Charles Blow: "The whole system failed Martin. What prevents it from failing my children, or yours?"

[kpete]

The Whole System Failed
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: July 15, 2013
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Sometimes people just need a focal point. Sometimes that focal point becomes a breaking point.

The idea of universal suspicion without individual evidence is what Americans find abhorrent and what black men in America must constantly fight. It is pervasive in policing policies — like stop-and-frisk, and in this case neighborhood watch — regardless of the collateral damage done to the majority of innocents. It’s like burning down a house to rid it of mice.


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The whole system failed Martin. What prevents it from failing my children, or yours?

I feel that I must tell my boys that, but I can’t. It’s stuck in my throat. It’s an impossibly heartbreaking conversation to have. So, I sit and watch in silence, and occasionally mouth the word, “breathe,” because I keep forgetting to.




http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/16/opinion/the-whole-system-failed.html?_r=1&

[niyad]

1. a very good article, except for the fact that ole zimmy was NOT neighborhood watch. I wish

people would quit repeating that piece of fiction. ole zimmy was nothing more than an armed vigilante.