Sunday letters to the editor

Posted: July 20, 2013 - 9:03pm  |  Updated: July 20, 2013 - 11:21pm

Nothing, in my mind, screams out for gun control and a change in laws like Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” legislation like the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, a young 17-year-old male returning home from a convenience store in his Florida neighborhood.

Regardless of where each of us are emotionally in the not guilty verdict, this tragedy reflects the continuing, day-by-day senseless deaths on our streets.

We can blame it on the black-on-black crime in our cities, the need to protect ourselves with guns and concealed weapons and the anthem that our neighborhoods are not safe because of the black males roaming our streets.

We can continue to also deny the subtle, subconscious, unconscious, call it what you will, inability to see racial stereotyping, racial profiling and all the other biases in our nation against persons of color.

Until we have an honest dialogue with ourselves, and then with our neighbors, about our feelings, fears and biases regarding race, we will continue to see tragedies like the Martin youth losing his life.

George Zimmerman’s fears were exacerbated by the prior crime in his neighborhood, as well as the prevalent societal assumptions regarding black males. I don’t doubt he thought he was acting valiantly on behalf of the neighborhood.

Neighborhood Watch associations, however, are not supposed to condone or promote vigilante actions. He called the police, but then ignored their directive.

Years ago, those fears might have ended up in a fist fight. Today, sadly, with laws promoting gun ownership and self-defense, one man’s misguided need to take inappropriate action ended up killing a young man.

Zimmerman’s life will also never be the same, nor will his family’s. What a terrible price to pay for actions that should have been the purview of the police and only the police.

Given the fact that senseless deaths occur every day in our communities, it seems to give us a sense of being helpless in this onslaught. However, we can take action as citizens.

Join an action group in favor of better and more sensible laws regarding gun ownership. Write your state and congressional representatives.

And finally, volunteer to mentor young people if you have the time.



What if Zimmerman wasn’t carrying gun?

I wonder what George Zimmerman would have done if he was not in the possession of a loaded gun.

Zimmerman would probably have stayed in his vehicle and not approached Trayvon Martin face to face, causing the lost of a life.

When we approach someone in a threatening manner, we must expect that person to defend himself. Zimmerman approached Martin, which caused the confrontation and death.

Stand your ground should have made Zimmerman stay in his vehicle. No one was trying to remove him from the vehicle.



Narcissism flourishing in Savannah

I have encountered a lot of people in my 43 years of being here, but none can compare to the narcissistic individuals who I try to relate to and who don’t relate to me.

There seems to be a very large number of them in Savannah.

Their perspective is often devoid of interest in the internal world of others. They lack the knack of empathy.

They have little to give and they often take much. To actually deal with these narcissists would be like diving into frigid waters headfirst from atop the highest cliff.

There are too many “Knightmares in Shining Armor” and “Divas in Distress.”



Comments (19) Add comment
Ellsworth. 08/05/13 - 08:25 am


Timo Svoren
Timo Svoren 07/21/13 - 05:40 am
Narcissism flourishing in Savannah

There is a Lord of the Flies aspect to this place where the most aggressive people take over things. Another way to put it is "I have come to take what is mine" is used as management mode. Seems to have little to do with excellence, just who is the most positioned and aggressive.

Read somewhere that a measure of corruption is how many times things must be done or settled in person one and one, and it made me think of this town and how it is impossible to do many simple things without actually going down to the place and getting it resolved one on one in person.

John T
John T 07/21/13 - 10:03 am
What if . . .

Since we're playing the "what if" game, what if Martin had been carrying a gun? It's not inthinkable. Remember the elderly man killed by the 16 year old while walking out of a grocery store here in Savannah only a little while ago? Or the infant killed by the teens in Brunswick? What if Martin had a gun and killed Zimmerman rather than simply attacking and beating him? I wonder how the national discourse would sound then.

People are now attacking the Stand Your Ground law as if it had anything to do with Martin's death. They instead would have us digress to turning our backs to an attacker (as I suspect Zimmerman did), to flee a dangerous situation, or worse, disarming law abiding citizens altogether. Of course either of these would have saved Martin's life. Martin could have fled the scene rather than attacking Zimmerman. Or he could have attacked an unarmed Zimmerman and killed him instead. What if????

I don't care who you are or what color you are, if you are intent on attacking someone, our concealed carry/stand your ground/self defense laws will give you pause to consider the consequences. Watering down these laws only encourages criminals because they fear a fair fight and look for defenseless victims. Haven't we learned anything about human nature? How many dead, unarmed grandfathers and infants will it take before all law abiding citizens arm themselves and stop being helpless victims?

Thinkitover 07/21/13 - 10:29 am

I see where you are coming from! What is the big deal if the vast majority of black homicides are committed by other black, then why should ‘THEY’ and others get so upset when a nonblack murders ‘one of them?’Come on, that’s almost a 9 to 1 ratio, not bad. Not bad at all !

Very nice letter Charlotte Rehmert.

Tybeenian 07/21/13 - 10:27 am
The great Carsini predicted.....

No Civil case. Now go research WHY.

StillBill2 07/21/13 - 01:39 pm
One LTE writer

advocates "more sensible" gun laws. Nationwide there are 30,000 gun laws on the books. If only there were 30,001 that would do it. I got no problem with shooting (no pun intended) for reasonable types of legislated gun control. Problem is how to legislate self control. You know, the kind of self control learned in a two parent (dare I say married?) household.

killer4495 07/21/13 - 02:50 pm
you dont know me

You probably won't recognize me or even know my name.
My name was Antonio Santiago.

I was the 13-month old baby who was shot in the face at point blank range by two Black teens who were attempting to rob my mom, who also got shot. A Grand Jury from my home town Brunswick GA determined the teens who murdered me will not face the death penalty because they were too young... too bad, I was given a death sentence by them for being too young. And, too White (yes I will say that); I was innocent, defenseless and in the 'wrong' neighborhood, although that is where I lived.

My mommy and daddy made the mistake of being White and living in a 73% non-white neighborhood, but my murder was not ruled a Hate Crime. Why Not?
The Justice Department never even investigated my death, or if my rights were violated. Why Not?
President Obama didn't take so much as a single moment to acknowledge my murder or honor me. Why Not?
I am one of the youngest murder victims in our great nation's history, but the media doesn't care to cover the story of my tragic demise. Michelle wasn't heartbroken. President Obama has no children who could possibly look like me, so it seems he doesn't care and the media didn't care because my story is not interesting enough to bring them ratings so they can sell commercial time slots. Also the media are in the business of creating strife as that is what brings viewers and advertisers, and racial strife is best for their business as it feeds on itself. And best for some politicians too... There are some who make a living on racial strife. But there is not a White equivalent of Al Sharpton because if there was he would be declared racist, so there is no one rushing to Brunswick GA to demand justice for me. I have no champion and the press is silent. The DOJ and Attorney General Holder are silent too when it comes to my case, do you think
there is a double standard at the Dept of Justice? Is that Justice?

There is no White Panther party to put a bounty on the lives of those Black guys who murdered me. I have no voice, I have no representation and unlike those who shot me in the face while I sat innocently in my stroller - I no longer have my life.

So while you are seeking justice, demonstrating, and even rioting for Treyvon Martin, please remember to seek justice for me too. It's only fair, and it's only just; and you do want justice, right? And I was only a year old, one seventeeth as old as Trayvon, just in case you feel Trayvon died too young...
Tell your friends about me, tell your families, get tee-shirts with my face on them and make the world pay attention, just like so many are doing for Treyvon Martin.
Don't I deserve at least the same as Trayvon does?

Thank you,


Southern belle
Southern belle 07/21/13 - 05:46 pm
I do not understand how anyone can not

accept the not guilty verdict. I spent a lot of time listening to the trial and did not see how it could possibly be anything other than "not guilty". As I understand it and I could be wrong, is that the reason GZ got out of his car was because Trayvon was walking between houses and not on the road. GZ had already called the cops but did not want to lose sight of him.

I am not a racist person. I have never used the "n" word in my life. If the situation were reversed and Trayvon were the neighborhood watchman that night and GZ was the one that looked suspicious and was shot would we be having all of this outrage.

What happened that night was a tragedy but not a crime. Trayon was beating the crap out of GZ. He could have broken his skull. What would you have done. It was a tragedy but he was defending himself. He must have been terrified and did the only thing he could do to save his own life. Screaming for help obviously did not work.

Our country needs to get beyond this. All that is happening is that we are becoming more and more divisive . It is time to heal and as long as there is all of this outrage is only making it worse. It was a tragedy but not a crime.

Southern belle
Southern belle 07/21/13 - 09:58 pm
It is not a crime

to get out of the car.

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