Advertisements
Advertisements
I have been following this case very closely and I am just SICK about it! That beautiful young man, killed as he was walking back to his father's house with candy and a drink, talking on his cell phone; something millions of teenagers do every day. I can so easily picture either of my black sons, the youngest of whom is only a year older than Trayvon was, in his place. It's bad enough that it happened, but now to see the ridiculous claims about it being "self-defense" and especially the slandering and hateful claims made about the dead boy. I've been seeing some very disturbing comments on various websites, obviously made by bigots, most of whom I am sure are white.
People say, "we don't have all the facts, so how do we know that the shooter wasn't afraid for his life", etc., but we DO know several very pertinent facts that very clearly show that the young man was doing absolutely nothing wrong, and that the shooter was the aggressor. I don't know if he was necessarily motivated by hatred of blacks, himself, but I think he wanted to pretend to be a police officer and was hoping to make himself look like a hero, and he obviously knew that he would be the most likely to get by with confronting, accusing, and/or shooting, a black teenaged boy, than anyone else.
It is a reminder that, although racism isn't as prevalent as it once was, it is still alive and well. We don't need to live in fear, but we do need to be aware, and make our kids aware, especially when they get to be teens. We faced a lot of prejudice and hatred when my oldest black son was a teen. One time, I was in a situation where I honestly thought the cops were going to shoot him. I wrapped my body around him and used all of my strength to shield him and keep him from running away, which I was terrified they would use as an excuse to shoot him. I faced criminal charges for that, but I would do it again, in a heartbeat (the DA dropped the charges on the morning I was supposed to appear in court, because he knew he had no evidence that I broke any laws). With my youngest son, we haven't had much trouble, thank GOD. I believe there has been a guardian angel with him, possibly his oldest brother, who passed away almost three years ago.
If others would rather not talk about this here, I understand, but I wanted to at least bring it up.
Fe2002
You should include this in your home study... It shows you in your best light.
Where is that Like Button?
Advertisements
Jensboys
She has a very clear post on her blog about her opinions of minorities and the importance of race (or her perception of the lack thereof). Her point of view is very clear.
Thanks for the heads-up. That blog entry is very bothersome to me....especially in view of adopting a transracial child.
I can't comment on off site remarks, so that isn't for discussion here.
If there's something I should see beyond what was discussed in terms of agency fees regarding transracial adoption, please pm me.
Otherwise, this side topic is closed. Please don't cause a thread closure over this.
nickchris
I am hesitant to watch Trayvon's mom speak.. the pain in her eyes always got to me. Hopefully, she geta a little more of a restful sleep tonight for the next leg of this journey.
I'm so scared for those parents. No one seems to be concerned with their grief. There will come a time when the people will disappear and they'll be left to deal with the grief then. Staying busy, having a cause, having folks talking about your lost child and keeping him front and center keeps him 'alive' in some sense.
But that time will come when folks will expect them to be 'over it' and the topic will be the huge elephant in the room.
Speaking from some experience, the worst is yet to come for them when the circus disappears and reality sets in.
Their son isn't coming home.
This tragedy has been so hard to follow. I tried to prepare myself pre-adoption for the fact that my child will experience things I can only hear about but won't really know from experience. And I know he's lucky that DH is AA and WILL understand from experience and can teach him what it means to be a strong, proud, black man--but unfortunately to also teach him what he has to do to try to be safe. Everyone loves my handsome, charming, 14month old. But one day he'll be 17. Will he be suspicious then? What if he is 6'4" like his birth father? When I think about my precious little man growing up in this world, it's like a punch in the gut. I hope and pray it's a very different (for the better) world by then.
Advertisements
This story is heartbreaking & soooo scary! I have a son who is hispanic. His birth father is very large and intense looking. I know many hispanic people, including family members. (my kids are relatives) The families I know teach their children to dress VERY nicely and talk very politely. Now I know why....I'm just sick about it. I was so naive.
You are right, Guppy.
I am very relieved by the arrest and charge of second degree murder, which I think is entirely appropriate. I hope the extremists will calm down, now. Trayvon's family would certainly not want his name associated with any violence or anymore racism. I am so impressed with them and their faith and desire for what is fair and right to take place. I don't see any hate or desire for revenge. Had it been my black teenaged son, Joseph, who had been murdered, I don't know that I could handle it that well. I can see why Ms. Corey referred to them as "sweet" parents. That gives me hope for their other children, too. I have seen, in my own family, the effects on kids of having a sibling die an especially tragic death. In fact, that is what drove my teenaged son to heroin, which I am happy and relieved to report that he has now been in treatment for, for 6 weeks. I know that Trayvon's siblings are going to face some very difficult times ahead and hope and pray that the love of their parents and others will get them through it safely. Guppy knows a great deal of this kind of thing, unfortunately, too. With us, it was a week after Stephen's death that we got to start facing the task of getting back to living, but without him. I say "got to" because it's like something that you know is coming and are dreading and anxious to start working to get the worst of it over with. I don't think the Martin/Fulton family has been able to do much of that, yet, because of all that has been going on. They are even facing a trial, which could be a long time away. It would be nice if Zimmerman would at least have the decency to admit what he did, rather than putting them through that additional ordeal.
I've spent a lot of the past few weeks reading and writing comments, on various websites. I noticed that most of the comments from the most insulting, obviously white, bigots, had a great deal of grammatical errors and misspelled or misused words, which is more evidence that racism and ignorance often exist together. One comment really made me laugh, though. I was crying, when I read it and it was comic relief. He said that the "Black Pampers" were going to start killing whites! I replied "My grandson is half African American and half caucasian. Should I diaper him in White Pampers or Black Pampers?" I don't think he "got it" though!
Neolani I've been thinking about you. Hope you're holding up well this week.
The Black Pampers cracked me up too. I don't know how you are able to stomach some of those bigoted comments though.
I agree that from what I've seen of the Martin family, particularly his mother, they have shown a lot of grace. I would like to think that's how I'd be, but I have my doubts.
And please forgive me if I have spelling errors!
Trayvon's family has conducted themselves with such grace and dignity. I don't know how they are doing it, but I'm learning a lot from them.
Trayvon's shooting happened 5 days after my daughter was born... All I could think of is, 'how am I going to teach her to handle such a situation?' I can't tell her to run, because people will think that she's running away for a reason. I can't tell her to call the police, because the Sanford police have demonstrated that the police often assume the worst about the African American involved in an incident... and I can't tell her to call me, because when she reaches for the phone someone is going to think it's a gun and shoot.
And it's even worse for parents of black young men.
I'm glad that Zimmerman is arrested on second degree murder charges, but whatever happens, it can't bring this innocent beautiful young man back.
Advertisements
usisarah
Neolani I've been thinking about you. Hope you're holding up well this week.
The Black Pampers cracked me up too. I don't know how you are able to stomach some of those bigoted comments though.
I agree that from what I've seen of the Martin family, particularly his mother, they have shown a lot of grace. I would like to think that's how I'd be, but I have my doubts.
And please forgive me if I have spelling errors!
Thanks for your concern about me! My 4 YO granddaughter has been spending a lot of time with me, and she does a great deal to keep my spirits up. If I get sad, she sits on the arm of my recliner, puts her arm around me and says, "Grandma, I love you so, so much!" I have been able to spend some time with my adorable 1 YO grandson, too. Little children are such a blessing!
I only look at those nasty comments where I can comment, too. I usually stay serious, but couldn't resist, that one time. I get many more "likes" than "unlikes" to my posts. I think the majority of Americans, of all colors, are appalled by this case. Like someone else said, there are bigots who wouldn't have the guts to express their ridiculous opinions if they had to identify themselves. I think about all the crap that happened in the 50s and 60s, when I was a child.
The laws that were fought so hard for, back then, have helped a lot, but can only do so much. My parents are still alive, and so are many of the adults whose bigotry caused so much drama back then. They've raised their own children, too, some of whom would have accepted some of their opinions. Not that they are the only bigots out there, by any means, but I get the feeling that they account for a lot of the ignorant comments in response to Trayvon's murder.
Gati, congratulations on your daughter!
noelani2
Gati, congratulations on your daughter!
Thanks she's truly amazing and we love her dearly! We couldn't have had a better match!
It is an amazing thing to finally have a baby in your arms, isn't it? It's been 29 years since we picked up are first baby, but I remember it like it was yesterday. After nine years of trying and failing, I was afraid, every time the phone rang, that it was going to be someone saying a mistake had been made and we had to give him back. After a couple of weeks, I started believing he was really staying. Over the next dozen years, we adopted five more, too!
I'd love to see a photo of your baby, and I'm sure everyone else would, too.
That's so true, wish you and other parents did not have to experience such. ((((Hugs))))
Guppy35
I'm so scared for those parents. No one seems to be concerned with their grief. There will come a time when the people will disappear and they'll be left to deal with the grief then. Staying busy, having a cause, having folks talking about your lost child and keeping him front and center keeps him 'alive' in some sense.
But that time will come when folks will expect them to be 'over it' and the topic will be the huge elephant in the room.
Speaking from some experience, the worst is yet to come for them when the circus disappears and reality sets in.
Their son isn't coming home.
Advertisements
I have been traveling the last day and a half, but heard something at the airport, saying that bail for Zimmerman was set at $150,000, which seems awfully low, to me. They also said that Zimmerman had apologized to Trayvon's parents. However, they said that the apology was on the order of "I'm sorry you lost your son." That sounds more like a slap in the face, to me. A real apology would be more like, "I'm sorry that I judged your son, based on his appearance, stalked him, terrorized him, and then killed him." He does not deserve to be out on bail, even if it was millions! I just pray, every day, that no one like Zimmerman sees one of my sons and decides to "protect" his neighborhood from the awful black young man with, Heaven forbid, a hoodie with the hood up!"
I hope I heard wrong about it, but CNN was running during the four hours I spent sitting in airports and they played it repeatedly.
It may be a moderately common bail amount for the crime. Some of the analysts are saying that the case seems very weak based on what the prosecutors were putting out there at the hearing. My hubby thinks he may get off. It still seems to me that the case may have been very poorly handled at the beginning and a lot of evidence won't be available now. We'll have to wait and see.