Today as we embark upon this 40 day journey of Lenten season on today.. We are on day 37 and we are discussing Injustice… Injustice is real and existent to this very day… I’m saddened that injustice and prejudice still exist. I’m reminded of that Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963…US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 – 1968)
I remember living in Long Beach, California back in the 70’s when I actually felt injustice for the very first time, and today, injustice is still as prevalent today… I’m reminided of a youg man by the name of Ron Settles who was a star college football player that was getting ready to sign a contact to play professional football. One night in a small town right out of Long Beach, his whole life would be destroyed and was my very first time witnessing injustice pretty much in our own backyard or neck of the woods… In two cities, patrolmen are accused in the deaths of blacks. Ron Settles, 21, of Carson, Calif., was called Bull by his friends. He was a 200-lb. senior running back for the Cal State Long Beach 49ers, good enough to be scouted by the Dallas Cowboys. Ernest Lacy, 22, of Milwaukee, was a very different sort: a skinny unemployed man with a history of mental disorders who sang in a church choir and was sometimes scared of his family’s two dogs. But there were similarities too. Both were black. Both were involved in similar incidents…I do believe in my heart that this definitely was a case of injustice…. See the attached video on Ron Settles..
Was the Ron Settles incident an Accidents or Police Brutality?
| Birth: | Jun. 12, 1959 California, USA |
| Death: | Jun. 2, 1981 Signal Hill Los Angeles County California, USA |
 Ron Settles was a Long Beach State College football player who was arrested by the Signal Hill Police Department. The morning after his arrest, he was found severely beaten and hanging in his jail cell. A huge furor erupted afterwards over the suspicious nature of his death. The police said he committed suicide, but this story was very weak. The Los Angeles District Attorney filed charges against them, with the Signal Hill Police officers eventually taking the fifth ammendment so as to not incriminate themselves. No one was convicted of Settle’s murder, but the city of Signal Hill did pay a large settlement to the family. One of several highly controversial deaths of arrestee’s in the 1970’s and 80’s that changed the way police departments deal with prisoners. Many police departments now videotape jail areas, and any time a police officer or correction officer touches a prisoner in any sort of a restraining way, a report is required to be written. |
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Rodney King–
My 2nd time in life witnessing injustice and a level that a riot broke out in the city and surrounding cities where we lived… This was now the 2nd time I’d witnessed injustice again with my own eyes watching the video that media played over and over again … The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one Hispanic Los Angeles Police Departmentofficers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a high-speed pursuit. Thousands of people in the Los Angeles area rioted over the six days following the verdict.
Widespread looting, assault, arson and murder occurred, and property damages topped roughly $1 billion. In all, 53 people died during the riots and thousands more were injured.
(Above: Rodney King at the press conference following the riots that broke out after the cops who beat him up were acquitted.) His saying “Can’t we all just get along?” went viral back in the day…
As of today, we still fight because injustice yet prevails… I could go on and on previous cases and add myself and several incidents that injustice continues to prevail….
Let’s bring it up to date to Trayvon Martin who was shot and killed in cold blood by a fake neighborhood watch commander who’s group was not even a registered neighborhood watch group… It’s sad that Mr. Zimmerman is still running around as a free man, and he took the innocent life of a child… He should be put in jail with the key thrown away!!!!
Cited: Insert article from CNN- http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/30/opinion/bennett-trayvon-martin/index.html
“Rush to judgment in Trayvon Martin case”
- William Bennett: The death of Trayvon Martin is much more complex than first thought
- Bennett: Some are not looking for justice, but are exploiting this terrible death
- He says we don’t know if Zimmerman is guilty or if racism was a motivating factor
- Bennett: We should not rush to conclusions, and should be guided by the facts
(CNN) — At first glance, the death of Trayvon Martin seemed to be a straightforward example of ugly, racial conflict resulting in the killing of an innocent black teenager by a white man, George Zimmerman. But now, as evidence continues to come forward, the facts seem much more complicated and the “obvious truth” premature.
At first, it was thought that Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, was the aggressor because he followed Martin, got into a physical scuffle with him and shot him. But then, some witnesses claim that Martin attacked Zimmerman first, and the initial police report said that Zimmerman had blood on his nose and the back of his head after the incident. However, surveillance video footage that surfaced from the police station is leading to questions about the extent of Zimmerman’s injuries.
To make matters more complex, we found out that in the past several months, Martin was suspended from school three times, once for the possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Miami Herald reported that in the gated community in which Zimmerman patrolled, there were eight burglaries, nine thefts and one shooting in the past year. Neighbors of Zimmerman described him as being passionate about security and credit him with thwarting and cracking some crimes. It was also revealed that Zimmerman identified himself as a Hispanic and was a registered Democrat.
The facts are confounding and inconclusive. But the tendency in the first days by some, including Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and an angry chorus of followers, was to rush to judgment with little regard for fairness, due process, or respect for the terrible death of a young man.
A mob mentality seems to be in the ascendancy.
Who does ‘Stand Your Ground’ protect?
Zimmerman: Trayvon ‘snuck up’ on George
Trayvon Martin witness breaks silence
JVM: We need to move beyond race
The New Black Panther Party offered a bounty for Zimmerman’s capture.
Jackson said that Martin’s death shows how “blacks are under attack” and “targeting, arresting, convicting blacks and ultimately killing us is big business.” Apart from the obvious incendiary nature of such comments, what in heaven’s name could Jackson mean?
Spike Lee fueled the flames by tweeting Zimmerman’s home address, which turned out to be the wrong address and resulted in an older couple fleeing from their home and fearing for their lives after threats and crowds outside their residence. Lee, realizing his folly, has since apologized to the couple.
These actions and words illustrate a problem in dealing with Martin’s death: Many people are not on an impartial hunt for justice but are exploiting this crisis for personal or political gain and claiming that it is representative of larger societal problems.
MSNBC political analyst and Democratic fundraiser Karen Finney blamed Martin’s death on Republicans. She said, “[Republican politicians] reinforce and validate old stereotypes that associate the poor and welfare as criminal behavior with African-Americans and people of color, calling us lazy, undeserving recipients of public assistance. In the case of Trayvon, those festering stereotypes had lethal consequences.”
Martin’s own mother, Sybrina Fulton, filed applications for trademarks on two of the popular phrases used at rallies for Martin, “I Am Trayvon” and “Justice for Trayvon.” Democrats politicized the event with a hearing on Capitol Hill in which Martin’s parents testified. Later, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Illinois, wore a hoodie on the House floor.
It’s clear that some of the people raising the most noise are trying to make this less about the horrible death of a young man and more about claims of racial resentment that may or may not exist.
The loudest voices should be particularly careful not to rush to conclusions. Remember the Duke lacrosse case, in which members of the team were accused of a gang rape. The public rushed to judgment long before the young men were eventually acquitted.
Zimmerman may or may not be guilty; there may or may not be racial motivations. We do not know yet. In the absence of complete evidence, inflammatory comments and belligerent reactions will not aid the search for justice. An angry crowd should not be in charge. Lastly, why is there so much selective outrage on the part of so many?
The leading cause of death for black male teenagers is homicide, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Of all the black homicide victims, about 93% are killed by other black people. In 2011, nearly 85% of all people murdered in Philadelphia were black. Where are the marches and protests for these victims? Is it justice people seek or are they looking and even hoping for signs of white racism so they can exploit it?
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”
While we wait and respect due process of law, we should do our part to uplift human personality. We can do so by giving both Martin and Zimmerman a just weighing of the evidence, both in the court of law and public opinion. Let us not assume the worst of anybody but be guided by the facts.” http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/30/opinion/bennett-trayvon-martin/index.html
I’ve come to the conclusion that injustice is real even down to my own life in Orange County California.. I do believe that these people care nothing about the lives of our black young men, black or brown people… It’s said that we have made it to 2012 and prejudice and injustice is much alive! “Things have got to change for the better!” I’m outraged over it all down to my very own incidents of being discriminated against.. I see the time when men were put 6 feet under for hitting a woman or someone struck a child for no reason…
Injustice and prejudice is really real today in 2012!!! It really is..
Posted by: Minister Evelyn Diane Thomas
Cited that this story: Rush to judgment is used for reference material only in this article concerning injustice – original content of story comes from: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/30/opinion/bennett-trayvon-martin/index.html
Cited information from Ron Settles: Ronhttp://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6814603
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