White privilege excuses

[Baitball Blogger]

You've heard them before:

Oh, it was a mistake.

Oh, it was just poor judgment.

Oh, it was ignorance.

Whether the infraction occurs in local government or in Home Owner's Associations these excuses are used routinely to explain away breaches as serious as fraud. What is incredible is that it works. It's an excuse that people accept without question IF the person who committed the infraction meets a certain profile.

Each time people program themselves to accept these excuses our communities degrade a little more. That is true even in the case of the Zimmerman trial where one of the jurors voted to acquit Zimmerman because "he just made a mistake." That's where prejudice is kicking in, showing more leniency or empathy for one group of society, than it does for another.

If you want to know why our society is degrading it is because common citizens in communities like Seminole County, aren't showing enough outrage to punish those who are negatively affecting other people's lives when they abuse their power. And that's odd coming from a demographic that insists on being tough on crime. The fact that they have trained themselves to be selective about which crimes they will be tough on suggests that prejudice is at play.

If they really wanted to prove that they were committed to being tough on crime they would be just as hard on themselves, as they are with everyone who doesn't look like them.

[unblock]

1. it's interesting how "beyond a reasonable doubt" is such a tough standard

when the victim is black. but then look at all the innocent black people in prison after a "fair" trial.
somehow beyond a reasonable doubt wasn't a very tough standard when they were on trial.

yes, i know, sometimes there's no wiggle room and race considerations can't come into play. sometimes white innocent people go to prison, too.

but if there's room to fudge it, room for doubt, that's where racism comes into play. the jurors identified with the accused instead of the victim, and that determined the outcome. it's hard to imagine the jury would have reached the same conclusion with the races reversed. in fact, it's hard to believe the case would have gone to trial; were zimmerman black, he surely would have cut a deal as a trial would have been a disaster.

[Baitball Blogger]

6. You know the impression I got when they made such a big fuss over Trayvon's history?

I was thinking to myself, is anyone else noticing that only a black man that meets the standards of an Uncle Tom will pass the standards they're setting?

[LittleBlue]

9. Part of that is shit lawyers

Some of these so-called public defenders are scarcely better than having no representation at all.

OJ is a good example of a black man having ace attorneys. Zimmerman had good attorneys too. They are experts at finding and exaggerating reasonable doubt.

[Demo_Chris]

10. It's a tough standard regardless...

Made all the more so by television, which generally depicts all-but-telepathic detectives and magical forensic science providing airtight and unchallenged evidence. I suspect juries no longer even understand what a reasonable doubt actually means. In their minds it means that any questions left unanswered, any possible alternative scenario no matter how unlikely, and they must vote not guilty. See the Casey Anthony trial for example.

In this case, sadly, the prosecution did a poor job laying out what their case actually was. They were all over the map on this one. I suspect they didn't care.

[Township75]

2. As hard on themselves? I though Zimmerman was mixed race and the jury was mostly white.

Isn't that the racial make-up?

[HipChick]

3. Zimmerman self identifies as white..

[Township75]

4. D you have a link?

I'm not asking to be a pain in the arse. Some quote from him or his lawyers would help me a lot in the arguments I have been having with a few people.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I can tell you that being Latina it is easier to blend in if that is what you're looking for.

I was born and raised in a Latin American country, but on a U.S. military base. Now that I'm 55 the desire to go back to the High School reunions is offset by what I'm learning about my fellow high school pals from their Facebook comments. Let's just say, that many of them appeared to have blended in very well with the right-wing culture.

Well, at least I will save money on the plane ticket.

[NightWatcher]

7. my fav "excuse" is denial. It wasn't racist

A (half) white guy kills a black kid. It wasn't racist.

A white jury finds a white man not guilty of killing a black boy. It wasn't racist.

The white murderer says the black kid looked like a thug and was up to something. It wasn't racist.



and so on and so on and so on...

[Baitball Blogger]

8. That is the whole point of this great divide in this country, isn't it?

Only they believe this had nothing to do with race.