I don't see how anything that Obama said would incite the reaction that your kid's coach had or his teammates. Unfortunately, Fox News and their ilk grab snippets of the speech and say that Obama is dividing our society. Maybe he should watched his words, knowing that Fox News would do what they always do, but I think he shouldn't have to worry about that.
Do I think that Zimmerman should have been found guilty based on Florida's laws? Probably not (although I think the prosecution did a terrible job). Do I think the Zimmerman violated Martin's civil rights? I think a good case could be made based mainly around racial profiling although I am not sure what the law says in regard to a regular citizen and racial profiling. Does anyone here?
The one thing I am worried most about being a father in one month is how am I going to deal with this stuff when my child faces it (my wife is black). I can do all the studying and reading about this possible, but my biggest fear is that I can't relate to some of the obstacles she is going to face and I will be powerless to remove them.
I see racism everyday. People who think they can say things around me because I am "one of them", People reacting to my wife and I being together, people not getting promotions that deserve them, kids teasing other kids because of their race (something they are taught), the list goes on... I think this is a pretty good article on the view of black people today in the US:
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/dear...#axzz2ZdNpS9Tb
The stuff on this list is not made up. I see it all of the time.