Heartbreaking article, "Trayvon Martin, my son, and the Black Male Code"

[hal]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articl...male_code/

I thought my son would be much older before I had to tell him about the Black Male Code. He's only 12, still sleeping with stuffed animals, still afraid of the dark. But after the Trayvon Martin tragedy, I needed to explain to my child that soon people might be afraid of him.

...

As I explained it, the Code goes like this:

Always pay close attention to your surroundings, son, especially if you are in an affluent neighborhood where black folks are few. Understand that even though you are not a criminal, some people might assume you are, especially if you are wearing certain clothes.

Never argue with police, but protect your dignity and take pride in humility. When confronted by someone with a badge or a gun, do not flee, fight, or put your hands anywhere other than up.

Please don't assume, son, that all white people view you as a threat. America is better than that. Suspicion and bitterness can imprison you. But as a black male, you must go above and beyond to show strangers what type of person you really are.

I was far from alone in laying out these instructions. Across the country this week, parents were talking to their children, especially their black sons, about the Code. It's a talk the black community has passed down for generations, an evolving oral tradition from the days when an errant remark could easily cost black people their job, their freedom, or sometimes their life.

[Chakravartin]

Take out "black male" and substitute the words "hippie, hipster, teenage boy, K-Mart Shopper, person with backpack, ginger, anyone who walks in this neighborhood..."

People are xenophobic.

"Not from around here" and "not like me" are convenient excuse for murder in many places... and sometimes legal excuses.

[hal]

oops, I meant to put this on the other side - please move... thx

and, btw, it's a longish article - much more to it that I posted here...

[OWC Jamie]

Chakravartin wrote:
Take out "black male" and substitute the words "hippie, hipster, teenage boy, K-Mart Shopper, person with backpack, ginger, anyone who walks in this neighborhood..."

People are xenophobic.

"Not from around here" and "not like me" are convenient excuse for murder in many places... and sometimes legal excuses.

+1

[rjmacs]

Chakravartin wrote:
Take out "black male" and substitute the words "hippie, hipster, teenage boy, K-Mart Shopper, person with backpack, ginger, anyone who walks in this neighborhood..."

People are xenophobic.

"Not from around here" and "not like me" are convenient excuse for murder in many places... and sometimes legal excuses.

Both of these are true, but it's a mistake to overlook that violence based on race has a particular and peculiar place in our history and society. It's simply not true that over the course of American history, 'hippies, hipsters, teenage boys, K-Mart Shoppers, people with backpacks, or gingers' have been targeted in ways that begin to compare with racially-motivated violence.

[RAMd®d]

"Not from around here" and "not like me" are convenient "excuses" for predatory murder in many places... and mostly illegal "excuses".

[OWC Jamie]

rjmacs wrote:
[quote=Chakravartin]
Take out "black male" and substitute the words "hippie, hipster, teenage boy, K-Mart Shopper, person with backpack, ginger, anyone who walks in this neighborhood..."

People are xenophobic.

"Not from around here" and "not like me" are convenient excuse for murder in many places... and sometimes legal excuses.

Both of these are true, but it's a mistake to overlook that violence based on race has a particular and peculiar place in our history and society. It's simply not true that over the course of American history, 'hippies, hipsters, teenage boys, K-Mart Shoppers, people with backpacks, or gingers' have been targeted in ways that begin to compare with racially-motivated violence.

and some people need to hate so badly that they can find racism in an empty glass of water.

[Ted King]

billb wrote:
[quote=rjmacs]
[quote=Chakravartin]
Take out "black male" and substitute the words "hippie, hipster, teenage boy, K-Mart Shopper, person with backpack, ginger, anyone who walks in this neighborhood..."

People are xenophobic.

"Not from around here" and "not like me" are convenient excuse for murder in many places... and sometimes legal excuses.

Both of these are true, but it's a mistake to overlook that violence based on race has a particular and peculiar place in our history and society. It's simply not true that over the course of American history, 'hippies, hipsters, teenage boys, K-Mart Shoppers, people with backpacks, or gingers' have been targeted in ways that begin to compare with racially-motivated violence.

and some people need to hate so badly that they can find racism in an empty glass of water.
Do you think people finding racism "in an empty glass of water" is as big a problem as violence against someone based on their race? Or do you think there isn't any racially-motivated violence? I don't understand why you made that comment. Is it just that you feel that you need to add an obligatory "some people find racism in an empty glass of water" comment to any thread that talks about racism?

[samintx]

The strange thing is Zimmerman is hispanic...anyway half...white half hispanic. More a nervous trigger finger.

I like that posted Black Code if I'm allowed as a white female to say that to reason.

[olnacl]

Don't forget to add "Democrat" to the list. Sad to say, my Obama sticker does not grace my bumper or rear window for fear of getting the car keyed here in the south.