Talib Kweli Says "Stand Your Ground" Is A "Small Part Of A Bigger Problem"

by PAUL MEARA

Talib Kweli says he is a "little conflicted" regarding how the public should address "Stand Your Ground" and George Zimmerman's status as a "celebrity."

The "Stand Your Ground" law has been adopted in many states and has caused controversy over the last few years, particularly in Florida.

Recently sitting down with Vlad TV, Talib Kweli, who often speaks about public affairs, spoke about the "Stand Your Ground" law and its affects on society.

"The "Stand Your Ground" law is a small thing, it's a small part of a bigger problem," Talib said when asked about his thoughts of the law. "The "Stand Your Ground" assumes that young black people, young poor people are dangerous. The implication of this law is that these people are so dangerous that their mere existence is enough danger for you to be able to shoot first. The "Stand Your Ground" rule is also being used in black on black crimes. It's being used on some gangster shit." 

When asked about the recent debate surrounding George Zimmerman's attempts at creating a public profile post-trial, Kweli says he is "conflicted" and is attempting to find a way on how to not raise the profile of those who have killed under the law but also open the issue up for public debate.

"I'm a little conflicted about the Zimmerman celebrity thing, not about whether he should be a celebrity, clearly he shouldn't," Talib said. "I'm conflicted about it because all of us participated in making him the celebrity. You did, I did, these dudes shooting the camera at me right now did, all of us did because we talk about it all the time but the conflict comes, do we not talk about it? How do we address this problematic situation without raising this man's profile where he could get paid for being a celebrity? It's definitely been a conflict of mine because I spoke about it, about Zimmerman, about Trayvon [Martin], all my feelings all on social networks and when I saw the celebrity boxing this I feel... I'm trying to find a balance on how do we address the things that need to be addressed?"

George Zimmerman was found not guilty for the murder of 17-year-old Carol City, Miami native Trayvon Martin in July of 2013. The "Stand Your Ground" defense was used in the trial. Zimmerman has also been courted by promoters for a celebrity boxing match, which was rumored to include numerous rappers including DMX and The Game. The match has never happened due to the controversy surrounding it.