• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Being the right and the wrong race

Is Treyvon Marth the right race and Zimmerman the wrong race?

  • I agree that President Obama did the right thing saying Treyvon Martin is how his sond would look.

    Votes: 8 34.8%
  • The President should not have injected race into his statment.

    Votes: 8 34.8%
  • IDK/Other

    Votes: 7 30.4%

  • Total voters
    23

joko104

Banned
Suspended
DP Veteran
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
65,981
Reaction score
23,408
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Undisclosed
The president said that Trayvon Martin would look like his son if he had one and then called for full government power used to see justice is done in the matter of the death of the 17 year old who looks like his son would look.

George Zimmerman, a spanish speaking Latino, doesn't look like he could have been Obama's son.

In this, I believe the President of the United States told everyone in the country, everyone in his Justice Department, everyone on the Grand Jury (that is primarily African-American in that community), the judge, and all prospective jurors a very simple declaration:

Treyvon Martin is the right race. George is the wrong race.

Do you approve of what President Obama said?

(sorry but I can't edit the typos)
 
Last edited:
I disagree completely, he said nothing of the sort about there being a right and a wrong race (at least from what I have read that he said).
 
Oh, wow.

I said No.

The prez shouldn't be commenting on ANY SORT of local criminal matters.

Doesn't he have a country to run?
 
This is now the third thread I have posted this in Joko. You have been discussing this matter in all three threads and have not responded. I have found that I agree with you on several things on different topics, but this one I must strenuously disagree.

I originally posted this in another thread... please consider carefully.

I think Obama meant it more like everyone else who is saying it means it. They are showing compassion for the family and saying they can identify with the tragedy. How can one incident deflect the focus of an entire administration? I think you are making the comment larger than it is. I'll join Obama and say "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon", and I mean that every parent and every friend and family member sees it as a tragedy, my son would look like Trayvon because he would be a beautiful person. Why don't we try to see it that way, as solidarity against violence.


" Obama said in the Rose Garden. "I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. And that everybody pull together."
 
I wonder if this would be an issue if Obama were white and said a gunned-down white kid looked like he could have been his son.

Zimmerman is not "the wrong race." There is significant evidence that the investigation was bungled and that Zimmerman had motives other than self-defense for shooting Martin. The fact that he is not getting Obama's sympathy when the motives of him killing a 17-year-old are so heavily in question is not surprising. He shouldn't be.

This is a comment that would get no attention whatsoever if Obama were white. Obama's meaning of it is probably no more insidious than it would be if he had said it as a white man.
 
Oh, wow.

I said No.

The prez shouldn't be commenting on ANY SORT of local criminal matters.

Doesn't he have a country to run?

:doh
Uhh matters such as these are part of the COUNTRY....
 
I do not believe that President Obama meant it in a racial way... but I can see why some might think he did. I just disagree with those who think he did. I think most people who think he did are choosing to read more into it than what is really there.
 
The president said that Trayvon Martin would look like his son if he had one and then called for full government power used to see justice is done in the matter of the death of the 17 year old who looks like his son would look.

George Zimmerman, a spanish speaking Latino, doesn't look like he could have been Obama's son.

In this, I believe the President of the United States told everyone in the country, everyone in his Justice Department, everyone on the Grand Jury (that is primarily African-American in that community), the judge, and all prospective jurors a very simple declaration:

Treyvon Martin is the right race. George is the wrong race.

Do you approve of what President Obama said?

(sorry but I can't edit the typos)

I voted Other.

This is a seriously stupid poll.
 
The president said that Trayvon Martin would look like his son if he had one and then called for full government power used to see justice is done in the matter of the death of the 17 year old who looks like his son would look.

George Zimmerman, a spanish speaking Latino, doesn't look like he could have been Obama's son.

In this, I believe the President of the United States told everyone in the country, everyone in his Justice Department, everyone on the Grand Jury (that is primarily African-American in that community), the judge, and all prospective jurors a very simple declaration:

Treyvon Martin is the right race. George is the wrong race.

Do you approve of what President Obama said?

(sorry but I can't edit the typos)
1. Unlike a lot of people, I do think Obama was identifying with Martin on a racial level. However, I see no problem with him doing this as Presidents, and people in general, often connect themselves personally to a story in order to connect with others in some way or another. Imagine if a Church in the United States was bombed and it had the level of national coverage and concern that this story has. Imagine if Obama had said, "That could have been my Church." In that statement he would be identifying himself as a Christian and connecting with Christians across the country who are hurt and outraged by the bombing. There would be nothing wrong with him saying that and I doubt certain people would be as upset at Obama admitting that he's Christian as they are when Obama admits, in some way or another, that he's black.

2. Obama's comment made no value judgement on race in his comment. Consequently, that you see his comment as speaking of "right and wrong races" is speaks to the irrationality of your inferences instead of the intent or meaning of Obama's comments.

Simply put, you seem sensitive.
 
It's called empathy, people. I saw some horrible photos of the two recent fatal bus crashes in France and Switzerland recently and one of the kids seen crying on the roadside looked just like my nephew, Joe. I mentioned this to some friends. Was I making a racial point?
 
Lets face it....Unfortuniately "race" (skin color) is in the forefront, and most of us know this....this may not be right, but its is real.
Having seen pics of both on national TV 9,000 times, I'd say that "Zimmerman" looks like the criminal, not Martin....
I think that those children with their "hoodies" appear to be mindless creeps, but not dangerous perpetrators.
"looks" should be thrown out..
As I see it, obviously ,lethal weapons should NOT be used by "quasi-law" enforcement, meaning amateurs or vigilantes..In fact, we should follow England and other European nations in this atea..
The NRA can go to hell!
Vote : other - its easier..
 
Last edited:
how dare the President express empathy for the grieving parents of a 17 year-old boy!!!!!!!!
 
Obama is inserting himself into this to get black votes. Blacks are very unexcited about his presidency and he fears they will stay home on election day so he is reminding the he is black and trying to take advantage of this tragedy and the emotion it has stirred.
 
Obama is inserting himself into this to get black votes. Blacks are very unexcited about his presidency and he fears they will stay home on election day so he is reminding the he is black and trying to take advantage of this tragedy and the emotion it has stirred.

utterly baseless claims. how sad.
 
Lets face it....Unfortuniately "race" (skin color) is in the forefront, and most of us know this....this may not be right, but its is real.
Having seen pics of both on national TV 9,000 times, I'd say that "Zimmerman" looks like the criminal, not Martin....
I think that those children with their "hoodies" appear to be mindless creeps, but not dangerous perpetrators.
"looks" should be thrown out..
As I see it, obviously ,lethal weapons should NOT be used by "quasi-law" enforcement, meaning amateurs or vigilantes..In fact, we should follow England and other European nations in this atea..
The NRA can go to hell!
Vote : other - its easier..

Here we go again...

Someone was killed with a gun! Ban them all!

So sick of that kind of stupid ****.

The president did nothing wrong at all. Zimmerman should have been arrested asap as the law does not cover stalking someone, confronting them for nothing and then shooting them. He is a murderer.
 
Obama is inserting himself into this to get black votes. Blacks are very unexcited about his presidency and he fears they will stay home on election day so he is reminding the he is black and trying to take advantage of this tragedy and the emotion it has stirred.

Nice accuse him of playing the race card for political gain and using a death to do it.

Please tell me you were being sarcastic. Otherwise that is pretty stupid comment. I did not vote for Obama, but damn man.
 
Well, at least he's stopped saying "The police acted stupidly" without the facts.
 
Obama is inserting himself into this to get black votes. Blacks are very unexcited about his presidency and he fears they will stay home on election day so he is reminding the he is black and trying to take advantage of this tragedy and the emotion it has stirred.

No. Just no.
 
Obama is inserting himself into this to get black votes. Blacks are very unexcited about his presidency and he fears they will stay home on election day so he is reminding the he is black and trying to take advantage of this tragedy and the emotion it has stirred.

that is something I had not considered, but bears thinking about.

Generally, however, I think the President just can't help but insert his feelings on Race In America into national issues like this, however much it demeans his post and however much it makes him look like an idiot. It is "The Police Acted Stupidly" all over again, though agreeably not as bad as encouraging Hispanics to "punish their enemies".
 
He shouldn't have injected race into it, but it wasn't that bad.
 
The president said that Trayvon Martin would look like his son if he had one and then called for full government power used to see justice is done in the matter of the death of the 17 year old who looks like his son would look.

George Zimmerman, a spanish speaking Latino, doesn't look like he could have been Obama's son.

In this, I believe the President of the United States told everyone in the country, everyone in his Justice Department, everyone on the Grand Jury (that is primarily African-American in that community), the judge, and all prospective jurors a very simple declaration:

Treyvon Martin is the right race. George is the wrong race.

Do you approve of what President Obama said?

(sorry but I can't edit the typos)

This is what I meant the other day when I said "I know what hte president was trying to say: but he made a terrible choice of words in trying to say it" Without intending to - he turned this into a serious race issue because he didn't think enough ahead of time.

With a few different words he could have connected with every single parent out there - and every single adult who's ever been a teen living in a dangerous community.
 
This is now the third thread I have posted this in Joko. You have been discussing this matter in all three threads and have not responded. I have found that I agree with you on several things on different topics, but this one I must strenuously disagree.

I originally posted this in another thread... please consider carefully.

I think Obama meant it more like everyone else who is saying it means it. They are showing compassion for the family and saying they can identify with the tragedy. How can one incident deflect the focus of an entire administration? I think you are making the comment larger than it is. I'll join Obama and say "If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon", and I mean that every parent and every friend and family member sees it as a tragedy, my son would look like Trayvon because he would be a beautiful person. Why don't we try to see it that way, as solidarity against violence.


" Obama said in the Rose Garden. "I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this. And that everybody pull together."

The president specified it was about how Martin "looks."
Before hearing that, not one time had the thought ever crossed my mind does my adopted daughter look like my race.

PLEASE - by all means - explain why Martin looking like he could be Obama's son is relevant to anything?
 
The president specified it was about how Martin "looks."
Before hearing that, not one time had the thought ever crossed my mind does my adopted daughter look like my race.

PLEASE - by all means - explain why Martin looking like he could be Obama's son is relevant to anything?
If a church was bombed and Obama said in an empathetic manner, "That could have been my church," would you have a problem with that?
 
Nice accuse him of playing the race card for political gain and using a death to do it.

Please tell me you were being sarcastic. Otherwise that is pretty stupid comment. I did not vote for Obama, but damn man.

So you are shocked huh. I suppose you don't think obama and dems used the Gifford shooting for politics either, damn man.
 
So you are shocked huh. I suppose you don't think obama and dems used the Gifford shooting for politics either, damn man.
Well, at least you admit you're trying to make political capital out of it. Telling.
 
Back
Top Bottom