WHAT IF REPUBLICANS WERE ABLE TO REPEAL THE ACA

The original reason why Congressional Republicans managed to shut-down the government was because the President and the Democrats would not agree to de-fund or at least change Obamacare (more properly known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, or the ACA). In other words, the Republicans hate health care reform so much that they are willing to do great harm to all Americans for purely political reasons. You would think that healthcare reform was such a horrible law that the Republicans are justified in this blackmail, but the truth is that Obamacare is a very good law that reforms medical care in America and benefits everybody.

            It might be said that the opposition to the ACA has been fueled and funded by the health insurance industry, or that well-heeled Republicans object to the higher taxes the law imposes on wealthy taxpayers. But that would not explain the widespread fervor of grass-root right-wing Republicans against the law. I suspect that Republican hostility to the ACA is rooted in class conflict. Republicans despise poor people, even the working poor, and deeply resent the fact that the ACA will make it possible for over 30 million people who previously were unable to afford health insurance to now get coverage. Many people fail to realize, however, that the ACA will benefit all Americans, not just the poor. Here’s what would happen if it were repealed.

1. Repeal of the ACA would mean that senior citizens would be denied relief from the “doughnut hole.” Senior citizens who are beneficiaries of the Medicare Part D drug program should be aware that the ACA has already begun to close the “doughnut hole.” That is the period during which seniors have to pay the full cost of their prescriptions. After seniors amass $2,970 in drug costs, Medicare stops paying for drug expenses. That period lasts until seniors reach $4,750 in prescription costs--a figure most seniors never reach in one year. Obamacare will eventually abolish the doughnut hole and continue to pay for most drug costs no matter how high they go. For many seniors who simply cannot afford to buy their essential medications during the doughnut hole, that will be life-saving. If the law is repealed, the doughnut hole will not be eliminated.

2. Repeal of the ACA would add to $230 billion to the deficit. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate, the ACA reduces the deficit by $230 billion over the next decade. This is because the law not only provides for government financial support of many reforms but also provides for higher taxes on wealthy taxpayers in order to pay for the reforms. The taxes exceed the amount needed to finance the law by $230 billion.

3. The ACA creates an online Insurance Exchange that will enable purchasers to search for the best and lowest-cost insurance. Repeal would mean no exchange. The Exchange will offer low-cost insurance to uninsured people. Many people will be able to get coverage for $50 per month or less.

4. Repealing the ACA would mean higher health insurance premiums. The amount people actually pay for premiums would be much higher after repeal because most people will be able to get a subsidy from the government to help pay for the cost of health insurance. People who currently have insurance and are struggling to pay the premiums will be able to purchase health insurance on one of the exchanges created by the law. The rates they will have to pay on the exchanges will be dramatically lower than the rates they have to pay now. 

      5. Repeal would eliminate the provisions of the bill that offer tax credits to about 4 million small-business men and women to help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees.

6. Repeal would mean that insurance companies would be able to go back to denying health insurance because of preexisting conditions, annual caps, or lifetime caps on health insurance coverage.  Without the protection of the ACA, insurance companies would be able to go on rescinding patients’ policies when the patients file claims for benefits.

            7.  The ACA creates a long-term-care insurance program, financed by voluntary payroll deductions, to provide benefits to adults who become functionally disabled. Repeal would remove that program.

8. The ACA requires that health plans allow young people up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance policies if their parents so choose. Repeal would mean no such coverage for young people.

9. The ACA eliminates co-payments for preventative services and exempts preventative services from deductibles under the Medicare program. Repeal would mean return of such co-payments and deductibles. There are many other provisions of the ACA that will benefit everybody.

The real reason Tea Party leaders in Congress oppose the law is that they are afraid that it will succeed and that the American people will come to like it. They think that it is part of a creeping socialism in this country that they want to halt. If they could have their way, they would abolish Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as well.

Republicans argue that half of all Americans oppose the ACA, but that is really a misleading statement. According to a recent CNN/ORC International survey, only 38% really oppose the law.  Although 57% of Americans say they oppose the law, 11% say they oppose the measure because it isn't liberal enough. Add that 11% to the 38% who say they favor the law and that means that about half the public, 49%, either support the law or don't think it goes far enough. Compare that to the 38% who are the ones who actually oppose the law.

OPEN LETTER TO MAJOR NIDAL HASAN

            It is widely believed that the sentence of death handed down by a Court Marshal on account of your murder of thirteen people at Fort Hood would not cause you terrible anguish because you killed those people as part of a jihad. People think that as a jihadist you consider yourself a martyr and look forward to an eternity of bliss in Paradise. I am writing to advise you that there is no such thing as martyrdom, jihad, Paradise, or Allah. All you have accomplished is the brutal slaughter of innocent people. You have wasted your time, your life, and the lives of those innocent people. All you can look forward to once you die is eternal oblivion.

            If you look at what Moslems believe you will realize that the Moslem Paradise is an absurd myth. You believe that life in Paradise, where the martyrs go upon death, is (for men) eternal bliss where inhabitants live in palaces made from bricks of gold, silver, and pearls. Inhabitants of Paradise wear luxurious robes, bracelets, and perfumes as they recline on couches inlaid with gold or precious stones. Martyrs partake in exquisite banquets served in priceless vessels by immortal youths. Each inhabitant gets to have 72 beautiful young virgins with whom he can have sex. Paradise has lofty gardens, shady valleys, fountains scented with camphor or ginger, rivers of water, milk, and honey. Give me a break!

            It does not take too much insight to realize that this vision of Paradise was invented by a desperately poor nomadic desert people for whom the greatest things imaginable were green valleys, pure water, jewels, and wonderful food. Because there were so few women in the desert, the founders of Islam imagined a Paradise of sex with many willing young virgins. Modern Westerners would probably have a different image of Paradise. Moslem Paradise is a very earth-bound idea of sensual delight unlike the Christian belief in something more spiritual such as the “Beatific Vision.”

            It is hard to imagine that Allah would reward jihadists for slaughtering innocent people. It is much more rational to believe that there is really no such thing as Allah or Paradise.   Allah is a figment of human imagination. He is no more real than the thousands of local gods, witches, and ancestor spirits worshipped before the invention of Islam and by primitive tribes today in remote areas of the Earth. He is no more real than the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, Greek satyrs, Hindu bluts, elves, fairies, and other assorted demons.

            If Allah is real, and if Allah is, like the Christian and Hebrew God, all-merciful, all powerful, all knowing, and all loving, and if Allah answers prayers and acts on our lives, why does he allow Moslems and others to suffer so much evil? In December 2004 an earthquake sent giant tsunamis across the Indian Ocean to wipe out hundreds of thousands of Moslems in the surrounding countries. After it happened, Moslem clerics declared that it was Allah’s punishment for the failure of people to strictly adhere to Moslem law (“Shariah”). Rational people asked, however, how an all-merciful God who interferes in human life, who answers prayers, could have let this tragedy happen. Why should you pray to such a God?

             Islam, like most faiths, presumes that Allah is infinitely good, loving, and all-merciful. The evidence would seem to the contrary. Is life on earth for Moslems perfectly happy? No, the majority of Moslems live in poverty, disease, war, famine, and misery. If a god was responsible for this, he would have to be some detached, ruthless, amoral scientist or demon who is conducting experiments to see how humans will respond to horror and tragedy.

            It seems obvious to me that the reason why Moslems believe in Islam is that their lives are so desolate that they want to believe that there is something better awaiting them after death. Look at the Middle East. It has always been a barren, ugly land full of poverty, war, disease, and hunger. Without some hope in Paradise, life would seem to be meaningless. Moslems just can’t bear the thought that there will never be any relief from their misery.

            It is a cornerstone of Islam that we should pray to Allah five times a day. I ask why? Does Allah answer prayers? There is no evidence that Allah ever answers prayers, but people go on praying anyway. Why do people need to pray to a god? If he is the eternal, omnipotent, and omniscient creator of the universe and knows our every thought, he should know what we want to pray for without our reciting any prayers.

            There is no rational, logical, or scientific reason to believe in Allah. Belief in Allah can be relegated to the realm of wishful thinking. When humans believe in Allah they violate every aspect of human rationality. But it is hard for people raised in the belief and brainwashed by parents, relatives, emirs, and imams, to critically examine these irrational beliefs.

            My dear Major Hasan; No intelligent person who carefully examines the question would think that there is a such an improbable place as Paradise, but even if there is, you won’t go there.

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON

            This year thousands of African Americans are travelling from around the country to Washington D.C. to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. At that event Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. But this year, something is different. I have noticed that a picture in the local paper of the people traveling on the bus to the 1963 March included several white people. On the other hand, a picture of the people traveling to this year’s commemoration included no white people on the bus. In pictures of the rallies currently taking place in Washington I have seen fewer Whites than there were at the 1963 gathering. Why is this?

  I believe it is because the Trayvon Martin case has severely damaged relations between White and Black people in America. This is because Blacks demanded that George Zimmerman be convicted of murder regardless of whether or not he was guilty under the law. Blacks believe that Zimmerman should have been convicted of murder because he was profiling Martin and was following him. They believe that Martin had a right to attack Zimmerman and hammer him until he was bloody and that Zimmerman had no right to resort to his firearm in defense. Most white people in America are angry, upset, and disgusted by the attitudes of Black people toward the Martin case. This is similar to the anger and dismay felt by White people as a result of Black exultation following the O.J. Simpson acquittal. Whites still have not forgotten that period, and it is not likely that the response of Blacks to the Trayvon Martin case will be soon forgotten by Whites.

I therefore offer my own dream for the future of African Americans.

            I have a dream that someday African Americans will condemn the actions of a young man like Trayvon Martin for attacking a Neighborhood-Watch volunteer and violently beating him bloody because the volunteer was following him. I have a dream that someday most African American children will grow-up in homes with two dedicated parents who have the same values we all hold dear. I have a dream that someday African Americans will look upon the murder of someone like the Australian student in Oklahoma or the war veteran in Washington with horror and disgust. I have a dream that African Americans will someday condemn the actions of Black youths for joining gangs, using drugs, dropping out of school, mugging, robbing, and killing.

I have a dream that one day African Americans will stop blaming Whites for their problems, will give-up waiting for Whites to change their attitude toward Blacks, and will realize that their future is entirely in their own hands. I have a dream that African Americans will stand tall and proud and take active steps to tackle their problems and thereby change White attitudes. I have a dream that someday African Americans will not need governmental actions to help them.

I have a dream that someday African Americans will, among other things, champion education, deplore and refrain from crime, condemn the sale and use of illegal drugs, embrace the Protestant work ethic, adopt  the best parts of Western culture, and recognize the need to speak correctly, dress well, and keep clean and attractive homes. (By speaking correctly I mean speaking like President Obama.)

I have a dream that someday African Americans will be able to pass Civil Service Exams, Bar Exams, Medical Exams, and other professional and job-related exams, in proportion to if not greater than their percentage of the population. I have a dream that Whites will not avoid sending their children to predominantly Black schools, and that the testing of Black children’s’ educational achievements in mostly Black schools will not place them at the bottom of every list.

I have a dream that one day there will be no urban ghettos, and that Blacks all over America will live in well-integrated neighborhoods. I have a dream that if there are any predominantly Black neighborhoods remaining, white people will be happy to visit them and live in them. I have a dream that predominantly Black neighborhoods will not be described as “High Crime” areas.

I have a dream that White and Black people will hang-out together, eat meals in each-others’ homes, intermarry, and look upon each other as dear friends. Finally, I have a dream that someday there will be no need for changes in White attitudes toward Blacks, and that Whites and Blacks will look upon each-other as equals.

DOES GOD LOVE US?

The primary reason for the existence of religion is to relieve people of fear. Marx called religion the “Opiate of the Masses.” This was a perfect explanation of the religious impulse. We live in a world filled with pain, sorrow, depression, and horror, but the religions tell us that there is a God out there who loves us and loves the world. This God will take care of us and, after death, will provide us with a paradise of joy and happiness.

I was speaking to someone and I proposed that if there really was a God, we should not worship or love or adore him, but rather, we should hate him. The person responded that we should worship him because “life is beautiful.” I replied that although life has moments of beauty and happiness, there is far too much sorrow and unhappiness to say that life is beautiful.

Consider the following: The great majority of people in the world live in abject poverty. Most of those people suffer from hunger, disease, famine, tsunamis, cyclones, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, plagues, infestations, and war. When one looks at the continents of Africa, Asia, and South America, one wonders how there could be a loving God looking over those people. Hundreds of millions of the people on those continents are subjected to widespread diseases such as cholera, malaria, sleeping sickness, AIDS, Dengue Fever, and Yellow Fever. They have insufficient clothing, shelter ,and medical care. They are ruled-over by tyrants and dictators.

Millions of women throughout the world are treated as chattels without civil rights. They are beaten, raped, stoned, and subject to genital castration designed to eradicate their sexual pleasure. It is hard to imagine that such people are happy.

Hundreds of thousands of women, young girls, and boys are abducted each year by sex-crazed men who imprison and often torture them, using them as sexual toys for repeated rape. Many thousands of them are sold into sexual slavery, often to be bought by so-called upstanding members of the community.

What about the lucky people in America and the more affluent countries of Europe? One would think that they have many reasons to thank God. But we need to ask, are the lives of Americans so blessed and happy? Let’s start with health. Practically everybody in America has somebody in their family suffering from some serious illness. Millions of Americans have children with serious congenital diseases and infirmities such as autism, blindness, deafness, physical deformity, Down Syndrome, mental retardation, mental illnesses, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, heart disease, cancer, and hundreds of other less common syndromes and disorders. The parents of such children often live lives of great sorrow.

Millions of adult Americans also suffer from terrible diseases. Heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, liver disease, Emphysema, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS), AIDS, Crohn’s Disease, chronic pain, and hundreds of other conditions beset the happiness of their lives. Millions of Americans suffer from mental problems, depression, anxiety, fatigue, lonliness, phobias, panic attacks, disabling shyness, and stress throughout their lives. Millions of Americans suffer from the effects of terrible automobile accidents and other injuries. They go through life as cripples with disabled or missing limbs, internal organs, and other essential parts of their bodies, or suffering from terrible pain.

As people get older, they greet a host of problems afflicting older Americans such as strokes, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, hearing and seeing defects, prostate problems, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, sleep disorders, Alzheimer’s and memory loss, and hundreds of other medical and psychological problems that impair their happiness. As people age their bodies break-down, their skin wrinkles, their hair disappears or turns white, their energy fails, and they lose their sexual ability and attraction.

Millions of Americans are addicted to alcohol, pain medication, and illegal drugs. Almost all of them are living in terrible misery, unable to shake the imprisonment of their addictions. There are millions of homeless people living on the streets, in tents, under bridges, and in shelters. Millions of other Americans are addicted to behavior patterns such as gambling addiction, fetishism, sexual addiction, frigidity, obsessive-compulsive behavior, dependency, and other forms of addiction. There are millions of people with sexual deviations including the need to molest children or rape women. Millions of people engage in abusive behavior, physically beating or verbally berating their spouses, companions, and children. Millions of spouses, companions, and children are victims of such abuse. Such people cannot possibly be happy.

Millions of Americans live in poverty surrounded by a land of plenty. They eke-out a living in slums, tenements, housing projects, trailer parks, and rural shacks. They often go hungry in this land of plenty. Many go without decent food, clothing, and ordinary medical care. They are unable to get necessary medical treatment and often die from such neglect. They live in places without heat, cooling, electricity, telephone service, sanitation, or even running water. Recent estimates show that on any given day there are over 600,000 homeless people in America. Their misery and suffering are hard to imagine. Where is God for them?

America recently went through a terrible recession. Millions of people lost their jobs. Millions of people lost their homes. Millions of people had to suffer through agonizing foreclosure proceedings. Millions of people had to rely on unemployment insurance. Millions of people endured and many still endure periods of tremendous anxiety and sadness.

Millions of Americans are the victims of discrimination. People of all minorities suffer from bigotry. They are treated by the whole society as inferior, ignorant, criminal people. Millions of homosexuals, transvestites, transsexuals, and other trans-gender people are the objects of prejudice and condemnation by millions of other people.

Every day one reads in the paper about people who commit crimes. There are thousands of kinds of crimes committed every day by millions of people. It is difficult to guess what percent of the populace is dishonest, violent, dangerous, fraudulent, and deceitful, but judging from the constant news of crimes, schemes, scams, and corruptions, the number must run well into the hundreds of millions. There are millions of people engaged in serious and not-so-serious crime, including murder, robbery, larceny, drug offenses, burglary, mugging, assault and battery, and thousands of other kinds of crime. One constantly hears about violent massacres by crazed gunmen in schools, theaters, and public places. In addition to the victims of such killings, the families, friends, and communities of the victims are also victims. Millions of Americans are incarcerated in prisons and jails. There are millions of wives, children, parents, and other close relatives of prison inmates. These people must suffer having their loved ones in jail. There are millions of victims of crimes whose lives have been ruined by the crimes of others.

Throughout the world there are fanatic terrorists driven by religious hatred who make it their business to kill others who do not share their beliefs. I cannot imagine how many people are killed each year by these zealots but it must be in the thousands. It seems that every day one reads about a bomb going off in the Middle East or some other place, killing innocent people. If we consider the minds of the terrorists, they must be angry, tormented, unhappy people who have a lust for blood.

Millions of Americans are in unhappy marriages or relationships. Millions of Americans are suffering from the breakdown of their marriages or the breakup of relationships in which they were very much in love. Half of all marriages end in divorce. A majority of those who do not get divorced go on living in unhappy marriages. Millions of people are engaged in illicit sexual entanglements that cause them emotional pain and guilt. Millions of people are almost suicidal because of the infidelity of a spouse or loved one. Millions of people suffer from feelings of inferiority or lack of self-worth. Millions of people suffer from the feeling that they are too fat, too thin, or unattractive.

Millions of Americans hate their jobs or suffer under cruel, tyrannical, or sadistic bosses. There are millions of people with sour, nasty, cruel, vicious, malicious, and evil personalities who make it their business in life to damage, spoil, and injure the lives of other people. Millions of people live lives consumed with envy, jealousy, and hatred of others whom they perceive to be more fortunate than they.

Millions of families have children with serious behavior problems. Many of these children may grow up in middle class homes with respectable parents, yet such children are constantly in trouble with school, neighbors, the police, and others. Thousands of such children run away every year only to wind-up on the streets caught-up in drug addiction, prostitution, and crime.

For every Bernard Madoff carrying-out a giant stock swindle, there are thousands of businessmen, brokers, hedge fund managers, and others engaged in insider trading and other blatant violations of the rules of business law and ethics. Millions of Americans cheat others in smaller ways for smaller amounts of money. If one were able to calculate the amount of money embezzled from businesses, organizations, and charities each year it would probably be up in the billions if not trillions. I have known several embezzlers in my lifetime. I’m sure everybody has.

Although one would expect great probity from the wealthiest and most successful people, it is simply not there. Doctors routinely over-bill for services. Andy Rooney told a story about a doctor who came into his room while he was in the hospital for treatment. The doctor said hello and mentioned that he liked Rooney’s work. He then departed without examining or treating Rooney, and later billed Medicare for $240. I have heard many such stories. I have had personal experience with dishonest doctors. One doctor who came in and handed my wife a card while our son was being treated for a broken bone at the hospital, later billed for services even though he did not examine or treat my son at all. Doctors frequently bill for services never rendered. Medicare and Medicaid pay tens of billions for fraudulent claims by physicians who are wealthy by any standard.

Eventually, we die. Death is not a simple leaf dropping off a tree. Death is usually painful. Often, it is horrible. It is usually accompanied by the grief of loved ones.

Yes, life does have its moments of happiness and beauty. There are some wonderful things in life, and some people do live very happy, prosperous, safe, healthy lives. Those people can be thankful for all they have, but they probably represent a small fraction of the people on earth. If you stop and consider all of the unhappiness, pain, disease, grief, and guilt suffered by the vast majority of people in the world, it can hardly be said that life is beautiful.

While many people suffering from the terrible things listed here may not think life is bad, that is because of the human ability to cope with the things that make us unhappy. It is a wonderful thing that people going through the most extreme torments will often try to look on the bright side of life. But if we stop and look at all of the problems faced by humans and listed here, we can hardly say that life is beautiful. We can hardly find reason to thank that mythical being called God.

Surely, if there was a God, and he was a good and loving God like the one worshipped by most religions, life would not be filled with such misery. There would not be millions of starving, diseased, oppressed people all over the world. There would not be so much tragedy, horror, injury, illness, poverty, hunger, anger, war, and death. We would not have to wait for some mythical afterlife to experience a better life. Life on earth would be beautiful for everyone.

REPUBLICANS AND ELECTIONS

               
Many commentators have asserted that the Reason why the Republicans lost the 2012 presidential

election was that they lost the votes of Hispanics, African Americans, women, gays, and young people. Republicans expected that Mitt Romney would win easily because the nation was still suffering from a devastating recession and because there was still high unemployment. Instead, Barack Obama, a mixed-race Democrat from Chicago, won a second term by capturing a large majority of the votes of those groups. Some Republicans began to realize that they needed to do something to win more of the votes of those groups or they would lose again in 2016.

            One group that the Republicans thought they might bring over was the Hispanics. Obama won a majority of their votes despite the fact that they are often conservative. There was talk about Republicans easing-up on immigration questions. One Republican senator, Marco Rubio, became a spokesman for immigration reform. Several other Republican senators joined with some Democrats in a “Gang of Eight” in order to work-out a compromise bill that would reform the immigration laws. So what happened? The U.S. Senate finally voted to pass the compromise immigration bill, but a majority of the Republicans voted against it. Every Democrat voted for it.

            What is worse, the bill went to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives where it seems to have died. Speaker John Boehner has said that if it is not supported by a majority of the Republicans, he will not allow the bill to be brought-up for a vote. So there is your Republican Party. While all Democrats favor reform of the immigration laws and eventual citizenship for undocumented aliens, most Republicans oppose such reform.

            In 2016, Hispanic and other immigrants will surely remember that it was the Democratic Party that supported them. I doubt that they will be impressed by the handful of Republicans who supported reform. The Republicans have not reformed themselves. Even where they support some changes in the immigration laws, they refuse to support eventual citizenship for undocumented aliens. Their main concern is to have more security along the border with Mexico in order to prevent fewer “illegal” immigrants from entering the U.S. With a few exceptions, the Republicans are still a group of right-wing, close-minded older white men who have a xenophobic attitude about foreigners.

            So where are the Republicans going to pick-up more votes in 2016? Will it be women? Well, the right to control your body and to decide whether or not to have children is an important issue for a majority of the women in America. Democrats all over the country have supported the rights to abortion and birth control. Republicans have stoutly opposed women on those issues. Recently, over the fierce opposition of Democrats, Republican legislators in Texas passed a bill which would greatly restrict abortion and force the closing of abortion clinics all-over Texas.

 In every state, it is the Republicans who are trying to restrict women’s access to abortion, the morning after pills, abortion inducing medications, and birth control. Women all over America know who is on their side. They will remember this in 2016, particularly if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee for President.

            I don’t need to go into the likelihood of Republicans picking-up the votes of African Americans or Gays. African Americans will remember the vicious attacks by Republicans against the first Black president in American history. They will recognize the desperate efforts of Republicans in many states to make it more difficult for them to vote. They will remember the votes of Republican Supreme Court justices to wipe-out the most important parts of the Voting-Rights Act. They will remember the Court’s decision to cripple affirmative action.

 As for Gays? Forget it. It is obvious that Republicans hate Gays. It is hard to imagine why any gay person would vote Republican.

            You would think that young people are a group from which Republicans might pick-up some votes. But no. Republicans continue to express their disapproval of everything young people do from music to sex to clothing. The Republican Party Platform approved in 2012 called for an end to the federal direct student loan program. In addition, efforts by Democrats to prevent the interest charges on student loans from doubling in 2013 were opposed by the Republicans in the Senate.

            So what can Republicans do to recapture the White House in 2016? I doubt that they are willing to do the things necessary to win-over these large groups of voters. I think that they have, if anything, antagonized these groups even more than they did in 2012. I think that they will lose again..

TRAYVON MARTIN

Following the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial the biggest question is whether George Zimmerman was justified in profiling, suspecting, and following Trayvon Martin. Most Black commentators indicate that that was the real crime by Zimmerman. They wanted Zimmerman convicted of murder simply because he profiled Martin. They know that up until Martin jumped him, Zimmerman did nothing but follow Martin. It is clear that in a fit of rage at being followed, Martin initiated the scuffle. So the issue for Black leaders is not whether Zimmerman was in fear of his life, but rather, whether Zimmerman was right to profile and follow Martin.

Was it purely racist for Zimmerman to suspect that Trayvon Martin might be “up to no good”-- a potential law breaker who could be looking to break into one of the properties in the community? Did Zimmerman have any justification for suspecting Martin solely on account of his race? Well, Justice Department statistics show that Black youths are responsible for a huge percentage of crime in America--all out of proportion to their numbers. For example, in 2009 Black youths represented 19% of the population but were responsible for 58% of the homicides and 67% of the robberies.

 It is worse in big cities. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly confirmed that: “About 70% to 75% of the people described as committing violent crimes [In New York City] — assault, robbery, shootings, grand larceny — are described as being African-American.” Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia, says that 80% of people arrested for homicide in Philadelphia are Black. In the City of Dayton, 90% of the homicides were committed by Blacks. Do Black leaders assume that White people, and people like George Zimmerman, fail to notice these statistics? Forget it! White people are very aware of the statistics, and are very fearful of Black youths.  They are afraid to walk through Black neighborhoods (which are routinely described as "High Crime" areas).

In addition, Trayvon Martin was no goodie-goodie. Florida Circuit Judge Debra Nelson would not allow the jury in the Zimmerman trial to see a number of items of evidence that might raise questions about whether Martin was a law-abiding youth. Among the items excluded were photos from Martin’s cell phone showing firearms and saying “U gotta gun?” There were also texts showing that Martin was involved in organized fights. In an earlier incident, when Martin was suspended from school, his backpack was searched and a number of items of jewelry were found. Martin said that a friend gave them to him. He also had a screwdriver. Obviously, he had been involved in a burglary. I have no doubt that, as Zimmerman stated, Martin was "up to no good."

The only crime committed the night of Trayvon Martin’s shooting was committed by Martin. George Zimmerman merely followed Martin. He did not attack him. The fight was obviously started by Martin. He attacked Zimmerman and beat him until he was bloody. Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense.

 After the Zimmerman verdict, youths in Los Angeles rioted, attacked a camera crew, stole cell-phones from White people, and stormed into a Wal-Mart vandalizing the store. Protests also turned violent in Houston, Oakland, San Francisco, Baltimore, and San Bernadino. Zimmerman and his family have received a large number of death threats and have had to go into hiding. Compare that to the period following the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial. White people were upset and disgusted, but there were no riots, no protests, and no death threats by Whites.

African American leaders are correct in assuming that the Zimmerman verdict will change nothing. White police and law enforcement officers will continue to profile Black youths and will keep them under surveillance in White neighborhoods. Security personnel will continue to watch black youths in stores. There is only one way that that will ever change. Black youths will have to stop being responsible for so much crime.

How can that happen? Black leaders simply have to start speaking-out as one. They need to tell young black men that crime is a disgrace. That producing children without fathers is a disgrace. That sale and use of drugs are a disgrace. That the culture they are following will lead nowhere. That they need to get an education and need to get jobs. Unless Black leaders start speaking out loudly on these issues, there will be no improvement. Black youth will continue to be disconnected from the mainstream, and 100 years from now they will be no better off than they are now.

There is a very great sadness to all of this. President Obama recounted how he was followed by security personnel in stores when he was young. I’m sure many fine, honest, law-abiding Black young people suffer the same indignity. But the large number of Black miscreants who are out on the streets shooting each other make it hard for the good ones.

The substantial reduction in crime by Black youths that is needed to cause a dramatic change in White attitudes is not likely to happen soon. The great divide in America between African Americans and Whites is likely to continue for a long time. Even if the government steps in with massive programs to help young Blacks with education and job training, the process will be slow. The large number of murders and other crimes in urban neighborhoods will continue to be terrible and tragic.

TRAYVON MARTIN, BLACK YOUTH, AND CRIME

            In the minds of most African Americans, the central issue in the case against George Zimmerman for shooting Trayvon Martin was not the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, they wanted Zimmerman convicted for racial profiling.  It is clear that Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin walking through the gated community and followed him because Martin was Black. There had been several break-ins in the community and Zimmerman thought that Martin looked suspicious.

            Over the decades Black people have suffered from the fact that Whites look upon them as potential criminals and feel endangered when they see young Blacks in an all-white community. Zimmerman called the police to report the presence of Trayvon Martin even though Martin was not exhibiting any criminal behavior. He was simply walking through a gated community going back to his father’s apartment. Zimmerman presumed that Martin was “up to no good” and that the police should come and arrest or at least follow him. We cannot know whether Martin had any intentions other than to return home. If he was looking for a condominium to break into, we will never know it.

It is not hard to understand why African Americans are enraged by such behavior on the part of a local security guard. They wanted Zimmerman convicted of murder no matter what the facts of the case showed.

On the other hand, it is not totally unreasonable to understand what was going on in the mind of George Zimmerman. The presence of a black youth wearing a hooded sweatshirt (a “hoodie”) in the community Zimmerman was supposed to be protecting might reasonably give rise to some fears and assumptions. The reason for this is that the rate of crime by Black youth in America is all out of proportion with their numbers. A report by the U.S. Department of Justice for the year 2009 gave the following figures:

“Juvenile arrests disproportionately involved minorities. The racial composition of the U.S. juvenile population ages 10–17 in 2009 was 77% white, 16% black, 5% Asian/Pacific Island­er, and 1% American Indian. Most juveniles of Hispanic ethnicity were included in the white racial category. Of all juvenile arrests for violent crimes in 2009, 47% involved white youth, 51% involved black youth, 1% involved Asian youth, and 1% involved American Indian youth. For property crime arrests, the proportions were 64% white youth, 33% black youth, 2% Asian youth, and 1% American Indian youth. Black youth were overrepresented in juvenile arrests.

Black proportion--Most serious of juvenile arrests offense in 2009

Murder 58%

Forcible rape 33

Robbery 67

Aggravated assault 42

Simple assault 39

Burglary 37

Larceny-theft 32

Motor vehicle theft 43

Weapons 37 ”

             Thus, according to Justice Department statistics, crimes by Black youths were extremely disproportionate to their numbers. It is no wonder that White people, especially White law enforcement authorities, tend to profile Black youths as potential criminals. No matter how unfair it may be, it is based on a reasonable recognition of the dangers represented by Black youth.

            What is the answer? Black commentators say that the result of the George Zimmerman verdict will be that White law-enforcement authorities will go on profiling Black youths and shooting them down regardless of whether they are committing crimes or not. That may be partially true. But the answer is not to convict people like Zimmerman of murder. The answer lies in the statistics shown above. Unless those statistics change, unless there is great leadership on the part of Black leaders, and unless there is a vast change in the rate of crime by Black youths, White people and White law enforcement authorities will continue to look-upon most Black youths as potential law-breakers.