Suspicion Nation

Suspicion Nation

Adult nonfiction
Of all the recent killings of Blacks in our nation, the shooting
of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman shook me up the most. What he'd
done that resulted in a bullet to his heart was exactly what my white
then teen age son had done that same evening: gone to a local store
for Skittles and a cold drink. When I heard the news from Florida I
immediately imagined how I would have been devastated if I'd been
greeted, not by my beautiful boy returning home, but by a uniformed
police officer requesting me to identify his body.
For awhile it didn't look like the incident would be officially
looked into. All kinds of stalls went on. At first there wasn't even
an arrest. It took a lot of protesting to get the wheels of "justice"
turning.
When there finally was a trial Zimmerman was acquitted of all
charges. We were supposed to believe that an adult male packing heat
was so afraid of a teen carrying only candy, a drink, and a cell phone
that he felt that shooting this kid was the only way to save his own
life? What the hell?
In Suspicion Nation legal analyst Lisa Bloom, who was in the
courtroom from beginning to end and interviewed a number of the
participants, tells us what the hell. The prosecution botched what
she considers a winnable case.
"A prosecution team was assembled to try a case that virtually
no one in law enforcement wanted to take to trial. The passion and
mandate had come from the outside, not within. Police and prosecutors
had believed Zimmerman's self defense story, and neither the outside
agitators nor the Special Prosecutor had changed their hearts and
minds. And that made all the difference. Because the overlooked
evidence, lack of witness preparation, and poor strategic choices made
by the state's attorneys were nothing short of astonishing."
In addition to thoroughly analyzing this controversial case,
Bloom sets it in its larger context: a far from post racial (despite
the election of a Black president) America in which implicit bias
permeates all aspects of life, Whites are much too fearful of Blacks,
and education and the "justice" system are separate and far from equal
for people of different races. She also discusses the role America's
wild wild west gun laws play in so many preventable tragedies.
Suspicion Nation is a must read for anyone who believes that
Black lives need to matter a lot more than they do in twenty-first
century America.
On a purrrsonal note, it has been quite a week. Wednesday was my last
stats class before break. I'll be watching class tapes to avoid
statistics slump between now and spring term. I want to repeat my
this semester's success and learn much much more.
Hey, that can be a New Years resolution. Another can be that my chum,
Connie, and I are thinking of a January blood donating date.
I have trouble making New Years resolutions because if I want to make
a change for the better I do it when I think of it. Heading toward
the end of December I've usually picked off the low hanging fruit.
Like I started my exercise program in October.
I've been crafting and distributing gifts and cards. The tree is
looking fine.
Tobago gave me a scare today. I saw an awesome sunrise and slipped on
my boots to go out and get pictures. I still was in pajamas, no
coat. While I was out there she got out--luckily no further than
under the stairs.
I just pulled a blueberry cake out of the oven and the kitchen is
fragrant with nutmeg. (Jules)
The world out there is cold. But I am curious about what is out
there. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all adapting holiday celebrations to
the new normal.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway


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