This morning, the president of the United States overshadowed his own introduction of the new World Bank president by making remarks about the shocking case of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17 year-old shot to death in a Florida town by a wannabe cop who claimed self-defense and was not charged with a crime. The Justice Department is looking at the case, a grand jury has been convened to consider the case, and the nation is in an uproar about the case—all signs that, with the exception of some extremists who crawl out of their repugnant redoubts, everybody is able to see the horror in a story like this and has a gut reaction that something profoundly wrong must have taken place here. The president said some moving words—”when I think about this boy, I think of my own kids…If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon—and some not-so-moving things. Particularly this: “I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means we examine the laws, the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident.”
Hey, wait a minute. What soul-searching exactly is it “all of us have to do” here? A black kid was shot by a Hispanic adult apparently besotted with law enforcement whose volunteer work for neighborhood watch had him calling the cops in his Orlando suburb nearly 50 times in a year to report on his suspicions. That adult lives in a state where a “Stand Your Ground” law does not require people to retreat in the face of a threat outside their homes. A police chief where he lives decided that owing to the Stand Your Ground law, he had no grounds on which to arrest George Zimmerman for the shooting death—who claims he was attacked by Martin—and let him go. This is a very, very, very specific case—involving a podunk PD, an evidently problematic individual who had been slightly empowered by a private watch system, and a teenage kid in a hoodie on his way to buy candy for his brother. It took place in a state where 19 million people live. The circumstances may not be duplicable. Ever. Even so, the leading officials in the state—its governor, Rick Scott, and its superstar young senator, Marco Rubio—have already said the Stand Your Ground law may need revision in the wake of the case. The response has been overwhelming, and all in one direction.
What President Obama here is doing is suggesting this is not enough that even his own Justice Department’s involvement is not enough—that there is some kind of collective guilt in the United States responsible for George Zimmerman pulling the trigger. One can presume that collective guilt involves, in the president’s mind, the unjust stigmatization of teenaged black youths that owes a debt to the historical legacy of racism and the workings of racism in the present day. Take this argument to its logical conclusion and George Zimmerman is some kind of monster of the American Racialist Id, not a man who did something apparently very wrong but a manifestation of all American hostility toward black people.
Sorry, but I’m not responsible for George Zimmerman, and neither is anybody else save George Zimmerman. I’m not even responsible for the Stewart, Fla., police chief, whom I neither hired nor put on leave. When the president says, “all of us have to do some soul searching,” you can bet he doesn’t for one second actually include himself in that “us.” What he means is “you.”
Typical Dem race-baiting. Complete with Al Sharpton leading the lynch mob.
Pres. O. really is the Finger Pointer in Chief.
Sorry, I don't take a statement urging "soul searching" as inferring a belief that somehow collective guilt is being ascribed. I do believe we as a society have to ask ourselves why a gun is an acceptable solution to a perceived problem with someone else. Stand your Ground laws need to be examined for the Laws of unintended consequences. Why do many police organizations opposes them , as evidenced from original testimony against the FL legislation when first introduced. Why was their point of view not accepted – that clearly demands soul-searching from the legislature.
Here we go again….the gun! Guns do not shoot themselves…people shoot them…some not sane people use them mostly lefties that appear unhappy with their lot as in Ariz and now FL…why don't we search our souls for the killings by drug addicts, alcohol, pain medication abusers! Why do we not search our souls by the death of homeless human beings, abused children? Why,,,why…why? Denise22x, WHY?
The Florida town where this occurred is "Sanford", not "Stewart". God bless.
John, like all knee-jerk 'reporters,' you know NOTHING! n nThis has NOTHING to do with the Stand Your Ground law at all — because that law addresses ONLY cases in which someone attacks, assaults, or otherwise causes you to REASONABLY BELIEVE you are in imminent danger of, or being subjected to grave bodily harm, etc. n nIf, as all of you armchair amateur detectives write, Martin was NOT the aggressor, than that law does NOT apply and this becomes a case of assault, murder, self-defense… NOT STAND YOUR GROUND! n nPlease silence yourself and allow the professionals to do what you are making it nearly impossible to do: conduct an impartial investigation. n nYour article is nonsensical and biased, with the usual anti-police rhetoric, too. n nOf COURSE the politicians are lining up… that's what they do. Even Obama entered the fray this morning, This nonsense reminds me of the Bernard Goetz case. n nSHUT UP and let the pros do what they do and stop criticizing from your comfy living room armchair. You may actually be making an ass of yourself.
1. I read Obama's remarks differently. I don't construe them as laying down an indictment of collective guilt. I read them as saying in effect, this is, pardon my cliche, a "teachable moment." So Podhoretz needs to distinguish between, on one hand, acts which reenact in their specficiity their cultural matrix and responses to these acts–as in the original police response–as a similar reneactment and, on the other hand, collective gullt. n nPodhoretz needs to focus, too, on how these acts and their responses reenact some of the profundest themes of America's racial past and, again, distinguish between that and collective guilt. n n
Well Scrumptious, I read Obama differently too! Obama "search our souls" is your "teachable moment", but every time there is a "teachable moment", this President does the complete opposite and lets his minions do the same…."do what I say not what I now say or do" and the only lesson he teaches anybody is that he cannot remain straight on any subject. I truly wonder if that teleprompter nhas something to do with his staying in line.
2. Not for nothing have these acts and responses aroused the soul of a nation, Reenactment is amongst the drivers of the surging of national outpouring and, yes, soul searching. n nSo Obama in his comments yokes that national outpouring to a call for some national reflection on the initial killing, the racailly etched non police response, the cultural stereotypes underlying what happened, the stand your ground laws and American history. n nWhat better fitting response from the leader of America at such a highly charged and yielding time. n nCollective guilt has nothing to do with it and is, finally, a tendentious means by which Podhoretz , all too inevitably, can get all political on Obama's butt. n n
Absolutely teachable. Why do Hispanics hate Blacks? n nand given initial eye-witness reports – n nWhy do Blacks hate Hispanics.
Obama's comment, "If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon," is the telling remark supportive of Podhoretz. What that implies is the usual leftist identity politics that seeks to drag a tragic unique local incident into something of national concern, simply because of the color of the skin of the victim. This is not the Jim Crow era,and federal intervention is precisely the wrong way to deal with this. Sad to see the President as part of the race baiting coalition. n
nIt is essential for the survival of our country that we think carefully and rationally about our problems. We must be courageous and keep our powerful emotions in check. Rational thinking is a duality. Rational thought is based upon clear principles and the logical conclusions. It is also based upon the empirical statistical evidence. All discussions must include both the logic and statistical evidence. n nAs an example of a major failing of American rational thought, consider the recent killing of a black boy in Sanford, FL. The killer, a man named Zimmerman, said his life was in danger. The outcry, from the President down, including the major media, is that Zimmerman is a liar. Zimmerman's life was never in danger, and he was wrong in taking another person's life. Logically, when a person claims self-defense we must not say he is a liar until the issue is settled in the courts. The American people are not following this logic. Empirically, Blacks murder more than 1,600 Whites each year. Blacks murder Whites at 18 times the rate Whites murder Blacks. Some 90% of the victims of race crimes are Whites. On a per-capita basis, Blacks commit 50 times more violent crimes than Whites do. Statistically, Zimmerman was justified in fearing for his life. The protesters are ignoring this statistic. n nThe media have the obligation to publish crime statistics in detail. We need to know the statistics for Sanford. We need to look into history. In 2005, a similar killing took place, with a similar public outcry. Eventually the killers were found not guilty, as they acted in self-defense. n nObama's remarks mirror his remarks a few years ago when a black Harvard professor was accused by a white policeman. Obama supported the professor without knowing the facts. This, along with his current remarks, clearly show that our President is a racist, unfairly accusing people who are not black. n nLet us not forget when a former governor of Texas said Obama won the nomination because he is black, Obama said that this remark was a racist remark. The reality was that this remark was the truth, and not racist. Obama was a racist for this reply. n
Mr. Poldhoretz: This is one of the few, few times I must disagree with you. You are jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts. You cannot rush to judgment without the facts. Just remember the Duke-LaCross, and how everyone judged the students to be guilty of rape until the truth was uncovered by such people as KC Johnson (Durham-In-Wonderland). You are making the mistake of presuming guilt when the presumption of innocence is what is required by American law. So, I ask you and everyone else, wait for the facts, and then make a judgment. I of course would not expect that of O of or Holder who are only all too willing to make this a racial matter and a gun control matter. (Someone mentioned on PJM that last wekk ten black were killed by other blacks in Chicago; that kind of communal dysfunction should be more important than this case.)
What about the white kid burned to death by blacks? How about the white fair-goers jumped by a gang of blacks and severely beaten. What's Obama's position on Days of Rage? I am fed up with this hispanic on black sensationalism pounced on by the usual suspects. IMPEACH Holder and his boss.
One correction for Podhoretz. Zimmerman did not call the cops 50 times over the course of a year, but 47 times over the course of eleven years. Big difference, especially since it radically changes the assumption that he was Barney Fife or something.
Roderick Reilly – A correction to your correction. It was not eleven years, it was about seven and a half. Zimmerman is now 28; 11 years would make him 17 – that's not plausible. The seven and a half number I read is plausible. And BTW it wasn't 50, it was 45. All told, we have about six to seven 911 calls a year. If Zimmerman was on neighborhood watch in what may not be a great neighborhood, calling the police that many times a year is probably not excessive. Note, too, that the police were going to come right over when Zimmerman called, indicating that they didn't think he was a nut. It also suggests that earlier calls did result in crime avoidance, so Zimmerman's policing, so to speak, may have made the neighborhood much safer (although that speculation remains unknown at this time). Again too little is known to make a rush to judgment concerning Mr. Zimmerman. If all those self-styled black leaders heading for Florida wanted to make a difference they should head to places like Chicago instead, where 10 blacks gunned down 10 other blacks last week, and try to convince such people not to be so dysfunctional.
How many times in the past eleven years have you called the cops for any reason?
Sue01 -I understand that he was part of a neighborhood watch, so I am not suprised that he called 911 that many times. More suggestive is that the police did not blow him off, indicating that prior calls were substantive. Of course that is speculative, but don't be one of those who rushes to judgment based on what the LSM has to say.
How many times have you been lied to by this "family", first the deceptive pictures, and now this, there are just so many lies put forth in trayvons name I just don't believe their family anymore. He called the police 49 times in the last 7 1/2 years as neighorhood watch, not what the media has been saying.
I love it. When problems occur in areas Obama has some influence over, they're all Bush's or China's or the tsunami's or (fill in the blank) fault. But when problems occur that none of US have anything much to do with, HE decides that WE need to do some "soul-searching"…. Please, let this man be gone soon….
Speaking about President Bush, in 2005 a similar incident took place in FL. After a few weeks, the killers were declared innocent. It went through all the channels. With race-bater Obama, it is made into a Federal crime. People want Zimmerman charged immediately, forgetting that charging a person too soon often results in prosecutors losing.
Well, John, perhaps he does mean you. But since it's Obama who's suggesting a little soul searching on your part, he can save his breath, right? n nAssuming polemics have real-world consequences, If I had to choose between you and Obama as more responsible for a Zimmerman and the Sanford PD, then I'd say you.
It must have been a slow day for Obama bashing. The man was asked a question during a press conference to announce an appointment. Relax, if you have no soul you're off the hook.
Eyewitnesses report 6'2" football player on top of, and beating down Zimmerman. So he shot him like anyone would. Zimmerman had grass stains on his back, a laceration on the back of his head, and a bloody nose. That innocent kid in a hoody is a football player on a five day suspension from school (for who knows what?) who is 3-4 yrs older than the picture. nZimmerman was a mixed race latino, self appointed neighborhood watchman, there was no "program" in the neighborhood. He is a wanna be cop, patroling his streets armed because it IS a high crime area-but who does that on their own? It is just a tragic shame with NO innocent victim.
11bravo – He was on suspension for being truant according to a commenter on PJM. Bright of the school to prevent someone from going to school who is already not going to school.
When I was young, and misbehaved, I was always threatened with "reform school.' n nI think we need to bring that back. Lets have an all-Black reform school — there are enough Black folk (officers & noncoms) retiring out of the military to staff it, and they neither would put up with bulls*** nor particularly tolerate being called racists. n nAnd a lot of the Blacks (or African Americans or whatever we are supposed to call people whom I prefer to call by their individual names) who were involved in the Civil Rights movement a half century ago – have really had about enough of this generation of Black youth. It isn't just Bill Cosby — although he is most outspoken on it. n nI have had people tell me "I did not put up with the [expletives] that I put up with in the '60s for THIS." The Black senior citizens are REALLY not happy — and these people vote like all senior citizens do.
our collective guilt is not that two individuals of any identity created a tragedy, but that we live in a violent society for which we have sought no amelioration, either within our borders, or outside of them.
We can correct that. Lower the number of thefts, break ins, and robberies.
It must be my Jungian background, but I see Obama, intentionally or not, drawing a connection between young Mr. Martin and himself with the killing being equivalent to throwing him out of office. n nObama does not appear to be a sincere individual and this is one more instance of not missing an opportunity, in this case, to make an unconscious appeal to "The People" to keep his presidential hopes alive.
UPDATE: Zimmerman was on the ground being punched when he shot Trayvon Martin – Charleston Charleston Conservative | Examiner.com
Last weekend in the city of Chicago alone, gangbangers slaughtered ten people and wounded another forty. The youngest fatality is only six years old. The youngest person wounded is only one-year-old. Many of the victim were pedestrians sprayed with bullets in drive by shootings. The national news has said nothing about this.
So why does one shooting in Florida warrant weeks of national news? Why has there been thousands of articles a day, for the last four days, about one single shooting?
Almost all of the news items about George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin contains a combination of false statements, opinions presented as facts, transparent distortions, and a complete absence of some of the most relevant details. Almost all news items are written soley from the point of view of the grieving family. The media also fills their articles with outdated baby-faced pictures of Trayvon. Very few include that he was a towering 6’2” football player. Is the media really reporting the news, or is this classic agitation/propaganda to advance a political agenda.
Literally thousands of articles contain at least one false statement in the first couple of lines. They usually read “George ZImmerman, a white man,” or “shoot by a white man.” Zimmerman is described by family as a multiracial Hispanic. His appearance is clearly that of a Latino/Mestizo individual. However, the media wants him to be white because that better fits the political narrative they are trying to artificially create. Many news articles have also claimed the neighborhood is “mostly white.” This is also a lie. The neighborhood is only 49% white. It is over half non-white.
All the way back on February 27th, the local Orlando Fox station interviewed the witness who dialed 911. Almost none of the thousands of articles since have mentioned any of the details described by the witness. Some, however, have attributed false statements to this witness. On March 16th, the Sanford police department released new details to the Orlando Sentinel. Once again, these details have been ignored or changed by the media.
1.The witness reports that George Zimmerman was on the ground and Trayvon is on top of him punching him.
2.The witness says that George Zimmerman was screaming and yelling for help.
3.Police arrive and find Zimmerman bleeding on his face and the back of his head. He also has had grass stains on his back. All this confirms the story told by Zimmerman and the witness.
4.Police play the 911 tape for Trayvon Martin’s father, who tells police that the voice screaming is not the voice of his son.
The neighborhood this took place in has seen a lot of crime. Would you be surprised to learn that there were eight burglaries, nine thefts, and a shooting just in the past year? In fact, the local homeowners’ association reports that George Zimmerman actually caught one thief and aided in the apprehension of other criminals. The Miami Herald wrote about this on March 17th. None of the thousands of articles and cable news segments that came after, thought this was important.
In fact the Miami Herald goes on to interview neighbor, Ibrahim Rashada, who is black. Rashada confirms that there has been a lot of crime in the neighborhood and indicates to the reporter that the perpetrators are usually black.
The media also characterizes Trayvon as a “model student.” In fact, he under a five day suspension when the shooting took place. That is why he was staying at a house so far from his school on a school night. A laywer for Trayvon’s family has blocked access to his school records. However, you have to do something pretty bad to get suspended for five days.
Now that you know the suppressed facts of the case, you can for form a better more balanced opinion. Maybe you still think Zimmerman was wrong to pull the trigger. However, I think you will come to the conclusion that the “mainstream” clearly is pushing an agenda. Even when they have to grossly alter and adjust a story to fit that agenda.
Well, it an election year and the media need to do what they always do, distort and praise the Pres.
11bravo – BRAVO on your statement of facts. As you say: the LSM has an agenda: Blacks can do no wrong; whites can do no right; guns are bad, bad, bad; and everything is the fault of the extreme right.
Forensics, if they do them and do them competently (this *is* Florida) will either confirm or deny a weapon discharged by the shooter underneath the person shot. n nMy gut feeling is that they have already done this and it has so confirmed….
Sadly innocent people are killed for no good reason, just over the Saint Patrick's Day holiday ten innocent people were shot to death in Chicago, and another thirty five were wounded. And in this situation, almost all the victims were people color. Yet oddly enough, Obama did not see fit to comment on that situation and most of the killings took place in South Chicago, where Obama actually used to live and "community organize." nBut more disturbing is how Obama injected himself into the Florida killing, once again narcisistically making himself and his family the center of attention, rather than the tragic death of a young man. nIsn't their anything that happens to anyone that Obama doesn't try to make it as if it's HIS experience and reaction that's important and not the event itself?
The president would have done well to simply state that "I do not know all the facts regarding this incident; therefore, I should refrain from commenting on it until the facts are known." n nHe serves no useful purpose in commenting on local events with which he is unfamiliar – as Mr. Podhoretz himself should be aware.
Forget race, I am tired of this being presented in the contest of small child and big bad adult. n nThe individual who was shot was 17 years old and a football player — or at least was wearing a high school football uniform. The individual who was being pummeled (and I argue fired in self defense) was a middle-aged windbag cop wannabe who probably has never done anything physical in his life. n nTaking race out of this, let me use myself as an example. When I was 17 years old, I was hauling 500 lobster traps a day, every day — and this was back in the days of 4-headed wooden Andersons that weighed upwards of 200 lbs each. I routinely stacked these on the back of a moving boat, and nonchalantly did it the next day as well. n nA case of office paper — 10 reams — weighs 50 lbs or a quarter of what these lobster traps weighed. Yes I can carry these around and do — I am still strong enough to nonchalantly unload a truck full of these things – but one at a time and with the level of effort I once used to carry something four times heaver. Such is middle age. n nI have never hit anyone and never will — and I probably could hurt someone if I ever did. But when I was 17, I could have hurt someone a whole lot more. And while legally a 17-year-old is a minor child, in terms of physical strength and the ability to hurt another, the 17-year-old likely is stronger than the middle aged adult. n nIf you have someone younger and stronger on top of you, pounding on you and you can not stop him, can not get away, and your calls for help have been without avail, I think you have the right to use deadly force. The person restraining you and hitting you is in the wrong — regardless of what you may have done to provoke him — and you have the right to stop him. n nAnd race has nothing to do with this — you aren't supposed to hit people. n n n n
Some serious soul searching is required. Why do Hispanics hate Blacks? n nAnd how did Zimmerman get blood on his face and on the back of his head? And why was he yelling for help? The police found 6 witnesses. One has publicly stated Zimmerman was being beaten. It was reported on 27 Feb. So maybe we should soul search on why Blacks hate Hispanics?
OR that race is a social construct in the first place? n nAnd that part about the content of your character and not color of your skin? n nOr are we to be in a world where white bad, black good; white guilty, black innocent" nIs that what Dr. King died for?????
I too think this shooting was a tragedy. but I have to note that it's interesting what Obama chooses to become involved in and what he stays away from. it would be refreshing for Obama to show occasional concern for white, Judeo-Christian people every once in awhile.
"If that is in fact true, it seems disturbing, to say the least. I watched Obama's statement, and I found it restrained, moving, and sincere. " And that is the problem, no on know all of the facts, no one. So, how "restrained, moving and sincere" does that make Obama? We all need to wait until the facts are clear 100%…but that is not what the Left ever does….