Oftentimes when having difficult conversations about complex topics, certain kinds of people (the small-minded, feeble-minded, profoundly ignorant, etc.) will try to derail the conversation. There are many strategies these people will try to use, all designed to shift focus from culpability and what really matters to lesser topics that are largely irrelevant or that miss the point entirely. Take rape, for example, and the use of victim blaming as a derailing strategy. When a woman is raped, she is interrogated about her choices that contributed to her rape–what she wore, her level of intoxication, her sexual history, and so on. These derailments serve to shift blame from the rapist to the victim because heaven forbid we ask the rapist what he was wearing or doing or thinking when he decided to commit a crime. Heaven forbid we place culpability where it belongs.
On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old boy from Florida was found shot dead. He was killed by self-appointed neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, 28 years old, who claimed he shot the young man in self-defense. Martin was not armed. He had a pack of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea. He had been talking to a friend before he died. We know now that he was an A and B student, a good boy, not that his nature must be qualified for his death to matter. When I first learned about Martin’s murder, I had nothing to say. There’s nothing that can really be said. It is a tragedy of staggering proportions. It is senseless. The saddest thing, for me, is that I am not shocked. I am not surprised. My initial reaction, if I may be frank, was, “Same shit, different decade.”
I don’t have children yet but I plan on it, one way or another. The idea of having a child, of raising a child, terrifies me for any number of reasons. I know too much about the world. I know too much about the ways in which the world is not safe for anyone. It is hard enough, believe you me, protecting a child inside your body let alone within the walls of your own home or out in the world. I worry because I know too much, have seen too much. I worry about relatively minor things like other kids teasing my child or my child being lonely or getting a cold. I worry about bigger things like doing it wrong or my child having serious medical problems. If I have a girl, I worry about the ways in which the world is dangerous for a girl child. If I have a boy, I worry about the ways in which the world is dangerous for a boy child. I carry all these worries before I even consider the challenges of raising a black child so that they are confident and comfortable in the world.
For much of my young life, I did not know race was something I needed to worry about. I did not know race marked me as different, as Other, as lesser in the eyes of too many. My parents sheltered my brothers and I as best they could. This is not to say we were ignorant about race, but rather, that we felt safe and loved. We were raised to be confident and proud. As we got older, we were taught to be excellent. We had to be excellent because we were different and to get half the consideration, we needed to be twice as good, but this instruction, albeit intense, was done lovingly. I don’t know how else to explain it. Our parents were protecting us by preparing us in the best way they knew how. I did not necessarily know it then but I surely know it now.
We always lived in the suburbs. We were always the only black family, or maybe, if we were lucky, one of two black families who we never seemed to connect with as if we were afraid to give the impression of a critical mass of negritude. I did not know race was something I needed to worry about because it was rarely part of the conversation. When you are the only one, you are more of an anomaly than a threat. My parents were aware of race. As I got older, they would share stories about real estate agents who wouldn’t show them homes in certain neighborhoods, or uncomfortable incidents in the workplace where people did not know how to handle the authority of a black man. We were also Haitian, and that’s what my parents focused on when we talked about difference. They told us about our ancestry and their country, a home they loved but a home they each, separately chose to leave, for reasons that were never fully explained. Some summers, they took us to Haiti. Those trips were a revelation because we weren’t the only anything. Everywhere we looked, we saw people who looked like us and talked like our parents. I understood or tried to understand the problems of that country but I also saw a place that could be something like home. The people around us spoke a language that felt more familiar on our tongues and more comforting to our ears. We saw the most dazzling spectrum of brown skins and we fit somewhere in the middle. I didn’t worry about race as a child because even when I started to understand I was different, I had that safe place to go back to, that fold I could fit myself into. When white people got on my nerves, or started to force their racial intolerance on me, I thought, “I come from a place where we are everything.” I realize now what a privilege it has been to have that. What I want for my children and your children is to have a place where they can feel like they are everything and still be surrounded by people who are different. That should be an inalienable right, too. That is not too much to want.
I rarely know how to write about race. I have no idea what to say. Race feels too big, too complex, but the danger in avoiding complex topics and complex conversations is that you give in, all too easily, to simple, woefully inadequate conversations. You give in, too easily to derailments.
When Trayvon Martin was killed, he was wearing a hoodie and somehow, this hoodie has become one of the focal points of the growing and necessary conversation about this young man’s death, the justice he deserves, and the racial climate in this country that makes a grown man with a gun perceive a 17 year old holding Skittles as a threat because of his skin color. I will admit to having not known that a hoodie was some kind of universal symbol for criminality. I teach on a college campus and I see probably five hundred hoodies a day on young men and women from all walks of life. In my world, a hoodie is a useful piece of clothing. That is a privilege, too, I suppose. When it comes to discussing Trayvon Martin and race, it is important to remember that the hoodie is beside the point. Discussing the hoodie is the same as discussing what a woman was wearing if she was raped. What was George Zimmerman wearing when he shot Trayvon Martin? Did his outfit contribute to his paranoia and vigilantism? Discussing the hoodie is as ridiculous as trying to come up with an answer to that question.
Geraldo Rivera has never been a man you can take seriously. I am old enough to remember his talk show in the late 80s and well into the 90s, Geraldo, that was some of the trashiest daytime television around. Geraldo hasn’t met a subject he is unwilling to exploit. He is an irresponsible hack and on those rare occasions I devote mental energy to him, I mostly feel sadness about the smallness of his mind and heart. It came as no surprise, none at all, that today on Fox News, Geraldo said, “I am urging the parents of black and Latino youngsters particularly to not let their children go out wearing hoodies. I think the hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.” Geraldo Rivera can go straight to hell. He should be urging the parents of would be killers to avoid guns. A hoodie did not kill Trayvon Martin, a gun did.
Geraldo’s commentary is a classic example of derailment. Trayvon could have been wearing a My Little Pony t-shirt and George Zimmerman would have perceived the young man as a threat. We cannot center this discussion around clothing. We cannot allow a piece of clothing to bear the brunt of the responsibility that belongs to the murderer and to the society that created him. This is a discussion about race, about unchecked vigilantism, about a state that encourages vigilantism, about a police department that continues to allow the murderer of a child to remain free, about a country where the parents of black children have to worry about the George Zimmermans of the world each time they let their children leave their homes, and about the fact that Trayvon Martin is not the first nor will he be the last young black man who was killed because of his black skin. If we allow the conversation to be derailed, we do Trayvon Martin even more injustice than has already been done unto him.
29 responses
Perfectly said.
Great essay – followed by a powerful photo that the Miami Heat put out.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=262746803812142&set=a.104701106283380.14689.100002304720365&type=1&ref=nf
Not sure if that link will work here or not — hope so.
Well-said. In addition to the idiotic hoodie discussion, I was taken aback when Geraldo said, as though it was only natural, that you cross the street when you see a black or Hispanic young person. The others seemed to readily assent, as though this was a perfectly reasonable precaution. This attitude—far more than any hoodie—is what contributed to this boy’s tragic death.
I just- I can’t. What kind of logic is that? He was black and wearing a hoodie and thus was a threat? That’s..frankly disgusting. This needs to be talked about, and that boy needs and deserves justice.
“Discussing the hoodie is the same as discussing what a woman was wearing if she was raped.” That’s the most powerful statement I’ve heard on this sad subject.
Zimmerman felt threatened while carrying a gun. The conversation should also include how Martin, an unarmed young man being persued by an armed white man, felt. I’m sure “threatened” doesn’t begin to describe it. This is shameful. A man has admitted to killing another. He should be locked up pending investigation.
Geraldo. Ugg. Let’s just take that argument to its logical conclusion, Geraldo. Parents, do not send your children out wearing dark skin. That’s as much responsible for this as, you know, the racist dude with the gun. Really, you shouldn’t go out provoking racists with your dark skin, people.
Excelent point! in my country most TV shows are derailing like “geraldo^s” controlled by politics and a poor and corrupted justice administration in several topics, always a tendence. We have small radio programs or isolated journalists who really acts like open minded. from Argentina.
First let me say that I am taking no sides here and that Geraldos comments have only served to inflame this already tragic circumstance. But there are pieces of information being routinely and sytematically left out of all of the media coverage of this story that the author of this story, for one, other similar commentaries, and the readers must also consider before making up their minds. Like being on a jury. Hear ALL the facts before rendering a judgement. First and foremost, Zimmerman is not white. He is half Hispanic. It is always easy to lump when it is convenient to fit a stereotype and use that stereotype to advance an agenda and this is no different than when it goes the other way. People want to make this a white on black crime, its not. Most hispanics whether whole or partially Hispanic don’t routinely identify with White at all, ever. Another important misrepresented fact is that the neighborhood where this occurred was mostly white, it is not, it is less than half to be exact, 49% White. Again, this does not condone any action either way, just a fact to be placed in the mix when rendering judgement which we are doing every time we think about it or read something about it. Another is this: lets understand why was Trayvon on on top of Zimmerman punching him when he was shot? We don’t know. It’s easy to say well he was only being punched and after the fact when we all learn one was unarmed and the other was, be shocked. The problem is that we then forget that Zimmerman most likely did not know that at the time of this altercation. This does not impune him from using deadly force at all, but his not knowing for sure has to be considered especially considering the rise in crime in his neighborhood which we will talk about shortly. If you put yourself in his shoes in that instant and you were in a fight with someone and unsure if you would be able to stop the individual with whom you’re fighting and felt your life might be in danger you might be inclined to use whatever force you had available to you at teh time to stop the attack. Right or wrong, even if you didn’t have all of the facts we now months after the fact, you cannot say how YOU would react in the same situation. Again right now we dont know what caused it or what lead up to it so it is simply a factoid to be placed on the board. Of course there are those that believe that if he didn’t have a gun in the first case this would not have happened. But in many many cases every day we don’t even think about it anymore where its not racially inflamed and someone gets shot and we just move on. Every time someone gets murdered as a consequence of a crime I think to myself would the outcome have been different if the victim had a gun, a means of changing or in some cases equalizing the situation? I believe yes. Not perfect, not without consequences but we are human and not perfect and thus nothing we do will be perfect. A gun in the hands of an imperfect human is not the best proposition, but as long as the criminals in our society also have access to them its an imperfect solution to an imperfect problem. But I digress. Here’s one final piece of information to consider, even Zimmerman’s neighbor has confirmed that violent crimes in his neighborhood are up drastically (also confirmed by local newspapers and police reports but left out of the national coverage) and that most are perpetrated by black males in this slightly more than 50% non-white neighborhood. The neighbor is black. Again, a young man is dead and this is a tragedy and there should be a fair, logical, unbiased trial to determine guilt, but let’s at least make sure we’re getting all the facts before we decide more punishment and before we get ourselves all worked up. There is always more to it and never so simple or as ‘black and white’ as the media wants us to think. I try to live by these words: Seek the whole truth before you judge lest you be judged similarly.
Chad: “Right or wrong, even if you didn’t have all of the facts we now months after the fact, you cannot say how YOU would react in the same situation.”
Let me try! If I was in my car and I saw a person I deemed to be “suspicious” walking around (and let’s not even get into why I would consider this person “suspicious,” because I don’t have the energy to address your assertion that because Zimmerman is Hispanic, he was not targeting Trayvon Martin for being black), how would I react in this situation? I would not get out of my car. I would not chase the person down. And if for some reason I did both of these extremely stupid, aggressive things, and said suspicious person got on top of me (at which point, I would probably recognize him [if I hadn’t already] as a CHILD) and was punching me until I thought my life was in danger, I would probably think, “Well, it probably serves me right for getting out of my car and chasing this CHILD down.” I would not shoot the CHILD.
But I don’t know, that’s just me! Let’s all play.
Damn. Spot on, Roxanne.
Chad – People can and do argue all day about whether Hispanic (or “half Hispanic”) qualifies as “white,” but that’s completely irrelevant here. It’s just another example of the derailment that the author describes.
The problem isn’t that Zimmerman shot Martin because Zimmerman is white, and no one’s saying it is. The problem is that he shot him because Martin was black. The problem is that Zimmerman is a violent, paranoid racist, regardless of what his own ethnic background may be. Had he not been a violent, paranoid racist, he would never have wound up in *any* kind of “altercation” with Martin at all. Period, full stop.
And in a larger sense, it’s not even about Zimmerman. The world is full of violent, paranoid racists, sad to say. The real outrage here, the larger injustice, is about the fact that local authorities were perfectly content to let him get away with it, without investigation, on the argument that this murder was “self-defense.” The implicit *institutionalized* racism there is staggering.
Chad, I actually don’t bring up Zimmerman’s race and I don’t because his race doesn’t matter. Regardless of his race, he committed a crime and he has gotten away with it, thus far. I will say, though, that if Zimmerman were black, no one would give a damn and/or, they’d be building a new jail on top of him. Who cares if Trayvon at one point in a scuffle, was on top of Zimmerman? You don’t need a gun to get out of a fistfight, particularly when Zimmerman had at least a hundred pounds on the kid. Please give me a break.
No one is ignoring these so-called facts you’re trying to introduce, these justifications that aren’t really justifications, or, I should say, these derailments. You are taking sides. Own that. Zimmeman was driving while armed with a gun. Trayvon was walking home, chatting on his phone, and carrying some Skittles. Now, he is dead. These are the only facts that matter.
I’m going to put on a moderator hat here for a second and please ask that no one else respond to Chad’s comments. I’m only leaving Chad’s comment up because it hits on pretty much every attempt I’ve seen so far to justify Zimmerman’s actions and/or Florida’s inaptly named “Stand Your Ground” law. This, in short, is what qualifies as “the other side” of this debate, and really, nothing more need be added. It’s there in all its glorious incoherence and factlessness for us to revel in.
Instead, I’d rather we focus on, as Roxane said, the tragedy of Trayvon Martin’s needless death and not be distracted by this kind of nonsense. I’ll do my part to keep the comment thread tidy.
Thank you for writing such an important essay. Seems like just last weekend we were saying we view the world through the lens of “the hunted.” xoxo
Love this, Roxane. So well said.
Chad–I don’t wish to speak to your entire comment because I don’t have time, but I will say one thing. George Zimmerman is half Hispanic, true, but he does not identify as Hispanic. He identifies himself as a white man, unequivocally.
My apologies Brian–I didn’t see your comment until I already posted mine. Very good point.
Geraldo has needed to lose his sponsors for a long time, obviously, the way Rush Limbaugh needed to for a long time, but now there’s a mandated opportunity. He is speaking this hoodiegate rhetoric for the same reason Rush called the law student a slut, but in this case we see, even more terribly and clearly, where such rhetoric leads: it leads to murder. The hatred and condescension present in Geraldo’s comments makes me feel, in my weaker moments, like things are hopeless. How Trayvon’s mother will find the strength to live through this event, I cannot imagine. But then to hear a sweatshirt being talked about on the national media when you are trying to get justice for your slain son? I can’t scream loudly enough.
when I was a child I didn’t see color, only clothing.
this is why I never trusted a man with a fanny pack.
or with an untucked button down under a blazer. that’s just shameful. downright provoking.
It is worth pointing out as well that Travon Martin was only 140lbs! Zimmerman looks like he outways him by 100 lbs. Zimmerman really thought this kid was a threat? Even if Travon was on top of him in an alterication, which I doubt, he could have easily manhandled the kid without shooting him!
THANK YOU for linking to the Derailing for Dummies website (http://www.derailingfordummies.com)! I just post that when people start derailing discussions on race on FB.
Thanks Roxane. It’s sad that it needs to be said that a hoodie didn’t kill Trayvon, but as always you found the thing that needed to be said.
Thank you for this. I think your writing is amazing.
Thanks, Roxane, for your article.
I grew up watching ‘A Different World’ (Cosby show spin off where Denise goes to Hillman, a fictional historically black college), and I remember one episode where Dwyane is really tough on his freshmen Calculus class, and after they complain and go on strike, he tells them he’s preparing them for the real world. It’s not enough to be equal he says. Black people have to be better because the world is going to expect less of them because of the color of their skin. I think that episode was 1991 or 1992.
So here we are in 2012, and we haven’t progressed much. Geraldo’s commentary about Trayvon’s hoodie being as much as a culprit as George Zimmerman is ridiculous. However, I don’t think discussing Trayvon’s hoodie is ridiculous; it’s a very important topic. We just need to modify how we are talking about it. We need to ask why white and asian young men can wear hoodies and apply for much sought after housing or high level positions at start ups, but when black and latino young men wear hoodies, they’re suspicious and dangerous. I wonder if George would have left Trayvon alone if he had been wearing a J. Crew sweater and khakis. Why is it that 20 years later, we’re still telling our black and latino children that it’s not enough to be equal; they have to be better in order to not only excel in this world, but also to survive in this world.
It’s good that more and more people are having these conversations, but it’s frustrating that we’re having the same conversations as we did in the early 90s. From Troy Davis to Oscar Grant and now Trayvon Martin, we continue to ask the same questions of why and how these are happening. We need to evolve our conversations to start asking ourselves and others how to challenge our own prejudices and to change our actions so that in another 20 years things will be better for our young men of color.
And Dana O’Bryan, you’re so right. Trayvon looks like a kid I could babysit.
it was so touching nice story
couldnt be said any better
that was so touching……rip trayvon
I really enjoy your essays. The first essay I read of yours was “Peculiar Benefits” for my writing class. Your essays are so profound. I cannot stop reading them. After each essay I read, I couldn’t help but read another one because they are so powerful.
Click here to subscribe today and leave your comment.