Jonathan Capehart: Under ‘suspicion’: The killing of Trayvon Martin

[SeattleGirl]

One of the burdens of being a black male is carrying the heavy weight of other people’s suspicions. One minute you’re going about your life, the next you could be pleading for it, if you’re lucky. And far too many aren’t. That’s why the Feb. 27 26 killing of Trayvon Martin has black parents around the country clutching their sons a little closer.

By all accounts, Trayvon was a good kid. He helped his father coach Little League. He had dreams of becoming a pilot. He was good at math.
(AP) The Orlando Sentinel said that Trayvon’s English teacher described him “as an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness.” And now he’s gone because, as Charles Blow wrote on Saturday, “a man with a gun and an itchy finger” found Trayvon “suspicious.”

<snip>

There was also being mindful that you are being watched in stores. Watched turned to followed as I got older. To this day, if a sales person is overly attentive to what I might be looking for I leave the store. Never to return. And then there was keeping a distance of deniability from white women when walking on the street. Lest you be accused of any number of offenses, from trying to snatch her purse to sexual assault.

<snip>

All this might seem paranoid. After all, I was taught these things almost 20 years after Jim Crow by African Americans who experienced its soul-crushing force first hand. And this is 2012. So much has changed for the better since then. But then comes along a Trayvon Martin to remind us that the burden of suspicion is still ours to bear. And the cost for taking our lives might be none.

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post..._blog.html

[jaxx]

Thanks for posting this, Jonathan Capehart is someone I read daily. What he says about being taught how to act was reinforced by many African Americans on twitter in the past few days. Stories of teaching their kids too....today. How they should act when they are stopped in a car for doing nothing, how to behave when taken to jail for nothing. How the parents live in fear of trumped up charges. How one well known writers son was stopped and taken to jail for driving her nice car....and having two white girls in the car with him.

It makes you mad, it breaks your heart. And the worst is that is doesn't stop.

[SeattleGirl]

(03-21-2012 09:21 PM)jaxx Wrote:  Thanks for posting this, Jonathan Capehart is someone I read daily. What he says about being taught how to act was reinforced by many African Americans on twitter in the past few days. Stories of teaching their kids too....today. How they should act when they are stopped in a car for doing nothing, how to behave when taken to jail for nothing. How the parents live in fear of trumped up charges. How one well known writers son was stopped and taken to jail for driving her nice car....and having two white girls in the car with him.

It makes you mad, it breaks your heart. And the worst is that is doesn't stop.

I know, jaxx. As a white person, I can be, and am, outraged, angry, sad, and heartbroken over this whole thing, but I know I can never "feel" it the way a black person can. I feel fear for my daughter (it comes with being a parent), but not the kind of fear that black parents feel for their children. I know that my daughter has a certain vulnerability in this world because she is female, but I doubt she is an object of instant fear and suspicion and hatred like black people are.

[There Is No Spoon]

Did anybody see Jonathan walking down the street where he used to live talking about this? He was with Al Sharpton - it was a good segment (as is this article.)

[jaxx]

(03-21-2012 09:49 PM)There Is No Spoon Wrote:  Did anybody see Jonathan walking down the street where he used to live talking about this? He was with Al Sharpton - it was a good segment (as is this article.)

No, I didn't see it, but will try to find it on Rev. Al's site. Thanks for letting us know about it.

[jaxx]

How to Talk To Young Black Boys About Trayvon Martin
Eight talking points about the potentially fatal condition of being Black
By Touré | @Toure | March 21, 2012

1. It’s unlikely but possible that you could get killed today. Or any day. I’m sorry but that’s the truth. Blackmaleness is a potentially fatal condition. I tell you that not to scare you but because knowing that could possibly save your life. There are people who will look at you and see a villain or a criminal or something fearsome. It’s possible they may act on their prejudice and insecurity. Being Black could turn an ordinary situation into a life or death moment even if you’re doing nothing wrong.

2. If you encounter such a situation, you need to play it cool. Keep your wits about you. Don’t worry about winning the situation, your goal is to survive.

3. There is nothing wrong with you. You’re amazing. I love you. When I look at you I see a complex human being with awesome potential but some others will look at you and see a thug. Even if their only evidence is your skin. Their racism relates to larger anxieties and problems in America that you didn’t create. When someone is racist toward you—either because they’ve profiled you or spat some slur or whatever—they are saying they have a problem. They are not speaking about you. They’re speaking about themselves and their deficiencies.

4. You will have to make allowances for other people’s racism. That’s part of the burden of being Black. We can be defiant and dead or smart and alive. I’m not saying you can’t wear what you want. Your clothes are a red herring. They’ll blame it on your hoodie or your jeans when the real reason they decided that you were a criminal is you’re Black. Of course, you know better. Racism is about reminding you that you are less human, less valuable, less worthy, less beautiful, less intelligent. It’s about pre-judging you as violent, fearsome, a threat. Some people will take that prejudice and try to enforce their will on you in order to make sure you feel like a second-class citizen and to make certain that you get back to the lower-class place they think you’re trying to escape. The best way to counter them will not involve your fists but your mind. You know your value to the world and how awesome you are. If you never forget that, they can’t damage your spirit. The best revenge is surviving and living well.

http://ideas.time.com/2012/03/21/how-to-...on-martin/

[jaxx]

Found it........

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

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45755884/#46815054

[jaxx]

Thanks again TINS, that was very good. Two men who know what they are talking about.

[There Is No Spoon]

(03-21-2012 10:04 PM)jaxx Wrote:  Thanks again TINS, that was very good. Two men who know what they are talking about.

Yes, that was a refreshing segment to watch. As a Northeast city kid myself, it also reminded me of the different rules for different "groups" in my old 'hood. Granted, beat cops do tend to "know" who belongs and who doesn't, who's a trouble maker and who isn't, but that's beyond the scope of what they were discussing. Also, it's much worse in the South.