Tuesday, May 08, 2012

What is racism? Did Jeremiah Wright say or do anything racist?

Racism is prejudice or discrimination based on an individual’s race. Racism can be expressed individually or through institutional policies or practices. Racism is a system of oppression – a nexus of racist beliefs, whether explicitly, tacit or unconscious; practices; organizations and institutions that combine to discriminate against and marginalize a class of people who share a common racial designation, based on that designation.

Prejudice. An adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge

edit: It was sitting in my drafts, and I dont' like it when things are sitting in my drafts.

Sanford Police Department, Tips to Protect Yourself from Burglaries, and George Zimmerman

The Sanford Police Department has a flyer they published titled "Safety at Home" which offers tips on how its citizens can protect themselves from cases of Burglary. Feel free to read it, but all I want from it I mention below.

I want to focus on three points the SPD makes in this flyer.

  • Most burglaries occur during daylight hours between 8 AM to 5 PM, while people are at work, shopping or taking kids to and from school.
  • Burglars may case an area posing as: joggers, someone looking for an address or a friend, etc.
  • Be observant and report suspicious people, vehicles, and activities.
This might be important stuff for someone who thinks they see a burglar. In fact, George Zimmerman, the guy who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, might have seen this flyer, considering he said he's a neighborhood watch captain and he seems to spend an unusual amount of time in contact with the police.

How important would these points be to Zimmerman?

The first point should have put Zimmerman at ease because it was around 7 PM when he spotted Martin. What burglar worth his salt would burglarize while people are at home?

Trayvon Martin was looking for an address, the one his Dad was staying at. Maybe that set an alarm off in Zimmerman's head. But how does someone know if another person is looking for a friend? This second point seems to imply that police expect citizens to have spoken to a suspicious person and have been told by that person that he's looking for someone or someplace.

But from what I've heard so far, Zimmerman never spoke to Trayvon before deciding Travyon was a drug induced, possibly armed burglar.

The final point, and the only one Zimmerman seems to have followed, is to report Trayvon Martin as a 'suspicious person'. Then again, Zimmerman took it further than that. So maybe Zimmerman doesn't do to well when it comes to citizen's guidelines.