Is this for real? I'm going to treat this like it's genuinely asking the question for a minute. Let's see, one
difference is that they lived and died in different states. It says so right
there on the picture. Is that the right answer?
Also, Trayvon was stalked and killed by his attacker while Marley's tragedy seems to have been a robbery gone wrong, so there's another difference for
you. Not that it makes either one of them less dead or less important for
having lived, but you asked what the difference was between them, like a
riddle, and I’m trying to figure it out. Let’s see if we can think of any other
differences between these kids.
Well,
clearly, their families had different lawyers / PR people. If Marley didn't get national media
coverage it's because no one in charge thought of it or was able to make it happen, not
because he was white as this seems to be implying.
Is someone honestly trying
to say that, generally speaking, white kids in peril don’t get enough media
coverage? Is anyone buying it? I would argue that there is NEVER enough media coverage when a kid of any background gets killed or nabbed or attacked. White kids seem to get the hookup more often than black kids, though. Of all the high profile cases you can think of from recent history, how many of the victims were white and how many were "other?" Is the white column longer? I thought so. Does that mean white kids get attacked more than kids of any other race? Highly doubtful. Or, wait, is it trying to say that because Marley's killer was black he's being protected from the media while Trayvon's killer is getting all his dirty laundry aired because he's half white? That's even more ridiculous.
The media coverage is why the president was expected to comment, obviously. This was a high profile case, whether that's fair or not. I doubt the president cared more about a black kid's death than any other unlawful killing. He can't make a statement about every youth who gets shot because, unfortunately, there are far too many.
The media coverage is why the president was expected to comment, obviously. This was a high profile case, whether that's fair or not. I doubt the president cared more about a black kid's death than any other unlawful killing. He can't make a statement about every youth who gets shot because, unfortunately, there are far too many.
I hate this
kind of crap. This stupid meme is as bad as all that mess about how Trayvon
wasn't really the sweet little boy he was portrayed to be in social media. I’m
not so sure Marley was, either. "Officials
say Lion pulled into the parking lot to sleep after a party.” So, he was
sleeping it off in his car after a night of underage drinking? Maybe; maybe
not. I don’t know, but that’s something these kids had in common: they both
have social media campaigns that set them up as little angels in an effort to play
on our emotions about youth and goodness and race, as if any of those things
make it worse to kill them.
Here’s
something else they had in common: Neither of these boys deserved to die. Both
of them deserve justice. It seems to me that the black one didn’t get it. Maybe the white one will.
Marley was my classmate, and he was a wonderful person. I didn't know him personally but I had talked to him a few times. He was gifted, bright, and talented his death was unwarranted and unjust as well as too soon. You try to make some kind of ploy that his death is justified because he was sobering up, also known as doing the correct thing in order to not endanger himself or others. He pulled into the bad part of Charleston, a place frequented by many in the day, but one that is not so safe in the night. He did not know better, but he was trying to be smart. A man attempted to steal the car, and was frightened by Marley. He ran away, only to return and mercilessly execute him. Now he's dead and the murderer that killed him has yet to go on trial.
ReplyDeleteTrayvon Martin was also 17, and I never knew him. When he was killed I was very shocked at the situation because parents should not have to bury their children. When I heard that he was unarmed my shock was furthered. Then they discovered that Trayvon had confronted, attacked, and beaten George Zimmerman to the point that he felt the need to shoot him, killing him. Self-Defence. That is what the police ruled it. That is what the jury ruled it. Do I think he should have died. Absolutely not. There's no reason for his death or Marley's death.
In both cases one of them could have walked away. The shooter could have ran from Marley's car and Trayvon could have continued to walk to his father's house. They chose to do what they did.
Now here's what infuriates me, Trayvon's case is now over, Marley's has yet to commence, and Zimmerman may face more charges against him.
Self Defense vs. murder in cold blood. On black vs. By black.
People bring up racism in Trayvon's trial because it was a "hate crime" but in the Marley's case he ran away to get a gun and shot him for no reason. Why is that not racist? Why isn't that a hate crime? There are so many more things that should be said.
I have lost two classmates, Aaron Williams and Marley Lion. I witnessed Aaron's death in the middle of class, and I saw Marley Lion get shot on video. Both are unrelated and I'm not comparing them in any way, but it saddens me that these teenagers have died. However, when the brutal murder of an innocent teenager is unnoticed it is infuriating. Please take a moment to think about both cases and realize that Marley needs the justice he deserves, and that both situations could have been avoided
I’m glad that Marley was loved. Please don’t misunderstand; I do NOT think his death was justified. It doesn’t matter if he was the most well liked kid in school or the biggest jerk in the county, he shouldn’t have died this way. That’s a point I was making for both of these boys.
DeleteThe other point is that these memes don’t help anything. They don’t spread actual news. They exist to incite anger, not to impart facts. They are exploitations of grief. The image above seems to say, "Here's a white kid who was killed by a black adult. No one has heard of him. Here's a black kid who was killed by an adult (we'll call him white). He was national news. Why do YOU think this is? Hint: it's race. Doesn't it make you angry?"
I agree that Zimmerman acted in self-defense, but I think that's a misleading term here. It sounds like he was minding his own business when some kid attacked him. The argument could be made that Trayvon was also acting in self-defense. He was being followed by a strange man with a gun and likely feared for his life. Zimmerman acted recklessly and should be held accountable for that. You shouldn’t be able to intimidate someone to the point that their “fight or flight” kicks in, then kill them in self-defense and get off. If the laws support this then they are not well thought out or well written and they need to be reviewed. I realize that a jury of his peers found Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter. "Not guilty" is not the same as "innocent." I hope they didn't make a mistake.
As far as choices go, everybody had them. Zimmerman didn’t have to follow Trayvon at all, or for as long as he did. Perhaps Trayvon could’ve chosen flight over fight. He could've chosen to wait to be shot instead of attacking first. Maybe Zimmerman could’ve chosen to shoot to maim instead of shooting to kill. Likewise, Marley could’ve chosen a better place to sleep. I don't know if he had been drinking or not, but either way he made several choices that night that led him to that parking lot. His killer(s) could and SHOULD have chosen not to shoot him. I don’t blame Marley for getting shot in a bad neighborhood any more than I'd blame a girl for getting raped at a frat party, no matter how short her skirt was. I'm simply pointing out that choices were available to both parties in both cases. Everyone always has a choice until the moment they don’t anymore.
The one who committed the crime is at fault, not the victim, despite any poor choices the victim may have made. Sometimes it's easier to tell who the victim is than other times. Prejudice shouldn't factor in, but it often does. I have to wonder: if Zimmerman had a history of antagonizing white kids and followed a white kid home with a gun, and if that white kid had turned and fought and ended up dead for it, would people be as quick to mention Zimmerman's self preservation as they are now? I want to believe they would, but I doubt it.
I don't know if Marley's killers were motivated by hate or by greed. I'm not convinced that if Marley was black they'd have walked away. I think they saw an easy target and took aim, not caring what he looked like or how much his family cared about him. I think they were opportunistic thugs. I agree wholeheartedly that Marley deserves justice and I hope he gets it.
It's certainly frustrating when something as important as the end of a life is ignored, and it happens far too often. I don't know what causes some cases to spark public outrage while others don't. I suspect it has more to do with PR than anything else. My point is NOT that one of these cases is more important that the other. My point is that the image above is a manipulative way to cause arguments, not a way to honor either of these boys' memories or to bring their killers to justice. After all, Trayvon had a huge media campaign and his killer was found not guilty.