Trayvon Martin's Murder

Thank you, Loki.

I feel for the single parents who have to work two, sometimes three, jobs just to put food on the table. They can't give their kids the attention they need. Or they're just too tired to do so.

But all you have to do is read Dr Ben Carson's story to know that a single parent, even an undereducated one, can make a difference in his/her children's lives.

"Ben Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, on September 18, 1951. His mother, though undereducated herself, pushed her sons to read and to believe in themselves. Carson went from being a poor student to receiving honors and he eventually attended medical school. As a doctor, he became the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital at age 33, and became famous for his ground-breaking work separating conjoined twins."

It wasn't opportunity, money, an excellent school system, etc that made the difference in his life. It was his mother's desire to see her son succeed.

 

"47 million living in POVERTY who DON'T qualify".

Do you realize how oxymoronic your statement is? So you can't get ANY assistance for anything? Really? BS, mate, stop the lies.

The biggest Government distribution of FOODSTAMPS in this country is given to the biggest Employer in the country's employees, which is WALMART.

If you live/qualify below the poverty line, TRUST ME, the Government will assist you. The 100% poverty line to get everything for free is aprox $900 a month. Anything over, and you qualify for subsidies.

However many programs allow in increments of 100% over and up to 400% maximum above the poverty line, to qualify for Govt Health aid.

LIKE I said, PROVE ME wrong. Poverty is a very subjective and political word, Show me the 47 million people living in abject poverty, who DON'T QUALIFY for any GOVT ASSISTANCE.....I'll wait.

 

I less than 3 this and jaisee and consign the butter outta this. Amen and things. And stuff.
Id bold the really talky to me parts but I'm on my phone

 

:smt081 You a mess.

 

I think so too, and I surely hope so. My son graduated with a biology degree and there's little he can do with that and he's just too burnt out to go to grad school. He enrolled in a 2-yr trade school in their carpentry program and plans to try to get HVAC, electrical and plumbing skills as well.

 

You simply will never have any idea.

It's staight ridiculous.

I'm pretty sure that no matter what..I still get points for trying.

.....and for abusing ellipses.....

 

Thanks Bookie. and I hear you on your mom. I've been poor more times than I care to speak, but I have NEVER resorted to crime/murder, either. And I own a gun!

I agree, this is deeper. Sure economics account for a small piece of the pie, but there is a bunch of WAY more significant influences occurring... up to & including the social/media that glorifies the drug and gang life, and again, the self-absorption and a lack of accountability.

There hasn't been significant national dialogue since the Million Man March and we all are accountable. These men dying are OUR future generation and nobody of prominence seems to want to confront it.

 

The issue of guns is here to stay. As long as they are manufactered and proven effective; as long as people want them who are law-abiding citizens, it is a long-term problem. For the companies, there is a lot of money to be made.

 

What about lab assistant? Med tech?

 

If you're poor, you will get more grants (which you don't have to pay back) than financial aid.

And really, who cares about the interest rate on financial aid? If it gets you an education, then that's all that matters. And you can defer payments if you graduate and can't find a job right away.

There are ALWAYS options. Always. The issue is that most poor people have given up hope and have passed their hopelessness onto their children.

If more parents took a more active role in raising their kids and using free services offered at the local library (which include tutoring) if need be, they can grow in their children a love of learning and motivation to improve their circumstances.

 

They also have courses now that will certify you as an MA, X-ray Tech and Phlebotomist! A few different routes you could go with those certs, especially something like a stand alone urgent care (some will bring in MAs to work under the RNs). Lots of options in the medical field.

 

We have one large lab here and two of his classmates that graduated before him each applied 40 times (yes, 40!!) for different positions.

Hospital jobs are really tough to get here, too. I'm not sure what he was really thinking when he chose bio (which he declared late), because I honestly can't see him working in a lab. Considered med school and a physical therapy grad program , but just was tired of the whole sciences thing. School drug out so long for him because of scheduling conflicts.

 

Excellent post, Bookie!

 

http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/-...e---ashamed--to-be-an-american-011408813.html

The not-guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin has outraged many people across the country, including "The Wire" creator David Simon.

In an emotional, fiery post on his blog, The Audacity of Despair, Simon denounced the verdict, saying he was "ashamed to call himself an American."

Simon knows a little something about race. He worked for 12 years as a crime reporter in Baltimore, witnessing firsthand the despair referenced in his blog title. He then channeled that knowledge to write nuanced, complex portrayals of race, drugs, poverty, violence, and corruption on series like "Homicide: Life on the Street," "The Corner," and "The Wire."

[Related: Zimmerman Juror B37 Decides Not to Go For That Book Deal After All]

From 2002-2005 on "The Wire," Simon and his team of writers depicted the often deadly consequences for young black men living within the broken education, political, and justice systems. The series was lauded as an American storytelling masterpiece, inspired professors to teach about it in college classes, and was recently named the No. 1 series of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Outside of his television writing, Simon often comments on social issues, and the Martin case stirred up particularly forceful feelings in him. Here's the entirety of his post:

You can stand your ground if you're white, and you can use a gun to do it. But if you stand your ground with your fists and you're black, you're dead.

In the state of Florida, the season on African-Americans now runs year round. Come one, come all. And bring a handgun. The legislators are fine with this blood on their hands. The governor, too. One man accosted another and when it became a fist fight, one man — and one man only — had a firearm. The rest is racial rationalization and dishonorable commentary.

If I were a person of color in Florida, I would pick up a brick and start walking toward that courthouse in Sanford. Those that do not, those that hold the pain and betrayal inside and somehow manage to resist violence — these citizens are testament to a stoic tolerance that is more than the rest of us deserve. I confess, their patience and patriotism is well beyond my own.

Behold, the lewd, pornographic embrace of two great American pathologies: Race and guns, both of which have conspired not only to take the life of a teenager, but to make that killing entirely permissible. I can't look an African-American parent in the eye for thinking about what they must tell their sons about what can happen to them on the streets of their country. Tonight, anyone who truly understands what justice is and what it requires of a society is ashamed to call himself an American."

Strong words. But Simon didn't stop there. Remarkably, he took the time to address many of the comments following the post. A few highlights:

.One commenter chastised him for trying to "fan the flames and incite violence," to which Simon replied, "You've missed the thread of that passage utterly."
Several others called on Simon to prove that Zimmerman's actions in shooting Martin were racist. He replied, "I don't think Mr. Zimmerman is by any necessity a racist. But his calculations and his behaviors were racially motivated."
In other responses, Simon bemoaned the slippery slope effect — that the Martin case would be the first of many. "The law has changed — and the culture of legal self-defense is changing — in a revolutionary fashion. There will be more of these cases now. Not less."

 

From my...

"I don't like the fact that people are suggesting that poverty = murderers. Being poor does not make you one. Nor being oppressed. Persevering through these 2 obstacles has always been the strength of mankind's character"

..you somehow got I said 'gang members around the world lack character".?? :smt120

Please. Obtuse is you.

 

Ah, general burnout. Sometimes a break can help recharge the batteries as well.

 

Yes, and since he's going into carpentry, my money pit of a house just might get the attention it needs now. Lol! I'll have talented help renting from me.

 

He had to shut down his blog comments section.

The thing is, why won't HE pick up a brick, since he is outraged? Why is he trying to incite Black people to do it? So they can get arrested? Shot? While HE sits back in his Hollyweird mansion and incites?

He made millions pimping off the violent Black/drug experience and did a great job himself touting "the pornographic embrace of two great American pathologies: Race and guns", and now he is rallying a call for Blacks to 'do what is expected of them" (according to his outrage)? Frankly, I think he's looking for a way to sedgeway in his anti-gun agenda.

 

Alex Fraser

"Dear George Zimmerman,

For the rest of your life you are now going to feel what its like to be a black man in America.

You will feel people stare at you. Judging you for what you think are unfair reasons. You will lose out on getting jobs for something you feel is outside of your control. You will believe yourself to be an upstanding citizen and wonder why people choose to not see that.

People will cross the street when they see you coming. They will call you hurtful names. It will drive you so insane some days that you'll want to scream at the top of your lungs. But you will have to wake up the next day, put on firm look and push through life.

I bet you never thought that by shooting a black male you'd end up inheriting all of his struggles.

Enjoy your "freedom."

Sincerely,

A black male who could've been Trayvon Martin"

 

I'm going to less than three this, jaisee it and consign the butter outta of this, too