Pundit Reaction To Zimmerman Verdict Proves Again White People Hate To Be Called Racists

image of Trayvon Martin

The reactions to the George Zimmerman murder trial were a bit predictable. African-Americans generally hated the acquittal and whites in general approved of the verdict. The reason is obvious, even in 2013 we have issues with race in this country. We also see that in the rush of some white conservative pundits who say it is racist to complain about racism or they wonder aloud why African-Americans don’t freak out about black on white violence. These pundits hate being called racist and will go to outlandish extremes to keep from having to deal with the real issue of race in this country.

Classic reactions from white conservative pundits came after President Obama made some remarks and offered some personal experiences about being black in America:

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Of course Simon totally forgot about the GOP Southern Strategy used, starting in the late 60’s, to scare whites into voting Republican:

Let’s roll the tape as far back as Roger can likely remember, say, 1968.

That was the year that Richard Nixon uncorked his noxiously racist “Southern Strategy,” which the GOP is still very much following, despite the fact that a former Republican Party chairman apologized for it.

In 1976, Ronald Reagan followed the same race-baiting playbook with his fictitious “strapping young buck” and “welfare queens” — to go with launching is campaign in 1980 in Philadelphia, Mississippi by extolling the virtues of states’ rights.

Shortly after, in 1988, we have George H.W. Bush’s infamous, race-baiting “Willie Horton” spot, probably the most overtly racist presidential campaign ad ever.

Stupid Right-Wing Tweets: Roger Simon Edition

But complaining about racism for pointing out racism wasn’t limited to President Obama’s remarks:

“I respect Bobby Rush,” Gingrich said. “[But] you have a congressman who represents the most violent city in America. You have a congressman who represents the city in which over 500 people were killed last year, 74% of them African-American. You have a congressman who represents the city which is 80% of the killings, according to police, are by gangs. Gangs have increased by forty percent since this president was elected. There is no federal program to stop it. No one wants to have an honest conversation about it. And so you have a congressman whose own district is bleeding, who puts on a hoodie as a symbolic act, but he doesn’t do anything about the gangs in his own district.”

Gingrich Attacks Rep. Rush For Donning Hoodie While Ignoring Gang Violence

Another classic white racist reaction is to point out Trayvon Martin’s past to make him out to be a criminal and therefore Zimmerman was justified in killing him:

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough fired back Monday at FOX News’ Sean Hannity’s remark last week in which he asked whether President Barack Obama and Trayvon Martin are similar because they both “smoked pot, did a little blow.”

“It seems we keep hearing that Trayvon had it coming because he had pot in his system,” Scarborough said on his show, ‘Morning Joe.’ “I keep hearing this from people like Sean Hannity and others on the right. Really? Is that the new standard? Would we like to go across college campuses in America and tell all white boys that if they have marijuana in their system then they are fair game?”

“It’s straight out of ‘Reefer Madness,'” he added. “Really? Really? In 2013, Sean? Whatever excuse there is to say this young black man had it coming to him, that is the defense because there is no defense for shooting down a young black man in a middle class neighborhood with Skittles. Armed with Skittles.”

MSNBC’s Scarborough Blasts Fox’s Hannity Over Trayvon ‘Pot’ Remark

Of course Hannity and other pundits who use the “he had it coming” defense won’t even suggest that Martin attacked Zimmerman because he was being followed and Martin felt threatened. You also won’t hear people like Hannity on the right wonder why Zimmerman ignored police instructions by getting out of his car and violated policy of the neighborhood watch group he wasn’t even part of at the time. Yes, Martin deserved what he got because he had smoked pot….Yikes.

Yet another ridiculous racist reaction is related to Gingrich’s comments above. Complain that blacks aren’t speaking out about all violence that involve people of both races. Cal Thomas was actually on TV when he said this:

If you are white, or Hispanic, you could possibly see the trial as something whipped up by the always racially conscious media and rhetorical bomb-throwers like the Rev. Al Sharpton. You might conclude that if the victim had been white and the perpetrator black, the media would have shown little or no interest. Or you could point to O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted of killing two white people by a majority African-American jury.

Your view would be reinforced by a case in Georgia in which four African-American teenagers beat a 36-year-old white man as he emerged from a gas station convenience store. While trying to escape, the man stumbled into the middle lane of a highway where he was struck by a car and killed. The Marietta Daily Journal reported that the four are charged with felony murder, aggravated assault and violation of the Georgia Street Gang Act. The incident occurred two weeks ago, but I have seen no national media coverage.

Someone Needs to Explain to Cal Thomas What the Definition of a Double Standard Is

And former Bush press secretary Dana Perino actually said this:

“Also when a president speaks, it’s to multiple audiences,” she added. “If you think of the young mother whose 2-year-old son was shot in the face by the two black teens that approached her in Atlanta and that baby had died, why do presidents choose to speak about one case and not the other? That’s why it’s better maybe not to talk about any of them.”

Earlier this year, a Georgia woman said her 13-month-old son was fatally shot by two African-American teens who approached her and asked for money. 

Dana Perino: Where’s Obama Speech on Blacks Shooting White Babies in the Face?

Where Thomas and Perino’s complaints fall apart is in both cases the accused were arrested and the suspects in the infant shooting were charged with murder soon after the crime unlike what happened to Zimmerman. Now if these “examples” of black on white violence happened the same as the Zimmerman case they might have a valid complaint. They would still need to explain why a black woman, who basically did the same thing Zimmerman did yet didn’t kill anyone, still got 20 years in prison.

Saying it is racist to complain about racism makes my head hurt. I would love to see these TV pundits try to make a positive difference in our country rather than highlighting old prejudices.