Thoughts on Zimmerman and Deen (Certainly Not a Classic Rock Duo)

by walterm on June 29, 2013

Just a few thoughts on George Zimmerman and Paula Deen, as I am a bit disappointed at some the reaction to these stories on both sides.

On the Zimmerman story, I do not like the race-baiters who see this thing entirely from the perspective of race. Who knows what is in the heart of Zimmerman, but we do know he was a mentor to black youth and that he didn’t have any particular animus towards them. What I have seen these race-baiters write is that this didn’t matter because he shot an unarmed black kid who was doing nothing wrong other than having on a hoodie and walking through his neighborhood at night. Well, that black kid ended up getting the better of Zimmerman in a fatal struggle, as came out in court testimony. The race-baiters argue that he was out targeting young black men due to recent break-ins. Well if there were break-ins and the men doing the break-ins were black, then that’s what I would be looking for too. So I see no logic that would necessarily conclude he is a racist (of course, this never stops race hucksters).

As to Zimmerman shooting Martin, it does appear to me there may have been excessive use of force, i.e., bringing a gun to what should have been a fist fight. But if he was in fear of his life, then perhaps it was warranted. This will come out during the trial and I think it is foolish to pass judgment until all of the facts are laid bare for the jury (and the public) to decide on. Perhaps what should come out of this is that neighborhood watch volunteers be required to carry a taser as a first resort and a gun as the second, with the mandate to use the least force necessary. Moreover, they should all have formal training so they will know how to appropriately respond to these types of situations. It makes no sense to me that Zimmerman was on night patrol and didn’t have a better sense of how to handle this situation that ended so tragically. So perhaps some common sense local or state laws can be enacted that will prevent this from happening again.

As to Rachel Jeantel, Martin’s friend and prosecution witness, I am very concerned about the vitriol directed towards her, particularly amongst white conservatives. Whites will never understand the world that Rachel came up in (or the world that I came up in but by the grace of God was able to do well despite racist elements, thanks to my parents and aunties). I have seen the Rachel types over and over in my life who never reach their potential because of the way black culture in urban areas often discourages personal responsibility and aspirations of success in the corporate “white man’s” world. But this doesn’t make Rachel a bad person. I’m sure she is a wonderful, loving person who may not have had the advantages people living in Zimmerman’s neighborhood might have had (and I’m only conjecturing about Zimmerman’s neighborhood but it seemed to be a community that cared and that is why they had people such as Zimmerman on patrol at night to protect the neighborhood). So I think a little grace is in order.

Therewith, my message to those who want to criticize and deride Rachel’s testimony is to just stop and understand that she comes from a different world from you. Now I do think that the world Rachel comes from is blaming the lack of success and upward mobility on whites, and thus the animus towards whites, but I just don’t think this flies any longer. Fifty years ago, yes, but today, no. Black communities with a lack of success and upward mobility can only blame the adults in those communities and the Democrats that enable them by offering them a handout instead of a hand up to economic opportunity. The fact that blacks are willing to give up their vote and receive so little is the greatest tragedy of our lifetime. Democrats have a ready supply of cheap votes and don’t have to do anything but take from one person’s pocket and slide it into the pocket of another with no expectation that these people’s lives are going to get better. Thus, we have a high degree of generational stagnancy and government dependence. It’s tragic.

As to Paula Deen, I saw a lot of her type when I lived in Atlanta (which is one reason I ended up in California after taking a new position with my current employer, but I had a great stop in Mexico for a year and a half). I don’t think she is a bad woman, but a sweet, kind, loving woman. What I noticed about many of these southern women was a sense of entitlement and wistfulness for the way things used to be. Did I feel they were racist? By no means. But I do think they have a bit of difficulty seeing blacks as equals, culturally speaking. What is funny about life is how something that you have done in the past creeps up on you from left field in a way you never expected. I recall in the old Alfred Hitchcock movies that when people were implicated for doing something they actually didn’t do, they were reticent to be forthcoming even when innocent because they had done something in the past that would somehow come to the fore. So I guess it was Deen’s time, so to speak.

What truly peeves me about Deen is her hawking terribly unhealthy food all of these years (food that I swore off as the mainstay of my diet within a couple of years of arriving in California). Hey, she is free to eat whatever she wants and to influence people to eat food that we all know should not be part of a normal, healthy diet. If someone wants to eat themselves to an early grave, then that is their issue and not mine (or that busy body Michael Bloomberg) to judge or interfere with. But then she makes money promoting a diabetes drug, knowing that the very food she is promoting will more than likely eventually cause diabetes. There is no getting around that. It was a clear conflict of interest. But those people who dropped her for past racial slurs didn’t seem to have a problem with that while they were making millions off her, and that is far worse than anything racial she ever said. I personally don’t care what she thinks of black people, but I do care that she would promote unhealthy living, particularly because a deep flaw in the black community is unhealthful eating and the subsequent diseases such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes that are running rampant in the black community.

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