Trayvon Martin....when will justice be served???

Trayvon Martin

Obviously there has been endless discussion in the news, on social media sites, and amongst friends, family and colleagues about the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. For those of you who may not know about him, he was shot and killed by a neighbourhood watch leader, 28 year old George Zimmerman (who is identified as Hispanic), because according to him Trayvon looked suspicious as he walked home. Trayvon was returning from the store with some Skittles and an iced tea when Zimmerman shot and killed him claiming self defence; although there have been many witness accounts that dictate otherwise.  And even though Zimmerman has admitted to killing the teen about 3 weeks ago, he is still walking, eating, drinking and living as a free man.

Are we really living in a time where all it takes to be released of charges against your actions is to cry ‘self-defence’?

I am, however, reminded of the case of John White in 2006.  In that case 56 year-old Black man was defending his home as 4 young men threatened his son and his family.  The young men who identified themselves as a “lynch mob”, threatened to kill his son and to rape his wife.  As the men advanced on the house, a shot was fired accidentally which killed Daniel Cicciaro (who was white).  White was arrested immediately and was later sentenced to 2-4 years in prison.  He was later acquitted.

 Where is the justice in the USA?

And to add insult to injury, there was a woman who was arrested over the weekend for throwing flour on Kim Kardashian.  Now I’m not condoning the tossing of baking ingredients on anyone (except maybe in fun with your honey in the kitchen lol), but where is the standard?  How does she get arrested instantly for a relative harmless act while a man who ADMITS to murdering an innocent young man walks free for nearly a month?  When will enough be enough?

Now the first thing many people do is cry racism.  And in this case I think it has its place, however, the bigger picture is being ignored.  When will we hold people accountable for their actions?  What kind of precedent is this case setting?  It would be a little different if Trayvon had a gun or was threatening or behaved like a ruffian.  But I’m tempted to think that all he wanted to do was go home and enjoy his recent purchase.  Every picture I’ve seen of Trayvon has him pictured as a respectable young man who seemed to enjoy life!

My heart and prayers go out the Trayvon’s family.  I do sincerely hope that justice is served to those who deserve it!

What are your thoughts?  I would love to know!

Question of the Week: Should womyn be called bitches?

Hey everyone!  I just wanted to introduce a new element to the blog.  I want to start a forum where we can discuss issues and events that are current and relevant.  This week I'm starting a Question Of The Week that I'll ask every Monday (and I know that this is Tuesday!  I'm a day late because I was busy preparing and delivering my keynote speech in Ottawa, which went very well I might add.)  And throughout the week we'll talk about it and see if we can keep a dialogue going in our communities.  That also means if you have a topic you think we should discuss, please let me know! I am looking forward to your responses so join the conversation.


In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion over Jay-Z's use of the ever controversial 'b-word'.  First he is using it, then he apparently wasn't using it anymore to honor his baby girl.  Then, apparently he didn't say that he was going to stop calling womyn bitches and plans to continue to use the word.  And it got me thinking about the use of the word 'bitch' and it's role in our culture.

We all know there are two very clear sides to this age old debate: those who think it's degrading, and those who think they've reclaimed the word by using it with conviction.

I've heard it before that bitch stands for "Beautiful Individual Totally in Control of Herself."  Do you think that's just a clever acronym society uses to keep us trapped? Or is it empowering?

I'm curious to hear from the followers on this one.  Do you use the term?  What is your stance on the usage of the word?  Do you call your friends 'bitches' in a loving tone? Is it ever appropriate to call any womyn a 'bitch'?  I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Let's start a discussion!