More crocodile tears and and a huge dose of hypocrisy...

I've been sitting on my feelings about the Changeling's second statement on the Trayvon Martin case for a minute.  But after reading and listening to all the ooey-gooey, "My Black president really cares" madness in the media and on the web,  I thought I'd chime in with Maxine, expressing my deepest, most innermost thoughts on his words (just so my head won't explode over his manipulative propaganda masquerading as empathetic concern):

As I read piece, after piece about his "iconic"blather, I could feel the bile slowly rising in my throat. Why in the world would anybody get all dewy-eyed, believing his alleged, "impromptu" comments about Trayvon (and yes, I believe it was as "impromptu" as him breathing), when only a few days before the verdict, he endorses the king of racial profiling for head of Homeland Security??!!  In The Atlantic's, Prominent Democrats Are Now Comfortable With Racial and Ethnic Profiling he states:

On Wednesday, President Obama assured a Univision reporter that Ray Kelly, New York City's police commissioner, would make a fine leader for the Department of Homeland Security.

"Well, Ray Kelly has obviously done an extraordinary job in New York and the federal government partners a lot with New York, because obviously our concerns about terrorism oftentimes are focused on big city targets," he said. "And I think Ray Kelly is one of the best there is. So he's been an outstanding leader in New York...But you know, we're going to have a bunch of strong candidates. Mr. Kelly might be very happy where he is. But if he's not I'd want to know about it. 'Cause you know, obviously he'd be very well qualified for the job."

(Do watch the Chris Hayes video further down the piece at the link above -- it is insightful, to say the least.)

During a spirited conversation over on Abagond's, "Obama: “Trayvon Martin could have been me”,  commenter, "GoldFire" posted a link to a clip from, "The Hunted and the Hated: An Inside Look at the NYPD's Stop-and-Frisk Policy" below:



"You look suspicious," is what one of the cops said to this young man (among other lewd, crude threats) -- exactly the same thing George Zimmerman said about Trayvon Martin.  The Changeling, however, thinks the man behind the implementation of these tactics, "is one of the best there is."  Tell me how this isn't talking out of both sides of his mouth??!! 

As I said over at Abagond's, "The Changeling is a manipulative hypocrite who says one thing and does exactly the opposite when it comes to us — yet many Black folk support him, talking about he’s some kind of “symbol.”  There’s just something real Stockholm Syndrome-like (or PTSD, Post-Traumatic Slavery Disorder-like if you prefer) about that."  There are so many folk just swooning over what he had to say, yet few (including his liberal, Democratic colleagues and talking heads) are challenging him on Ray Kelly's corrupt police department policies which violate the civil rights of an overwhelming number of citizens each and every day with Stop & Frisk.

If you check out the NycResistance channel on YouTube, you'll see a large sampling of what I mean.  According to its owner, he's been documenting Kelly's, NYPD atrocities for years -- the plethora of videos is daunting!  I've got nothing but respect for this brother, who cares enough about Black and Latino youth, to make sure their abuse is a matter of public record -- would that the MSM was similarly inspired.

Salon's, Listen now: Obama ad from 2000 rails against racial profiling -- is illustrative.  In it, there's a radio ad (no doubt crafted by the King-makers for the Black community), in which then, Sen. Barack Obama speaks out forcefully against racial profiling -- what a difference a "selection" makes, right?

"GoldFire" also posted an interview with Cornell West that bears re-posting (I see Asa's posted it as well over at AfroSpear):



As I commented there -- "Bro. West is on-point, but I know the Changeling’s supporters will keep on crowing about him still being mad about not getting tickets to the damned inauguration — as if what he’s saying has no validity at all. {smdh}"

Family, we've got so-o-o-o much work to do -- and none of it has to do with holding up this puppet, who's used Trayvon Martin's death, and worse, his parents, to bolster his "Black bona fides."  Rise up against the Ray Kelly nomination and confirmation.  And if we fail -- learn something.

Related:
- Obama, Race and Class
- Ray Kelly, Secretary of Homeland Security?
- Kelly’s creative writing: Stop-and-frisk and Muslim surveillance are wonderful!

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...

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

NOW what will the new story be ...

...they cleaned him up and fixed his nose in the cruiser, on the way to jail?  {smdh}



My Grandmama used to always say, "Unjust don't prosper!" - we shall see...

A most disingenuous UPDATE:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Can I just say this though? George Blow, Jonathan Capehart, JoyAnn Reid (whom I remember from the radio during my days in Miami - and despite the fact that she's a Changeling supporter) along with Daryl Parks - in this case anyway - give me a tiny glimmer of hope regarding the wholesale assimilation of Black folk. Just sayin...

UPDATE II:  The first line of this post was definitely tongue-in cheek, but apparently it sounded good to Daddy Zimmerman at the 8:27 click in the video here:  Zimmerman’s Father: They May Have Cleaned My Son Up At The Scene.  I'm done with these folks people!!

Ruminating on Trayvon, racism, American imperialism - and a funny...

I'm with Field on this one:  Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade don hoodies for Trayvon Martin.  It immediately reminded me of two other athletes standing up for something on a much larger scale (IMHO, the comment thread on the Heat story shows that - like the reasons for all of these athletes making a statement - the more things change, the more they stay the same).

A meaningful development - ABC News Reports Trayvon Martin Dialed 911 Prior to Being Shot?  The caption on photo #64 at this link reads:  "Attorney Benjamin Crump holds cellphone records and a police report as he speaks with the media about his clients' son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Crump says the teenager's cellphone records contradict the account of what happened between George Zimmerman and Martin in the moments before he was fatally shot by Zimmerman." (emphasis mine) The cellphone records could surely clear up a lot, No?

Over on one of Abagond's recent posts, "Grada Kilomba on racism in Europe" (if you've never checked out this blog, I so recommend you do) - commenter, Pan Africano left a link to a discussion on an Australian TV program entitled, "I'm not a Racist, But...".   Quite a peek into racism "Down Under" (makes me think about how the fear of us "Others," directly correlates to all of that occupying-cum-oppression by alabaster hands).

I saw this on RT awhile ago and added it to my "link hoard," mainly because, the endurance of my people never ceases to amaze me, and, because as a Black woman in America, I am constantly reminded of how seemingly completely, our umbilical cord to Africa was severed by the slave trade - unlike Christine, the mother in the video who, though assimilating into Russian culture, has proudly maintained her African culture through songs remembered, meals prepared and keeping her native language alive:



(I studied Russian a long time ago and, thoroughly enjoying the ability to be conversant in such a difficult language, I did very well.  I barely remember it now though.  It's true what the proverbial, "they" say - If you don't use it, you lose it!).

Speaking of Abagond - an astute tumbler update on Kony 2012:  KONY 2012’s funders: JP Morgan, Chase Bank and Exxon Mobil.

On a lighter note, this sure gave me a much-needed chuckle today - Police want bucks back from I-270 cash grab.  Really??  Come on now, what are the chances of that happening?!

KKK in South Carolina feeling a little neglected?

My cousin just forwarded this to me - and I just have to think that the pointy-hatted, sheet-wearers are feeling just a little put-off by all the publicity this young Black man's death is garnering.

Do pause at the 1:25 click to read the flier. {SMDH}

Asabanga, over at AfroSpear - tells it like it is...

I know this blog is already in my blog list in the side panel, but just in case you fail to click on its newest post, I have sought (and received) permission to cross-post it because - it is so damned on-point family!  Enjoy and ingest!

~#~

Republican Presidential Hopefuls Should Call Trayvon Martin’s Parents

by asabagna



The world of American politics, especially presidential politics is blatantly and unashamedly opportunistic. It’s all about hype, slogans and who can capitalize on the latest story capturing the short attention span of the fickle public in the 48 hour news cycle, and/or trending within the world of social media.

Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich can learn from the master politician, President Barack Obama, on how to jump on an opportunity like a pit bull on a 4 year old. When Rush Limbaugh referred to Sandra Fluke on February 28th as a “slut” and “prostitute” for voicing her support for birth control during an unofficial House Democratic hearing, 2 days later she got a call from the President asking if she was “okay”. The parents of Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was murdered in a racial motivated shooting on February 26th, has received no call (as yet) from the President to ask if they were “okay”… and they probably won’t.



See… Obama knows he needs the white woman vote to get re-elected, so he strategically decided to show empathy for Fluke’s hurt feelings when she was called a couple of derogatory names. On the other hand, he knows he’s got the Negro vote sown up, so why would he need to show any concern for their pain? Why risk his re-election by being accused of showing favouritism (i.e. sympathy) to people with the same skin colour as him in their time of grief… a grief caused by the imbedded racist attitudes of the “other” people he needs to support him for a second term in office?

The Republican contenders should take a page from Obama’s playbook and call Martin’s parents to offer their condolences. They should also put on a hoody, have a bag of Skittles in one hand and an Iced-tea in the other, take a pic and post it on their Facebook page with the caption: “We’re All Trayvon Martin!” Sure it’s blatantly insincere and strategically opportunistic, but that’s what American politics is all about. It’s about taking advantage of the hot story and manipulating the story line for your own benefit. After the Fluke affair the media was on them, particularly Romney, for not calling Fluke or publicly admonishing Limbaugh, especially after President Obama did so. By calling the Martins, maybe the media… and African-Americans… may finally wake up and realize that “Barack Obama doesn’t care about Black people”. The republicans may even get a few more black votes.

Hmmmm… I doubt it.

~#~

I read a Politico piece today hat prompted me to leave this comment on asabanga's original post on AfroSpear:

Always "a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short" when it comes to Black folk (more like a-month-late in Trayvon's case!) - somebody must've put a bug in his ear about your post saying, "Don't let the Republicans out-maneuver you on this one, better get out there ahead of that! ;-0 And having the clear, looks "Black like me" advantage - he did...

From Politico today: Obama: 'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'

President Barack Obama weighed in Friday on the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, calling it a national tragedy - and saying that it reminded him of his own children.

When I think about this boy, I think about my own kids," Obama said in Rose Garden remarks. "And I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. And that everybody pull together.

"But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said. "All of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves... Obama's answer also reflects a departure from usual precedent. The president, who was ostensibly announcing the nomination of a new World Bank head, usually does not take questions shouted by reporters at the end of his prepared remarks — but today, he made an exception for the Martin case. (emphasis mine)

SMDH and thinking about Maxine:

How mag-damned-nanimous of him to "make an exception" - TODAY - 26 days after this child was murdered. Makes asabanga's, "2 days later" observation about Fluke all the more on-point. But of course, the faithful will swoop in to defend, probably with - "Well at least he said something!"

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!