George Zimmerman Juror B37 Hates Media, Called Trayvon ‘A Boy of Color’

[onehandle]

And is writing a book...

http://gawker.com/george-zimmerman-juror-b37-hates-media-called-trayvon-787873533

When he was finally charged, I predicted that any group of jurors from central Florida would let Zimmerman off.

[reflection]

1. This statement

She referred to the killing of Trayvon Martin as "an unfortunate incident that happened."

would have given me pause were I the prosecution. Maybe I'm parsing it too much, but it appears she viewed a death by firearm as just this spontaneous passive thing that occurred. Also to call it "unfortunate" makes me squirm. Dropping an ice cream on the ground is unfortunate. A kid dying by gun is tragic, or horrible, or something else.

But I understand my nerves may be a little too raw to judge this properly, so I will try to reserve judgment.

[Scootaloo]

5. I have the same problem when people talk about killings being "a tragedy"

For starters, in the technical sense a tragedy is when an ill fate befalls someone due to their own actions and decisions, usually hubris. But English being what it is, we dumb it down to "a bad thing that happened." In that context, no, it's still not a tragedy. A tornado is a tragedy. A wild animal attack is a tragedy, a boat capsizing is a tragedy. Someone making an actual decision to kill another person is not a tragedy, it is a slaying. Calling it a "tragedy" displaces responsibility, makes it sound like whatever happened was just fated to happen... sort of like that "leave it in god's hands" stuff that usually follows right after someone calls it a "tragedy."

[reflection]

11. Interesting.

I've always thought of "tragedy" in the context of something terrible happening to a person through no fault of their own, which would seem to fit the bill here if one believes that Trayvon was essentially stalked by a cop wannabe. I just checked the dictionary and both my and your definition are covered, so it does appear to be one of those umbrella words.

[Scootaloo]

13. I'm an amatuer writer, so the literary version is what pops in my head first

My thing is just that the term seems to divorce blame when used in this way, makes it seem like an inevitable something that couldn't have been stopped or prevented, some unreasonable force that just swooped down and ended a life. when the force ending that life is another person, an armed vigilante dumbfuck with a history of violent douchebaggery... "tragedy" doesn't seem to be the correct word anymore, at least to my ears.

This is all just my opinion. I'm also someone who grits my teeth over the phrase "s/he bravely fought a battle with cancer."

[Igel]

29. I was taught that it was something the hero did.

However, the action wasn't rooted in any moral or ethical flaw.

So Oedipus killed his father, as prophesied, because he loved his mother and he and his father were rivals. However, romantic love for a woman isn't a moral flaw. Romantic love for your mother is. What he did was wrong but not immoral because his action was not based in a moral flaw or in a warping of his character but in lack of knowledge. Sort of Hanlon's razor redux: Don't attribute to malice what can be adequated explained by stupidity.

It requires that you have two POVs: From his perspective, given limited information, he was moral and justified. From outside, given what the gods see, he has sinned. In that rests much of the tension that we see in some plays.

Then again, I was taught this in probably February 1977, so it's been a while.

That's early Greek tragedy, though. I've heard others: In early Russian literature, Lomonosov and before, there are the 3 unities that must be observed and "tragedy" was defined more by theme than by properties of the hero. They're a bit different if I understand my French lit teacher when he was talking about Moliere. Pushkin's "little tragedies" have their own rules.And Ionesco? Please, let's not even go there. The word has been used so often by so many different ethnoi that it really doesn't have "a" meaning. (And, no, I have no idea about anything English-language tragedy. Don't much like English lit. Plays? Yuck. Poetry? Really? It exists? Poe's better in Russian or French than in English.)

[srican69]

2. wait .. weren't we living in a post racial society now that we have elected

Obama for president?

[el_bryanto]

4. That could be seen as a dead giveaway

Historical context - since Obama was elected right wingers have taken any occasion to remind liberals that we apparently believed that electing Obama would end racial divisiveness. This was in between believing he was the messiah and believing that he was going to put us all on easy street.

Since there has continued to be racial divisiveness, it proves, somehow that Obama is a total failure and we are naive dupes for believing in him.

It's such simple rhetorical technique and can be used in any situation - simply claim your enemy has made some far fetched claim about an election of a policy, then point out that the claim has not been realized and declare yourself the winner. If you wanted to attack Obama care, for example, you might say "I thought once we passed Obamacare, it would end the common cold, and everywhere I go see people with the sniffles!"

Of course that's may not be what Srican69 is referring to

Bryant

[southernyankeebelle]

6. "Post racial society". Hmm you could of fooled me. We sure are moving backwards in this

country.

[JoePhilly]

18. Electing Obama ripped the itchy scab off a very old and unhealed wound.

The racists have been simmering mad for about 3 decades. They miss the good old days when a white guy could win an argument with a black guy in just one word. They miss the ability to discriminate freely. They used to have this special power, and now they don't.

The election of President Obama took them from simmer to boil.

[Shrike47]

26. Trolling, trolling, over the ocean waves...

(referring to the post-racial society reference, a favorite of right-wing talk radio.)

[NaturalHigh]

31. Pretty sure the poster was being sarcastic.

[HiPointDem]

3. i don't get why 'boy of color' is so suspect, when 'person of color' is not & martin has been

called a 'kid,' 'boy,' 'child,' etc in the media.

it seems like the kind of phrase that someone could say without any necessarily racist intent.

[stranger81]

8. That phrase raises all kinds of red flags with me, particularly given the juror's apparent age.

I can still hear my grandmother talking about "coloreds," and this use of the term struck me as the same.

[HiPointDem]

14. "person of color" is a widely used and thus far socially accepted term. the woman didn't say

'coloreds'.

[stranger81]

15. She didn't say "person of color" either.

My impression of the intent of her remarks is just that -- my impression. But combined with her age and her other comments, I don't think its wrong.

[HiPointDem]

36. may not be wrong; i just don't see 'boy of color' as some automatic indicator of racism. no,

she didn't say 'person of color,' but person of color is out there as an acceptable non-racist usage, & a kind of back-formation creates "woman of color, man of color, boy of color," etc. some of these 'sound' better to the ear, but it's all pretty subjective for an automatic charge of racism, to me at least.

[uponit7771]

10. boy is a racial slur...

[HiPointDem]

12. when used to talk about a black male adult. calling an adult a boy is what makes it a slur.

i think myself that martin was past the boy stage, but the fact remains that he's been widely referred to as a 'child' etc. in the media & at places like DU. not saying the woman is or isn't racist, just saying her use of that phrase doesn't mean much to me in & of itself.

[Quantess]

30. He was 17, officially a boy.

[NOLALady]

17. When she referred to the child as

a "boy of color", it seemed to me that she was referring to "the other". He's not like us and will not be treated as we would treat our own kind.

[HiPointDem]

22. could be, but not necessarily. requires a lot of reading in to.

[PoliticAverse]

19. "Boys and men of color summit held at UC Davis"

From Jul 12, 2012:
http://www.news10.net/news/article/200811/2/Boys-and-men-of-color-summit-held-at-UC-Davis

[Whisp]

7. B37 - a new name for piece of shit.

My stomach is upset, I have to have a good B37.

[uponit7771]

9. omg

[gvstn]

16. I remember thinking there were several "suspect" potential jurors

Being interviewed during the selection process. I was too lazy to go back and listen the the 6 who actually served to see how they sounded during the interviews but am glad Gawker or someone has done it.

This site did OK on the summaries of the interviews but listening to the tapes/video is the only way to get the full flavor of what was said.

http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/6/11/zimmerman_trial_day_2.html

[MagickMuffin]

20. Somehow she made erroneous conclusions that never happened

Where did she come up with there were riots?

How did she obtain this information (that never happened btw)?

So as someone who never reads or listens to the news media, where did she get this info?

I believe she is a liar and the prosecution should never have allowed her to serve. By her very statements of a riot occurring is proof she lives in a fantasy land.

I'm almost certain she will be very eager to use the media to sell her book!


Martin, I'm so sorry you did not receive fair and balanced justice! Instead you received unquestionably ignorance from the justice system.

[Spazito]

23. Yes, and she went into the jury room for deliberations with this firm belief...

there had been riots, as the truth regarding the protests was not part of the case nor could the State advise her of the truth of the matter during the questioning where she spoke of the "riots".

[MagickMuffin]

24. This makes a strong case for how our justice system works

The attorney's get to determine who get to be a peer. George was fully represented, yet Matin did not have anyone representing him. No juror had his back or his best interest.

I do realize this was George's trial, however, Martin being dead at the hands of George never had a chance to defend his honor, or his side of the events that eventually took his life!

The whole ordeal was a set up from the get go. From the night of the murder to the months and months before the final ending.

[Spazito]

25. The justice system is flawed, it cannot help but be...

because it is written by us, flawed humans. The hope is always to reduce the flaws by passage of statutes to address those flaws. The reality, in this case and all too many others, is that statutes like the Florida "Justifiable Use of Force" aka the Stand Your Ground laws, are written not to advance justice but to circumvent it, imo.

[NOLALady]

32. She lived in Florida.

She knew darn well, there were no riots.

In her mind, a peaceful demonstration is akin to a riot. In her mind, no one should complain about injustice. They should just sit down, STFU, and take it.

[Spazito]

33. Yes, I don't disagree...

she brought her biases with her from beginning to end, regardless of any evidence or lack thereof. Peaceful protests wanting justice for a "boy of color" are riots in her perspective. Very telling for sure.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

21. Jury nullification. The state didn't demand a more diverse and less biased jury.

Hmmm...

I wonder why...

[JI7]

28. they actually did try to get this juror and i think another one removed but were not able to

the defense knew they were lucky to get racists on the jury and played to their audience by painting Trayvon as the black thug in hoodie.

this is why i don't blame the prosecution too much. they tried to defend trayvon himself. but they knew hat they were dealing with on that jury.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

35. I really can't accept that. Sanford is 30% black, 20% Hispanic

I cannot believe that they could not find or demand 1 black American to sit on the jury? Not one man?

[Skittles]

27. making money off a murdered teenager

[Sancho]

34. She's married to an attorney too...

i thinkthe whole thing was manipulated from investigation to jury to trial...