Ask Marion

Marion Algier – Ask Marion

President Barack H. Obama made a surprise appearance before the White House press corps today to address the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. For more than 17 minutes, he spoke without notes (transcript here) which as we know is unusual for the president, a wide-ranging examination of the scourge of black children killing each other, the historical impacts of poverty and dysfunction, the pain of black parents on seeing their sons tarred with a broad brush, his own experiences as a black American who has scared old ladies with his very existence.

Many say the president was brutally honest, but obviously skewed, and brutally honest is often not the best option when you are nearing a possible explosion that could be ignited by your words.

It is a president’s, a leader’s, job to represent everyone… to calm the waters… and to enforce the laws as written. Comments like the ones below only inflame an already agitated populace, endanger a man found innocent based on the law and a jury of his peers and help destroy the very legal system that makes America superior to most countries and legal systems in the world. Leadership? Or race-baiting?

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama grappled with the Trayvon Martin case in the most personal of terms on Friday, telling Americans that the slain youth “could have been me 35 years ago” and urging them to do some soul searching about their attitudes on race.

The nation’s first black president said the nation needs to look for ways to move forward after the shooting and trial in Florida. And he said it may be time to take a hard look at “stand your ground” self-defense laws, questioning whether they contribute “to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see.”

“Where do we take this?” Obama wondered aloud during an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room. “How do we learn some lessons from this and move in a positive direction?”

His appearance marked his first extended comments on the Martin case since neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was acquitted last weekend of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Martin’s death last year. Jurors found that Zimmerman was acting in self-defense when he shot the unarmed black teenager. Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic.

Obama said that as people process the verdict, it’s important to put the pained and angry reaction of many African-Americans into context.

Protests and demonstrations, he said, are understandable, adding that “some of that stuff is just going to have to work its way through — as long as it remains nonviolent.”

“It’s important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away,” he said.

The president said that distrust shadows African-American men: They sometimes are closely followed when they shop at department stores; they can draw nervous stares on elevators and hear car locks clicking when they walk down the street — experiences that he said he personally felt before becoming a well-known figure.

“It’s inescapable for people to bring those experiences to bear,” he said.

Obama said black Americans recognize a history of racial disparities in how laws are applied on the death penalty and involving drug cases, but he also said the African-American community was not “naive about the fact that African-American young men are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system, that they’re disproportionately both victims and perpetrators of violence.”

The president said it’s time “for all of us to do some soul searching,” though he said it’s generally not productive when politicians try to orchestrate a national conversation that ends up being stilted and politicized.

He added that conversations within families and at churches and workplaces, where people may be more honest, could help people to ask themselves, “Am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can?”

Overall, Obama said, race relations in the United States actually are getting better. Citing his own daughters and their interactions with friends, the president said, “They’re better than we are. They’re better than we were.”

“Each successive generation seems to be making progress in changing attitudes when it comes to race,” he said.

The president declined to wade into the detail of legal questions about the Florida case, saying, “Once the jury’s spoken, that’s how our system works.”

But he said state and local laws, such as Florida’s “stand your ground” statute, need a close look.

Obama said it would be useful “to examine some state and local laws to see if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of confrontation” that led to Martin’s death. He questioned whether a law that sends the message that someone who is armed “has the right to use those firearms even if there is a way for them to exit from a situation” really promotes peace and security.

And he raised the question of whether Martin himself, if he had been armed and of age, “could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk” and shot Zimmerman if he felt threatened when being followed.

Obama also said the country needs to look at ways to improve local law enforcement through better training and resources, and needs to look for ways to “bolster and reinforce” African-American boys.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has said the Justice Department has an open investigation into the case. The department is looking into whether Zimmerman violated Martin’s civil rights. But most experts have weighed in questioning that approach, after all the FBI has investigated this case from all angles extensively and ruled out any civil rights violations.

2013 AP

Video of Full Remarks HERE: President Obama Speaks on Trayvon Martin

Considering that the president’s comment, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon” which helped inflame this case from the beginning and that most of the post-verdict violence and protests are coming from organized groups trained and funded by the DOJ with taxpayer money, ‘Justice for Trayvon’, perhaps we must ask ourselves if there is not a bigger underlying agenda… gun control, gun confiscation, creating chaos, martial law…? One of the greatest tools is dividing people, and this president, from day one… or at least from the ‘beer summit’ on, has divided America, not brought us together as most Americans hoped. Are we now getting to the point where we are so divided that we are sitting on a powder keg? Was that always the plan?

This week New York born Grammy-winning salsa singer of Puerto Rican decent Marc Anthony was criticized by some after his selection to sing “God Bless America” at this week’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held in New York City. Similar comments were made last month when an 11-year-old Texas-born mariachi singer sang the national anthem during the NBA finals. Both Anthony and the child are Latino. Have they already divided us that far that we are disrespecting and questioning legal immigrants and American citizens who are different from us? This is how it begins… dictators and politicians with underlying agendas divide people and create chaos as a byproduct. It is a way to detract from the real problems and agenda. We are picking on each other instead of asking why the government isn’t securing the borders and curbing the influx of people coming in illegally or asking why those in Washington responsible for all the scandals are not answering for their misdeeds and being put of out office.

Using (Saul) Alinsky tactics (Kindle), the former community organizer always sprinkles just enough pathos into his speeches to placate both sides, while planting the underlying seeds he hopes to sow.

Obama discussed statistics; he discussed history; he discussed the unequal treatment black men receive in the criminal justice system — or “the intersection of race and the law”; he reflected on the sociological factors that pressure the inner city, with empathy, while not turning his pointed gaze from black boys’ greater likelihood of being involved in violence and crime. In sober, measured tones, the president spoke poignantly about race in America, ending on the hopeful note that his children’s generation is “better than we are. […] [K]ids these days I think have more sense than we did back then, and certainly more than our parents did or our grandparents did, and that along this long, difficult journey, you know, we’re becoming a more perfect union — not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.” And he stirred the racial pot and increased the likelihood of more unrest and violence…

The Five Rails Against Obama’s ‘Divisive’ Speech: Won’t Stop Until He ‘Gets George Zimmerman’s Blood’

George Zimmerman’s Brother Offers Instant Reaction to Obama’s Comments