Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, and Dwayne Wade

It's amazing that a few crazy minutes in a neighborhood on a rainy night in Sanford can have such a dramatic influence on so many people across the country.  I guess these types of moments could happen anywhere, anytime.. but not just to anyone.  If we are honest anyway..  If Trayvon had been Hispanic then we probably wouldn't know his name.  If George had been black we probably wouldn't know his name.  Race is something that still strikes deep chords within this country and many individuals.  Right or wrong, that is where we find ourselves as Americans I guess... unsure how to move forward.  There are so many levels to this story that I guarantee there will be a college class on it someday..  I have to write on some of these levels just to get to the point where I don't have to think about it so much.

The Verdict
There really was only one option for that jury.  I followed the case all the way through and the prosecution did its best but it had almost nothing to work worth.  The police knew they didn't have enough to arrest the guy, the regular prosecutor knew it as well.  In the end there was enough pressure from outside forces to force his arrest and trial with almost no chance of getting a conviction..  Which leads to...

The Reaction
I am not sure if it was better for the country to go through a trial the prosecutors had no chance of winning or to have not arrested him in the first place.  The reaction was strong and one of disbelief among the African American sect..  And some of the quotes I read turned my stomach.  Obviously we have some deep wounds in our culture that continue to be reopened when there is an injustice to us or even a perceived injustice.  In this case I was surprised that people would make the statements that they did if they actually spent any time looking at the case and the evidence...  It's like many people stopped paying attention after the original media blitz... which was, white man kills black child.  It makes me sad that so many wouldn't go deeper, that we have the bulk of our society who will always remain in the shallow end of the pool...  And it makes me question myself... can I step outside myself and the way that I was raised to look at something objectively, am I willing to wade into the deep end or will I just accept what is given me in the shallow end??  Will I take the time, energy, and effort it takes to make wise choices and be educated?  Lets talk about...

Profiling
Sad to many, profiling is not a crime, it is part of us as human beings that takes our previous experiences and puts it in the back of our mind and then pops up when we encounter a similar situation..  Then we weigh that info, sometimes its right, and sometimes its wrong.  We get into trouble as people when that voice becomes so strong that it outweighs the evidence of what is actually going on and we make decisions on it.  You can call it stereotyping or whatever, it all kinda fits in that category.  Some stereotypes are worse than others, but we have ALL been profiled in some way, shape, or form.  I got pulled over regularly when I was young, because I was young and I drove a little pickup that looked like a vehicle a drug dealer would use to peddle meth to high school students.  When I could afford to get away from that profile, I did.  And eventually I got older and my insurance went down.  I don't know how much profiling goes on nowadays for just being black.  I am sure it's out there.  But I am 100% sure that a black man in a suit does not get stereotyped the same way that a kid of any color sagging his pants and looking like a hoodlum does..  This plays to different stereotypes.  If a girl is hanging out at a bar in Las Vegas by herself and is dressed in revealing attire, makeup whatever, should she be shocked if someone thinks she is a prostitute?  She fits a stereotype that some people have about girls in Vegas..  Was Trayvon profiled?  Yup.  Was he profiled for being black?  Probably not.  There is no indication of that.  I would surmise that a latino kid that was dressed the same way and acting the same way would have been profiled too.  More than anything, I think people get profiled by there economic status..  Poor or rich.  We don't think rich people are going to steal from our stores, we pay attention to the poor ones though...  I'm telling you, its natural to do.  Is it fair?  Not really.  So what have we learned??

Dwayne Wade
Tweet from Mr. Wade "Wow! Stunned!! Saddened as a father!! Som1 make sense of this verdict for me right now please!!! … How do I explain this to my boys?”

Well Mr. Wade....  I have some advice for you.

Let's start by educating ourselves about our legal system and explaining that if there is a reasonable doubt we do not send people to jail.  We have to be sure as a society.

Then tell them...That if you are walking in a residential area that has break ins regularly where people don't know you, and you are acting kinda funny looking in houses that aren't yours, there is a possibility that you might run into an overzealous neighborhood watch member who will want to know what you are doing.  This can seem kind of rude if you aren't doing anything wrong but people are rude and sometimes over react.  Should you have to explain yourself to anyone when you aren't doing anything wrong?  NO, you shouldn't have to, but that's what police, neighborhood watch, concerned neighbors do when they don't know you, they ask questions.

If you feel like someone is following you or you feel unsafe, walk straight home or call the police or me immediately.  Do not circle back and start an altercation with someone because you are confident that you can beat them up because you are bigger than them, If you attack them, there is a good chance you will be arrested.  If they have a gun and you attack them...  There is a good chance they could shoot you in self defense and not even have committed a crime.

Educate yourself.  Learn to use words to solve problems and not your fists.  Do not, I repeat, do not take pictures of yourself smoking pot, flipping off the camera thinking your cool..  It's not..  

Speaking of cameras, how about the media?

Media
I picked the pictures of Trayvon and George at the top because they show them in the most favorable light.  I dislike the media because they are always trying to move everything to the most sensational side they can.  And of course, we eat it up.  If it isn't sensational, we don't watch.  It's amazing the effect a picture can have on our opinions if we aren't aware of it.

Innocent child... killed by

criminal thug

or

Neighborhood watch Captain was attacked by

seventeen year old with history of violence..



I guess we see what we want to see most the time.  I don't know if we can grow as people or as a society if we aren't willing to step outside of ourselves and see things from others point of view....

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/15/3500317/wade-joins-chorus-of-upset-nba.html#storylink=cpy

The Gay Athlete

After hearing so much coverage on Jason Collins I thought it was best to write out my own non unique thoughts on the matter.  Some say this is a really big deal...  Others say who cares..  I am going to say something I never thought I would hear come out of my mouth..  "I wonder what Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have to say?"  Wow, that scares me just to read it..  Would he be brave for standing up for himself and against the man?... or would he be wrong for promoting something that they do not agree with..  Curious.  The truth is that Collins is about as low as you can get on the NBA chart and still collect a paycheck..  He has more than likely reached the end of his career..  Might be that the only thing that might help him get another paycheck is that he came out as gay..  Cuz being heterosexual wasn't going to get it done anymore.  Lets be honest.  We all know that there are gay players in all the major sports... whether its 5%, 10%, or 20%.  My guess is that if you polled fans, 99% of them would say that not only do they not care, they don't want to talk about it.  Do you think fans are going to weigh in and boo the guy if he plays again?  There might be a few idiots in the crowd but anyone who yells something negative will be pelted with drinks and probably worse..  Mob mentality will take over and that poor redneck SOB will be lucky to get out alive..  You want to know what I believe people hate more than anything in this day and age?

this guy

Yup, Ogre
The muscle behind the alpha betas that looked to supress these guys...

The Nerds of Lambda Lambda Lambda

We rallied around the nerds 30 years ago and now look at us..  Our sports stars dress like nerds!  How funny is that?  I believe that in America, almost everyone who is a sports fan cares about fair competition..  We are passionate about our teams and we will go through the roof if we think our team has been treated unfairly.  We will not allow the Alpha Beta's to cheat anyone, let alone the lovable underdog.  Though Jason Collins may not play again due to his inability to put up more than 3 pts a game as a middle aged backup... (and don't think for a minute that his coming out potentially hurts his earning potential)... 99% of fans really don't care..  he will get every chance to catch on with another team.  He risks nothing..  Which is fine but lets not all go overboard showering the guy with praise and creating drama where there isn't any.   Someday we will have a player who will risk millions in endorsements because part of society will not be excited about buying products endorsed by someone they don't relate to..  That will be a big story on marketing and social dynamics..  But for now, Jason Collins is today's non event.