[July 27, 2013]
SPOILER ALERT: If you HAVEN’T seen Fruitvale Station, do not read this post.
I am PISSED.
ELEVEN MONTHS?!?!?!?!?
Let me get this straight. The value of the life of black Americans has been no jail time and eleven months for the murderers of Trayvon and Oscar, respectively? Bull.
While the circumstances of both murders were arguably exceptionally different, the common thread — as I’ve written before — is that of the fear of the black male in America. The police officers involved in the killing of Amadou Diallo, Malice Green, Oscar Grant — I mean gosh, I must’ve just gotten tongue tied with the loss of life of unarmed black males — looked at Oscar and thought that he was a threat. Why else would they kick and beat someone who was the VICTIM of an altercation on a train? Moreover, why was he targeted on the train in the first place? I’ll grant you, movies may indulge in the facts, but I find it believable that Oscar was pulled off the train because he looked suspicious (sound familiar George Zimmerman?).