Let me put this out there. I thought that George Zimmerman was guilty of murder. It isn't a popular opinion around my neck of the woods. Why do I think that? Because of his actions, an altercation was inevitable and he killed a minor. There should be no self-defense defense able to get around the fact that his actions led to the altercation. But that wasn't the judgement. The judgement is that he feared for his life after Trayvon Martin proved to be tougher in a fight. But that isn't the major point of this post. The major point of this post is the aftermath of this miscarriage of justice.
Out here in conservative world, I get to hear things that I can only shake my head at. Like a gentleman about 50 years old saying that Trayvon was probably a robber and was casing joints that he would go back to later and Zimmerman was doing his civic duty in following and apprehending the black kid. I would agree if we were in Communist China. Or how about the one where Trayvon was in the wrong in not explaining to George Zimmerman what he was doing. This one just pisses me off. That is stupid talking. So I have the right to follow people and demand that they tell me what they are doing? Holy Cowpucks! Nothing like wanting the Nanny and Surveillance State that conservatives say that they are afraid of. How about the Twenty-something man explaining to the kid what he is doing? How about him following the rules of his Neighborhood Watch? How about him not racially profiling Trayvon Martin because there was a black man stealing things from people's homes? But let's not get into logic because that would take about a sentence.
Florida and every other state needs to take a look at "Stand Your Ground" laws and self-defense laws. Why? Imagine defending Trayvon Martin. See how he could have said that he was "standing his ground" in the situation. Being followed by what he probably assumed was a white guy. Walks around the guy's truck after he thought he lost him. The guy gets out to follow Trayvon. The guy sees where Trayvon is trying to hide and starts walking towards Trayvon. Now you are a 17 year old black kid who knows about the history of white-black relations in this country. Do you think that George is coming over to give you a hand and offer you a ride home? No. He hasn't said word one to you and he has followed you. You think that this white guy is coming after you to kick your ass or something worse. So what does Trayvon do? He can't leave because he has tried that and George found him again. So that leaves the fight part of "fight or flight". He fights. He is standing his ground because an overzealous wannabe cop has profiled him and followed him to where he is cornered. Where is the law for what Trayvon's rights were in this incident?
As for the 100 rallies for Trayvon. That is nice and all, but in a year his death will be just another statistic and forgotten by 95% of the people. Militants in the Black community will use it to show that black people will never get a fair shake in society as a whole. Racists outside that community will use the incident as showing that we can fight back against the black criminals. And yet another division in America grows wider. And it shouldn't. It is tragedies like this that should get the American people to move closer for fairer laws and to eliminate unintended consequences that pop up like what the juror said on Anderson Cooper's show. The way that the law is stated made it so we had to vote that Zimmerman was not guilty. If a law makes it impossible to find a defendant guilty because of the language of the law, then it needs to be changed quickly.
Another stupid thing to come out of this tragedy are all the politics being played. This court case doesn't vindicate self-defense laws and the conservative way of thinking. It also doesn't mean that in Florida, racial factors are being ignored. This is a solitary decision based on what 6 jurors believed that they heard and had to do based upon what the law said. Do I believe that they were right? No. But it is what they believed they had to do. End of story. Do I think that the Feds should get involved about a Hate Crime and prosecute Zimmerman for a violation of civil rights? No. Yes, he based his decision on race and Trayvon's clothing. But I believe that this spiraled out of control for both participants. Mostly from Zimmerman, but Martin had some culpability in how things ended up. I understand that blacks have had their civil rights withheld from them by whites. But this isn't a civil rights problem. This is some asshole deciding that he gets to make the rules because he is the commander of a Neighborhood Watch and deciding he was Barney Fife.
As for George Zimmerman, his consequences will be dealt with for the rest of his life. He is enjoying fame and donations right now, but there are more things coming down the road for him. I am almost certain that there will be a civil trial and he will be found guilty there. In Zimmerman's own words, he has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that his actions did lead to the death of Trayvon Martin. That judgement will come in at Millions of Dollars if I am reading the Tea Leaves right. So all of his wages, fees for appearances and speaking engagements, and anything that he has worth money will be taken away to try and settle the judgement against him. That will take a toll on his relationship with his wife and family, so I don't see them making it to the "Death Do Us Part" vow during the marriage ceremony. He will be forgotten by those in the media that are hailing him as a hero. He will become just another person forgotten in the annuls of time that were used by the media to hype there short-term agenda and tossed aside after his usefulness is gone. He will be alive, unlike Trayvon, but he will be broke and unemployable.
Finally, there are the people like me out there that believe that the verdict was wrong. They are hopping mad about it and demonstrating in the streets. Really? You think that is going to help? You think that the government is worried about your ass sitting out in the hot sun or rain protesting the verdict? You really thing that Eric Holder is going well, 25,000 people are protesting the decision of the jury, let's try to get his ass in Federal court? Hell, no. He is sitting there trying to figure out how to make this problem go away and not piss off people. He doesn't want racial problems. And if race riots and things like that happen, do you think he will come down there and join in the riots? No. He will do his job and put the riots down hard, and I will applaud him for it. Want change? Then go back to your communities and start finding the people that you want to follow and vote for in your local elections. If you are concerned about the way laws are being enforced or not, then it is the ballot box that will make things go your way. Look at the Tea Party. They have an enormous standing in politics today. Why? Because of the way that they have local support. If you can do extreme things in congress and not have to worry about the people back home voting you out, then you have accomplished a political goal. Your beliefs will be able to stay in the political system and possibly one day become the majority way of thinking. And if that happens, it will be because you started locally and built your power base from there. So if you are tired of the racial way that laws are enforced, then start organizing and winning those local elections.
This tragedy should not have happened. The fact that it did and the outcome of the trial shows us that America hasn't advanced real far on the basis of race. I for one hope that there are enough of us out there that are teaching future generations that it doesn't matter what race, ethnicity, religion, other physical characteristics or beliefs that a person has that matters. One race is not superior to another. One religion or belief system is not superior to another. Because if we do not continue to break down the barriers that human have erected for themselves, then racial fears and tensions will remain and we will continue to see tragedies like the one that went down in Sanford, Florida. And that is a legacy that I don't want my descendants to have.
2 comments:
Not to mention that one juror who "conveniently" had a book deal in place before Twitter put her and the publisher on full blast after that stupid CNN interview.
Florida is a fucked up place to live in if you're not white, but apparently Whitexicans like George Zimmerman can get away with murder.
The problem with voting elected officials in is that the GOP is doing everything they can to disenfranchise the Democratic vote. It's more than a coincidence that wherever there's voting problems in Florida, such as long lines and not enough machines, it's always in a minority neighborhood.
The real sad part about this and other events is that if there's a Comeback of the Year award for things outside of sports, racism is making a strong bid for it.
Great piece, Brent. I've said this many times, Stand Your Ground should be accurately called I Can't Stand My Ground Like a F'ing Man Because you have a gun.
Trayvon stuck up for himself, in his own neighborhood and it got him killed. Don't forget this is another one of those ALEC laws. It was written the way it was written on purpose, so no white man with a gun could be found guilty of anything involving that gun.
And nothing will much change as long as the black man is to blame for all the woes of the white man.
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