Global News: Violence In The City Of Toronto Is A Serious Problem Yet Strained Race Relations Between Black Community & Police Force Ignored.

Toronto’s black community has a serious problem with gang crime.  There is no need to lie about it because the recent shootings in Scarborough this summer where two innocent young people died was pernicious. In addition, the shocking shooting at Eaton Centre in June is terrifying because violence can occur anywhere in the city of Toronto.

There too many young black  who are so apathetic to the concerns of others. My question is, why are young black men getting involved with crime? What has happened to these young black men that they don’t value life or care about the well beings of others? Now, I know these young black males who get involved in crime have parents, families, siblings. So what happened to this generation? What went wrong?

Now, essentialists are going to make racist assumptions that it has to do with the “essence” within black males which causes some to commit crimes. The other possible explanations are poverty, unhappiness, despair, lack of education and employment opportunities leads young men to crime.

However, the white Canadian media never look beneath these surface explanations. Perhaps it is time for Toronto’s black community to not be so reticent and acknowledge there is a serious problem here?

There are programs for at risk youth, basketball camps, after school programs to assist children that are in danger of entering into crime. I believe these programs are important but are also band aid solutions to a deeper, more subliminal problem.

I can understand why some black people are irritated and annoyed by the media whenever gun violence occurs. Why should black people who are hard working and good citizens care about the bad behaviour of others? Why should the actions of a few tarnish the reputation of an entire race? It is ludicrous that people of colour are generalized in this manner.

Are white men generalized as psycho murderers like James Holmes shoots up a theatre in Aurora Colorado? Are young white men demonized in newspapers are psychopaths and killers?

Recently, a white supremacist murdered innocent people in Michigan at a Sikh temple. Are the media pathologizing young white men as being violent? Is there an essence to these young white males whiteness which causes them to go psycho and shoot and kill innocent people?

There questions are never asked in the mainstream white media because we live in a white society.

White privilege allows whites to generalize the actions of some in the black community yet the mirror image is never reflected at the majority.

Remember, white people control the Canadian media, the news which is broadcast on television, in the newspapers, and on the internet is based on white privilege. An editor decides in an editorial meeting what is the news. What sells more papers? What gets people talking? The media has a critical role in how race is shaped and constructed in Toronto.

In the classic 1988 essay, Peggy McIntosh a white feminist wrote an article called White Privilege The Invisible Knapsack. McIntosh’s article was groundbreaking because she is a white woman and she acknowledges the privileges she has simply because she was born white. According to McIntosh, whites are conditioned by the media and white society to ignore their privilege. Just like men ignore our male privilege and the freedom we have to walk freely in society, white people don’t have to think critically about race. A white person can live his or her’s own life in North America and not think about how race affects their lives.

People of colour we don’t have the luxury of not having to think about race. Race is in our face every single day of our lives whether we want to admit it or not.

It is understandable that some in the black community are angered that when crime occurs suddenly the entire race is to blame for some idiots dangerous actions.

Why are blacks generalized for the actions of a few? Why should I personally care if a black man shoots someone just because we are the same race? I don’t shoot anybody, I’m a citizen minding my own damn business.

The counter argument is, the white press in Toronto claim that black people need to become more vigilant and just trust the police force. The quandary is, a lot of black people in Toronto do not trust the police due to strained race relations.

Another point to consider is, some black people are terrified and afraid they don’t want to be the next statistic and get shot.  It is a vicious circle that seems to be getting worse in the city of Toronto. There is a lot of bad feelings, anger, resentment.

It is disconcerting to see young black men shooting and killing innocent people. I think something has happened to the minds of these young black males who get involved in crimes.

Frantz Fanon the black psychiatrist and author of the book  Black Skins, White Masks argues in chapter five called The Lived Experience of the Black man that  the psyche of black males are shattered due to racism.

The black man sees himself in the third person he does not see himself as a three dimensional human being because the white man has the power to control the images and representations of the black man.

Now some people might argue that the city of Toronto is a multicultural paradise where racial harmony exists.

The danger of multiculturalism which the Toronto media engenders is it ignores racism and pushes it beneath the surface. Racism is a serious problem in Toronto yet Canadians like to pretend it does not exist.

The power structure in Toronto is still based on white privilege. For instance, Toronto has an idiot  white mayor Rob Ford he’ is obnoxious,  pathetic, unprofessional, and abhorrent. However, Ford is praised by the white right wing media in Toronto. The mayors of Toronto and all the police chiefs are white people. Even though, the city of Toronto has a very large non white population the people in power are still white.

The Toronto police force is also a problem there aren’t enough black officers on the force in positions of power. Real change needs to occur inside the police force in order for racism and barriers of indifference to break down. Why would a black person suddenly trust a white police officer in crime ridden neighbourhoods? The so called anti racism policies are a farce. The question still remains, why do people still not trust the police to inform them about criminal activity? Why are people so afraid to speak out?

The media is also to blame because the real subliminal problems that are not visible are not discussed in the public sphere. Serious and hard questions about inequality, racism, and discrimination, are not brought to the surface. Canadians still have an apathetic attitude towards race which is disconcerting.

In  America, despite the race relation problems between blacks and whites they are more honest about racism. In the United States, people are not afraid to discuss race.

CNN, ABC, Fox News, NBC, and the major American media outlets constantly discuss racism in the public sphere. Americans are aware of racism in their country they don’t hide and pretend it doesn’t exist. By contrast, Canadians believe in the illusion of multiculturalism which is dangerous.

In order for Canada to progress, people need to stop being afraid to discuss race, inequality, white privilege, and other social problems in the public realm.

Excellent Article: USTA & Patrick McEnroe Are Racist Against Tennis Players Serena Williams & Taylor Townsend.

Women’s Tennis

By

Cliff Potter

 (Correspondent) on September 9, 2012

Serena Williams is in shape, but by no means thin.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

 

Given the history of tennis, it is a very short line. Mixed among so many white Australians and Americans, the minority winners of the US Open are very few and far between.

Richard “Pancho” Gonzalez, born poor but proud in an LA barrio. Winner of the 1948 and 1949 US Opens. An Hispanic-American whose name was spelled Gonzales, the “American” way early in his life and whose nickname may have stemmed from a cut on his face when he was a child, which was incorrectly rumored to have occurred in a knife fight.

Althea Gibson, product of Harlem was also poor. And black. Winner of the US Open in 1957 and 1958.

Manuel Santana is next. Winner of the 1965 US Open. Former ball boy from Spain.

Arthur Ashe, winner of the US Open in 1968. Always present these days at the US Open in the stadium bearing his name.

When you watch Serena Williams go for her next US Open women’s title today, do not consider her achievements as something done within the normal tennis world. Instead, when you see her weight, her power, and her color, think of her achievements as an African-American in a world that is not yet through with racial and sexual insensitivity.

Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka and all of the rest of the men and women in the quarterfinals were all white except Serena Williams. And they all have sleek, model-like physiques.

Taylor Townsend, left, after winning the US Open girl’s doubles championship on Friday.
Chris Trotman/Getty Images

 

Serena Williams has a body that is bodacious in all respects. Totally dissimilar to most bodies on tour, men and women.

Williams’ physique is shared with Taylor Townsend, a 16 year old African-American and the number 1 seed in the girl’s juniors in singles. Taylor lost on Friday in the junior girl’s US Open singles tournament, but won the US Open girls doubles title.

Like most of us, you would have thought nothing of Taylor Townsend’s weight or race.

But you are not the USTA and Patrick McEnroe, at least as to weight.

We may feel that women are no longer classified differently than men, or that racial sensitivity is now practiced by almost everyone involved. This situation brings us back to reality.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Before this year’s Open, Taylor asked the USTA for a wild-card entry slot in either the Open’s main draw or its qualifying tournament, which Taylor had played in last year. Her requests were denied. After the USTA asked Taylor to skip the U.S. Open junior tournament, her mother told them she’d pay her daughter’s expenses herself.” As Taylor’s mother said, “It all kind of came as a shock to us because Taylor has consistently done quite well,” she said. Her daughter, she reminded, “is No. 1, not just in the United States, but in the world.”

In fact, she had been “asked to stop competing,” consequently missing the USTA Girls’ National Championships in San Diego, because she had to get in better shape.

Patrick McEnroe, at the forefront of the Townsend controversy.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Patrick McEnroe, the general manager of the USTA’s player development program, confirmedthat her expenses to and at the US Open were not paid by the USTA.His excuse was not low iron at the time. “Our concern is her long-term health, number one, and her long-term development as a player,” said Patrick McEnroe, the general manager of the USTA’s player development program. “We have one goal in mind: For her to be playing in [Arthur Ashe Stadium] in the main draw and competing for major titles when it’s time. That’s how we make every decision, based on that.” McEnroe also claimed there had just been a miscommunication.

 

Not so, said Taylor Townsend. ““There was no miscommunication,” Townsend said. “I don’t know what else to say. My mom was coming but they did not fund us for the tickets.””

Could you have gotten to the quarterfinals of the US Open girls championship or the semifinals of the doubles if you had the weight of Patrick McEnroe and his USTA on top of you every game you played in addition to your own? Knowing that you were being penalized for your weight if not your race?

Probably not. But Taylor did.

Surely, both racial and sexual sensitivity would have dictated a different approach.

But as the Townsend situation shows us, Patrick McEnroe and the USTA do not share this sensitivity. In fact, their position remains both insensitive and appears indefensible.

So far the only disclosure of a health problem comes from Tennis.com, which claims that Townsend required a doctor’s approval to play due to “low iron.” And although Matt Cronin, a principal writer for USOpen.org, said that this was the reason, it apparently had nothing to do with the decision to ask Townsend not to participate in other tournaments.

Zina Garrison, whose discrimination lawsuit against the USTA was settled.
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

We might fool ourselves by looking at the nearly all-white crowd in New York, telling ourselves that racial issues are over and that everyone involved, man or woman, white or black, is being treated fairly.

 

But the Townsend affair raises these questions once again. And they are questions worth an investigation. To satisfy people of color that the decision on Townsend was motivated neither by a prejudice against people who are considered overweight or based on her race.

The issue of whether the USTA’s player development group run by McEnroe is racist has been raised in the past. The Williams former coach Morris King Jr. has made thisclaim, including by reference to his inability to get a response from them concerning coaching applications.

As for the USTA’s High Performance/Player Development department, I have been rejected for national coach positions at least a dozen times over the years. How did I learn that I was rejected? Because I am not there. That’s how I have always found out. They have never informed me through any type of communication.

Lest you believe that Morris King is just a nut, read his statements and verify them.

King pointed to the USTA’s defense of several suits that have alleged race discrimination as a sign of discrimination at the USTA.

These have included the following: Zina Garrison’s discrimination lawsuit for her dismissal as the Fed Cup coach which was settled by the USTA, the settled Cecil Hollins case brought by the one out of thirty or so top chair umpires claiming discrimination against black chair umpires because he had been the only one, and the resulting New York Attorney General investigation that was settled though anAssurance of Discontinuance with the USTA.

Richard Williams and his daughters Serena and Venus.
Clive Rose/Getty Images

Claims and perhaps one or more cases have also been made that the wild card process of getting into tournaments is discriminatory.

 

So far, there is no evidence apart from this history that real discrimination existed in the decision to tell Townsend to stay away.

But given the way Serena has always looked, how can you successfully apply any weight exclusion on any player? Especially because, despite millions in expenditures to develop any top ranked player over the past five or six years, the USTA under Patrick McEnroe has failed in their task and one success they have had is told to stay home and not compete.

That McEnroe’s claim that weight was the reason appears to be a false claim based on Townsend’s experience at the Australian Open this year. Taylor Townsend was in both the Australian Open girls’ singles and doubles, toiling well into the night, where McEnroe was present as a TV commentator.

During this January’s Australian Open, “[t]he left-handed Townsend had a busy day as she defeated fellow American Krista Hardebeck 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the girls’ singles semifinals to earn herself a final round match up with Russia’s Yulia Putinseva. Then she and Andrew had to pull the late night shift and took a dramatic 5-7, 7-5, 10-6 [super tiebreaker] win in one hour, 44 minutes over Irina Khromacheva and Danka Kovinic.”

Such a schedule does not seem to indicate a health or fitness concern over her weight.

Townsend has won or done very well in the tournaments in which she has participated. You have to have significant athletic skills to be ranked number 1 in her age group, as she has been this year.

USTA Training Center, Boca Raton, Florida.

 

The most tragic indictment of McEnroe’s acts come from Taylor Townsend herself. ““It was definitely shocking,” she said. “I was actually very upset. I cried. I was actually devastated. I mean, I worked really hard, you know, it’s not by a miracle that I got to number one. I’m not saying that to be conceited or anything, but it’s not just a miracle or it didn’t just fall upon me just because my name’s Taylor.”

As Sports Illustrated said, “Taylor Townsend, a charming young girl who still wears her braces proudly and plays with ribbons in her hair, is still just that: a young girl. She is not the future of American tennis, she is not a policy and she is not an example. She’s just a kid playing a sport she loves and she’s pretty darn good at it. Her body is still developing, her self-esteem still ebbing and flowing, and the last thing she needs, not as a tennis prodigy but as an adolescent, is her own tennis federation telling her she’s physically deficient.” SI also points out that it is through wins and losses in big tournaments that players become better.

Both Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova have denounced this decision. “You cannot punish someone for their body type,” Davenport said. “I’m livid about it. Livid,” Navratilova said. She added: “It speaks of horrible ignorance.”

Denying Townsend any money to travel to the US Open, and asking her to stay away from competitions, tarnishes the efforts made by the US Open and the USTA over the past few decades to eradicate racism and treat women fairly.

The USTA must not bury this incident, as it seems to have done so far, but instead must publicly deal with all those involved. At least some official position is appropriate even though there is less of a public furor than one might expect over McEnroe’s decision.

Davenport, far right, and Navratilova, far left.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

 

Is it a coincidence that this situation was reported by the Wall Street Journal apparently on September 6, 2012, and then by The New York Times on Friday, but USOpen.org and the USTA apparently have not published a thing on this incident?

 

It is tempting to say that singling out weight is more a case of class prejudice rather than racial. After all, it is a stereotype in today’s culture that if you are overweight, then you are poor.

A few generations ago, tennis was largely the province of moneyed men and women. Professional tennis was played at private clubs, organized by individuals, and treated as if it were an all-white sport. Indeed, at one time, being white from an English speaking country was an almost required feature of tennis players.

And almost never being overweight.

But there is clearly a lack of racial sensitivity too.

Surely, the USTA or Patrick McEnroe did not consider that McEnroe’s decision might be considered racist or it would have been handled very differently. Especially when Serena is the antithesis of the typical svelte tennis player and has a fairly unique body type for tennis, the potential for others to interpret the move as racist is clearly present.

We have moved a long way on matters of race because of the many great athletes who were able to overcome barriers against them and their play.

 

One of the greatest players of all time, Althea Gibson is the most prominent for the role she played in breaking the color barrier in tennis despite overcoming a very poor family life. As Venus Williams said when Gibson died in 2003:

“I am grateful to Althea Gibson for having the strength and courage to break through the racial barriers in tennis,” it said. “Althea Gibson was the first African-American woman to rank No. 1 and win Wimbledon, and I am honored to have followed in such great footsteps. Her accomplishments set the stage for my success and through players like myself, Serena [Williams] and many others to come, her legacy will live on.”

The Williams sisters and their father have reported about the racism they faced from the crowds. “In the semi-finals of the US Open last year [2002], the American crowd supported Amélie Mauresmo of France rather than Venus: for the overwhelmingly white, middle-class crowd, the bond of colour clearly counted for more than the bond of nation.” As the Guardian noted in the same article on racism in tennis: “At the Indian Wells final in 2001, Serena was jeered the moment she appeared on court and was booed throughout. Her father, Richard, described how, as “Venus and I were walking down the stairs to our seats, people kept calling me nigger. One guy said, ‘I wish it was ’75 [alluding to the Los Angeles race riots]; we’d skin you alive.'”

They did not return to Indian Wells.

And it was only in Venus’ last match at this year’s US Open, potentially her last, when she said she finally felt like an American because the crowd was behind her.

Althea Gibson, from http://www.womentalksports.com/athlete/690/Althea-Gibson

 

Just as the Williams sisters demanded and obtained equality with boycott and regular reportingof the racism they faced from the crowds, other prejudice must also be banished including any prejudice that might exist due to a player’s weight.

Despite the many claims of Richard Williams of racism, there has never been any broad, public investigaton by the USTA about his and Morris King’s complaints. Why?

Is the Townsend situation more of the same? Or is it a stereotype that comes with being poor, where more overweight people are found today.

It may be coincidence, but last year The New York Times did another article on Taylor Townsend. The article lauded her progress in tennis, and interviewed and extensively interviewed Richard Williams, the Williams sister’s father and former coach. And they spoke with Kathy Rinaldi, USTA’s national coach. What did she say at the time?

“She has come a long way in a short time” . . . “When I first saw her a year and a half ago, she had a lot of potential. She has more discipline with her shot selection now and knows her game and style more. Her work is paying off.”

Tennis associations should never make sixteen year olds concerned about either race or their bodies, especially when no empirical evidence of Townsend needing to tone up her body before she competes. In fact, if you look at Townsend’s record, you begin to believe that this is all made up. By the USTA’s Patrick McEnroe.

You might also consider whether she may be Serena Williams’ successor.

If your physique looks like Serena Williams, perhaps the best women’s player in history, what more needs be said?

WSJ Article: Tennis Champions Lindsay Davenport & Martina Navratilova Slam Patrick McEnroe & USTA For Attacking Teen Taylor Townsend!!!

Tennis Legends ‘Livid’ About USTA Decision

By Tom Perrotta

The Wall Street Journal reported in Friday’s newspaper that Taylor Townsend, a Chicago native and the No. 1 junior girl tennis player in the world, was benched from tournament play this summer by her coaches at the U.S. Tennis Association because of her fitness. Townsend lost in the quarterfinals of the junior singles tournament Friday afternoon but advanced to the doubles final with her partner, Gabby Andrews.

Taylor Townsend was benched from tournament play this summer by the U.S. Tennis Association.
On Friday, the Journal spoke with Lindsay Davenport and Martina Navratilova, two former No. 1 players and Grand Slam champions who struggled with their weight as teenagers and as pros. Davenport and Navratilova were sharply critical of the USTA’s decision.

“You cannot punish someone for their body type,” Davenport said.

“I’m livid about it. Livid,” Navratilova said. She added: “It speaks of horrible ignorance.”

The Wall Street Journal: You struggled with weight as a junior and a pro. What was it like for you growing up?

Lindsay Davenport: My dad is 6-foot-8. He blew out his knee in 1973, and after bad surgery, an infection ravaged his knee. He hasn’t been able to bend his knee since then. He was probably 150 pounds overweight my whole life. So all through the 80s, when I was a little girl, my dad was huge. My mom was not. But I had this dad with big genes, and we were never thin.

My first year playing the [12-and-under] nationals in Florida [at age 11], another mom reported me for being too old. And I was standing right there, and my mom was like, “I’ve got news for you, she can play next year, too.” And this woman was like, “Oh my gosh!” I had these big, chubby, baby cheeks and people thought that because I was tall and big, I was older.

Martina Navratilova: I put on 20 pounds in two weeks when I first came on the tour. I was 16, I played in Fort Lauderdale and then Dallas. By Dallas, I had to buy myself new shorts because I couldn’t fit into my shorts. I was playing three hours a day of tennis, or more. It was a change of metabolism and a change of diet. I wasn’t eating junk food, either. I was just eating too much. I was eating pancakes and steaks and hamburgers, I discovered corn flakes. It was just a different diet completely. I struggled with my weight for four years after that. I didn’t lose it until I was 20. And really, it just came off by itself. I was training hard and it started coming off in 1976.

How did your coaches approach your development, and how much of that had to do with fitness?

Davenport: There was a female who was in charge of the [USTA] women’s program in the 90s, Lynne Rolley. Lynne stood by me, was like a mother figure to me. I think she saw it as not only developing these great players, but developing us as people, and teaching us, when you walk into a room, look into someone’s eyes. It wasn’t just about trying to get players on Arthur Ashe. No one ever said to me, you’re fat, you’re heavy. Part of it is trying to figure it out on your own and trying to get the player to realize it. You’re dealing with a really difficult age for girls, and you’re talking about a life-changing, detrimental step. You cannot punish someone for their body type.

Navratilova: No matter what, the kid is 16. It’s baby fat, it’s going to come off. She would have to starve to the point of where she can’t play to lose weight, so then she can’t compete. And she’s the No. 1 junior. It is absolutely insane what they did, so irresponsible. If anything, play more. Don’t go into the gym. Just watch [what you eat], but in a positive and constructive and long-term way. But to throw this on her at 16? I’m trying to be nice here, but they totally blew it on this one.

Were there any fitness requirements you had to meet?

Davenport: When I was growing up, we had these USTA camps and a national team, and we would all go to these camps together. And you had to run a mile and a half in a certain time. I could never sleep the night before, I swear to God. I’m not a runner. I could hit the ball really well, and I liked to play tennis, but it was all getting too serious for me. I’ll never forget the anxiety I would feel the night before a run. And the time, whatever it was, it’s such a doable number now, but I’d be crying and stressed about it. And they would threaten that you couldn’t stay on the team. It didn’t happen, so I don’t know if I made the time, or they just kind of overlooked it.

When were your worst struggles with weight?

Davenport: I won the nationals at 15 [in the 18-and-under division]. My heaviest was more at 18, 19, when my parents were getting divorced. But I was never slim. I had an obese father, and we had a great childhood, but a good diet was not part of it, even though I was an athlete. I was not svelte at 15, and I was not fit at 15. If they had told me I could not play, I mean, that could have ruined my career.

There were definitely people within the USTA who didn’t think I had a chance to make it. I was very fortunate that I had Lynne, who was like, “This girl is doing great, she’s a nice girl, why wouldn’t we help her?” You just can’t turn your back on someone when they’re doing well and they’re a great kid. They’ve helped people with the worst attitudes, and that is way worse to me than someone’s body type.

Navratilova: What really pisses me off about this is, OK, weight is obvious, but what about attitude? Can we talk about other kids who they have been supporting for years whose attitude sucks and they still support them? I’m livid about it. Livid.

Is there a “too early” for off-court training like a pro would do?

Navratilova: Absolutely. Absolutely. I say play other sports, because that helps you become a better athlete, and most of all it makes you happy. I didn’t do core training when I was 16, I was climbing trees. I was swimming in the river, I was playing hockey, I played soccer, I road my bicycle a lot and then I played tennis. I did weight training like two weeks a year.

Davenport: I think the time is in your late teens. If you look at Martina Hingis, that great year she had in 1997, she was a twig, but it was just her tennis. Everyone has started doing things earlier, but that pressure is just exploding, and the long-term consequences of what potentially just happened I think are far worse than the benefit.

How much does fitness matter in tennis, say from your days on tour compared to now?

Davenport: It seems to have gone to where it’s a bit more than in the 90s, but it’s still about hitting the ball well. It’s still, in women’s tennis, about the chance to overpower someone. Certainly it’s a more important component when you get older, but it’s not that important when you’re 15, 16 years old. And I think that we’ve seen cases, Martina [Navratilova], myself, where people get over that, and we’ve seen the opposite where eating disorders occur.

[Taylor] is a baby to me. I couldn’t imagine, if someone did that to one of my kids, that would be the end of it. It’s horrible to put that kind of pressure on someone. I can’t imagine at 16 what my parents would have done.

What does a kid like Taylor, at her age, need most?

Davenport: I might take it the opposite way. They need love and support and good role models, and good role models aren’t people who punish and don’t allow things to happen. What really helped for me to lose weight was to try to have fun in the beginning, and just learning things like, you don’t want to eat bread at dinner. You just need to nurture them and I think that’s how it gets better.

If the goal is developing top pros, is that too narrow, or missing the bigger picture?

Davenport: Their whole goal should be to try to develop this player into the best player they can be, and the best person and try to teach them tools to go through life, and hopefully that includes playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium. If this is the player you’re choosing to help, you think they’re going to be good, it’s up to you to make them get there, to bring out their best as a coach.

Bringing out their best isn’t making them feel bad about themselves and having a horrible self-image. You get it out of them by getting them happy, by getting them excited to play, not by tearing them down.

Navratilova: It speaks of horrible ignorance.

Feminist Writer Peggy McIntosh Incendiary 1988 Essay White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack.

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

• Daily effects of white privilege
• Elusive and fugitive
• Earned strength, unearned power

“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group”

Peggy McIntosh

Through work to bring materials from women’s studies into the rest of the curriculum, I have often noticed men’s unwillingness to grant that they are overprivileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged. They may say they will work to women’s statues, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can’t or won’t support the idea of lessening men’s. Denials that amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages that men gain from women’s disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened, or ended.

Thinking through unacknowledged male privilege as a phenomenon, I realized that, since hierarchies in our society are interlocking, there was most likely a phenomenon of while privilege that was similarly denied and protected. As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.

I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools , and blank checks.

Describing white privilege makes one newly accountable. As we in women’s studies work to reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of their power, so one who writes about having white privilege must ask, “having described it, what will I do to lessen or end it?”

After I realized the extent to which men work from a base of unacknowledged privilege, I understood that much of their oppressiveness was unconscious. Then I remembered the frequent charges from women of color that white women whom they encounter are oppressive. I began to understand why we are just seen as oppressive, even when we don’t see ourselves that way. I began to count the ways in which I enjoy unearned skin privilege and have been conditioned into oblivion about its existence.

My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, or as a participant in a damaged culture. I was taught to see myself as an individual whose moral state depended on her individual moral will. My schooling followed the pattern my colleague Elizabeth Minnich has pointed out: whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work that will allow “them” to be more like “us.”

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Daily effects of white privilege

I decided to try to work on myself at least by identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in my life. I have chosen those conditions that I think in my case attach somewhat more to skin-color privilege than to class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location, though of course all these other factors are intricately intertwined. As far as I can tell, my African American coworkers, friends, and acquaintances with whom I come into daily or frequent contact in this particular time, place and time of work cannot count on most of these conditions.

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

2. I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.

3. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.

4. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.

5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

6. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

8. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.

9. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.

10. I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group in which I am the only member of my race.

11. I can be casual about whether or not to listen to another person’s voice in a group in which s/he is the only member of his/her race.

12. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

13. Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.

14. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

16. I can be pretty sure that my children’s teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others’ attitudes toward their race.

17. I can talk with my mouth full and not have people put this down to my color.

18. I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.

19. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.

20. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

21. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

23. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.

24. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in charge”, I will be facing a person of my race.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled out because of my race.

26. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.

27. I can go home from most meetings of organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in, rather than isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance or feared.

28. I can be pretty sure that an argument with a colleague of another race is more likely to jeopardize her/his chances for advancement than to jeopardize mine.

29. I can be pretty sure that if I argue for the promotion of a person of another race, or a program centering on race, this is not likely to cost me heavily within my present setting, even if my colleagues disagree with me.

30. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have.

31. I can choose to ignore developments in minority writing and minority activist programs, or disparage them, or learn from them, but in any case, I can find ways to be more or less protected from negative consequences of any of these choices.

32. My culture gives me little fear about ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other races.

33. I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing or body odor will be taken as a reflection on my race.

34. I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

35. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my race.

36. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had racial overtones.

37. I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.

38. I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether a person of my race would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do.

39. I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.

40. I can choose public accommodation without fearing that people of my race cannot get in or will be mistreated in the places I have chosen.

41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

42. I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my race.

43. If I have low credibility as a leader I can be sure that my race is not the problem.

44. I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race.

45. I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my race.

46. I can chose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.

47. I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.

48. I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people approve of our household.

49. My children are given texts and classes which implicitly support our kind of family unit and do not turn them against my choice of domestic partnership.

50. I will feel welcomed and “normal” in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

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Elusive and fugitive

I repeatedly forgot each of the realizations on this list until I wrote it down. For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one’s life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own.

In unpacking this invisible knapsack of white privilege, I have listed conditions of daily experience that I once took for granted. Nor did I think of any of these perquisites as bad for the holder. I now think that we need a more finely differentiated taxonomy of privilege, for some of these varieties are only what one would want for everyone in a just society, and others give license to be ignorant, oblivious, arrogant, and destructive.

I see a pattern running through the matrix of white privilege, a patter of assumptions that were passed on to me as a white person. There was one main piece of cultural turf; it was my own turn, and I was among those who could control the turf. My skin color was an asset for any move I was educated to want to make. I could think of myself as belonging in major ways and of making social systems work for me. I could freely disparage, fear, neglect, or be oblivious to anything outside of the dominant cultural forms. Being of the main culture, I could also criticize it fairly freely.

In proportion as my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made unconfident, uncomfortable, and alienated. Whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress, and violence, which I was being subtly trained to visit, in turn, upon people of color.

For this reason, the word “privilege” now seems to me misleading. We usually think of privilege as being a favored state, whether earned or conferred by birth or luck. Yet some of the conditions I have described here work systematically to over empower certain groups. Such privilege simply confers dominance because of one’s race or sex.

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Earned strength, unearned power

I want, then, to distinguish between earned strength and unearned power conferred privilege can look like strength when it is in fact permission to escape or to dominate. But not all of the privileges on my list are inevitably damaging. Some, like the expectation that neighbors will be decent to you, or that your race will not count against you in court, should be the norm in a just society. Others, like the privilege to ignore less powerful people, distort the humanity of the holders as well as the ignored groups.

We might at least start by distinguishing between positive advantages, which we can work to spread, and negative types of advantage, which unless rejected will always reinforce our present hierarchies. For example, the feeling that one belongs within the human circle, as Native Americans say, should not be seen as privilege for a few. Ideally it is an unearned entitlement. At present, since only a few have it, it is an unearned advantage for them. This paper results from a process of coming to see that some of the power that I originally say as attendant on being a human being in the United States consisted in unearned advantage and conferred dominance.

I have met very few men who truly distressed about systemic, unearned male advantage and conferred dominance. And so one question for me and others like me is whether we will be like them, or whether we will get truly distressed, even outraged, about unearned race advantage and conferred dominance, and, if so, what we will do to lessen them. In any case, we need to do more work in identifying how they actually affect our daily lives. Many, perhaps most, of our white students in the United States think that racism doesn’t affect them because they are not people of color; they do not see “whiteness” as a racial identity. In addition, since race and sex are not the only advantaging systems at work, we need similarly to examine the daily experience of having age advantage, or ethnic advantage, or physical ability, or advantage related to nationality, religion, or sexual orientation.

Difficulties and angers surrounding the task of finding parallels are many. Since racism, sexism, and heterosexism are not the same, the advantages associated with them should not be seen as the same. In addition, it is hard to disentangle aspects of unearned advantage that rest more on social class, economic class, race, religion, sex, and ethnic identity that on other factors. Still, all of the oppressions are interlocking, as the members of the Combahee River Collective pointed out in their “Black Feminist Statement” of 1977.

One factor seems clear about all of the interlocking oppressions. They take both active forms, which we can see, and embedded forms, which as a member of the dominant groups one is taught not to see. In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth.

Disapproving of the system won’t be enough to change them. I was taught to think that racism could end if white individuals changed their attitude. But a “white” skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us. Individual acts can palliate but cannot end, these problems.

To redesign social systems we need first to acknowledge their colossal unseen dimensions. The silences and denials surrounding privilege are the key political surrounding privilege are the key political tool here. They keep the thinking about equality or equity incomplete, protecting unearned advantage and conferred dominance by making these subject taboo. Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of dominance while denying that systems of dominance exist.

It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all. Keeping most people unaware that freedom of confident action is there for just a small number of people props up those in power and serves to keep power in the hands of the same groups that have most of it already.

Although systemic change takes many decades, there are pressing questions for me and, I imagine, for some others like me if we raise our daily consciousness on the perquisites of being light-skinned. What will we do with such knowledge? As we know from watching men, it is an open question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage, and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base.

Peggy McIntosh is associate director of the Wellesley Collage Center for Research on Women. This essay is excerpted from Working Paper 189. “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming To See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies” (1988), by Peggy McIntosh; available for $10.00 from the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, Wellesley MA 02181 The working paper contains a longer list of privileges.

This excerpted essay is reprinted from the Winter 1990 issue of Independent School.

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Is Halle Berry’s Decline In Hollywood Just Proof Hollywood Is Racist & Sexist Against Black Women?

  

Ten years ago,  Halle Berry was on the top of the world she made history by becoming the first  black woman to win the Oscar for  best actress for Monster’s Ball.   A decade  later Halle Berry’s career is currently in the toilet she is struggling just to get work. Berry’s victory in 2002 was supposed to open the door for women of colour in Hollywood.   High profile black actresses Vanessa Williams, Queen Latifah, and Angela Bassett all turned down the female lead in Monster’s Ball. In fact, in 2002, Angela Bassett told Newsweek Magazine  that Berry’s character Leticia Musgrove was a  “prostitute”.

It might be difficult for people who are not black to understand the anger and disappointment blacks had with Halle Berry. There was a  huge uproar and backlash against Berry for appearing in Monster’s Ball. Berry was criticized by many blacks  and her popularity with black audiences declined dramatically. A common complaint among blacks is blunt, why did the first black woman to win best actress have to screw a white man in order to win? Would Hollywood allow Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, or Jennifer Aniston to have an explicit sex scene with a black man and win an Academy Award?

Many black people objected to the explicit sex scene Berry had with white actor Billy Bob Thorton because they felt the film promoted the licentious black whore stereotype. When Berry’s character Leticia Musgrove screamed the line “make me feel good” baring her breasts and nude body this upset many African-Americans.

The Monster’s Ball sex scene also alludes to white male dominance over black women and to the horrors of slavery where black females were raped by white men.

The pornographic scene in Monster’s Ball was similar to a rape scene and not a loving or romantic film scene.

Black women are consistently stereotyped as being lascivious, and sexually available for the disposal of men.  Young black female pop stars such as Rihanna and Beyonce promote the black jezebel image with their sexually explicit music videos!  Turn on  MTV, BET, or Much Music, and the viewer will see young black women dancing seductively in tight clothing  this promotes a disturbing negative image of black females.

Why didn’t Angela Bassett win the Oscar for her incredible performance in the  1993 Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It? Why did a black woman have to take her clothes off in order to  win the best actress Oscar? Was Berry character Leticia Musgrove the jezebel?

In the 1982, the groundbreaking black feminist classic book All The Women Are White, All The Blacks Are Men, But Some Of Us Are Brave,  black feminists argues black women are still placed into sexist categories. A black actress is either the maid, or the whore, but  she is never depicted on the silver screen as a three dimensional human being. Where are the movies with black women in leading roles as doctors, teachers, police women, firefighters, writers, lawyers, politicians, bankers, or dentists?

Last year, the  success of  summer hit The Help received some negative press in the black community because of the black mammy stereotype. Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help is considered a feminist classic by mainstream white feminists. However, in the novel and the film the central theme of the novel  is about Skeeter a young white woman’s evolution and change. The black female characters Minny, and Aibileen are just shadows to Skeeter.

Octavia Spencer won the best supporting actress Oscar for The Help but there was apathetic support in the black community.  The reason is, despite Spencer’s strong performance in The Help she won an Oscar for being a white woman’s maid! Spencer’s best supporting actress win is not progress because it proves Hollywood is still incredibly racist against black actors.

Over seventy years ago, another black actress Hattie McDaniel also won an Oscar for being a maid in the racist film Gone With The Wind. Octavia Spencer’s victory cemented that  fact Hollywood still places black women into restrictive racist and sexist binaries.

Meanwhile, ten years after Halle Berry’s victory she was unable to capitalize off  her success. Time will tell if Octavia Spencer can maintain her success after winning the Oscar.  For a short period of time Berry’s career was successful.

In December 2002, Halle starred with British actor Pierce Bronson and the film grossed $431 million dollars worldwide. In 2003, Halle was the star of the horror flick Gothika and the movie was a huge hit earning $141 million worldwide. Halle cemented her A list status by proving she can headline a movie by herself.  However,  in 2004 Berry’s career hit rock bottom with the disappointing performance in the film Catwoman. Despite winning an Academy Award she wasn’t the first choice which was Ashley Judd. Judd turned down the role for Catwoman and Halle won the part.

On various internet websites such as IMDB.COM, some fans were disappointed that a black actress obtained the lead role.  The budget for Catwoman was $100 million dollars but the worldwide box office was only $82 million. The mainstream media attacked Halle for taking on the role. Although Catwoman was a disappointment, white actresses such as Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie also have numerous bombs in their careers.

The dilemma for Halle Berry was,  since she was the only A list black actress any failure was used to justify the myopic belief black actresses are not profitable. However, the truth is Hollywood doesn’t know what do with a beautiful, talented, black actress.

White actresses also have white skin privilege therefore they are allowed more opportunities to obtain leading lady film roles. An A list white actress such as Nicole Kidman can have a series of  bombs yet  she still have the offers for leading lady roles!

Halle Berry’s career as an A list actress was over after Catwoman she never was offered the same kind of roles her white female contemporaries get.

The Hollywood system still favours white women over women of colour and this is a fact. Mainstream magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, Variety, New York Times, LA Times, promotes young white actresses over women of colour. Television shows such as E Talk, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, also have a prominent role of  being a representation for white beauty.

Since Hollywood is a racist dream factory, the white woman is still placed on the pedestal as the ultimate beautiful woman. The image of a  woman in the pop culture that is successful, talented, and attractive is still the white female.  Women of colour rarely ever obtain the high-profile film roles despite being as talented, hardworking or beautiful. Halle Berry has complained in numerous media interviews that she receives the scraps the crappy film roles  that an A list white actress doesn’t want.

Although Berry has a legitimate complaint that she is treated unfairly compared to the A list white actresses, she still had better opportunities than any black woman in Hollywood history. Berry was paid $14 million dollars for Catwoman, she also has endorsements with Revlon cosmetics, and she has her own perfume line.

Berry has also made some poor choices she honestly believed after she won the best actress Oscar for Monster’s Ball that she could cross over to white America.

The dilemma for Halle Berry is, although she is half white she still did not connect with a mainstream audience. Berry attempted to reach the mainstream with her roles in films such as Things We Lost In A Fire, Perfect Stranger, Frankie & Alice. Berry’s recent film the pathetic and dismal shark movie Dark Tide failed to reach an audience.

The quandary for Berry is, she is an aging sex symbol although she looks great and is physically fit she is also forty-five years old. Hollywood is a sexist business and  judged by their age and not their talent. Men are allowed to age in Hollywood gracefully. For instance, Denzel Washington is fifty-seven years old yet since he is a male he still has the opportunities to obtain the high-profile film roles. Will Smith is forty-three years old and Jamie Foxx is forty-four yet their careers are more successful than Halle Berry’s career. Although black men encounter racism in Hollywood they still benefit from male privilege because they are men.

All women in Hollywood are treated to the unfair misogynist double standard that they can only be successful for an ephemeral period of time.  Once an actress regardless of her race reaches the magical age of forty the roles start to dry up. Meryl Streep is the exception to the rule but for most actresses regardless of their talent they are replaced by younger actresses.

Since black women encounter discrimination in relation to their race and gender Halle Berry’s decline is incredibly sad. Unfortunately for Berry, Hollywood replaced her with younger black actresses such as Zoe Saldana, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Hudson, and Meagan Good.

Halle Berry’s contemporaries such as Queen Latifah, Vivica A Fox, Taraji P Henson, Sanaa Lathan, and Gabrielle Union are still working. One problem which Halle Berry needs to address if she wants to make a comeback is to make movies which appeal to the black female audience. Tyler Perry is successful because his movies have reached black women which is a lucrative market which mainstream Hollywood tends to ignore. Black women want to see other black women fall in love, have romantic relationships, and appear in exciting and interesting movies. Queen Latifah has not forgotten the black female audience and this is the reason why her career is currently more successful than Halle Berry’s career.

If Halle Berry wants to make a successful comeback she needs to make films which will win back the black female audience. Berry needs to consider making a romantic comedy or a dramatic film which involves romance.

ITN News: Stephen Lawrence Murder Trial Verdict Two White Men Convicted Of Murdering Black British Teenager.

I am not sure if people outside of the United Kingdom have  heard about the Stephen Lawrence murder case? In the year 1993, an unarmed seventeen year old black British teenager Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered by white male youths.

Stephen was waiting at a bus stop with a friend when he was stabbed to death.  The Stephen Lawrence murder case shocked England and forced the British people to examine racism in British society. The Stephen Lawrence case forced the British police force to admit to racism within their ranks.

Finally in January 2012, due to the persistence of  Stephen’s parents after eighteen long years they obtained justice. Two white men Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted of murdering Stephen.  When I think of Stephen Lawrence if he were alive today he would still be a young man only in his thirties. Maybe Stephen would be married, have a wife and kids. A young life was extinguished due to bigotry and prejudice.

However, even though two white men were convicted of Stephen’s murder the other murderers are still at large. The British newspaper the Daily Mail published the photographs of all the white male suspects. The British public knows the identities of the other killers. Sadly, Stephen Lawrence parents divorced due to the grief and strain of the murder case. I commend Stephen’s parents for fighting so hard and courageously and challenging the racist British police force and justice system. Even though, Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted Stephen is still dead he’s never going to come back.

The Stephen Lawrence case is very similar to the Trayvon Martin tragedy taking place right now  in America. Both Stephen and Travyon were unarmed black male teenagers, both were only seventeen when they were killed. I am disgusted by Fox News and numerous media outlets attempting to paint Travyon as a bad kid. Trayvon made mistakes in his young life but he did not deserve to die in cold blood. It is not surprising but still depressing how truly racist this world still is despite the progress of the civil rights movement.

George Zimmerman and his wife both lied to the judge about their finances which certainly hurts their credibility.  I sincerely hope and pray it doesn’t take eighteen years for Trayvon Martin’s family to get justice for the murder of their son. I can’t imagine the grief, the pain, and feelings of despair that Travyon Martin’s parents are  going through right now.

Breaking News: George Zimmerman’s Wife Is Charged With Perjury For Lying About Their Finances!

By THOMAS DURANTE

PUBLISHED: 20:40 GMT, 12 June 2012 | UPDATED: 22:22 GMT, 12 June 2012

The wife of George Zimmerman, who is currently imprisoned for murder charges relating to the death of Trayvon Martin in February, is now on the wrong side of the law herself.

Shellie Zimmerman was arrested today in Seminole County, Florida, on charges that she committed perjury during her husband’s bond hearing.

An order issued Tuesday by assistant state attorney John Guy charged her with knowingly making false statements during the April hearing.

Husband and wife: Shellie Zimmerman, left, was charged with lying during the bond hearing of her husband George, right

George Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting. He was granted $150,000 bond at that hearing and released.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that prosecutors alerted Judge Kenneth Lester that Mrs Zimmerman had lied about contributions to her husband’s legal defence to hide about $135,000.

Lester, in a strongly worded ruling, said the Zimmermans lied about how much money they had.

More…

• ‘Now I’m going to take something away from you that you love’: Jilted man ‘forced ex-girlfriend to tie her daughter, 31, to a chair and watch as he fatally shot her in the head’
• Cult leader who forced his three wives and nine kids to call him ‘Lord’ pleads guilty to murdering woman, 28, and boy, 4, because he thought he was gay

 

An arrest affidavit for Shellie Zimmerman obtained by the Associated Press said that records show in April she transferred more than $85,500 from her bank account into her husband’s account.

Revoked: George Zimmerman testifies from the stand during a bond hearing on second degree murder charges at the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford, Florida in this file photo taken April 20, 2012

The affidavit also indicated that records of Zimmerman’s calls from jail showed that George Zimmerman instructed his wife to ‘pay off all the bills,’ including a Sam’s Club card and American Express.

A state attorney investigator met with credit union officials and learned that she had transfer control of his account.

Zimmerman’s attorney Mark O’Mara has said the Zimmermans were confused and fearful when they misled court officials about how much money they had.

Shellie Zimmerman, a nursing student, was ordered held on $1,000 bond. Sources told the Sentinel that she was working to post her bond.

In Florida, perjury is punishable by up to five years in jail.

Victim: Trayvon Martin, 17, was unarmed when he was shot by Zimmerman, who claims he acted in self-defence

George Zimmerman, of Sanford, has been behind bars since Judge Lester revoked his bond earlier this month.

He came out of hiding when he returned to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility on June 3.

To pass the time, it appears he’s also writing postcards to loved ones, having requested several different varieties.

He also requested a writing pad, pens, pencils and four erasers.

He purchased two ‘Missing You,’ two ‘Thinking of You,’ and two ‘With Love,’ cards from the jail.

Surrender: George Zimmerman was ordered back to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility after his bond was revoked by a Florida judge in Sanford, Florida, on June 3

Political statement: Hoodies have become symbols of racial profiling and discrimination, protestors say, after Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while wearing one

The former neighbourhood watch captain claims he was acting in self-defence when he shot Trayvon Martin on February 26.

On that night, Zimmerman spotted Martin, and called 911 to report that the hoodie-clad teen ‘looked suspicious.’

The 911 operator urged Zimmerman not to follow Martin and to stay in his truck, but Zimmerman, for unknown reasons, got out.

He claimed that he lost track of Martin and was returning to his car when he was ‘sucker-punched’ by the teen.

Zimmerman said he shot him, fearing that he was armed.

But Martin, 17, was not armed. He was returning to his father’s girlfriend’s house with an iced tea for himself and Skittles for his little brother.

Activism: Lawyer Benjamin Crump, centre, addresses the media with Tracy Martin, right, and Sabrina Fulton, left, the parents of Trayvon Martin, after they addressed lawmakers at a meeting on the ‘Stand Your Ground’ law in Longwood, Florida

Police contended that Zimmerman was protected under Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, which gives wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat in a fight if people believe they are in danger of being killed or seriously injured.

The questioning of Zimmerman’s truthfulness by the judge last Friday could undermine the defendant’s credibility if it is brought up at trial.

As the case stands now, his credibility is absolutely critical to the case.

The initial lack of an arrest in the case sparked massive protests nationwide and debates about whether race was a factor in Zimmerman’s actions and in the initial police handling of the case.

Martin was black; Zimmerman’s father is white and his mother is from Peru.

Protests: The initial lack of an arrest in the case sparked demonstrations nationwide and debates about whether race was a factor in Zimmerman’s actions and in the initial police handling of the case

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2158386/George-Zimmermans-WIFE-arrested-lying-legal-contributions.html#ixzz1xYz9XPJg

Are Poland & Ukraine Too Poor, Racist, & Uncivilized To Host International Sports Event Euro 2012?

I am disgusted and angered by the racism that minority sport fans and professional athletes are being subjected to in Poland and Ukraine.

Are Poland and Ukraine too poor, racist, and uncivilized to host an international sports event?

It is a fair question because the level of white supremacy taking place at Euro 2012 is shocking.

What if the violence becomes fatal and a minority sports fan or a black soccer player is murdered?

Would the world still ignore the pathetic hooligans?

I am serious the level of violence and racism at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine is escalating and something needs to be done about it.

Poland and Ukraine’s international reputation is going down the toilet. It is so offensive to see innocent people being attacked by racists chanting Nazi salutes.

It is also surprising to be honest that this blatant bigotry is taking place in the poorer region of Europe.

Poland and Ukraine are not a part of Western Europe the and perhaps due to social problems within these countries people need a scapegoat?

Racism is a global problem but it is shocking to see this uncivilized behaviour taking place at an international sports event. Whomever decided to have Poland and Ukraine host Euro 2012 should be ashamed of themselves!

I commend the media for not ignoring this abhorrent racism because it should not be tolerated. It isn’t enough for people to say racism is wrong there needs to be swift action to deal with this. I am concerned about the black football athletes that just want to perform yet are subjected to bigotry and white supremacy.

Trayvon Martin Case Update: George Zimmerman Lied To The Judge Revoked Bond He Must Surrender In 48 Hours.

Enlarge this image

Judge revokes Zimmerman bond, has 48 hours to surrender

KYLE HIGHTOWER

SANFORD, Fla.— The Associated Press

Published Friday, Jun. 01, 2012 3:02PM EDT

Last updated Friday, Jun. 01, 2012 10:42PM EDT

• A judge has revoked George Zimmerman’s bond in the Trayvon Martin killing. Mr. Zimmerman has 48 hours to surrender to authorities.

Earlier Friday, prosecutors asked a judge to revoke the bond of the neighbourhood watch volunteer.

Prosecutors said in a motion that 28-year-old Mr. Zimmerman and his family misled them about his finances when testifying during a bail hearing that allowed him to be released from jail on a $150,000 bond. Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda asked for the revocation during a hearing to help determine if prosecutors and the defence can stop the public release of certain documents in the case.

MORE RELATED TO THIS STORY

• New documents, photos shed light on Trayvon Martin killing
• Evidence in Trayvon Martin shooting may not be fully made public
• Judge wants more information on money Zimmerman raised through website

VIDEO

Zimmerman ordered back to jail

VIDEO

Reports on Zimmerman’s injuries emerge

During the bond hearing in April, Mr. Zimmerman’s relatives testified they had limited funds. Mr. Zimmerman’s attorney said several days later that he had discovered his client had raised more than $200,000 from a website. At the time of the hearing, about $135,000 had been raised, and that money wasn’t disclosed at the bond hearing.

“This court was led to believe they didn’t have a single penny,” said Prosecutor Bernie De la Rionda. “It was misleading and I don’t know what words to use other than it was a blatant lie.”

Defence attorney Mark O’Mara said it was an innocent misunderstanding and that Mr. Zimmerman wasn’t using that money for his expenses and wasn’t sure what he could use the money for. He said Mr. Zimmerman used the houses of his parents and grandmother as collateral for the bond.

Prosecutors also said in the motion that Mr. Zimmerman didn’t disclose he had a second passport. Mr. Zimmerman turned his passport over to the court at the bond hearing as a measure that would prevent him from fleeing the country.

Mr. Zimmerman is pleading not guilty to second-degree murder and claims self-defence. Mr. Zimmerman shot Mr. Martin last February during a confrontation at a gated community of townhouses in Sanford, Fla., where Mr. Zimmerman lived and where Mr. Martin was visiting his father’s fiancée.

The delay in an arrest for 44 days prompted protests nationwide and led to Sanford’s police chief stepping aside so emotions could cool down.

At Friday’s hearing, Mr. De la Rionda and Mr. O’Mara also asked a judge to stop the public release of witness names and statements made by Mr. Zimmerman to police officers. Those documents normally are part of the public record under Florida law.

“What’s occurring, unfortunately, are cases are being tried in the public sector as opposed to in the courtroom,” Mr. De La Rionda told Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester. “We are in a new age with Twitter, Facebook, and all these things I’ve never heard of before in my career. Everybody gets to find out intimate details about witnesses that never occurred before. Witnesses are going to be reluctant to get involved.”

A consortium of more than a dozen media groups, including The Associated Press, asked the judge to ignore the request, saying such records are presumed to be publicly available under Florida law.

Rachel Fugate, an attorney for the Orlando Sentinel, cited the Casey Anthony trial as an example of a highly publicized case in which a jury was able to be seated despite intense media coverage. The Florida mother was acquitted last year of killing her 2-year-old daughter.

“Discovery in Florida has traditionally been open … and Florida hasn’t encountered problems seating juries and giving defendants fair trials,” Ms. Fugate said.

Mr. O’Mara said Friday on a website that he doesn’t expect the case to be ready for trial until next year.

Mr. O’Mara said he expects to call on 50 witnesses who need to be deposed before he decides whether to file a “stand your ground” motion which would ask for a hearing before a judge without a jury. At the hearing, Mr. Zimmerman would argue self-defence under the Florida law which gives wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat in a fight if people believe they are in danger of being killed or seriously injured.

Will Sandra Oh Ever Win An Emmy Award? Is The Real Issue About Racism In Hollywood?

Katherine Heigl one of the stars of the ABC hit show Grey’s Anatomy has made some controversial statements removing herself from the nominations for this year’s Emmy awards.

Heigl said “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention.”

Heigl also said “In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.” The latter statement is a total dig at the writers on Grey’s Anatomy. Heigl is ungrateful, selfish, petulant, and immature.

Now some people may think Heigl is being “noble” but really she isn’t. Heigl obviously thinks she is the star of Grey’s Anatomy but she’s not. Ellen Pompeo is the star of Grey’s Anatomy not Katherine Heigl. Sandra Oh has a more prominent role on Grey’s Anatomy than Katherine Heigl as well.

Heigl doesn’t get it, she is not the “star” of Grey’s Anatomy and she will “never” be the female lead on the show. It is clear to me, that Heigl’s ego has gotten too big she obviously can’t handle being in a supporting role on Grey’s Anatomy.

Heigl does have a strong supporting role on the show. Heigl is taking her frustrations to the media and public in hopes of getting kicked off of Grey’s Anatomy but it won’t happen. Heigl is too important to ABC and they won’t terminate her contract.

Katherine Heigl is known for being outspoken she blasted Isaiah Washington last year in the press. I thought Heigl’s comments about Washington last year were totally out of line as well. Does anyone remember Heigl also complained about not receiving the same salary as Sandra Oh last year? Heigl has since received a salary raise. It appears Heigl is also jealous of Sandra Oh because she has a more prominent role on Grey’s Anatomy then Heigl.

However, Heigl’s comments demonstrates a lack of class and professionalism. It is clear, Heigl thinks she is too a big a star to be on Grey’s Anatomy anymore. The ratings for Grey’s Anatomy have taken a hit this season due to the writer’s strike. However, Heigl probably thinks Grey’s Anatomy is slowing down her red hot film career.

Don’t feel sorry for Heigl though, she makes millions from Grey’s Anatomy. Since  Grey’s Anatomy is now in syndication Heigl is going to make even more money. However, Heigl’s comments this week reeks of arrogance and petulance.

Everyone knows Heigl’s film career is on fire she was the female lead in Judd Apatow’s comedy “Knocked Up” the film grossed $ 148, 768, 917 at the domestic box office. The worldwide box office for “Knocked Up”  was an incredible $219, 001, 261.

The production budget for Knocked Up was only $30 million dollars the movie. After the success of Knocked Up, Heigl complained to the media saying the movie was “sexist”.

Heigl proved she can headline a hit movie by herself with her next film 27 Dresses . 27 Dresses was released earlier this year in January which is usually a slow month for the movie studios. However, Heigl proved she has an  audience. Heigl is everything Hollywood loves she is young, attractive, blonde, and she is talented.

The domestic box office for 27 Dresses was a healthy $76, 808 654 and the worldwide box office was $158, 062,108. The budget for 27 Dresses was only $30 million dollars. The bottom line is, Heigl’s career is sky rocketing she is in high demand. Heigl’s film salary is $6 million per movie and she will definitely make even more money. The quandary for Heigl is, the fact she has a contract with ABC and most of the year is devoted to filming Grey’s Anatomy. Heigl wants to make movies she doesn’t want to be on Grey’s Anatomy anymore.

However, Heigl has to remember she never would of gotten the big film roles if she wasn’t a star on Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s Anatomy put Katherine Heigl on the map in Hollywood. If Heigl wasn’t a star on Grey’s Anatomy she never would of gotten the attention of the power brokers in Hollywood. Heigl shouldn’t be slapping the writers of Grey’s Anatomy in the face with her backhanded comments.

What about Canadian actress Sandra Oh? Where is Sandra Oh’s Emmy award? Where is Chandra Wilson’s Emmy award? Where is Ellen Pompeo’s Emmy award? I thought it was kind of odd that Katherine Heigl won because I always considered her to be the weakest link on Grey’s Anatomy.

Does anyone remember Sandra Oh? Yes Sandra Oh was one of the stars of the hit comedy “Sideways” a few years back but she wasn’t the star of that film. Also, I am cognizant of the fact Sandra Oh has won a Golden Globe award and SAG award for her brilliant performance on Grey’s Anatomy.

It is nice that Sandra’s talent has been recognized by Hollywood. However, Sandra Oh isn’t being offered any leading lady roles despite the fact she is a superior actress to Katherine Heigl. Despite Sandra Oh’s incredible success on Grey’s Anatomy she is still only being offered secondary film roles.

The question is why? Why hasn’t Hollywood given Sandra Oh her breakthrough opportunity to shine on the silver screen? Nobody can say it is because the public doesn’t know Sandra Oh because she is famous. Is it an issue of race perhaps? It definitely appears to me that race is a factor here.

Katherine Heigl fits into the Hollywood category of the pretty, young, white, American, woman she already has a built in audience. Sandra Oh is viewed as an anomaly an Asian Canadian actress that was able to make it big in America.

It is interesting because in Canada Sandra Oh was always one of our biggest stars. Sandra always was a leading lady in Canada she was never second fiddle to anyone in Canada. The problem is Canadian films simply don’t generate enough international media attention or make enough money.

I remember Sandra Oh from the 1993 film “The Diary Of Evelyn Lau”. I was stunned at Sandra’s incredible acting talent. Oh followed up the Evelyn Lau movie with “Double Happiness” and she also starred in other Canadian films such as “Last Night”. Sandra Oh realized she had to move to America in order to have a profitable acting career.

Sandra Oh is successful, she is a working actress and she has some acclaim in Hollywood. Katherine Heigl should be lucky she is blessed her career is thriving some struggling actress would gladly take her role on Grey’s Anatomy. Why is Heigl even complaining? Isn’t Heigl making enough cash?

Sandra Oh is in a similar predicament as another actress of colour Parminder Nagra. Nagra is the star of hit British comedy “Bend It Like Beckham”, yet her co star Keira Knightley eclipsed her. Even though, “Bend It Like Beckham”, was a huge international hit grossing over $76 million worldwide.Parminder was never offered any leading lady roles. The truth is despite Parminder’s beauty and talent she is not getting the leading lady roles because she is a South Asian British woman.

Keira Knightley is a talented actress, I am not going to knock Keira but I find it odd that she is so much more successful than Parminder. Parminder should be the star of “Tulia” about the Indian American actress Vanita Gupta but of course we already known African American actress Halle Berry won that role. So what is an Asian actress supposed to do? It has got be so frustrating for Parminder and Sandra that inferior talents such as Katherine Heigl are getting the big roles while they are still in the background in supporting roles. It makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs it is so unfair.

Parminder is a British woman of South Asian descent Hollywood refuses to give South Asian actresses leading lady roles. People can say there is no “demand” for South Asian women but the truth is South Asian women aren’t even given a chance to smash the glass ceiling.

Now Knightley is a big star while Pariminder is still on ER. Parminder is a solid actress she is a star but just like Sandra Oh she is a woman of colour. Women of colour in Hollywood have it the hardest because they have to deal with the racism and the sexism of the film industry.

It is tough for women of colour to reach the top in Hollywood they have to have “cross over” appeal to reach a mainstream “white” audience. Hollywood won’t give Pariminder or Sandra the leading lady roles because they don’t think the public wants to see Asian women in leading roles. However, Hollywood is wrong. Hollywood refuses to even give Parminder Nagra or Sandra Oh the opportunities to shine in leading lady roles. Why can’t Asian women even be given a chance to reach the top?

I am not suggesting Oh and Nagra have to be in big budget movies. Nagra and Oh aren’t even getting the female lead in independent film either!

Hollywood doesn’t know what to do with Sandra Oh and that’s a shame.I honestly believe if the right screenwriter, or producer, and director would give Sandra the right material she could easily get an Oscar nomination due to her incredible talent.