I am way too old to be surprised by the murder, last month, of young Treyvon Martin, in Sanford, Florida.

When Emmett Till’s murderers were acquitted, back in the fifties, I saw my Mother cry for the first time. Emmett and I were the same age and she knew I was as likely as Emmett to whistle at a woman.

I also know that there have been entire decades in this country’s history when a Black man was lynched, somewhere in the South, every day. Yes! EVERY DAY! Over 365 brothers murdered each year, for decades at a time. Many were murdered for the same reason young Martin lost his life. They were walking while looking suspiciously Black and appearing to have no cares.

However, even my advanced age and knowledge of history are not sufficient to ease the pain and dampen the outrage at seeing another bright Black life snuffed out and listening to pitiful, mealy-mouthed attempts at cover ups and spins of the awful truth.

Nobody asked me, but Republicans are acting so stupid that it scares me. I find myself worrying that they know something no one else knows.

I saw a great quote the other day:

“Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich by promising to protect the one from the other”.

Yet, here are Republican office holders and candidates attacking public sector Labor Unions, women, the poor, seniors, immigrants, college students and all people of color. And they are doing it in an election year. It is as if they only need the votes of the rich.

First, the new Republican Governor of Wisconsin moved to wipe away the collective bargaining rights of public sector employees and earned himself a recall effort. Across the nation states are rushing to enact “right to work” laws. Unions and other opponents of these efforts dub them “right to work for less” laws. Basically, the laws would give workers the “right” to be hired into “union” shops without joining the union. Over a half century ago, when the right to bargain collectively was won, folks who went to work in union shops without joining the union were hired during strikes, and were called scabs. These laws would make union busting legal and easy.

Nobody asked me, but, I feel kinda sorry for Gopher Basketball Coach, Tubby Smith.

Tubby, not unlike other Black men who are “in charge” of something, is way under appreciated. And now, some sportswriters are suggesting that folk at the U are thinking about their next coach.

Tubby has been snake bitten by injuries, defections and off the court issues. I’ve always felt that when players are transferring out, it speaks to a coach’s ability to establish a set of rules and stick to them. No prima donnas. No one player more important than the team or the program.

Nobody asked me, but, there are statements I don’t hear in the discussions about “seniority” and “tenure” for K-12 teachers.

Here are a few of the things I haven’t heard anyone say:

“The longer teachers teach, the better they get; right up to their retirement day”.
“Every veteran teacher is more effective at reaching kids than one with fewer years of experience”.
“There is no good reason a less experienced teacher should be kept over a more experienced one”.