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Many vigils have been held across Metropolitan cities in the U.S. in anguish over the killing death of Trayvon Martin, allegedly in self-defence, by a trained neighbourhood watchman whose whereabouts remain unknown.  At 17 years old, the age that Trayvon passed away, I remember well as the time where I felt great uncertainty at the future of my life just finishing high school, especially one where the September 11 attacks in the United States played a prominent role in giving a decreased feeling of safety, at least from the media's point of view. The state of that country proved rattling with greater emphasis was placed on getting the Union strong.  Youth who were too young to remember the fall of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 or even the 1993 WTC bombings, now has a major life event as a marker.  To many watching on television, it appeared to be a movie, but even though I have been to NY since, the reality of seeing that tragedy on television vs. being there in person does not seem worthy of comparison. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/trayvon-martin & http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/25/trayvon-martin-parent-conversation_n_1374289.html


The plight of black youth aged 12-25, is thought by some to be dire compared to many other 'races'.  The representative killing of this young one on February 26th in a place like Sanford, Florida speaks volumes.  I remember the old show, Sanford and Son only now, but the reference by POTUS that he felt like this kid could possibly look like his son that he could have had spoke volumes, as this boy was born in the year that the POTUS' mother passed. One month after, a livid African-American population has been adamant about highlighting the catastrophe, resulting in stars like Carmelo Anthony(New York Knicks), Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat) and Levar Burton (The Reading Rainbow and Roots) speaking out whilst undertaking a 'Black Hoodie' protest.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2012/mar/27/trayvon-martin-marches-across-us-pictures.  These celebrities have all struggled through life's ups and downs and continue to persevere.  The case should present itself with new information, but from reports it seems as though assuming a threat before and chasing after someone, then claiming that protecting himself in self-defense seems almost surely wrong.  The significance of the two races involved, Latino and African-American, the nations largest minority 'racial' groups that make up approximately 28% of the 330 million Americans is interesting, as these have been know to pervade in larger metropolitan cities.  The great Bob Dylan sang 'Gotta Serve Somebody' which was recently covered by the Pastor Shirley Caesar. Interestingly enough, I think of Gershwin, Freud, Einstein and Kafka, all smart at music, psychology, science and literature and hope that there is peace because we know that these great contributors all value their contributions to society.  They belong to a similar people about whom you can find out yourself.  The execution of Troy Davis last year also spoke volumes to possible insensitivity to the rights of blacks.  The decision by the state of Georgia to execute him by electric shock pervaded black consciousness in a case many felt went unresolved.  No political rhetoric could either explain or cover the incident which occurred in Savannah, Georgia. Both McPhail and Davis were veterans but one was resolved to be guilty, possibly for moving around too aimlessly or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'From Georgia to George'.

The Stephen Lawrence and Marc Duggan cases in the UK sparked similar outcry, with the latter resulting in 'riots' ,similar to the Brixton Riots of 1991, which will be remembered for some time.  Darcus Howe, in a scantily rebroadcasted interviewed by a BBC reporter, said 'I have never taken part in a single riot, I've been on demonstrations that ended up in a conflict, have some respect for an Old West Indian Negro and stop accusing me of being a rioter, no need to get abusive, you just sound idiotic, have some respect, I have grandchildren......'. Indeed, the massive infrastructural damage he said was symptomatic of growing unrest among not just British youth but youth worldwide. Interestingly, it was announced that there will be not inquest at the pre-inquest into a case that may have incited further tensions in an already fragile structure. The John Terry (Chelsea)-Anton Ferdinand (Queens Park Rangers),  Luis Suarez (Liverpool)-Patrice Evra (Manchester United) and Pepe Reina (Liverpool) debacles have proven to be the latest major public racial incident in the UK.  According to an http://www.ibtimes.co.uk article, approximately 52,000 racist incidents were reported to the police in England and Wales.  On the BBC, Jeremy Paxman recently gave a report on Newsnight on a leaking of a report on the Summer Riots and Reggie Yates (Radio 1 DJ of Ghanaian heritage who grew up in council flats) gave a report on Teen Gangs in Britain.

Luckily, Usain Bolt is free to imitate Richard Branson in many commercials starting with 'Hi, I am Richard Branson' while sitting at his desk, posing, acting as if he is going into space, using his laptop, playing his guitar, fixing up his face in the reflection of a space helmet and viewing his big screen.....all in good fun. He features on a number of campaign walls and posters in major places saying 'No more buffering..' in addition to a few Visa billboards.  No more wax on, wax off Usain.