. . CRIME AND CRIMINALS: MURDER HOMICIDE : UNITED STATES: STATES: FLORIDA: Trayvon Martin Should Open Our Eyes: White Privilege and Racial Profiling . . Trayvon Martin Should Open Our Eyes: White Privilege and Racial Profiling Posted: 04/ 4/2012 3:47 pm Waymon Hudson The Huffington Post Politicshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/waymon-hudson/ trayvon-martin-white-privilege_b_1401107.html
. A shorter URL for the above link: . http://tinyurl.com/d7wvbp3 . .I've really struggled as a writer to talk about the tragic shooting of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman, who has still not been arrested or even charged. While media discussions swirl about so many other issues, for me it boils down to a central point that, according to 911 calls, Trayvon Martin was viewed as "suspicious" by Zimmerman simply for being black. And that basic issue, the scary look at how race can dangerously shape perceptions with deadly results, is what has struck me to the core.
. You see, I have a black son. . snip .To be blunt, seeing the world through my son's eyes was a huge teachable moment for me. I had no clue what it was like to be a young black man in America today. While I liked to think of myself as 'evolved and aware' of racism, the day to day experience of having women clutch their purses when my son walked by or having security guards follow us in stores was still shocking. I even watched a bank refuse to open an account for my son until I came in with him. Long talks with him about the suspicion and danger faced by people of color on a daily basis gave me insights not only into his experience, but into my own position of blind privilege as a white man.
. snip .While America could be having this very same teachable moment by listening and accepting the life experiences of others, of people like Trayvon and my son, it seems we're not. Here in Illinois, for example, Rep. Rich Morthland (R-Cordova) has said that while Trayvon's killing was a 'tragedy,' he intends to reintroduce a "Stand Your Ground" bill, similar to Florida's. But the refusal to learn from, or even listen to, the experience of black Americans goes far beyond tone-deaf politicians -- it's all of us.
. . The complete article may be read at the URL above. . . Sincerely, David Dillard Temple University (215) 204 - 4584 jwne@xxxxxxxxxx http://workface.com/e/daviddillard Net-Gold http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html Index: http://tinyurl.com/myxb4w http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en General Internet & Print Resources http://guides.temple.edu/general-internet COUNTRIES http://guides.temple.edu/general-country-info EMPLOYMENT http://guides.temple.edu/EMPLOYMENT TOURISM http://guides.temple.edu/tourism DISABILITIES http://guides.temple.edu/DISABILITIES INDOOR GARDENING http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/ Educator-Gold http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/ K12ADMINLIFE http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/ The Russell Conwell Learning Center Research Guide: THE COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER http://tinyurl.com/yae7w79 Information Literacy http://guides.temple.edu/content.php?pid=22756&sid=2223487 Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o and also http://www.flickr.com/photos/neemers/ Twitter: davidpdillard Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds), Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit, Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books. Wellness Tourism: Bibliographic and Webliographic Essay David P. Dillard http://tinyurl.com/p63whl http://tinyurl.com/ou53aw INDOOR GARDENING Improve Your Chances for Indoor Gardening Success http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/ http://groups.google.com/group/indoor-gardening-and-urban-gardening SPORT-MED https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/sport-med.html http://groups.google.com/group/sport-med http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sports-med/ http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/sport-med.html HEALTH DIET FITNESS RECREATION SPORTS TOURISM http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/healthrecsport/ http://groups.google.com/group/healthrecsport http://healthrecsport.jiglu.com/ http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/health-recreation-sports-tourism.html . . Please Ignore All Links to JIGLU in search results for Net-Gold and related lists. The Net-Gold relationship with JIGLU has been terminated by JIGLU and these are dead links. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/30664 http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/healthrecsport/message/145 . .