*****Disclaimer: While Generaciόn Latina, Inc. supports justice, peace and equality for all persons, the opinions and viewpoints in this blog are strictly those of the author, Sonjachardé Mixon, Director of Resource Development for GLINC.
So my last blog came from a happy place. After decades of not being recognized and being denied HUMAN rights, same sex couples were granted three steps towards justice. WELL. Let me tell you. AMERICA HAS PISSED ME OFF AND DISGUSTED ME YET AGAIN. I knew it would happen soon. I just didn’t know it would occur SO DAMN QUICKLY.
I’m sure by now everyone has heard that the verdict for Trayvon Martin’s case was that George Zimmerman was found NOT GUILTY. Many people have come to Zimmerman’s defense saying B.S. like, “Oh, there were break-ins in the neighborhood recently and Trayon fit the profile” or “Trayvon was not innocent he smoked weed and called his mom a b****.” Here’s why the verdict and these people saying these stupid pointless things piss me off.
“Trayvon Martin smoked weed.” How many White kids Trayvon Martin’s age do heavy, addictive and dangerous street drugs such as meth, crack, bath salts, etc? It’s not a great idea to do any kind of drug. But in my personal opinion, I’d rather have an African American male walking my neighborhood at night after he smoked a blunt than have a White male walking my neighborhood after he smoked meth. No one wants to talk about that right? Of course not. Because White males are never seen as a threat.
“Trayvon Martin called his mom a b****.” Never, ever, ever acceptable. BUT how many White kids do we see that have no utter regard or respect for their parents? How many teenagers, regardless of race, blurt things out that are hurtful and disrespectful in their angry, teenage, hormonal rages? Right…
As a mother raising an African American son in the United States, I’LL BE DAMNED IF SOMEONE SHOOTS MINE! I hate the fact that I have to teach my son that because he looks a certain way, people will hate him and see him as a threat. Women will clutch their purses when he walks past them on a dark night, men will puff out their chests and give him their best side eye when they cross path. People will make assumptions about his upbringing, his ambitions (or lack thereof), and his capabilities and dreams before he even opens his mouth. He will be followed in stores because people will assume that he is there to shoplift.
As a mother raising an African American son, I often feel that I go above and beyond to make sure that he is always groomed, well-mannered, educated, chivalrous, and calm-tempered. Why? Because this way he has a lower probability of falling into the “Angry Black Man” category that people just love to throw African American males into. People of other races don’t have to go to extreme measures to groom their children to not be hated. But me, I do. Because no matter whom he is and what kind of man he becomes, people will always hate him because of where he comes from.
I often wonder, had Trayvon Martin been White, would George Zimmerman have felt the need to pursue him and follow him so adamantly? Probably not. He would have just been a regular White kid walking around at night. Never ever a threat in that right?
Whether or not you believe that Trayvon Martin was an innocent kid or not, he was shot in cold blood. And the man who shot him showed no remorse and smirked and smiled throughout the whole trial. He’s now free to kill other African American children that look suspicious. While Trayvon Martin’s parents mourn their son’s life and all the things he will never get to experience, George Zimmerman is probably somewhere smirking and having a cold brew.
So please, those in defense of George Zimmerman, enlighten me on how I can protect my child? Because what is to say twelve years from now my son doesn’t happen to walk down a street wearing a hoodie and get murdered?
Signed-
A Pissed Off Mother Thinking of New Ways to Protect Her Child
So my last blog came from a happy place. After decades of not being recognized and being denied HUMAN rights, same sex couples were granted three steps towards justice. WELL. Let me tell you. AMERICA HAS PISSED ME OFF AND DISGUSTED ME YET AGAIN. I knew it would happen soon. I just didn’t know it would occur SO DAMN QUICKLY.
I’m sure by now everyone has heard that the verdict for Trayvon Martin’s case was that George Zimmerman was found NOT GUILTY. Many people have come to Zimmerman’s defense saying B.S. like, “Oh, there were break-ins in the neighborhood recently and Trayon fit the profile” or “Trayvon was not innocent he smoked weed and called his mom a b****.” Here’s why the verdict and these people saying these stupid pointless things piss me off.
- Trayvon Martin was a CHILD and George Zimmerman was a grown ass man who should have known better
- 911 dispatchers CLEARLY told George Zimmerman NOT to follow or pursue Trayvon Martin, but George Zimmerman decided to take the law into his own hands and disregard their suggestions
- Trayvon Martin was unarmed
- Trayvon Martin was only followed and pursued BECAUSE OF HIS RACE: this is called racial profiling which is a violation of Trayvon Martin’s civil rights. Additionally, racial profiling is ILLEGAL, not even the police are allowed to do it by law (even though there are COUNTLESS present day incidents where police have clearly racially profiled and pursued people based on race)
- Trayvon Martin weighed around 165-170, George Zimmerman weighs around 225-230, which means IF there was a legit fight, Trayvon Martin was clearly outweighed and probably would not have won the fight, even if George Zimmerman didn’t shoot him in his heart like an animal
- People have tried to use the fact the George Zimmerman is part Latino to argue that he couldn’t have possibly been racially profiling Trayvon Martin. Blasphemy. How many Latinos do you know that have racially profiled African Americans? I know too many to count. Even people I am related to
“Trayvon Martin smoked weed.” How many White kids Trayvon Martin’s age do heavy, addictive and dangerous street drugs such as meth, crack, bath salts, etc? It’s not a great idea to do any kind of drug. But in my personal opinion, I’d rather have an African American male walking my neighborhood at night after he smoked a blunt than have a White male walking my neighborhood after he smoked meth. No one wants to talk about that right? Of course not. Because White males are never seen as a threat.
“Trayvon Martin called his mom a b****.” Never, ever, ever acceptable. BUT how many White kids do we see that have no utter regard or respect for their parents? How many teenagers, regardless of race, blurt things out that are hurtful and disrespectful in their angry, teenage, hormonal rages? Right…
As a mother raising an African American son in the United States, I’LL BE DAMNED IF SOMEONE SHOOTS MINE! I hate the fact that I have to teach my son that because he looks a certain way, people will hate him and see him as a threat. Women will clutch their purses when he walks past them on a dark night, men will puff out their chests and give him their best side eye when they cross path. People will make assumptions about his upbringing, his ambitions (or lack thereof), and his capabilities and dreams before he even opens his mouth. He will be followed in stores because people will assume that he is there to shoplift.
As a mother raising an African American son, I often feel that I go above and beyond to make sure that he is always groomed, well-mannered, educated, chivalrous, and calm-tempered. Why? Because this way he has a lower probability of falling into the “Angry Black Man” category that people just love to throw African American males into. People of other races don’t have to go to extreme measures to groom their children to not be hated. But me, I do. Because no matter whom he is and what kind of man he becomes, people will always hate him because of where he comes from.
I often wonder, had Trayvon Martin been White, would George Zimmerman have felt the need to pursue him and follow him so adamantly? Probably not. He would have just been a regular White kid walking around at night. Never ever a threat in that right?
Whether or not you believe that Trayvon Martin was an innocent kid or not, he was shot in cold blood. And the man who shot him showed no remorse and smirked and smiled throughout the whole trial. He’s now free to kill other African American children that look suspicious. While Trayvon Martin’s parents mourn their son’s life and all the things he will never get to experience, George Zimmerman is probably somewhere smirking and having a cold brew.
So please, those in defense of George Zimmerman, enlighten me on how I can protect my child? Because what is to say twelve years from now my son doesn’t happen to walk down a street wearing a hoodie and get murdered?
Signed-
A Pissed Off Mother Thinking of New Ways to Protect Her Child