Fear Of An Unjust Verdict

I did much venting about the Trayvon Martin case when it started unfolding last year and wasn't the only blogger who had something to say about it at the time. 

For those of you who have been surfing over to the blog looking for my chococentric commentary on the Zimmerman trial, I must confess I haven't been watching much of it because I'm not too optimistic that justice will be served in this case. 

The ultimate justice would be Trayvon Benjamin Martin walking into his parents arms and out of that Seminole County courtroom, but we know that ain't happening.

But what I and much of the African-American community fears will happen after the six woman jury made up of ZERO African-Americans gets to deliberate on this case is that George Zimmerman walks.

We have ample evidence of the reality that America doesn't care much about Black lives, and they care even less about a young Black kid's life.   Far too many people, and especially conservative whites believe the bull feces that all young Black men, including Trayvon Martin are dangerous suspects.

After the defense delivers their closing argument tomorrow and the case goes to the jury, what Black America fears is the visual when that jury comes out of deliberation and delivers the verdict in front of the unblinking eye of the media's television cameras, a 'not guilty' verdict will be read.

We will then in Black America have to painfully watch as George Zimmerman exhales, cheers and he, his family and friends plaster cheesy grins all over their faces in victory while Tracy Martin, Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's brother Jahvaris Fulton and their family, friends and supporters have stunned or disconsolate looks on their faces as the sickening realization sinks in that Zimmerman just got away with murdering their loved one.

Well, all we can do is wait and see how this plays out, and see if it verifies what I said when this trial started last month.

If Zimmerman is convicted, the justice system worked in this case despite the attempts of the Zimmerman family and the vanillacentric conservafool movement to shift the narrative, 'work the refs'  and demonize Trayvon for the fateful decision he made to simply get some tea and Skittles from a local 7 Eleven.

If he walks, we're probably looking at Rodney King levels of anger and pissivity in our community that I hope and pray doesn't explode into what Dr. King called it in his 'The Other America' essay as 'the language of the unheard'.     

Morris Denied Plea Deal In Florida Silicone Pumping Case

Serial Miami, FL based pumper Oneal R. Morris faced the legal music in Miami-Dade County for practicing medicine without a license and pumping her clients with a cocktail comprised of Fix-a-Flat, mineral oil and super glue that left several recipients ill and disfigured and at least one person dead.

On June 25 Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Ellen Sue Venzera rejected a plea deal that would have sent her to jail for 180 days, required Morris to pay restitution to her victims and placed her on five years probation.

Judge Venzera felt the plea deal sentence was too light for the seriousness of the crime, saying, ”I don’t think it’s appropriate, not for the charges, not for second-degree felonies. These charges carry 30 years.”

Prosecutors explained to the judge the plea deal would have spared victims who were sensitive and embarrassed about the notoriety of the case from having to testify in open court.

Morris is also facing manslaughter charges in Broward County for the March 2012 death of Shatarka Nuby of 'massive systemic silicone migration' from cosmetic silicone pumping buttocks injections she received in 2007 and 2008.  
  

George Zimmerman Trial Starts Today

While I'll be keeping an eye on Washington DC and Milwaukee for two trials starting there , my still unapologetically Black and trans behind will have my attention focused along with the rest of the country on the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford, FL.

The trial of George Zimmerman gets started in Sanford, FL today in which he will attempt to get off for killing 17 year old Trayvon Martin in cold blood for the crime of Walking While Black.

Sarcasm meter off, continuing post.

This trial like the OJ one turned out to be in the 90's is unavoidably going to be an American racial issues litmus test.   We African Americans since the day we heard about what happened have been in 'there but for the grace of God go I' mode every time we see pictures of Trayvon or his parents stoically fighting for justice for their son.

As much as Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin and their attorney have tried to focus the attention on the legal case and getting justice for Trayvon, we can't avoid the overwhelming racial subtext permeating this case.

Those of us who are Black and TBLG and our organizations have a bitter familiarity with the result of what happens when the toxic union of bigotry and violence happens and see it visited upon our people far too often.

We can't avoid thinking about race in this situation especially when the conservafools, their talking heads, and their whiteness uber alles orgs sent cash and rushed to the defense of George Zimmerman. 

And before you even think about e-mailing any comment about Zimmerman isn't white, don't waste your time. He didn't bother claiming that Latino heritage until it was needed.  He had no problem accepting that whiteness and privileged white male status he got from Daddy and was obviously benefiting from by being able to sleep in his own bed the night he murdered Trayvon.

If Zimmerman is convicted, the justice system worked in this case despite the attempts o the Zimmerman family and the vanillacentric conservafool movement to shift the narrative, 'work the refs'  and demonize Trayvon for the fateful decision he made to simply get some tea and Skittles from a local 7 Eleven.

If he walks, we're probably looking at Rodney King levels of anger and pissivity in our community that I hope and pray doesn't explode into what Dr King called it in his 'The Other America' essay as 'the language of the unheard'.    

And what I wrote on March 20, 2012 will sadly be verified.

Once again, it reinforces the fact in the USA that no matter what we do, whether we are the president of the United States or some 17 year old kid just getting a late night snack, the lives of Black people don't mean jack to some people infected with vanillacentric privilege, ignorance and bigotry. 

And in some cases it's justification enough for these bigots to kill us.

We'll see as the court case in Sanford, FL unfolds what happens to Zimmerman and if Trayvon will get justice, or Zimmerman will be given a get out of jail free card for killing a 17 year old Black kid minding his own damned business until he stuck his nose in it despite the Sanford police dispatcher telling him not to. 

Black Trans Woman Killed In Florida And Subsequently Misgendered By The Media

Here we fracking go again.   This time this all too familiar situation shifts to Orlando, FL  

30 year old Ashley Sinclair was found shot to death early this morning in a wooded area on Rio Grande Drive just off S. Orange Blossom Trail in Orange County.   Police responded to neighbors calling 911 at 6 AM EDT reporting shots fired in the 1600 block of Nimrod Lane. 

A neighbor said they saw a black sedan pull up and then heard four shots fired.

“I look out my window. I see black car here. Then I hear ‘boom, boom, boom.’ Four,” said neighbor Ramon.   Deputies searched the woods and knocked on doors to get any information.


“This is an obvious victim of a homicide. They have been out canvassing the area to see if they’ve seen anything. They do have the victim identified, but have not notified the next of kin yet,” said Jeff Williamson with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information regarding this homicide investigation that will lead to the capture and conviction of the wastes of DNA who did this is urged to call  CrimeLine at 800-423-TIPS (8477).
Now that we got that business out of the way regarding another fallen trans sister and hopefully gotten the process started toward bringing the people who killed her to justice, let me start calling out the misgendering of another African-American transwoman by the media.  But before I go off, let's review the AP Stylebook guidelines for reporting on trans people shall we?

    

Transgender: Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.   
If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

I can't tell you how many posts I've written on this blog about media outlets all over the country REPEATEDLY failing to grasp what is so simple a concept to follow that even this humble blogger gets something Amanda Evans and the award winning journalists at News13 in the Orlando, FL area didn't   

Take a look at the photo the family provided of Ashley.  She is not a 'transgender man' as you reported, Amanda.  A transgender man is someone who was born in a female body like yours and whose gender identity and gender presentation to the world is male.  

Ashley is a transgender female.   

And I'm pissed off not only because once again another one of my trans sisters is gone from this Earth too soon, I'm pissed off because she was misgendered in this report.    I'm also angry because I've seen this crap happen with African-American (and Latina) girls like us far too often in the media.

Now lets see how long it's going to take for your award winning website to correct this misgendering of Ashley Sinclair.

Goodbye And Good Riddance Jennifer Carroll

The karmic wheel may have finally caught up with Florida Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll (R).

She made the problematic comment last year that women who look like her don't engage in 'relationships like that' during the height of a sex scandal in which she was accused of being involved  with a female staff member.

She was vehemently criticized for the lesbophobic comments and later apologized. 

Now the word is out that she resigned Tuesday as Florida's Lt. Governor after being interviewed by Florida law enforcement officials as part of a widening gambling and racketeering scandal into Allied Veterans, a firm that she'd once done public relations work for and starred in a 2010 commercial for.

Several top officials of Allied Veterans have been arrested and charged with racketeering.

Sad that she's the one who made history as the first African-American to be elected statewide.

Stay tuned, this is probably going to get quite interesting.   But in the meantime, goodbye and good riddance Jennifer Carroll.   You  are another sterling example of why Black voters don't like conservatives and have the good sense NOT to vote for them.  

Welcome Back Rep Alan Grayson!

One of the other cool things about the opening of the 113th Congress yesterday is the return of Rep Alan Grayson (D-FL) to the Democratic caucus..

I'm so happy to see Rep Grayson back.   We've needed somebody on the liberal-progressive side inside the Beltway who isn't 'scurred' to call out the Republifools and stand up proudly for our policy ideas and principles. 

Check out his first interview on Rev. Al's Politics Nation since returning to DC in which he accuses the GOP of 'legislative terrorism' ion the debt ceiling issue. 




Welcome back Rep Grayson.  This time I hope your stay in Congress is much longer than just two years.

The Cheapness Of A Black Life

I was going to comment on the latest infuriating instance of somebody 'standing their ground' and it ending up with another Black teenage kid dying, but Renee of Womanist Musings beat me to it.   This post of hers is definitely getting signal boosted.

As the mother of two Black sons, I would be lying if I told you that there aren't nights when I lie awake worried about their future.  I know that this is something all loving parents experience, but how many White parents of White children worry that their child will be perceived of as a threat and summarily shot? The only thing that eases my worries is the fact that we are Canadian and have much stricter gun control laws. The following story really struck a chord with me.

Michael David Dunn, 45, and his girlfriend were in Jacksonville Friday for Dunn's son's wedding when they stopped at a convenience store, Jacksonville sheriff's Lt. Rob Schoonover said.

Jordan Russell Davis, 17, and several other teenagers were sitting in a sport utility vehicle in the parking lot when Dunn pulled up next to them in a car and asked them to turn down their music, Schoonover said.

Jordan and Dunn exchanged words, and Dunn pulled a gun and shot eight or nine times, striking Jordan twice, Schoonover said. Jordan was sitting in the back seat. No one else was hurt.

Dunn's attorney Monday said her client acted responsibly and in self-defense. She did not elaborate.  (source)

Tell me again that all people are equal.  This confrontation started over loud music and it ended in the death of a 17 year old boy.  Of course Dunn felt threatened, he was after all in a confrontation with Black male youths and the message has been sent repeatedly that not only is Black life cheap, but that Black males are always violent and a threat to Whiteness.


Despite the medias constant presentation of the supposed Black male threat, there is nothing more terrifying than an angry armed White man.  Our children are dying in droves and reading stories like this has become a common occurrence, yet the myth of the violent murdering Black male continues to persist.  In fact, the more threatened White supremacy has become by the changing population demographics, the more violent it has become.  White male violence is glorified and deemed heroic, while men of colour are criminalized and deemed a threat to a safe society. This can be especially seen in the dystopian genre, where White men are often cast as all that is standing between humanity and destruction.  We are meant to see White men as the great savior and be thankful for their heroism, even as people of colour die in ridiculous numbers.

Guns and Whiteness are a recipe for Black death.  There can be no question if we look at the history of race relations since the first Black person set foot in the global north, Whiteness has murdered and raped with pure abandon, all while hiding behind the supposed barrier of protecting and civilizing the world. It is not logical to believe for one moment that Blackness represents a threat. 

I don't want to hear the bullshit about how we all bleed the same red blood, when the blood that is being spilled is Black.  I don't want to hear about how there is good and bad in every race, when Blackness is being criminalized and demonized everyday. Ridiculous euphemisms are not going to solve the problem and denying that the combination of Whiteness and guns are deadly, is only further minimizing the ongoing death and violence.

No matter how far we have come, Black life is still cheap and continues to be devalued by the inflation and elevation of Whiteness. As a Black mother, this is more than evident to me.  I often think about the history of Black mothers crying bitter salty tears and the line of coffins holding our loved ones. If anyone has a right to be angry and afraid, it is most certainly not the bitter, racist and entitled White men, who continue to commit these crimes against the very heart of our communities. The racist, angry White male has got to die, so that our children may live.

Operation Lemonade Has Commenced In Florida

Florida Teapublicans went to a lot of trouble, effort and spent cash to suppress the Black vote in the state by employing shady methods to attempt to make it harder to execute that hard won constitutional right.  

Their goal was to shave enough votes like they did in 2000,  to swing the state in Mittens favor.

Since today was the first day of the Florida early voting period they tried to either eliminate or severely cut back, Black clergy and the Rev. Al Sharpton led National Action Network organized a massive GOTV effort in the Sunshine State they are calling Operation Lemonade.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This was triggered by President Obama's historic 2008 election.   In Florida African-American voters swamped the early voting polls, prompting then-Gov. Charlie Crist (R) to issue an executive order to keep the stations open longer.   Early voting in Florida lasted a total of 120 hours over 14 days in 2008 and Obama carried Florida and subsequently won the presidency as a result of that victory.

The conservafools were determined not to have that happen in 2012, so the Republican controlled Florida Legislature responded by capping early voting hours to a maximum 96 hours over eight days. It also eliminated early voting the Sunday before Election Day, when African Americans would vote in droves as part of their “souls to the polls” turnout tradition that began with the advent of early voting in 2002.

What that blatant racist attack on our voting rights did was piss off and motivate us instead  

Florida Black people considered it an insultingly bitter lemon they were handed by their legislature, so as Rev. Victor T. Curry said, “They gave us a lemon by taking away the Sunday before the election, but we’ve decided to make lemonade.”

The Republican early vote limitations have black voters fired up — and ready to vote, Curry said.
"Last time it was about making history," Curry said. "This time it’s personal."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/15/3051419/operation-lemonade-started-by.html#storylink=cpy

Yes Florida voters, get mad, get angry, be offended by it, take it personally.   Then take that righteous anger and make it your mission to take your soul to the polls and a few other friends as well.

Make it your mission to fire every Republican legislator who voted for those restrictions and support Florida ones who stood up for our community.   

And when you're done voting Florida peeps, have a tall cold glass of lemonade after you do so to celebrate.

Final Presidential Debate Tonight

After I finish handling my civic duty, I'll be parked in front of the TV with notepad in hand checking out the final debate in Boca Raton, FL between President Obama and Mitt Romney.  


The debate at Lynn University is supposed to be focused on the subject of foreign policy and will be moderated by Bob Scheiffer of CBS.   I have the suspicion that both candidates will do their best to sneak in commentary about domestic issues during this 90 minute battle.

And TransGriot readers, I implore you to have no drinking games based on how many times Mitt lies.  You'll be risking alcohol poisoning if you do. 

I also wonder if the conservafools are going to attack Bob Schieffer before the debate starts like they did Martha Raddatz and Candy Crowley? 

Yes TransGriot readers, just as I have done for the last three debates, I will post my thoughts and impressions about how it transpired around midnight CDT.

2012 Transgender Political Candidates

We've had not only a historic level of trans participation at the Democratic National Convention this year, but over the last few election cycles have had trans candidate stepping up to run for public office.

The 2012 election cycle is no exception as we had transman Mel Wymore step up to run for the New York City city council District 6 seat.

Metropolitan Business Association president Gina Duncan attempted to run for District 5 county commissioner in Orange County, Florida which is in the Orlando area.

Gina Duncan was unfortunately defeated August 14 in her bid for the District 5 seat after a spirited campaign.  Incumbent Ted Edwards received 59 percent of the votes, and Duncan 40 percent despite having endorsements from the Central Florida AFL-CIO an the Orange County Democratic Party to get a third term in District 5

She declared her candidacy back in January, and I was hoping she'd pull off that historic win, but it was not to be. 

The other trans candidate in this cycle is Mel Wymore, who is running for the District 6 council seat which covers the Upper West Side.  Its current councilmember is term-limited and Wymore is running against three other candidates for it.

As to why he's running for the seat, this is from his website:

As a parent of two children on the Upper West Side, my first priority is creating a safe and caring community that values every person and brings us together as human beings.  In my professional career as a systems engineer, entrepreneur, and community activist, I am a collaborative leader who focuses on the big picture, then works tirelessly on the details that really make a difference.

If Wymore wins, he would not only become the first trans councilmember in New York City, he would also become the first in the United States to be elected to a city council in a city with a population over 250,000 people

Good luck Mel and hope you make history.    If I discover there are other trans candidates running for office in this 2012 election cycle, I'll definitely write it up on these electronic pages.

A transperson getting elected to a large city council anywhere in this nation is a huge deal if transpeople are going to take the next electoral step and get someone elected to Congress.  Congressional candidates tend to be current of former large city council members, county commissioners or judges and we don't have we only have one person in Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vicky Kolakowski in California who is an elected sitting judge and two time Hawaii state board of education member Kim Coco Iwamoto.  Unfortunately in the same 2010 election cycle in which Iwamoto was reelected to the Hawaii State Board of Education voters also passed a constitutional amendment that reverts the BOE to a nine member appointed board, and Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) declined to appoint her to it.

For the trans human rights movement to evolve to the next level, we're going to need to get our transpeeps elected to city councils, school boards, county commissioners board, state legislatures, and Congress with the power to write law and enact policy, not just lobby the people with that power.
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Lowe's Caves To Islamophobia

Y'all know I don't really care too much about reality TV shows, but in light of what is going on with the TLC Network's All-American Muslim show and right wing Islamophobes pressuring companies to remove their advertising from it, may just have to start watching this one in protest.

The show premiered last month and focuses on the lives of five Muslim-American families in Dearborn, MI.   The Detroit suburb has the largest Muslim population in the United Stares and boasts the country's largest mosque. 

But a Tampa based group of Islamophobes called the Florida Family Association has been hatin' on the show and pimping a boycott of it.    The FFA claims that it has gotten 65 of the 67 companies they targeted with  boycott letters to comply with their wishes.

One of those companies is the giant North Carolina based home improvement megastore Lowe's, which acknowledged they pulled their advertising from the show.  

While they received praise from conservafools and the FFA about their decision it is getting increasing backlash from fair minded Americans.

"Hate groups are entitled to their bigotry — that is the beauty of America, people have the right to their own opinions," Said Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "However, when a large corporation takes their side or caves in to the requests of hate groups, that is of concern."

Rep Keith Ellison, (D-MN) the only Muslim in the US congress issued a statement that Lowe's had "chosen to uphold the beliefs of a fringe hate group" and given in to intolerance.

"Corporate America needs to take a stand against these anti-Muslim fringe groups and stand up for what is right because this is what it means to be an American," said Rep. Ellison.
Lowe's spokeswoman Karen Cobb said the company had a "long-standing commitment" to diversity and pulled the ads only after the show became "a lightning rod for people to voice complaints from a variety of perspectives."

Yeah, right Lowe's  You caved to bigots...