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  • The President: I wanted to come out here, first of all, to tell you

  • that Jay is prepared for all your questions

  • and is very much looking forward to the session.

  • The second thing is I want to let you know

  • that over the next couple of weeks,

  • there's going to obviously be a whole range of issues --

  • immigration, economics, et cetera --

  • we'll try to arrange a fuller press conference

  • to address your questions.

  • The reason I actually wanted to come out today

  • is not to take questions,

  • but to speak to an issue that obviously has gotten

  • a lot of attention over the course of the last week --

  • the issue of the Trayvon Martin ruling.

  • I gave a preliminary statement

  • right after the ruling on Sunday.

  • But watching the debate over the course of the last week,

  • I thought it might be useful for me to expand

  • on my thoughts a little bit.

  • First of all, I want to make sure that, once again,

  • I send my thoughts and prayers, as well as Michelle's,

  • to the family of Trayvon Martin,

  • and to remark on the incredible grace and dignity

  • with which they've dealt with the entire situation.

  • I can only imagine what they're going through,

  • and it's remarkable how they've handled it.

  • The second thing I want to say

  • is to reiterate what I said on Sunday,

  • which is there's going to be a lot of arguments

  • about the legal issues in the case --

  • I'll let all the legal analysts and talking heads

  • address those issues.

  • The judge conducted the trial in a professional manner.

  • The prosecution and the defense made their arguments.

  • The juries were properly instructed

  • that in a case such as this reasonable doubt was relevant,

  • and they rendered a verdict.

  • And once the jury has spoken, that's how our system works.

  • But I did want to just talk a little bit about context

  • and how people have responded to it and how people are feeling.

  • You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot

  • I said that this could have been my son.

  • Another way of saying that is

  • Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.

  • And when you think about why,

  • in the African American community at least,

  • there's a lot of pain around what happened here,

  • I think it's important to recognize

  • that the African American community

  • is looking at this issue through a set of experiences

  • and a history that doesn't go away.

  • There are very few African American men

  • in this country who haven't had the experience

  • of being followed when they were shopping in a department store.

  • That includes me.

  • There are very few African American men

  • who haven't had the experience of walking across the street

  • and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars.

  • That happens to me -- at least before I was a senator.

  • There are very few African Americans

  • who haven't had the experience of getting on an elevator

  • and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath

  • until she had a chance to get off.

  • That happens often.

  • And I don't want to exaggerate this,

  • but those sets of experiences inform

  • how the African American community interprets

  • what happened one night in Florida.

  • And it's inescapable for people

  • to bring those experiences to bear.

  • The African American community is also knowledgeable

  • that there is a history of racial disparities

  • in the application of our criminal laws --

  • everything from the death penalty

  • to enforcement of our drug laws.

  • And that ends up having an impact

  • in terms of how people interpret the case.

  • Now, this isn't to say that the African American community

  • is naïve about the fact that African American young men

  • are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system;

  • that they're disproportionately both victims

  • and perpetrators of violence.

  • It's not to make excuses for that fact --

  • although black folks do interpret the reasons for that

  • in a historical context.

  • They understand that some of the violence that takes place

  • in poor black neighborhoods around the country

  • is born out of a very violent past in this country,

  • and that the poverty and dysfunction

  • that we see in those communities

  • can be traced to a very difficult history.

  • And so the fact that sometimes that's unacknowledged

  • adds to the frustration.

  • And the fact that a lot of African American boys

  • are painted with a broad brush and the excuse is given,

  • well, there are these statistics out there

  • that show that African American boys are more violent --

  • using that as an excuse to then see sons treated differently

  • causes pain.

  • I think the African American community is also

  • not naïve in understanding that, statistically,

  • somebody like Trayvon Martin was statistically more likely

  • to be shot by a peer than he was by somebody else.

  • So folks understand the challenges that exist

  • for African American boys.

  • But they get frustrated, I think, if they feel

  • that there's no context for it

  • and that context is being denied.

  • And that all contributes, I think,

  • to a sense that if a white male teen was involved

  • in the same kind of scenario,

  • that, from top to bottom, both the outcome

  • and the aftermath might have been different.

  • Now, the question for me at least,

  • and I think for a lot of folks, is, where do we take this?

  • How do we learn some lessons from this

  • and move in a positive direction?

  • I think it's understandable that there have been demonstrations

  • and vigils and protests,

  • and some of that stuff

  • is just going to have to work its way through,

  • as long as it remains nonviolent.

  • If I see any violence,

  • then I will remind folks that that dishonors

  • what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family.

  • But beyond protests or vigils, the question is,

  • are there some concrete things that we might be able to do?

  • I know that Eric Holder is reviewing

  • what happened down there,

  • but I think it's important for people to have

  • some clear expectations here.

  • Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government,

  • the criminal code.

  • And law enforcement is traditionally done

  • at the state and local levels, not at the federal levels.

  • That doesn't mean, though, that as a nation

  • we can't do some things that I think would be productive.

  • So let me just give a couple of specifics

  • that I'm still bouncing around with my staff,

  • so we're not rolling out some five-point plan,

  • but some areas where I think all of us could potentially focus.

  • Number one, precisely because law enforcement

  • is often determined at the state and local level,

  • I think it would be productive for the Justice Department,

  • governors, mayors to work with law enforcement about training

  • at the state and local levels in order to reduce

  • the kind of mistrust in the system

  • that sometimes currently exists.

  • When I was in Illinois,

  • I passed racial profiling legislation,

  • and it actually did just two simple things.

  • One, it collected data on traffic stops

  • and the race of the person who was stopped.

  • But the other thing was it resourced us

  • training police departments across the state

  • on how to think about potential racial bias

  • and ways to further professionalize

  • what they were doing.

  • And initially, the police departments across the state

  • were resistant, but actually they came to recognize

  • that if it was done in a fair, straightforward way

  • that it would allow them to do their jobs better

  • and communities would have more confidence in them

  • and, in turn, be more helpful in applying the law.

  • And obviously, law enforcement has got a very tough job.

  • So that's one area where I think

  • there are a lot of resources and best practices

  • that could be brought to bear

  • if state and local governments are receptive.

  • And I think a lot of them would be.

  • And let's figure out are there ways

  • for us to push out that kind of training.

  • Along the same lines, I think it would be useful for us

  • to examine some state and local laws to see if it --

  • if they are designed in such a way

  • that they may encourage the kinds of altercations

  • and confrontations and tragedies

  • that we saw in the Florida case,

  • rather than diffuse potential altercations.

  • I know that there's been commentary about the fact

  • that the "stand your ground" laws in Florida

  • were not used as a defense in the case.

  • On the other hand, if we're sending a message as a society

  • in our communities that someone who is armed potentially

  • has the right to use those firearms

  • even if there's a way for them to exit from a situation,

  • is that really going to be contributing

  • to the kind of peace and security and order

  • that we'd like to see?

  • And for those who resist that idea

  • that we should think about something

  • like these "stand your ground" laws,

  • I'd just ask people to consider,

  • if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed,

  • could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk?

  • And do we actually think that he would have been justified

  • in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car

  • because he felt threatened?

  • And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous,

  • then it seems to me that we might want

  • to examine those kinds of laws.

  • Number three -- and this is a long-term project --

  • we need to spend some time in thinking about

  • how do we bolster and reinforce our African American boys.

  • And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about.

  • There are a lot of kids out there who need help

  • who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement.

  • And is there more that we can do to give them the sense

  • that their country cares about them

  • and values them and is willing to invest in them?

  • I'm not naïve about the prospects

  • of some grand, new federal program.

  • I'm not sure that that's what we're talking about here.

  • But I do recognize that as President,

  • I've got some convening power,

  • and there are a lot of good programs that are being done

  • across the country on this front.

  • And for us to be able to gather together business leaders

  • and local elected officials and clergy

  • and celebrities and athletes,

  • and figure out how are we doing a better job

  • helping young African American men

  • feel that they're a full part of this society

  • and that they've got pathways and avenues to succeed --

  • I think that would be a pretty good outcome

  • from what was obviously a tragic situation.

  • And we're going to spend some time working on that

  • and thinking about that.

  • And then, finally, I think it's going to be important

  • for all of us to do some soul-searching.

  • There has been talk about should we convene

  • a conversation on race.

  • I haven't seen that be particularly productive

  • when politicians try to organize conversations.

  • They end up being stilted and politicized,

  • and folks are locked into the positions they already have.

  • On the other hand, in families and churches and workplaces,

  • there's the possibility that people

  • are a little bit more honest,

  • and at least you ask yourself your own questions about,

  • am I wringing as much bias out of myself as I can?

  • Am I judging people as much as I can,

  • based on not the color of their skin,

  • but the content of their character?

  • That would, I think, be an appropriate exercise

  • in the wake of this tragedy.

  • And let me just leave you with a final thought that,

  • as difficult and challenging

  • as this whole episode has been for a lot of people,

  • I don't want us to lose sight that things are getting better.

  • Each successive generation seems to be making progress

  • in changing attitudes when it comes to race.

  • It doesn't mean we're in a post-racial society.

  • It doesn't mean that racism is eliminated.

  • But when I talk to Malia and Sasha,

  • and I listen to their friends and I see them interact,

  • they're better than we are -- they're better than we were --

  • on these issues.

  • And that's true in every community that I've visited

  • all across the country.

  • And so we have to be vigilant

  • and we have to work on these issues.

  • And those of us in authority

  • should be doing everything we can

  • to encourage the better angels of our nature,

  • as opposed to using these episodes to heighten divisions.

  • But we should also have confidence that kids these days,

  • I think, have more sense than we did back then,

  • and certainly more than our parents did

  • or our grandparents did;

  • and that along this long, difficult journey,

  • we're becoming a more perfect union --

  • not a perfect union, but a more perfect union.

The President: I wanted to come out here, first of all, to tell you

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オバマ大統領がトレイボン・マーティンについて語る (President Obama Speaks on Trayvon Martin)

  • 186 19
    lsy に公開 2021 年 01 月 14 日
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