Washington – President Barack Obama called the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in a Florida suburb a “tragedy” on Friday and said that “every aspect” of the case that has rallied civil rights activists should be investigated.
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Speaking in personal terms, Obama expressed sympathy for the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot on Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., a suburb of Orlando, by a neighborhood watch volunteer who said he was acting in self-defense.
“I can only imagine what these parents are going through and when I think about this boy I think about my own kids,” Obama said. He aimed his message at Martin’s parents, saying, “If I had a son he’d look like Trayvon. I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans take this with the seriousness that it deserves and we’re going to get to the bottom of what happened.”
Obama said that “every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and everybody pulls together, federal state and local, to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.”
The Justice Department and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation and a grand jury is considering whether to charge George Zimmerman, who acknowledged shooting the teen but said it was self-defense. Martin’s parents, civil rights activists and others who have rallied to the cause say they won’t be satisfied until Zimmerman is arrested.
Police Chief Bill Lee stepped down temporarily this week to try to cool the building anger that his department had not arrested Zimmerman. Hours later, Gov. Rick Scott announced that the local state attorney, Norman Wolfinger, had recused himself from the case in hopes of “toning down the rhetoric” surrounding it.
Our president has a bad habit of commenting on things he has no business commenting on, and as a result adds fuel to a fire that may not neccessarily be there.
Remember the “beer summit”, our president made comments about that before all the facts were out, and we all saw the result.
What a dumb strategy. And sooooooo politically and racially motivated.
Here goes another “Apologists” to try and make the Entire Arab Muslim world, look better.
When you call Cold Blooded Murder and clearly a Racist_Muslim “Standard”, every day, Hatred and JIHAD which is preached by EVERY Arab, Muslim preacher in the Middle East….
You call that a mere “Tragedy” ? ? ? ?
A Tragedy is something like something which is in “Act Of G-d”, something which is perhaps unpreventable or which happened by accident, like a car accident, Plain Crash or Earthquake where there is no human deliberate Murder or Group who is responsible and did it intentionally.
Does Obama also think that the Holocost is a mere “Tragedy” without blaming the Nazis?
The Holocost didn’t “just happen” as a Tragedy. It was deliberate TEACHING by the people who BELIEVED in that indoctrination.
The Entire Arab and Muslim indoctrination, which is preached daily in all Mosques and even taught to Muslim children in their Kinder Gardens, is that the greatest wish which any “good Muslim” can aspire to grow up to be, is someone who will be a Murderer and Kill himself in the process too, to Murder in cold blood the entire world who aren’t Muslims (i.e. to Murder all Infidels)
Folks…I told my friends earlier,right after the president got involved here. You will all see that this victim is BLACK (was even before I saw a picture of him) its unreal how un ethic and un presidential he acts when it boils down to Race!!please let’s get his ut of the oval office!
he shows how stupid he is by getting involved. If it was a black killing a white he would say nothing. America wake up and throw the garbage out
We Jews only seem to care about our own. We want our presidents to comment about every attack against Jews worldwide but when local law enforcement seems to have failed a black child, and the federal government has to intervene as a civil rights matter, we don’t care. Of course, we begged that our own Floridian on death row for murdering a park ranger be showm mercy but that was a Jewish life.
I agree with #7 , 100%. If it was a frum teen, who was killed by an anti-semite, everyone would be screaming. Unfortunately, this is typical of the double standard on this board. Not only is there a double standard, by hypocrisy is also the norm. For example, how many who have spoken out against Obama’s comments, also spoke out against the police shooting and killing in Borough Park, in 1999, of a mentally disturbed Chassidic?
This is a tragedy. A young boy is dead. An investigation will, hopefully, find the cause of the shooting. We should care. We should want a fair investigation of the incident. Unlike the Massachusetts incident the President has not stated who was right and who was wrong. I am not among the great admirers of the President, but here he has done nothing wrong. 1-7 why not tone down your rhetoric? There is no need for it.
The day that any of us does not feel sorry for the parents of a dead boy will be a sad day.
Both Newt and Romney have come out today calling this a tragedy.
Guy was a mental case with a gun, hunted down and killed a kid.
Mr. President, its too bad you are only a community agitator in the likes of Al Slim Shady Sharpton ym’sh as well as nothing short of a ManChild acting “stupidly” not to mention quite immature because otherwise you would know what went on in FL doesn’t concern you in the least. You, just like you did with Cambridge, are sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.
a frum family in Hollywood FL were rounded up and held at gun point in one room for two hours by 12 armed police officers who ransacked their house last Shavuos because neighbors thought they “looked Muslim” and were afraid of them.
Those who don’t fight for civil rights lose them. EVERYONE”S civil rights.
What’s the matter with most of you?!?! (lol)
(a) The press ASKED him about the case- he didn’t bring it up!
(b) He specifically said he could NOT comment on the legalities of the case… only saying the death of the young boy was a horrible tragedy! And finally…
(c) What’s wrong w\the President of the United States giving this story some attention?! Is the boy not worth it?! I’m not really sure I understand everyone’s complaining here!
But I shouldn’t be surprised when I see people criticizing the President on here over… well… EVERYTHING, I guess! *eyeroll*
Sherry the Noahide get the facts straight. If you knew the facts you would see that this is even more shady that it looks. Obama’s press secretary was overheard whispering to a liberal reporter at NBC to ask this question and was assured that Obama would respond & respond he did with a well rehearsed monologue. Before this case grew legs Obama said he had no interest in discussing it as it is a local police matter. But now that he thinks it will score him points because it is now in the national media he is all over it and even begging reporters to ask him the question. How pathetic is that?!
When people like Al Sharpton heard that a guy named Zimmerman killed a guy named TRAY-VON he was salivating at the mouth. A white JEW kills a poor black kid. Now that it is revealed that Zimmerman is not Jewish but Hispanic they are still running with it.
To #15 - I don’t agree with you regarding your opposition to Obama commenting about the Cambridge Police Dept., in 2009. Obama stated “that the Cambridge Police Dept. acted stupidly”. I agree with that statement; many police departments in the USA were interviewed afterwards, and a large percentage stated that they would have left, without arresting Professor Louis Gates for disorderly conduct. After all, police officers are trained to deal with citizens who are not always in the most pleasant moods. As long as Gates was shouting and there was no physical violence involved (and Gates was legally living at that residence), the arresting officer should have left immediately. Essentially, the Cambridge Police Dept., did act stupidly.
Anonymous 16 and SherryTheNoahide have the right facts and faith. I’m ashamed when I read such bigoted and ignorant posts from (supposedly) Jewish respondents.
President Obama acted appropriately and intelligently. Race shouldn’t be the issue, but from what we’ve heard so far, it WAS for Zimmerman. The sad fact is that this until the black community brought this out into the open, the press buried it as just another black urban youth killed by gunfire. If and when such a tragedy happens to a Jewish boy, I hope that the Jewish community would do the same. I’m sure that there’d be an uproar if the president, regardless of race or party didn’t respond exactly as President Obama did.
Never forget that for every Gentile that you distrust and despise, there are a thousand more who feel the same way about you just because you’re Jewish. Hitler taught us that nobody bothers to quiz whether you’re hareidi, MO, Conservative, Reform, etc. before they act. I suggest that as Jews we rise above that reaction and let the legal investigation run it’s course.