Symbolic Government and Political Justice

It seems more and more that our society does not care about doing the right thing and instead wants to make statements, in some cases to just make a statement and in other cases it seems to be revenge.

The Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution regarding a local radio station:

John & Ken Controversy: City Council Resolution Tells KFI To Hire More Racially Diverse Hosts

The problem is that the City Council has no say over a radio station and this act is completely symbolic, which Council members admit. It seems that those elected think that they need to speak out about any issue that they can get some media time doing. Some of the comments made on the media show that these elected politicians think that people elected them to speak out on issue not related to the running of the city. The reality is that Council members are elected to run the City, NOT speak out on political issues by wasting tax payer money and abuse the system.

It seems to me that in doing these types of actions those politicians should be thrown out of office for wasting tax payer money. There should be more important things to do than to make symbolic statements. Perhaps this type of attitude is why our government and our economy are in such poor shape. Unfortunately, it appears to fit in with our current society.

Disclaimer: I personally don't like John and Ken and I think they should be removed from the air, but for other reasons. I once called to try to correct their lies, but was told by the person who answered the phone that they don't want to hear anything which goes against what they want to say. This is the case with others on KFI, which is why I refuse to listen to the station at all.

It is quite interesting on how people can be manipulated by the media and others.

Look at the example of the case of Trayvon Martin being killed by George Zimmerman:

Florida shooting renews debate over 'stand your ground' laws

Now read these accounts:

Witness: Martin attacked Zimmerman

Police: Zimmerman says Trayvon decked him with one blow then began hammering his head

Trayvon Martin's killer claims teen punched him, slammed his head into ground

If these accounts turns out to be valid, it shows a completely different story and I have to wonder if that would cause people to change their minds on the "petition". I also have to wonder how much media air-time these accounts will get.

A petition to try to get someone prosecuted:

Prosecute the killer of our son, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin

Really? Shouldn't the decision be based on the law, not public political pressure?

Then consider how many people have signed it saying that Zimmerman should be charged. What do they actually know about the case other than what was reported in the media? It seems that there is a bias in the media about the issue as well, so I doubt that most, if any, of those people who have signed the petition really have an accurate and fair view of everything, but they claim to know enough of what happened and the law to demand that Zimmerman be charged. Yes, an arm-chair quarterback does a really good job. On one "news" report it was said that Zimmerman should have gone in his house and called the police. This is exactly what a good sheeple should have done and perhaps he should have, but then you need to realize that the police have no duty nor obligation to protect you as an individual. The police are not always there when you need them either. People should have a sense of personal responsibility to protect themselves, as well as their property since when a criminal steals items they are actually stealing part of the person's life. But what I did not hear was that Trayvon Martin should have called the police. Why is it that the media will say what one person should have done, but ignore the other side? I have not heard anything about what Trayvon Martin was doing in the area, nor whether he was doing something wrong.

It may be that Zimmerman needs to be charged, but the investigation should be allowed to proceed without the political pressure since otherwise we, the tax payers, could end up wasting a lot of money on a bogus trial. People should also have enough sense to let the process work.

The typical reaction of family is that the person who died did nothing wrong, such as the case of two brothers who attempted to rob a Beverly Hills Jewelery store. The store owner had been robbed before and had shot and killed previous robbers and the same happened in this case. The mother whined that her sons did not deserve to be killed and were "good" boys. The reality is that good boys don't commit armed robbery.

Look at some of the comments that the family has made:

Ben Crump, the Martin family's attorney, told MSNBC, "if George Zimmerman had done what a neighborhood watchman is supposed to do -- watch -- Trayvon Martin would be alive today."

If the accounts are true, if Trayvon Martin had not attacked Zimmerman then he would still be alive today.

At a Monday news conference, Trayvon's mother, father and their lawyers called the report that their son was suspended from school because of a marijuana baggy irrelevant and needlessly hurtful.

Could it be that the family does not want ALL the facts to be know? It seems to be that it is relevant since it goes to show the type of person that Trayvon Martin was. Where did he get the money for the drugs? It was reported that there were breakins in the area and he matched the description. If Zimmerman did not follow him, he would get away if he was the one who was committing the crimes and everyone knows that, even if they won't admit it.

There are those who said that Zimmerman should have just let the police handle it, but this miss the fact that the police were not there. Do you really want to turn over everything to the police? Someone is being attacked, don't help, just call the police. Someone is lying on the ground, don't help, just call the police. Is this REALLY what you want?