President Obama Speaks On The Trayvon Martin Case
At a news conference today, President Obama was asked about the Trayvon Martin Case. Here’s his response:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPtUfOs7Gs&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]
If you watched the video you’d see he didn’t wade into the investigation. He spoke personally. “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” He spoke to Trayvon’s parents as a parent.
Meanwhile, FOX gives us this:
“I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.”
Unbelievable. Is there no point low enough for them?
Tags: Fox News, President Obama, Sanford Police Department, Trayvon Martin
At every turn the GOP (and I consider FOX News part of the GOP) argues for more division, more suspicion and more fear. The contrast with the President’s remarks is striking:
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” That is simply a devastating comment, in a good way. It personalizes the tragedy for everyone. A simple, yet brilliant comment.
this may be the only president that has ever spoken on a murder of such hate. I love OBAMA not cause hes black but because he cares and it shows
When I think about this case (and it’s pretty much always on my mind) I can’t help but wonder why Zimmerman still has his gun. Given the attention this case is receiving, unless Zimmerman is living under a rock, it has to be effecting him mentally. Emotional distress + panic + a gun. This could be a recipe for disaster.
this is the meaning of change we have a man that do whats rite to best that he can yall give him problems he come up with solutions an stick with them
Zimmerman actions that night hurt alot of people an also show us why its important to vote all the time change the law makers then we change the laws.
Look what the City of Sanford quietly put on line. George Zimmerman’s calls to emergency dispatchers. It’s 47 pages long.
Republicans are just sick…..
But why isn’t the President talking about this hate crime?
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-03-04/news/31122324_1_white-boy-fire-tv-station
The Lib-tards only focus on the stories that further their progessive agenda!
First, it has been labeled a hate crime.
Second, now pay attention, the police are searching for the culprits and will arrest them. They will not find the guilty party, let them say it was self defense and send them on their way.
Third, the President was asked about Trayvon Martin.
Do. You. Understand?
I don’t think the President talked about this hate crime, either. But apparently this BS deflection is supposed to justify the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Take a deep breath.. Our President is doing no more than pandering to his base.
Not like he can run on his “successes”
You don’t need a deep breath – you need to start a George Zimmerman fan club.
This story is the biggest story out there. Everyone – well, except you – is outraged. And, if everyone who is calling for justice on this issue is Obama’s base… you guys are screwed in November.
I’m no fan of Mr. Zimmerman. I’m even less of fan of people like rev Al whose doing nothing more than race baiting.
The bottom line is Zimmerman was part of a Neighborhood Watch. Not a Neighborhood Confront. Being armed gives him a false sense of security and can give one the false feeling that he has the right to confront people.
Zimmerman made a mistake. Everybody should take a breath and proceed with an open mind before lynching anybody.
Interesting defense of Zimmerman who is the perpetrator of a modern day lynching of this kid. Most Americans are pretty appalled that this young man is dead and that the justice system has been slow to deliver any justice. A President expressing sympathy for parents and empathy for those who are appalled isn’t exactly pandering. Except, of course, who think that murdering young black men is something people shouldn’t get all het up about.
You festering idiot, what Zimmerman did was Neighborhood Confront. Are you even aware of the facts of this case? He was not watching and reporting. He was confronting. He blatantly disobeyed the orders of the 911 Dispatcher, got out of his car, pursued Martin and shot in to death in cold blood while Martin was screaming and begging for his life.
And his only cause to think that Martin was a threat was because he was a black kid.
A mistake? Are you flippin’ kidding me? Killing a teenager is… aw shucks, he made a mistake?
People – of all races and political parties – are calling for Zimmerman to be arrested and have a trial.
And how stupid is it of Jerry Rivers to decide to blame the victim here and make his hoodie the cause of Trayvon’s death. I’m hoping that there are kids everywhere making videos of just how ubiquitous hoodies are as transitional weather wear for young people of all colors and genders.
“Everybody should take a breath and proceed with an open mind before lynching anybody.”
that says it all about rockland.
“Zimmerman made a mistake. Everybody should take a breath and proceed with an open mind before lynching anybody.”
I don’t see people, at least on this site, calling for a lynching. What we are calling for is a competent investigation. If this case had been handled properly from the beginning, you wouldn’t have Al Sharpton taking up the case, Jennifer Granholm nearly breaking down in tears on her show, or the need for a police chief to step aside in the face of a huge public outcry.
Zimmerman certainly deserves a day in court. But the only court he’ll ever see is the court of public opinion if there is no fair investigation. And that’s just not good enough.
You guys first thought Zimmerman was some old retired conservative white guy. Admit it.
Now the president is particularly upset because the victim was black like him.
There are times to make political hay, and times when politics and bias should be left out. I think the president will have to explain his words.
You guys first thought Zimmerman was some old retired conservative white guy.
Prove that.
@fbh “You guys first thought Zimmerman was some old retired conservative white guy. Admit it.”
Uhhh. No. We’re know how to read and even understand statistics. Old conservative white guys mainly kill themselves.
You guys first thought Zimmerman was some old retired conservative white guy. Admit it.
Not at all. I saw this story on another site a day or 2 before it blew up nationally. One of the commenters on the article linked to a photo of Zimmerman, who is obviously not white.
Care to try again?
sure how about just shooting black folks like you “Christian COnservatives” want to do
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/03/as-santorum-fires-gun-woman-shouts-pretend-its-obama/
Now the press gets to pretend that the “pretend it is Obama woman” is not representative of the Republican base.
@Aoine–
Was your comment directed at me?
no not at all – at the peckerhead above you – FBH
The FOX quote came from asshat in chief Geraldo Rivera. You know, I think there’s a hidden space in a wall in Chicago he should go crawl into.
@Aoine–
Ok. You had me confused for a minute. I rebutted FBH’s comment, but I closed MY comment w/ “care to try again?” Your comment began w/ “sure”, so I thought you’d accepted the challenge.
I’m glad your comment wasn’t directed at me, because I have no desire to shoot ANYONE and I’m neither Christian nor “conservative”.
@anon40 – I know you are not – I read FBH’s comment then all the other;s yours included
Maybe I glanced up and your closure stuck in my head as a good opener – but for the wrong person
Sorry for the confusion – and thank you for asking first before taking offense – hope you didnt, but if you did – sorry, unintended…
“If I had a son he’d look like Trayvon”
What exactly does the President mean by that statement? Can you imagine if the president was white, and he said the same thing about some white kid who was killed? What kind of idiot says something like that?
How many white kids walking on the street wearing a hoodie carrying a bag of skittles and a Coke are going to be followed by some self-appointed neighborhood watch asshole with a gun. Answer – ZERO!
FBH picked his comment up from Gingrich, who managed ro get his pretend outrage on over the President’s comment. When Ginrich asks, what exactly does the President mean by that statement? “If I had a son he’d look like Trayvon” I’d suggest the President means, that if he had a son he’d look like Trayvon.
Pretty simple reaaly.
You can always trace FBH’s comments to someone else. But keep going Republican base – this will be yet another issue you’re on the wrong side of.
Jason, I heard the presidents remarks on the radio with no commentary. I instantly picked up on the racist implication of the statement. You can see that from my first comment on this thread which was written before Gingrich made his statement.
You know, there are experiences outside the white world you live in.
Know what else… My white son will never experience what his black friends experience every day. And, as a parent I will never have to worry about what black parents worry about on a daily basis.
Why don’t you get that? Why must you always be the victim. Honestly, it is a really ugly trait.
Gingrich is intentionally missing the President’s point. If Obama had a son, it would be legal for Florida wingnuts to shoot him down because they feel threatened by black teens.
If you pass on the racism in that situation, and instead pretend to be outraged over the President’s very straightfowrd comment – that is textbook, pretend Fox News style outrage.
pandora, I live in Martin Luther king’s world. The world where the color of your skin shouldn’t matter. Apparently the president doesn’t.
MLK had a dream that has yet to be fulfilled – to pretend otherwise is a lie. To cite him to try and make your pathetic point is vile.
“If you pass on the racism in that situation, and instead pretend to be outraged over the President’s very straightfowrd comment – that is textbook, pretend Fox News style outrage.”
jason330, I don’t know about Gingritch but, I’m not outraged by the comment. This is a political blog and I’m just pointing out, what I feel, is a political gaffe by the President.
I’m curious to see what the response out of the White House will be.
“What kind of idiot says something like that?”
The kind who just boosted black turnout at the polls in November by about 25%.
Perhaps you’re unaware of it, FBH, but a large majority of whites vote for Republicans. Offending a white person like you doesn’t cost him much; energizing minority people, who are less likely to vote in the first place, benefits him greatly.
The first rule of political analysis is that your personal reactions aren’t worth a sock full of shit. If you can’t rise above your own biases, your “analysis” is, as I said, a sock full of shit.
EVERY Fox News viewer already thought Obama was a “racist” (a word conservatives don’t understand the meaning of; they consistently confuse it with “race-conscious.”)
I have a bicycle. If I ride the bicycle, I’m a bicyclist.
pandora, I live in Martin Luther king’s world.
Actually, you don’t. And you would be one of the reasons why we aren’t there yet. Because as long as it is easier for you to twist yourself up in knots to see a clear statement of empathy by the President into something racist, you are one of the obstacles to MLK’s world.
You are here specifically try to score some silly points against a President who will not join you in devaluing this young man’s life. Speaking for myself only — the faster people like you are out of the conversation, the closer we’ll get to MLK’s world.
“I have a bicycle. If I ride the bicycle, I’m a bicyclist.”
Sorry, lousy analogy. Look up the word, since you clearly don’t know what it means.
“I live in Martin Luther king’s world. The world where the color of your skin shouldn’t matter.”
Nobody in America lives in that world, yourself included. As this case proves, skin color certainly does matter. After all, many of your fellow apologists have maintained George Zimmerman can’t be racist because he’s a minority himself, so clearly those people think the color of Zimmerman’s skin matters.
Conservatives who pretend they’re sensitive to race never succeed. Just don’t bother.
EVERY Fox News viewer already thought Obama was a “racist” (a word conservatives don’t understand the meaning of; they consistently confuse it with “race-conscious.”)
I’m going to add to this that people too often confuse the meaning of “racism” and “prejudice”. And that’s not limited to Fox News viewers.
You’re absolutely right, Cass. I consistently see people of all political persuasions using “racism” when referring to blacks’ mistrust of or dislike of whites.
“Racism” is the belief that a particular race of people is inherently inferior — or, in places like Sanford (and Delaware, for that matter) that being a particular race (especially, it seems, while also wearing a hoodie) marks you as a threat to public safety until proven otherwise.
Let’s make something else clear as well: While there might not be any evidence to contradict Zimmerman’s story — the only person who could convincingly do so is, conveniently for Zimmerman, dead — there is also not a shred of evidence to support it.
Likely scenario: Brown guy asks black hoodie why he is in neighborhood. Black hoodie believes he is being dissed by brown guy, takes him down starts beating him. Brown guy shoots black hoodie. Likely last thought of black hoodie: “Oh s***!”.
Not at all likely except in the mind of a gun-worshiper like you, Rockland. We all realize that folks like you, for whatever reason, get a hard-on by fantasizing about how you and your big weapon bring justice and the American Way to society.
Now that you’ve had your fun, please wipe up the mess.
“Because as long as it is easier for you to twist yourself up in knots to see a clear statement of empathy by the President into something racist, you are one of the obstacles to MLK’s world.”
So if George Bush was particularly upset because some victim was white, that would be just fine, right cassandra?
“So if George Bush was particularly upset because some victim was white, that would be just fine, right cassandra?”
You’ll never get it, will you? Your high-minded ideals do not erase 400 years of racism, and whites attacking blacks will never be the same thing (in this country) as blacks attacking whites. Your continued protestations only contribute to the appearance of grave ignorance on your part.
Particularly upset? Everyone I know is upset and outraged over this situation. The SYG Law was ripe for this sort of situation – Hell, it seems designed for it.
I have wept over what happened to Trayvon, but I don’t pretend that my son could be Trayvon because my son wouldn’t have caught Zimmerman’s attention.
And Rockland simply makes things up, just like his hero Zimmerman.
@p “Why must you always be the victim.”
Victimhood is at the core of conservative thinking. It’s the big bad world trying to get them and that then excuses them for being total dicks to other people. That excuses very un-Christian behavior. That excuses blatant racism. That excuses a total lack of empathy for poor kids needing lunch money.
You might like reading this. I think it explains the conservative mind rather well. It’s an exceptional read.
Politics, Odors and Soap
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/kristof-politics-odors-and-soap.html
“…research suggests that conservatives are particularly attuned to threats.”
The key difference being a strong sense of tribalism in conservatives and much less so in liberals. When tribalism plays an important role, racism is easy.
Conservatives like rockland arent racist. they just KNOW that some races are more violent, some need to be watched, some try to take our women, and some are chosen by God to rule the others. It’s not racism, it’s just fact.