Quote:
Originally Posted by DrPhil
Hello, TonyB06
The following is based on how dark and dreary it is where I live on a rainy February 26th 7:00pm evening--even with street lights. Someone let me know whether Sanford, Florida has more daylight during that time. Daylight savings 2012 was March 11.
The post that you quoted explains that victim precipitation is not victim blame so there is no need to defend Trayvon Martin or his hoodie (I see white men walking and jogging in dark clothing or hoodies all of the time. People walk around in the evening all of the time, as well.). Victim precipitation is just one component of the study of offending and victimization patterns. Men tend not to be told about victim precipitation (despite having a higher rate of victimization for all crimes except rape and sexual assault. The victimization of men is even greater approximately 15-40 age range.). However, women are the ones who tend to be told not to walk around in the evening, not to park cars in empty parking lots, not to walk with their eyes down rather than looking at their surroundings, etc.
Many parents of Black and Hispanic young men tell their sons to be careful for fear of racial-gender profiling. Most of these parents do not also tell these young Black and Hispanic men about victim precipitation. Some of us believe Trayvon Martin was the victim and not the perpetrator, just as some people believe Zimmerman was the victim and not the perpetrator. Race and gender were among the factors in their interaction but there were also environmental factors. I doubt that interaction would have gone down like that if it was not dark and rainy outside--even if Martin wore his hoodie and seemed to fit the burglarer profile. Let's say it was 2:00pm instead of 7:06pm. It probably would've been perceived differently by both Martin and Zimmerman and there probably would have been a different outcome.
Victim precipitation is also not to be confused with excessive fear of crime and paranoia. All things in moderation. This is about being observant and smart so that if you walk around late at night, for example, you do things to buffer the fact that it is late at night (i.e., looking people in the eye, not being alone, keeping a phone, pepper spray, car keys in your hand, etc.), thus reducing the risk of victimization. You are still precipitating (the potential for) victimization but you are hopefully reducing the likelihood of victimization. Women around the world tend to be told this all of the time but men around the world tend not to be told this. I have devoted my (non-Greekchat) time to telling this to men, especially Black and Hispanic men in the 15-40 age range. Reduce the machismo, billy badass routine, masculinity, and "quien es mas macho" and acknowledge risks for potential victimization.
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Hi, DrPhil,
I’m probably missing (or just flat out rejecting) the differentiation between victim precipitation and blaming.
As an AfAm man 30+ years older than Trayvon Martin, and I understand carefulness and watchfullness. However, at 17, I’m pretty sure TM was just balling out, full of vitality and expectation. Not likely thinking a run to the store at halftime of a basketball game might cost him his life. And certainly, that lack of watchfulness shouldn’t have done so. Precipitation sounds a little too close to "blaming" to me.
I’d have expected George Zimmerman to have shown the higher thinking. He set all this in motion.
And then came Saturday night. The public got “not guilty.” GZ got his gun back and rest of us got try and make sense of this judicial atrocity.