Questionable self defense tactics against unarmed individuals.

Before I sat down to write this post, I walked to the convenient store down the street to buy myself some milk, a bag of chips and a pack of cigarettes. Much like another young man did a few weeks earlier. The difference being he went to buy some Skittles and an iced tea and I made it safely back to my home, the other young man did not.

On February 26th Trayvon Martin, 17, walked back home from a nearby convenient store wearing his, what is now iconic hoodie, and was shot dead by a local neighborhood watch caption George Zimmerman, 28. According to the Sanford Florida police report Zimmerman was armed with a handgun and police found him standing over Martin with a bloody nose and a wound in the back of his head. Martin was found with a Skittles and an bottle of iced tea, he was unarmed.

 Zimmerman claimed self defense. Protected by the state of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" he was questioned and then released. Witnesses have came forward claiming that Zimmerman was attacked by Martin which matched his story.

Later investigation uncovered questionable police conduct which caused Sanford Police Chief Billy Lee to temporarily resign.

The story has rocked the nation. Protests have been made all over the country by hoodied citizens asking for justice for Martin. Rev. Al Sharpton has become one of the causes biggest advocates calling the case a tragedy and doing whatever is in his power to find justice for Martin.

This is a very problematic goal to say the least. The sheer lack of evidence in Martin's favor is a tough brick-wall to knock down. There are very few things he might have going for him. One, the 9-11 dispatcher told Zimmerman to stay in his car and wait for police. Two, a phone call that Martin made to a friend saying that he was being followed and was scared. Aside from that, there is little evidance to dispute Zimmerman's claims.

This is not the first time that the "Stand Your Ground" law has been used to protect "Justifiable Homicide". Research done by the Tampa Bay Times and other Florida newspapers found that the law has recently been used at an increasing rate. It is important to relise that this law has been a problem for quite some time now.

The overwhelming question is not whether Zimmerman killed Martin in self defense or simply gunned him down. The question is if Martin did attack Zimmerman, unarmed, did he deserve to be shot in the chest because of it?

This case is hard to grasp onto, both sides have compelling arguments however neither have real hard evidence to back their stories up with. The fact is the two men met, one walked away, one went to the morgue in a body bag.

Should Zimmerman face a manslaughter charger? probably. Will he? likely not. The case is unraveling on both sides. More witnesses are coming out to support Zimmerman and more activists are compelled to stand up for the rights of Martin everyday. It's unclear if Zimmerman was attacked by Martin, why he shot him and if he would still be alive if he did not.

The more compelling question is would both be alive right now, maybe with some scrapes and bruises, had Zimmerman not got out of his car and discharge his weapon that night.

KONY 2012, Cool Dads, pissed Ugandans, nervous breakdowns and want to be revolutionaries

If you have not seen, or at least heard of, KONY 2012 yet there is a very good chance that you have no accesses to the internet whatsoever. Kinda like a lot of people in Uganda ... 

After a screening of the, now wildly famous, KONY 2012 video a group of Ugandans, some victims of the Lords Republic Army  apparently got pretty damn angry. Many seemed to misunderstand the message or feel that this was the white man thinking he can come to Africa and solve their problems. Not really to surprising. That is what KONY 2012 was all about. 

Let's face it the video was not targeted to the people that it is trying to help. It's targeted to young, impressionable high school and collage students who want to make a difference somehow but have no clue how to do that, or really what that means. Young impressionable youths who really want to make a difference in the world already are on the road to doing so. In my time I have met a few of them. In fact one of my good friends went to Uganda in 2004. 

In much of my circle of friends, and colleges many of which are journalists, media critics, skeptics of society, nervy college kids and yes some impressionable youths that want to make a difference but don't know how feel the video has created a lot of stir. One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of people I know have not even watch the whole  film yet. 

I happend across it one night when I felt like drinking a beer, smoking some cigarettes and watching something on the internet. I took in the whole thing, it was pretty enchanting. This slick looking dude talking about revolution, his kid, his Ugandan friend as a teenager crying over the death of his brother and his call to action was really quite skillful. I really have no interest in starting a revolution but I thought it was a well made video even tough it left a lot of questions and really seemed over dramatic and did not explain much. 

I was especially not to fond of this cool dad, Jason Russel  talking like some want to be revolutionary. I understood what he was trying to do and what his cause was about but I still was not really sure what I was getting my self into when I hit the Like button on YouTube (for me it triggers a tweet and a Facebook status update saying that I liked that video). I knew that the film was going to blow up and fast. The fact that it asked viewers to pester taskmasters to repost it was quit simply a genus plan.

Turns out he had a nervous breakdown and was caught masturbating in the streets of San Diego. I at first thought this was a bunch of BS until I looked it up myself. He apparently is an evangelical christen which I can't say that I am happy about but makes a lot of sense and may or may not be  relavent. 

There has been quite a backlash against Russel and his NGO Invisible Children. Some fair, some not. Either way I feel this criticism is good. This film and the campaign behind it can be a good model for activist groups and seems to be attempting to do the right thing. 

As a media critic my self I can completely understand much of the backlash. The video was extremely vague in its explanation of what is going on in Uganda right now. Where the front lines are, what is being done on the ground and such. One major criticism is that Kony is not even in Uganda anymore. I can understand that because, after watching the video I figured he was still running rampant thought the streets. 

They also made it out to seem that little has been done to catch Kony, that was the message of the film. "Lets get together so that everyone knows that Kony is still out there and bring him down." Is the general mantra of the production. Oh yeah buy this T-Shirt and wrist band so your friends will ask questions about your cool new T-shirt and wristband. Oh and since you think your some sort of radical we are all going out on April 1st to "bomb the streets" with our posters like revolutionary street artists. The whole idea of this kinda just pisses me off, it's way too cool for it's own good. 

What did they do right? they brought this guy out ...

Invisible Children CEO Ben Keesy seems to be the adult in the room. Answering the questions that everyone is asking and attempting as he says"To be as transparent as possible." This is deferentially the best thing that he can do for his organization right now. IC has created a lot of buzz in a very short period of time. It may have gone a little rye with Russel's break down but they may be able to pull themselves back up if they play the game correctly. They seem to be responding to the criticism the best way they can. They have (what seems like) a real adult talking to other adults about some very interesting issues. 

I want to say that I am all for KONY being banished from the face of the earth. I'm not  real fan of people getting their arms chopped off or anything. I am happy that this video has made people so aware of the issue. I like that people are asking complex questions and trying to figure out what all this means. 

When something like this blows up like this it is important to understand what is really going on behind it. It's easy to take it at face value. If you really want to #StopKKONY  help others in need, I suggest you do your research, find a way to get involved, find the right NGO to get behind (weather it's IC or not is up to you) and do it. 

I also encourage you to be like me and pick it apart and stare at it, talk about it, and figure out the mechanics behind it. 

Or if you don't give a damn about it that's cool too. I don't know why you read all this tough, you should be watching Family Guy or something. 

The pains and pleasures of not having a TV

Since I have moved into my new residence in August I have been with out TV. By this I mean there is no television set in my house, no bunny ears, no video games. Luckily my computer screen is 27' and serves as a decent substitute for TV. I watch a lot of stuff off Hulu, have an HBOgo account, and I can even watch CNN live thanks to my Mother's cable subscription. If there is some show that I really want to watch I can get my hands on it one way or the other.

My computer provides many forms of entertainment through the internet that a TV can not stand up against. Yet, the fact that I have no TV leaves me lingering sometimes. The number one thing that I miss about TV is live sports. I'm a big basketball fan and there is really no way for me to watch it on the internet without shelling out $150+. Simply clicking through the channels trying to find something to watch is something I long for.

The main issue is that TV is a very passive activity you kind of just watch .... something. Watching stuff on my computer is much more complicated system. Sometimes I spend more time just finding something I want to watch than I do just watching something. At least when I am flipping through the channels I am still watching something, it may not be anything that interesting but it's something.

I love the choice that the internet gives me when it comes to my entertainment. I have quite a few shows that are online for free or that I have acquired accuses to in some way. I don't have to be a slave to schedules or even remembering to DVR a show. I really like that I can do this. I don't have to pay $30 extra a month to pay for cable either.

I am about ready to start though. I really do miss just zoning out infront of the TV quite a bit. It really is one of those experiences that can't be replaced by internet TV. I miss watching the local nightly news, late night TV and sporting events. I miss switching between two channels to avoid commercials. I miss just being able to blow three hours of my time infront of a light box.

The free time that TV has left me with is nice. I read more, do my homework more and go out into the world and experience life more. I have no excuse not to spend my time doing something worth wild. I am still jealous of most people with their TV sets hooked up to even basic cable just relaxing with a beer in their hands watching some mindless show or live sporting event. I can't help but feel like I am missing out on something.