I cannot say I am surprised by this, but I do have to admit that I was pretty amazed with the sheer number of people who confronted the young black man and the NOBODY thought to stop the white one.
The fact, the FACT, is that if Trayvon Martin had only had been fortunate enough to have been born white he would still be with his family today. Hoodie or no hoodie.
The insane part of this is the way these people started swarming on the the African American kid. I swear it wouldn't have taken much for them to start getting violent. Grabbing his tools, snapping photos, screaming at him . . . . I hope they watch this video and think about what they did--but I doubt it.
ReplyDeleteOn the video, the people claim they were "afraid" to confront the white male. They didn't seem to be afraid to confront the Black male, even as you said grabbing his tools. So all of this Black men are scary is just an excuse -- the white folks are still bullying the Blacks, just as they did when they felt entitled to own them.
DeleteThis is a slightly different take on racial profiling. At the last place I worked, I would take a walk at lunch. Since I walked fast, I would frequently overtake other people. As I came up from behind, they would cast a glance over their shoulder, see a white woman, and relax. This was especially true of Latinas, who clearly relaxed even more than others.
ReplyDeleteEvery man who has ever abused me sexually, emotionally or physically was white. (all boyfriends of my mother). I have not generalized that to thinking all white men are trashy and abusive. However, one Black, or one Muslim does something and their entire action is judged against all people like them.
DeleteI watched the show when it aired and there is a very crucial point that the video doesn't show. The black actors and a couple of friends were sitting in a car in the parking lot and the police were called on them. It even took the film crew by surprise.
ReplyDeleteI was not shocked by it at all and that says more about the America i live in. When i read people on the blogs or news sites it doesn't take long for the ignorant racist to show their faces. Look at the posts on the today show Facebook page in regards to Trayvon Martin's parents being on. So many people completely unaware of what is actually going on in this country. They keep bringing up the murders in Chicago but ignore the fact the black community wanted to change the gun laws and has been actively working to try and fix it but to know that they would actually have to be in touch with what is going on. I swear if i hear one more person telling them to "get over it" move on and stop playing the race card I'm going to scream.
Stereotypes. They've been perpetrated by movies, media, and our culture. We are all to blame for allowing this to go so far. We reward the beautiful, give attention to the strong, praise the successful, courageous, fittest, boldest, and consider the weak, old, disabled, troubled, dysfunctional, minority, as rejects and misfits. This attitude is brought on by today's GOP, Teaparty, Fox News, and right-wing media.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame to see this clip. It shows how weak we really are and how unprepared we are in this generation to embrace all people as equal. I'm extra annoyed by the men fawning over the blonde actress in her shorts, pretending to steal a bike. They just wouldn't accept that she could be a fake, 'a la Palin'.
If that woman had been native American? Or Hispanic, or black or a female wearing grungy clothing? They would have been on speed dial to the police. Beautiful blondes in this society and beautiful women are exempt from being unfairly judged of anything.
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saw this the other day and it's not surprise either, that the blond woman got lots of help stealing the bike even AFTER she said it wasn't hers.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised nor shocked, I just wish people learn from their actions. If they're like this in public, imagine how they are when no one's around?
ReplyDeleteI bet if someone approached them with a survey in the mall and were asked if they felt they were racist/sexist, all of them would say "Hell No!".