In the aftermath of a jury finding George Zimmerman not guilty of the death of Trayvon Martin and civil rights leaders reaction to the decision, former U.S. Rep. Allen West has increasingly focused on black teenagers beating whites and the resulting silence from the civil rights community.
West weighed in on two different incidents this week. Late on Thursday, he noted two black teens beat a World War II veteran to death in Washington state.
Reprehensible and disgusting, West posted on Facebook. Two black male teenagers are being sought in the beating death of 88-year-old Delbert Benton. Mr. Benton was an Army WWII veteran who survived combat during the bloody Battle of Okinawa.
West, who is black, took aim at civil rights leaders for being silent on the matter.
This must end! West continued. I have yet to hear a peep out of head of NAACP Ben Jealous at all. As an Army combat veteran and son of a WWII veteran, I am beyond angry.
West insisted there was a much larger problem that was not being addressed. We have a problem in the black community and it is high time we taught this generation of young black men a lesson in respect, dignity, and honor, West wrote. This can no longer be tolerated. Mr. Benton was an American treasure.
Earlier in the week, West weighed in on a murder case in Oklahoma where three teenagers admitted they killed a college athlete from Australia because they were bored. West, who has been very active in hammering President Barack Obama and other liberals for playing up the death of Martin while ignoring a bus beating in Pinellas County last month, demanded to know where the president and Hollywood stood on the murder in Oklahoma.
"We were bored and decided to kill somebody. Well, shall we hear anything from the race industry crew, Hollywood elites, or maybe Oprah Winfrey?" West demanded on Tuesday. The issue is not about proliferation of guns in America. This is about a failing black community and the fact that its young men are desensitized to violence because a gangsta culture promotes it. So who will President Obama identify with in this case?
West, who lost his seat to Democrat Patrick Murphy last year, has been increasingly visible on this front and others, including attacking Obama on foreign policy. The former congressman has said he has no intention of running for office in 2014 though he has opened the door to a political comeback in 2016. Earlier this month, West toured New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary, leading to speculation that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
