Bill Cosby feels the Trayvon Martin case is about gun ownership, not race. As you can tell from my painting “A Tale Of Two Hoodies”, I think it may be a little of both.
The gun laws in many states are admittedly a little wacky, no doubt. Texas allows concealed weapons on campuses. While I’m sure professors in that state are giving better grades, it’s only a matter of time before we get some very disturbing headlines. Using Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law” as a defense in the Trayvon Martin shooting should put both Zimmerman and the law itself away for life.
Okay, so I concede the whole “gun laws need reform thing.” Score one for the Cos. But I wouldn’t bet a box of Jello pudding that racism wasn’t a factor both with the perpetrator and the local authorities in the Trayvon Martin case. Just based on his comments while chasing Trayvon, one can deduce that the hispanic guy with the jewish name is a bit of a racist. Let’s call a spade a spade.
A more disturbing problem than one racist with a gun is the way the authorities treated the case until about a month of growing national protest. They John Doe’d Trayvon without contacting his parents even though they had all of his contact info in his wallet. Meanwhile, Zimmerman’s folks were called on the spot. The original investigator’s natural instinct to jail Zimmerman was nixed by a higher up, leaving our vigilante free to roam the streetswith the murder weapon hand. This did happen in Florida after all, and you can’t get any deeper south than that.
Dr. Cosby is right on guns, but perhaps a little too forgiving on the race issue. He may be overcompensating due to his support of Tawana Brawley in her case years ago, or just want’s to keep every body calm. Personally, I believe if people don’t get just a little angry at injustice, they won’t be motivated enough to change it.