ALEX NEWMAN
New American
Monday, March 26, 2012
As race-hatred profiteers like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson whip up a frenzy of hysteria over a hypothetical racial element to the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida last month, the Obama administration’s Justice Department is reportedly investigating whether or not shooter George Zimmerman can be federally prosecuted for a “hate crime.” And experts fear the situation is spiraling quickly out of control.
Some observers are even worried a “race war” may erupt as a group of racist blacks — the New Black Panther Party — offered a “bounty” for the “capture” of Zimmerman, who has not been charged with a crime. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” said New Black Panther leader Mikhail Muhammad during a rally in Florida, leading a group of followers chanting “black power.”
“It’s time for us, as black men, to take justice in our own hands. If you won’t give us justice, we will have to take justice,” Muhammad told the crowd. “An eye for an eye. A life for a life.”
Local officials and law enforcement condemned the incitement to violence and warned that “vigilante justice” could result in criminal charges. But the anti-Semitic black supremacist group has repeatedly called for violence against whites, Jews, and law enforcement. And during the 2008 election, members of the party were caught on film carrying weapons and intimidating voters at polling places.
Obama’s Justice Department refused to prosecute the high-profile cases, sparking resignations andaccusations of racism within the upper echelons of the administration. But as the media hype surrounding the Florida shooting grows, even President Obama “shamelessly” poured fuel on the fire, further stirring up racial tensions in what critics called highly inappropriate exploitation of the tragedy.
“I think all of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how did something like this happen,” Obama said during a press conference, calling for federal involvement in the process. “And that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened as well as the specifics of the incident. But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin: You know if I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
Even respected black analysts have pointed out the administration’s regular and inappropriate reliance on the “race card” to silence critics and advance an agenda. But it remains unclear why Obama felt compelled to inject skin color into the controversy surrounding Martin’s death rather than remaining silent as the investigation proceeds or focusing instead on the teenager’s individual humanity.
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