Having grown up with many black friends in London, I remember noticing at a certain age that they were treated differently by authority figures. At 13 or 14, my black friends were always disproportionately targeted by teachers for causing trouble, eyed suspiciously whenever we ...read more
According to editor of The American Conservative, Rod Dreher, Brett Kavanaugh should not be judged for his alleged predatory behavior as a 17 year old. "I do not understand why the loutish drunken behavior of a 17 year old high school boy has anything to tell us about the ...read more
The Banter Long Read: Trump-Republicans have much to answer for. On top of electing this incompetent, misinformed Russian agent, Donald Trump, to the presidency, saddling us all with the responsibility of containing then cleaning up the decades worth of mess he's making, ...read more
“To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time. So that the first problem is how to control that rage so that it won’t destroy you.” - James Baldwin America’s white supremacy and state sponsored police brutality has killed us ...read more
This story is so unbelievably disgusting and upsetting that I initially didn't want to write anything about it. I am talking of course about George Zimmerman, the racist pig/neighborhood watchman who shot and killed 17 year old Trayvon Martin after chasing him for being black, ...read more
No doubt suffering from years of getting his ass kicked in high school, conservative child-man Ben Shapiro is renown for taking his frustrations out on anyone he perceives as being weaker than he is -- namely poor people, women and minorities. However, Shapiro outdid himself ...read more
If George Zimmerman had lived in any other state in America other than Florida, he would have been thrown in jail for the murder of unarmed child. Luckily for Zimmerman, executing black teenagers for running away from armed racists is deemed fair game in the Sunshine State, and ...read more
Last year was tough on unarmed black men, even when there were video cameras around, so the viral video that's burning up the internet this week practically qualifies as a fairy tale. Demetrius Taylor was in a car having a conversation with a friend when he noticed a white ...read more
Whether it was the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, or now Michael Brown, the media can't seem to resist cherry-picking photos of them that reinforce deep-seated racial stereotypes, helping depict the circumstances as credibly disputed, the shooters as fearful for ...read more
Jonathan Chait of New York Magazine has been making a spectacle of himself lately, most recently tying himself in knots trying to explain away his essay on race in the Obama Era. On Thursday night's All In with Chris Hayes, his point seems to have evolved into a plea for ...read more
After killing an unarmed teenager who was running away from him, ex neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman doesn't understand why he cannot live a normal life. Speaking to Univision television show "Aquí y Ahora" ("Here and Now"), Zimmerman said: "Honestly, I [would] love to ...read more
Killer of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, serial gun owner, and now apparent artist, George Zimmerman is releasing a new painting, presumably to raise funds for his gigantic legal fees. On Wednesday, Zimmerman's brother tweeted out a photo of the painting (pictured below), ...read more
Sit down before I tell you this because it's gonna piss you off. Right now, the image that you see above -- a painting by none other than George Zimmerman -- is being auctioned off on eBay and the bidding at the moment is up to $99,966. That's at least $99,966, because the ...read more
As the saying goes, "One gun good, five guns much better!". According to a search warrant that was made public, George Zimmerman had five guns and over 100 rounds of ammunition with him when deputies arrested him earlier this month for allegedly beating up his girlfriend. ...read more
Yesterday while Bob and I were recording our weeklypodcasts, we talked in detail about the latest arrest of George Zimmerman. What was interesting about our conversation is that while describing the incident that led to Zimmerman being taken to jail, Bob mentioned that ...read more
Fourth time's the charm, I guess. After shooting and killing an unarmed teenager, being accused of getting into an armed confrontation with his ex-wife, and apparently leaving a bullet-riddled target in the ex's house as a not-so-subtle warning, George Zimmerman finally met a ...read more
I once defended Paris Hilton. It's kind of hard to believe even now, but amid the copious amounts of bile I spat out all over her during her pop culture heyday back in the mid-to-late-aughts, there was one time that I felt it might be a little unfair for me and everyone else ...read more
While the rest of us were gathered around our computers waiting to hear whether the new iPhone would have the ability to make toast and give hand-jobs, one man was nervously pacing back and forth praying that another Apple device couldn't survive being smashed all to hell. ...read more
You're going to be shocked, shocked I tell you, by this news, but George Zimmerman was detained by cops again today after his estranged wife said that he threatened her with a gun. According to reports from Lake Mary police in Central Florida, Shellie Zimmerman called 911 ...read more
After killing Trayvon Martin and getting away with it, George Zimmerman has been doing what he does best - buying high powered weaponry to defend himself from unruly black teenagers wielding cans of iced tea and bags of skittles. Reports TMZ: George Zimmerman was on the hunt ...read more
It's Tuesday morning people, and the week is far from over. You've probably got a lot of work on and need to buckle down and get on with it. So why are you reading this? Because let's face it, reading the internet is FAR more entertaining. Here's our guide to what you should ...read more
Exclusive to The Daily Banter - by David Harada Stone: While the country was transfixed last month by the Florida trial and verdict in the George Zimmerman case, another high-profile murder trial was getting underway 5,000 miles to the west, in Honolulu. The two cases have more ...read more
I'll try to make this quick. If you're one of those people now posting long-winded internet screeds filled with supposed hard evidence that proves that George Zimmerman didn't really help pull a family out of an overturned vehicle last week in Central Florida, please stop. ...read more
The most inhumane and tragic aspect of any war, noble or nefarious, is the reality of civilian casualties. As long as there's been warfare, noncombatants have been caught in the crossfire, or even intentionally killed en masse to spur popular intolerance for the continuation of ...read more
It was a normal day. Courtney had left work and was picking up her husband. Being the parents of two adolescent boys, they were expected and needed at home. As she waited for Russell, her husband, a police officer drove by and gave her a double look. He drove by a second time ...read more
I went on the Thom Hartmann show on Friday night to debate White House Correspondent from The Daily Caller Neil Munro, and conservative commentator Dutch Martin. We discussed a number of things, but the Trayvon Martin case took up the majority of the time. Martin is an African ...read more
In this week's edition of 'Glenn Beck Comment Porn' we look at the reaction of readers of The Blaze to Chris Matthew's apology in the wake of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman verdict. In a heartfelt segment on his show, Matthews apologized on behalf of white people for the ...read more
For anyone who thinks that the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin was justified, there are several assumptions you must have made to get to that conclusion. In short, anyone who believes Zimmerman was justified in killing the unarmed teenager are ...read more
When you watch this video of an ABC social experiment conducted a couple of years ago, any pretense that America is not a racist society should evaporate pretty quickly. Three paid actors pretend to try and steal a bike out in a park in broad daylight - first, a white ...read more
I felt consumed by anger when I heard the Trayvon Martin verdict over the weekend. Anger not just at the verdict, but at how little it shocked me. I had accepted that George Zimmerman must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond any reasonable doubt. But what is so ...read more
"Especially in cities like Washington and New York, the menace comes from young black males. Both blacks and whites believe those young black males are the ones most likely to bop them over the head." - Richard Cohen of the Washington Post explaining why racial profiling is a ...read more
I am of course referring to the Travyon Martin decision and the untimely death of Cory Monteith. Now, it could be because I have been under the weather but both have me emotional today. First the case of George Zimmerman. Why did the "stand your ground" law apply to him and ...read more
Here's what you should be reading today instead of worrying yourself with things like actually diving back into the work week. 1. No Justice, Still Peace A lot of news regarding the fallout from Saturday's not-guilty verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman. First of all, ...read more
In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin murder case, there have been right-wing commentators who have tried to edit out the racial aspect of the 'not guilty' verdict. It was simply a matter of law they say, in fact those who focus on the race of Zimmerman and Martin are the true ...read more
The tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman back in 2012 had all the ingredients to spark off another epic race debate in America. An unarmed young black man shot by an older white/hispanic man in highly suspicious circumstances is the stuff the news media lives ...read more
By Ben Cohen: The issue of race relations is never far from the media or public debate in America. The latest news from the tragic Trayvon Martin case (a revelation that the police initially seriously doubted shooter George Zimmerman's account of events) and the controversial ...read more
From the Huff Post: A new trove of evidence released by the Florida state attorney prosecuting George Zimmerman for second-degree murder in the killing of Trayvon Martin reveals the extent to which law enforcement doubted Zimmerman's early claims of self-defense. "His actions ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: I didn't want this to turn into a public back-and-forth, but when I wrote a piece last week for this site on the double-standard when it comes to how news outlets cover crimes which are racially motivated or have the potential to be racially motivated, I knew ...read more
By Bob Cesca: Last week, my friend and podcast partner Chez Pazienza wrote a piece for The Daily Banter about a case involving several African American youths in Norfolk, Virginia who allegedly beat up a pair of reporters from The Virginian-Pilot newspaper, Dave Forster and ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: Every once in a while I apparently like to see to it that my progressive street cred takes a huge hit and, well, I guess it's that time again. The line to angrily show me the error of my ways forms to the left -- just, please, not the face, eh? In case you ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that somebody at NBC was going to lose a job over the galactic fuck-up that led to a severely edited 911 call from Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman making air. Well, late last week NBC -- after undertaking what it ...read more
The mayor of the city where Trayvon Martin was killed says he overruled police and prosecutors who opposed the release of tapes of 911 calls, telling them: “We're not here to hide anything.” Jeff Triplett, who is a senior vice president at United Legacy Bank and part-time ...read more
By Ben Cohen: I like Spike Lee's movies, and I generally respect Spike Lee. He sometimes wades in on sensitive race issues with thoughtless and questionable comments, but his intelligence, talent and willingness to challenge conventional stereotypes with art has, I believe, had ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: All it took was one retweet for the wrath of God to rain down on me. Last Friday morning I did what a lot of hacky self-proclaimed online pundits were doing in the wake of Geraldo Rivera's galactically stupid claim that the choice to wear a hoodie is what got ...read more
Nobody knows what really happened during the tragic shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida last month. As the facts stand, it doesn't look too good for the shooter, George Zimmerman. Martin was unarmed and was on the phone to his girlfriend at the time of the ...read more
