By Bernard Goldberg  http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |  Jewish World Review July 23, 2013/ 16 Menachem-Av, 5773

Six days after the trial of George Zimmerman ended, President Obama talked to America about why the not guilty verdict caused so much hurt and pain and frustration among black people, especially young black men who are often viewed with suspicion, just as Trayvon Martin was.

He spoke informally, from notes, not from a teleprompter. And he spoke in personal terms, as a black man who has also experienced the humiliation of being taken for someone up to no good. He said that, “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

He talked about how young black men are followed when they walk into a store. He said he was. He talked about how people lock their car doors when young black men come into view. He said it happened to him before he became a U.S. senator. He talked about how women in elevators clutch their purses when a young black man enters.

It must be frustrating when this happens to good, decent African Americans who have no intention to do anything wrong. It must be hurtful. And it also must look like racism. But looks, as we know, can be deceiving.

The president examined humiliation through the eyes of black Americans. What the president did not do is examine these humiliations from the view of the wary shop owner, or the frightened people in the car, or the suspicious woman on the elevator. What they all know is that young black men commit a disproportionate amount of crime in this country. That’s why they’re suspicious of African American males of a certain age. Black people know this too, since they’re the ones most likely to be victimized by young black men.

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