George Zimmerman: The Case of the Curious Coconut
“Here was an ugly little girl asking for beauty....A little black girl who wanted to rise up out of the pit of her blackness and see the world with blue eyes. His outrage grew and felt like power. For the first time he honestly wished he could work miracles.” ― Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
I remember when I first heard of the term, "coconut." It was a word that was used for people of color who were ashamed of who they were ethnically and made, often embarrassing, moves to hide or deny their ethnicity in order to "assimilate" into a predominantly white society. My family was living in Hawaii at the time, a move that was greatly welcome from a turbulent stint in Alabama where we faced deplorable acts of racism as a multi-racial family. Basically, a coconut is another term for an "Uncle Tom." Someone brown on the outside, but embraced white supremacy on the inside - drunk on the coconut rum on self-hatred.
In "Quixote in Ramadi: An Indigenous Account of Imperialism," I've taken what I've personally seen throughout life and painted a picture that serves as a protagonist counter-response to the brand of racism Toni Morrison presents in "The Bluest Eye." Instead of subscribing to destructive self-loathing promoted by relatives and others in the community who shame the protagonist over her ethnic features while championing Anglo-Saxon features (i.e. blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin), the propaganda is completely discarded. However, an aggressive response takes place, ultimately, to combat the ongoing colonialist views.
George Zimmerman, on the other hand, may have more means to identify with Pecola in "The Bluest Eye." While he is of Peruvian and German descent, it was apparent from the language used and his resulting actions that he is also a product of this brand of racism in the United States that prompts one to either rise above and own one's identity, or to become a coconut. While George Zimmerman is mostly referred to as being white in spite of actually being part Hispanic, and clearly expressed through his 911 call that the unarmed black teen he was stalking was a "problem," he is certainly not unique. I recall meeting a few people just like him, a few from my time in the military that actually sympathize with Zimmerman. One in particular, who was of Mexican/Native American/Caucasian descent used to tell people he wasn't Hispanic, but Spaniard - although he previously admitted his real ethnicity in private and quite shamefully. He also mentioned that in spite of his looks, he would have been better off having blonde hair and blue eyes, then, as he claimed, he'd be even better looking. He shrouded himself in his self-denial and bragged that he only dated blonde white women out of principle while faithfully promoting far-right viewpoints to include profiling Hispanics and other anti-immigrant rants. I always thought those who fell victim to Colonial-speak, or any speech that involved shaming minorities and glorifying Anglo features, were quite pitiful. Yet it doesn't surprise me that this level of self-hatred would prompt someone raised with colonial, patriarchal, self-loathing ideals would put himself in a situation where he is independently attacking other people of color to prove himself worthy in that community.
George Zimmerman and Marissa AlexanderAbove all else, we are called to be objective and observe the law. However, in this case, it's Zimmerman's trial that has spawned many conversations of an age-old problem in the United States involving race and the lack of "justice" in the verdict. In another instance involving firearms and Florida residents, we have Marissa Alexander, a survivor of domestic abuse who fired a warning shot to thwart further abuse from her violent partner. She has been sentenced to 20 years in prison while George Zimmerman is a free man. Alexander's case was prosecuted by Angela Corey, the Florida State's Attorney who prosecuted George Zimmerman.
Corey herself stated, in regard to Alexander, "She discharged a gun to kill them, and she has to answer for that."
However, Zimmerman didn't have to answer to anything and he discharged a gun and killed someone unlike Alexander. Marissa didn't harm or kill anyone, but faces 20 years while Zimmerman killed an unarmed teen. Corey, and many in this country on Zimmerman's side and denying that race was a factor, fails to see the irony.
Recently, after discussing the issue of race in the US with someone at a meeting, we came to agreement that discussing trauma is not simply about guilt or pity, it's about acknowledging that there is a problem. In turn, not allowing the problem behavior or for it to be enabled, validating the experience, and ultimately moving on in a positive direction results from discussing even the most uncomfortable topics. But, there are those who want to keep the status quo and perpetuate such actions, and that's part of the problem. These conversations need to keep going. It's when abuse, bigotry, and other forms of hatred are buried and ignored that problems like these persist. There is a nasty racist history that has long been ignored or minimized, but in any case of trauma, whether personal, generational, or historical, it needs to be discussed. If the conversation doesn't continue, no real change can occur. We need to stop burying history and violence in this country and address is openly and honestly.
For George Zimmerman, who basically went out of his way to stir up trouble with an unarmed teen who could have very well stood his own ground in self-defense from an armed stranger following him home, we may never know how viciously he pursued Trayvon Martin's death - or if he really was the curious idiot his defense attorney portrayed him to be. Whether it was really murder or manslaughter, it's discarded now that an aggressor goes completely unpunished. Being a curious coconut is one thing, but needlessly taking someone else's life and then claiming self-defense as an aggressor is another. Zimmerman is now the champion for racists and coconuts everywhere. And worst of all, his verdict sends the message out loud and clear: if you're an unarmed minority walking around and minding your own business, anyone can kill you then claim you to be a pointless thug, a "problem" in the community, and avoid consequences and punishment as a result. Trayvon Martin wasn't a "problem," Zimmerman's lack of identity was, and because of that, a kid armed with Skittles and tea is now dead.
I remember when I first heard of the term, "coconut." It was a word that was used for people of color who were ashamed of who they were ethnically and made, often embarrassing, moves to hide or deny their ethnicity in order to "assimilate" into a predominantly white society. My family was living in Hawaii at the time, a move that was greatly welcome from a turbulent stint in Alabama where we faced deplorable acts of racism as a multi-racial family. Basically, a coconut is another term for an "Uncle Tom." Someone brown on the outside, but embraced white supremacy on the inside - drunk on the coconut rum on self-hatred.In "Quixote in Ramadi: An Indigenous Account of Imperialism," I've taken what I've personally seen throughout life and painted a picture that serves as a protagonist counter-response to the brand of racism Toni Morrison presents in "The Bluest Eye." Instead of subscribing to destructive self-loathing promoted by relatives and others in the community who shame the protagonist over her ethnic features while championing Anglo-Saxon features (i.e. blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin), the propaganda is completely discarded. However, an aggressive response takes place, ultimately, to combat the ongoing colonialist views.
George Zimmerman, on the other hand, may have more means to identify with Pecola in "The Bluest Eye." While he is of Peruvian and German descent, it was apparent from the language used and his resulting actions that he is also a product of this brand of racism in the United States that prompts one to either rise above and own one's identity, or to become a coconut. While George Zimmerman is mostly referred to as being white in spite of actually being part Hispanic, and clearly expressed through his 911 call that the unarmed black teen he was stalking was a "problem," he is certainly not unique. I recall meeting a few people just like him, a few from my time in the military that actually sympathize with Zimmerman. One in particular, who was of Mexican/Native American/Caucasian descent used to tell people he wasn't Hispanic, but Spaniard - although he previously admitted his real ethnicity in private and quite shamefully. He also mentioned that in spite of his looks, he would have been better off having blonde hair and blue eyes, then, as he claimed, he'd be even better looking. He shrouded himself in his self-denial and bragged that he only dated blonde white women out of principle while faithfully promoting far-right viewpoints to include profiling Hispanics and other anti-immigrant rants. I always thought those who fell victim to Colonial-speak, or any speech that involved shaming minorities and glorifying Anglo features, were quite pitiful. Yet it doesn't surprise me that this level of self-hatred would prompt someone raised with colonial, patriarchal, self-loathing ideals would put himself in a situation where he is independently attacking other people of color to prove himself worthy in that community.
George Zimmerman and Marissa AlexanderAbove all else, we are called to be objective and observe the law. However, in this case, it's Zimmerman's trial that has spawned many conversations of an age-old problem in the United States involving race and the lack of "justice" in the verdict. In another instance involving firearms and Florida residents, we have Marissa Alexander, a survivor of domestic abuse who fired a warning shot to thwart further abuse from her violent partner. She has been sentenced to 20 years in prison while George Zimmerman is a free man. Alexander's case was prosecuted by Angela Corey, the Florida State's Attorney who prosecuted George Zimmerman. Corey herself stated, in regard to Alexander, "She discharged a gun to kill them, and she has to answer for that."
However, Zimmerman didn't have to answer to anything and he discharged a gun and killed someone unlike Alexander. Marissa didn't harm or kill anyone, but faces 20 years while Zimmerman killed an unarmed teen. Corey, and many in this country on Zimmerman's side and denying that race was a factor, fails to see the irony.
Recently, after discussing the issue of race in the US with someone at a meeting, we came to agreement that discussing trauma is not simply about guilt or pity, it's about acknowledging that there is a problem. In turn, not allowing the problem behavior or for it to be enabled, validating the experience, and ultimately moving on in a positive direction results from discussing even the most uncomfortable topics. But, there are those who want to keep the status quo and perpetuate such actions, and that's part of the problem. These conversations need to keep going. It's when abuse, bigotry, and other forms of hatred are buried and ignored that problems like these persist. There is a nasty racist history that has long been ignored or minimized, but in any case of trauma, whether personal, generational, or historical, it needs to be discussed. If the conversation doesn't continue, no real change can occur. We need to stop burying history and violence in this country and address is openly and honestly.
For George Zimmerman, who basically went out of his way to stir up trouble with an unarmed teen who could have very well stood his own ground in self-defense from an armed stranger following him home, we may never know how viciously he pursued Trayvon Martin's death - or if he really was the curious idiot his defense attorney portrayed him to be. Whether it was really murder or manslaughter, it's discarded now that an aggressor goes completely unpunished. Being a curious coconut is one thing, but needlessly taking someone else's life and then claiming self-defense as an aggressor is another. Zimmerman is now the champion for racists and coconuts everywhere. And worst of all, his verdict sends the message out loud and clear: if you're an unarmed minority walking around and minding your own business, anyone can kill you then claim you to be a pointless thug, a "problem" in the community, and avoid consequences and punishment as a result. Trayvon Martin wasn't a "problem," Zimmerman's lack of identity was, and because of that, a kid armed with Skittles and tea is now dead.
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