Ms. Maldonado to do the same) -- all over a child that carries his DNA, not yours!  Do you see where I'm going here?

No? Well let me help you. That you are barren is most regrettable -- but that does not give you a right to this man's flesh and blood, particularly since he wants, and is taking care of his child.  Your fight is with Ms. Maldonado.  Sue her for lying misrepresentation!  Oh, I forgot.   Aside from the fact you've spent all this money to facilitate this "sale" -- you were in on the lie too!  Kinda bars you from any recovery on that end, I would think.  But who knows?  You do, after all, have quite the cadre of judicial and legislative henchmen in your pocket on your side!  Stranger things have happened!"

So, in order to not look unreasonable (though they've been nothing but unreasonable over this man's child from day one) here's their counter-offer:

"But the Capobiancos said they' re still committed to allowing the Browns to play a role in the girl's life - if they honor the adoption order."

The Browns are skeptical, saying the adoptive parents have never offered joint custody or visitation rights in a way that would be legally binding, the Browns said.

The arrogance of these people just "makes me wanna holler, throw up both my hands!"  Interesting to watch the flexing though, now that the ball's mainly in their court, no?  If I were the Browns, I'd be skeptical too.

Below, Mr. Brown's parents and wife explain their skepticism with emotions that run the gamut (and no, before anybody throws up the "she's white too" strawman -- she is not counted as one of "their" white women because first of all, she's a "race traitor" who stooped to marry "one of them."  Secondly, she's speaking up against them,  for "the enemy" (You can pretend these dynamics aren't in play here, but I won't):

"Civility, in the face of such intellectual dishonesty, is counterproductive in the defense of liberty ... for it grants the dishonesty the false appearance of legitimacy"

I cannot,  for the life of me, remember to whom that quote should be attributed, but I've never forgotten it.  But t's so apropos for this situation though, because I am just undone, and so tired of the way this society talks out of both sides of its mouth, with both conversations painting the "hunter" as some, "White Knight," riding in to save the day -- they are not.  They are opportunists -- always coveting what is not theirs and always misappropriating what they cannot create (and yes, Mrs. Capobianco, I'm talking about you there).

On the one hand, in 1978, the ubiquitous "they," in a weak defense of their barbaric inhumanity said:

We know that your children have been disproportionately taken from you  (with the willing assistance of Christian, church folk) -- not only because, as Bill Means of AIM stated, "because there was a very, shall we say, stereotypical image that Indian children were neither black nor white, therefore, they were most desirable," but because the Missus couldn't create an heir for the Mister" -- but it got out of hand. So, after all we've taken from you, and all you've given us, the least we can do, is leave you your children."

Now, post-1978, they say:

"Yeah, we know we initially said you have a right to your children (as if they, according to the laws of the universe, have a right to grant such a thing in the first place.  Oops!  Forgot their made-up, white supremacist, "Manifest Destiny" madness!) --  but what we meant was -- only when and how we say so.

"And since you chose not to follow those parameters,  Mr. Brown, we intend to put the full weight and force of our state and federal, politically connected, well-funded power on your neck to make you remember who's actually running things -- even though you're a member of a "sovereign" Nation.  I'm tellin' you folks, you just can't make this stuff up! -- Baby Veronica's biological father faces arrest after failing to return her to South Carolina 'immediately':

Nearly 500 miles from his daughter, Baby Veronica's biological father could be arrested Sunday morning when he reports back to duty at a military base in Johnston, Iowa.

The warrant came from even farther away - 1,100 miles east in Charleston, S.C., where a Family Court judge is trying to force Veronica's return to her adoptive parents.

Officials issued an arrest warrant Friday after Dusten Brown failed to meet the judge's order to bring his 3-year-old daughter to South Carolina "immediately."

He lives in Nowata, an hour north of Tulsa, but was in Johnston, Iowa, for a month of training with his Oklahoma National Guard unit.

He was off duty Saturday, spending the day at a hotel with his wife, Robin Brown. But commanders told him they can't prevent local authorities from taking him into custody when he returns to the base, she said.

A South Carolina official described the warrant as "checkmate," likely to end an epic custody battle that started when Veronica was 4 months old.

And wasting no time at all -- the jackboots landed.  Now, they knew exactly where he was and what he was doing.  So aside from flexing, their obvious intent is to not only humiliate him (even as he's serving this damned country on duty!), but to put his income in jeopardy.  It appears too, that Judge Martin's request for "assistance from Dusten Brown’s commanding officer" was heard loud and clear and, given the snide "checkmate" comment, I think we can all agree with Robin Brown -- for the Capobiancos, it's all about winning."  I don't know about you, but I sure feel that heel grinding deeper into his neck.

~#~#~#~

A brief aside:

Commenter D. Hammond - Phoenix, AR posted this comment on the above-linked piece:

The presiding SC judge who issued this order is Daniel Martin. He is a reputable higher court judge who specializes in family law. If you remember, the Native American Rights Fund filed a civil suit last week naming Judge Martin as defendant. The suit says that Martin denied Veronica a "best interest" hearing. I wonder if Martin is strong arming because he is angry with NARF and the Cherokee Nation for challenging his power.

And Sandy Macauley - Tahlequah responded:
He should remove himself from this case since he is a named defendant in the NARF case

Just some points to ponder...

~#~#~#~

And yesterday, adding insult to injury, the Capobiancos and their cadre grind the heel even deeper, breaking skin this time with this -- Matt Capobianco says Veronica "has been kidnapped," vows to fly to Oklahoma without law enforcement action:

A weekend of high tension surrounding the custody fight over Baby Veronica culminated in a Monday press conference called by Matt and Melanie Capobianco, vowing that without action from state and federal law enforcement, Matt would board a plane and pick up the three-year old that a Charleston County court has said belongs with his family...

...In front of a neighborhood gazebo near the Capobiancos house this morning, Matt and Melanie issued a plea to law enforcement involved in the case, asking "Where are you?" wiping away tears as they explained their anxiety over the girl's safety, saying their daughter "has been kidnapped." In an interview with the South Carolina Radio Network, Melanie said, "We've tried to work so hard to make this a smooth transition," saying that she thought the Browns were "using our kindness against us." Via an emailed statement this morning, the Capobiancos' spokesperson Jessica Munday called it "outrageous that nothing is being done to bring this child home to her legal parents" after two and a half days, "Where's the Amber Alert?" she said. Though the Capobiancos say they are reluctant to take matters into their own hands, Matt Capobianco said today that he would fly to Oklahoma himself, lamenting efforts to abide by legal channels throughout the process over the past two years, telling his daughter, "Veronica, little stinker, daddy's coming."

People, please go to that link and watch that video -- it is quite the performance.  It turned my stomach so badly,  I just couldn't post it.

I won't editorialize on it too much, but I just have to point to a few things that stick out for me.  Replete with the obligatory crocodile tears, and  melodramatic flourish, they turn this latest development into a "kidnapping" (classic, "paint the Other" as dangerous brute behavior -- the child's with her family!); then they start with finger-shaking at the "authorities" for waiting so long to bring the child back (it'd been two days); then, rolling out the, "we fear for her safety" apparition again, they throw out the veiled threat that, "if anything happens to her there will be enough responsibility to go around"; then they trot out their PR person who keeps the false, "he abandoned her" meme going strong while she calls for, of all things, an Amber Alert!  Family, this absolutely reeks of white privilege run amok.

And on Monday morning, they got what they wanted -- Baby Veronica case: Dusten Brown turns himself in, refuses extradition:

The father of a Cherokee Indian girl at the center of an adoption dispute turned

Mugshot from Sequoyah Sheriff's Office

himself in to authorities Monday but refused extradition to South Carolina, further complicating a case that raises questions about jurisdictions and a federal law meant to keep members of Native American tribes together.

Dusten Brown, a member of the Cherokee Nation, was charged over the weekend with custodial interference after failing to appear at a court-ordered meeting in South Carolina, where the adoptive parents live. He turned himself in about 10 a.m. Monday in Sequoyah County in far eastern Oklahoma and paid bond, Sheriff Ron Lockhart said.

But Brown refused extradition without a governor's warrant from South Carolina.

This is "in the best interests of the child?"  This is the country for which Mr. Brown dons that uniform he's wearing.  {smdh}.  Check out the video below and see these two families side-by-side.  Listen to the very Deep South narrative floating on the surface of it all ("a little-known Federal law??" -- Please).



Mr. Brown, hold fast young man. I salute you for your fight and I stand in solidarity with you and your family.  That little "mirror" named Veronica that you hold in your arms is yours, no matter the "things" they can give her.  When all is said and done and your daughter revisits her life, laid bare on the internet -- she'll swell with pride knowing her Daddy did everything he knew how to do to keep her in his life.  And the Capobiancos won't be able to dispute any of it. And since he refused extradition without a governor's warrant, according to this, Governor Nikki Haley (she, the child of Sikh immigrants born in Bamberg, SC) immediately drew one up and overnighted it to Oklahoma!

This man is battling so many of their "friends in high places" -- I don't know how he's not buckled under the pressure. {smdh}  Stay tuned folks -- the wheels are spinning fast and furiously on this case and I want to make sure as many "voices" as possible are heard as it develops.

Continued: Preserving cultural identity in the face of institutionalized white supremacy: Another Home-going -- Pt. 1d -- This human and sovereign rights violation is not about Veronica at all

Related:
- Cherokee official: Baby Veronica's biological father surrenders to authorities
- Charleston County Sheriff’s Office: Working to extradite Dusten Brown, searching for Veronica
- Adoptive couple wants feds to bring girl to SC
- Judge in SC finalizes Cherokee girl’s adoption in national case; American Indian groups sue

The Zimmerman verdict, yet another notch in the belt of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy

Understand what I say, Prospero:
For years I bowed my head
for years I took it, all of it
your insults, your ingratitude...
and worst of all, more degrading than all the rest,
your condescension,
...
Prospero, you're a great magician:
you're an old hand at deception.
And you lied to me so much,
about the world, about yourself,
that you ended up by imposing on me
an image of myself: -
underdeveloped, in your words, incompetent,
that's how you made me see myself!

And I loathe that image . . . and it's false!
But now I know you, you old cancer,
And I also know myself!

- Caliban, in Aimé Césaire's, "A Tempest"

I am just undone.  Though I had hoped against hope that these women, these mothers, would set aside their white privilege long enough to look at this case in its entirety and see it for the racial profiling murder that it was, my fears have been realized -- a Black child is dead for the sole crime of walking to his father's house, and his murderer walks free for a second time, thanks to the machinations of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy (WSCP).

Laid low by a horrible summer cold all weekend,  Audre Lorde's words from "Sister Outsider," (accompanied by a non-stop headache) pounded incessantly in my head:

"For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change."

It's certainly ironic how well the gay community learned this lesson, while we on the other hand, continue to settle for the "temporary" game.  Our problem, as I see it, is we need to stop electing and supporting lawmakers who, entrenched in their own kind of privilege, turn a blind eye to the need to cease using "the master's tools."

The Supremes' recent, successful attack on Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act (and Congress' apparent unwillingness to address it); Congress' failure to pass gun control legislation; racial profiling and stop & frisk statutes, coupled with the deadly and dangerous Castle Doctrine, Stand Your Ground, and Make My Day laws are all a sampling of the "master's tools" which affect us disproportionately, yet our mis-leadership class (to include the Changeling), seems unable or unwilling to fight for and/or fashion new "tools" to defeat them.

If you read Elder Lorde's essay through a non-homophobic lens, it is impossible to miss the interconnectivity of white supremacy, capitalism and patriarchy evident, not only in the Zimmerman verdict, but from the day George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Benjamin Martin.  New York Times  Op-ed Columnist, Charles M. Blow brilliantly and eloquently delineates the many instances of that interconnectivity in his, The Whole System Failed Trayvon Martin, so I won't belabor those points here (but please, do read this absolutely moving and factual piece of writing).

However, another of the far-from-subtle racist strategies the Zimmerman defense team used to lead these mostly white, women jurors like horses to the acquittal water trough that Mr. Blow omitted, was their resting their case on the testimony of Zimmerman's young, white, blonde, female neighbor who spoke at length about "two African-American males" who broke into her home to rob and terrorize her.  Talk about invoking those visions of the need to protect frail, white womanhood that left many a "Strange Fruit swingin' in the Southern breeze!"  Some would call it brilliant strategy, I call it priming the racism pump.  But this case was never about race to hear them tell it. {smdh}

Oh!  And let's not forget this stupid statement Zimmerman attorney, Mark O'Mara made after the verdict, which obviously gives the lie to his whole, "I believe in civil rights garbage":



Now there's some white supremacist patriarchy on parade, particularly given this: 'Stand your ground' denied in domestic violence case.

And then, no sooner had the verdict been rendered -- here comes this "Juror B37," giving an interview to Anderson Cooper (no doubt laying the groundwork for her now-aborted book deal).  She's definitely a charter member in the WSCP.  Take a listen to the interview and I'll tell you some of the reasons why I think so after:

1. "Why would they want to pick me?"  Because you dear, were exactly what the defense was looking for -- someone who could not identify with Trayvon, but instead, the murderer and his attorneys. 
2. "No, cuz I hadn't followed the trial at all."  No "trial" yet silly woman, but even if you didn't have an idea of what had happened, you most certainly already had some prejudicial ideas brewing in your head, as evidenced by statements you made in your voire dire here.  Aside from "just a broad spectrum of names,"you mentioned "the issues they were having in Sanford when they were having riots" which to your mind, involved "a whole lot of indiscretion and, angry people, and picketing people..." who,  according to you, "can do what they can do as long as it's peaceful." Yet, you thought that, "maybe it was over done." (Am I the only one who missed "the riots?")  And oh, your "Absolutely not" answer to whether you had any discussions about the case with family?  Total bullshit -- what about the book? (see first related story below)
3. "I thought he was awe-inspiring.  The, the experiences he'd had over in the war, and I just never thought of anybody that could recognize somebody's voice yelling in like a terrible terror voice when he was just previously, half-hour ago playing cards with him."  Awe-inspiring?  Really?  Based on experiences he'd had over in the war? {smdh}
4. "Chris Serino did...To me, he just was doing his job...  He was doing his job the way he was doing his job.  And he was going to tell the truth, regardless of who asked him the questions....Because he deals with this all the time.  He deals with, you know, murder, robberies, um, he's in it all the time.  And I think 'he has a knack' to pick out who's lying and who's not lying."  Preconceived notions much?!  All I have to say about her blind trust in law enforcement as evidenced here is, "Ignorance is bliss."  Doesn't she sound all blissful about Serino?
5. "I think they wanted to happen what they wanted to happen, to, to go to their side, for the prosecution and the State....There was no doubt, that they had seen what had happened, because some of it was taped."  A clear and unbiased review of the evidence dontcha know.
6. "I didn't think it was very credible, but I felt very sorry for her...I think she felt inadequate toward everyone because of her education and communication skills....Because she was using phrases I had never hear before and what they meant.  I think Trayvon probably said that...I just think it was everyday life, the type of life that they live and how they're living and the environment they're living in."  I'm not even going to get started on this unsavory, racist mess -- because it'd take up the entire post!
7. "I think George Zimmerman was a man whose heart was in the right place but just got displaced by the vandalism in the neighborhoods, and wanting to catch these people so badly hat he went above and beyond what he really should have done...It just went terribly wrong."  Well, yeah?  He killed someone!  Call me crazy, but this sounds like an admission of racial profiling ("these people?") and excessive use of force!
8. I think George told the truth basically" even though "there were some fabrications,  enhancements.  So kind of lying's okay, right? 
9. "I think he might have, I  think George probably thought that he did because George was the one who knew that George was carrying a gun." This doesn't even make any sense!  Trayvon might have grabbed for the gun, but George was the only one who knew he had one?  What kind of logic is that?!
10. "I think he did, because of the evidence...where George says he was punched" Because of what George said.  See, that's the problem.  How can there be a fair trial when the only other witness is dead?
11. "I think the roles changed.  I think George got in a little too deep, which he shouldn't have been there.  But Trayvon decided that he wasn't gonna let him scare him, and let him get the one-up on him, Trayvon got mad and attacked him."  So again she admits that George was the initial aggressor, but this child had no right to fear for his life.
12. "I found it credible."  She found the cartoon, based solely on information fed into it by the defense -- credible.  Why am I not surprised (about the cartoon part or the defense-fed part)?
13. "I don't think he did.  I think just circumstances caused George to think that he might be  a robber or trying to do something bad in the neighborhood because of all that had gone on previously."  And that's not racially profiling him -- even though the robbers in the neighborhood had previously been described as Black men?  This woman keeps pissing on everybody's leg and calling it rain.
14. "I think he just profiled him, because he was the neighborhood watch and he profiled anybody coming in and acting strange."  So now he did profile him.  {smdh}
15. "Over-eager to help people" -- now comes the litany on "frail white womanhood," an excuse Klansmen and their kith and kin have been using  for years to justify lynching (or their women tipping out with the help).
16. "...if he didn't go too far.  He just didn't stop at the limitations that he should've stopped at." He was just frustrated with the whole situation in the neighborhood...he just didn't know when to stop and things just got out of hand."  First of all, that was an awful, long pause before she gave that convoluted answer about whether he could be a neighborhood watch in her community.  And is it me, but doesn't she just keep saying things that gave Trayvon more than enough reason to be in fear for his life?
17. "The law became very confusing." Problematic for any jury of non-lawyers, to be sure, but then, why is it they only asked for one clarification?
18. "That was our problem.  I mean it was just so confusing."  So the law was confusing, the instructions were confusing, so what -- they just punted?
19.  "...because of the heat of the moment and Stand Your Ground."  But his defense wasn't a Stand Your Ground defense was it?  Did I miss something?

I don't believe this woman's crocodile tears, for a single second!  I think she's a not-so-bright, opportunist, with an attorney for a husband who should be prosecuted for something her-damned-self (not exactly sure what yet, but something -- let's wait and see how this whole, breaking sequestration thing pans out).

Finally, please do not make the mistake in thinking that I feel only the defense and the jury's belt got notched here.  The prosecution is just as much a part of the WSCP as they are.  If they weren't, how could they allow themselves to end up with a predominately white jury?  You can't tell me there are no Black folk in Seminole County who can be considered a peer of George Zimmerman's, you just can't.    The legal definition of a Jury of One's Peers is as follows:

The constitutionally guaranteed right of criminal defendants to be tried by their equals, that is, by an impartial group of citizens from the legal jurisdiction where they live. This has been interpreted by courts to mean that the jurors should include a broad representation of the population, particularly with regard to race, national origin, and gender. Notice that this doesn't mean that, for example, women are to be tried by women, Asians by Asians, or African Americans by African Americans. When selecting a jury, the lawyers may not exclude people of a particular race or intentionally narrow the spectrum of possible jurors. (emphasis mine)

And don't say there couldn't have been an impartial Black person there either.  Based on the interview above, Juror B37 was hardly impartial but they chose her!  And please tell me why they chose to use all those video-taped statements from Zimmerman?  He got to testify without ever having to take the stand!  And it's clear as day it was that "testimony" upon which the jury heavily relied (particularly since Trayvon was dead and couldn't testify)!  And why charge 2nd degree murder given the Keystone cops had orchestrated their version of "catch and release" and, had done a half-assed investigation, providing them with little to no evidence to support such a charge? "B37" was right about one thing -- the medical examiner could have done a much better job. I don't care how much Angela Corey prayed with Trayvon's parents.  After beaugardin' her way into the case, she and her office dropped the proverbial ball -- hugely.  But no big deal right?  It was only a young Black boy who was murdered.  They'll get over it -- eventually.

And for all Brother Ass-coverer, Holder's speechifyin', I'm not holding out any hope that Federal charges will be brought -- though they ought to be, because there's no doubt in my mind that Trayvon's civil rights were violated.  But, both he and the Changeling were very careful  in not committing to anything in either of their spewing-forths, hiding behind that whole "rule of law/nation of laws" thing which was never meant to be applied to us in the first place.  After all in this system, it's never what's true, it's what can be proven.  And based on the bungling of this case from beginning to end, they can't seem to  sufficiently prove diddly.

The criminal justice system in this country has been broken for a very long time in favor of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy, Family.  For those of us who do not have the liberty of claiming white privilege as Zimmerman has in this case, there is no "arc of the moral universe bending toward justice" currently.

But as I revisit Caliban here...

But now, it's over!
Over, do you hear?
Of course, at the moment
You're still stronger than I am.
But I don't give a damn for your power
or for your dogs or your police or your inventions!

And do you know why?
It's because I know I'll get you!
I'll impale you! And on a stake that you've sharpened yourself!
You'll have impaled yourself!

...I think the parents of Trayvon Benjamin Martin can take some small comfort in the fact, that their son's death, given the groundswell of support -- just may have played a pivotal role in changing that trajectory.  I know I'm willing to do all I can to help it along.

Peace and many blessings Sybrina, Tracy and Jahvaris...

Related:
- How the System Worked -- The US v. Trayvon Martin
- Did George Zimmerman Juror B37 Break the Rules of Sequestration During Deliberations?
- Is George Zimmerman white or Hispanic? That depends
- Our real problem is white rage
- White supremacy, meet black rage
- White Truth and Shame
- The Trayvon Martin case: A timeline

"Reasonable fear for his life?" -- a pack of skittles, and a can of tea vs. a damned gun with a bullet, racked in the chamber? Please!

I swore to myself that I would not write a single word about this trial until it was over, and I won't.  But I just cannot hold it all in.  Hell, I have society-identified Black sons -- older than Trayvon, but Black nevertheless.  My soul and heart are just completely overloaded with the fear that this murderer will go free.

Why?  Because it gives the "legally recognized" stamp of approval to a genocide that's been operating in plain sight, but ignored, for eons.

I won't be long here but, my oldest son said to me today, "How is it legal, that a person, carrying a gun, with a bullet racked in the chamber, can follow you, walk up on you (a citizen in these alleged united states) -- and shoot you dead,  just because??!!  Why isn't the state continually hammering the plain illegality of that point??  What about Trayvon's right to defend himself??"

Sadly, all I could say to him was, "Because of the game that is the just-us system in this country, Son."  Lauryn absolutely nails what's happening in the Zimmerman trial right here...



...which is why, like Sister Lauryn:

"If I have to die, oh Lord, that's how I choose to live."  

Slowly but surely, I've realized there is no other alternative...

The "History of Iniquity"...

Though James Byrd's killer was executed in late 2011 for his brutal dragging death behind a pick-up truck in 1998, the legacy of white supremacist hate behind the wheel endures -- as the faces of the perpetrators get younger and younger: Anthony Hill in June 2010, James Craig Anderson in June 2011 and most recently, Johnny Lee Butts in July 2012.

The local District Attorney's comments at the 6:20 click, made me think of a recent discussion I had with a young brother about, depending on "the courts,"as a means for us to see justice served.  I told him:

"Does it work? Yes, sometimes it does -- but wa-a-ay less than it doesn't. Can it work more? Absolutely! But that depends again, on KNOWING that crooked system and using what we KNOW to fight against the injustices built into it! But trust me, there are plenty of us who are lawyers, more than willing to buy into that system for them "dollar, dollar bills," instead of, fighting its injustice (Exhibit A? The Changeling)!"

And as noted toward the end of the video -- there are probably more attempts, and successes than we can imagine. As I told my young brother in another, earlier conversation, I'm squarely in Lauryn Hill's "court" when it comes to the judicial system in this country:



I'm convinced she's onto something very important to consider, as she beautifully follows-up at the end of the above, with this:



(My young Sister, I hope you're still writing powerful words like those above -- because Lord knows, I miss you!)

Related:
- Kentucky neo-Nazis charged in gruesome murder, dismemberment

Zimmerman finally in an orange jumpsuit

George Zimmerman being charged with murder in Trayvon Martin case:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Amid furious public pressure to make an arrest in the Trayvon Martin slaying, the special prosecutor on the case went for the maximum Wednesday, bringing a second-degree murder charge against the neighborhood watch captain who shot the unarmed black teenager.

George Zimmerman, 28, was jailed in Sanford - the site of the killing Feb. 26 that set off a nationwide debate over racial profiling and self-defense - on charges that could put him in prison for life.

Let the games begin...


UPDATE I:   GAME ON!! -
 


"Calm, Calm, Calm" - Ya'll know what that's about (or you ought to!)

UPDATE II:  In Interview, Zimmerman's Lawyer Says Trial Won't Happen In 2012

No Country for young, Black men...

Others have covered the murder of this child (here, here and most simply - here) wa-a-ay better than I possibly could right now because quite frankly, I am just speechless - especially after the FINAL release of the 911 tapes:



WTH??!!



Again - WTH??!!

And I really believe that as long as Zimmerman stays free - this child, will be scared, as well as possibly, forever- scarred, as he sits in his little "gated community" (which appears to have gates for the sole purpose of keeping murderers in - instead of out):



Because I am just undone after listening to these videos - I will leave it to Mr. Baldwin to address the purposeful negligence  of the Sanford PD toward the Martin family in particular, and of police toward Black folk in general:

Let's just change that last bit to - "accessory to my murderer" in Trayvon's case there, Jimmy...*smdh as I wipe away tears*

UPDATE I -  Dr. Boyce: Trayvon Martin’s Death is Just the Tip of the Iceberg:

Getting involved in the Martin case is a good move for President Obama, especially during an election year. At a time when the administration is trying to catch up and apologize for paying very little attention to the black community, the Martin case gives the administration an opportunity to gain some much-needed black political points.(emphasis mine)

This man must've been trottin' around in my damned head!  Since he'd already been selected when Oscar Grant lost his life at the hands of BART cop, Johannes Mehserle - guess no Black political points were needed. Hmmm, wait a minute! The DOJ "investigated" that murder of a young, unarmed and hancuffed, Black man too! Anybody know the findings? Can't seem to put my hand on them right now.

What I do know is, Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter - and got two years (Lawd ha' mercy, our lives certainly aren't worth a plug nickel in this damned country!). He was released on parole in June 2011 - after only having served 11 months. {smmfh}

UPDATE II - Sanford Commission Votes “No Confidence” In Police Chief Lee

UPDATE III - Bill Lee, Sanford Police Chief, Steps Down Temporarily Over Trayvon Martin:

Turner Clayton, head of the local NAACP, said he'd been meeting with city officials for more than a week, pushing for Lee's firing or resignation. He said that while Lee's temporary resignation is a good start, ultimately the community wants his permanent removal. "I'm elated that the chief decided to step aside and allow the city to heal," Clayton said, "But it will be a whole lot better if he just goes ahead and resigns permanently. This is just a temporary fix for right now, of course, we're looking for a permanent fix."

In dragging his feet, Clayton said, Bonaparte is putting his own political career in Sanford in jeopardy. While the police chief serves at the pleasure of the city manager, the manager serves at the pleasure of the city commission. "His stubbornness could cost him his job," Clayton said. (emphasis mine)

Now THIS is what I expect from a local NAACP Chapter!  Thank you, Mr. Clayton!  And, since Bonaparte tried playing a waiting game of "politricks" with his feet-draggin', thanks again - for reminding him that the game ain't over! Hats off to you, Sir!