I
believe that race was a big part of the events because I assume that
George is a little bit like me. I don't think that he's racist. I
don't think that he hates black people. But I think that he might be
prejudiced just like me. The black men that I know (the ladies, too,
but that's not who I'm talking about right now) are some of the
friendliest most trustworthy people I know. It's black men that I
don't know who make me nervous. When someone who I don't know who
looks somewhat like Trayvon is walking toward me, my pulse quickens a
little and my animal brain thinks that he must be up to no good and
starts looking for an escape. The rest of me is ashamed of that gut
reaction and my rational mind tries to view that person with love and
treat him just like any other person. And the initial negative
reactions become weaker and less frequent. But that little part of me
still exists. There are people that I see as “The Other.”
A
juror said that Zimmerman would have acted the same way if Martin was
white. I doubt it. A young white man and a young black man raise
different types of suspicion in different types of neighborhoods. The
whole situation arose because Trayvon looked suspicious to George. I
don't know what he was really thinking and feeling. But I'm not
really talking about him. I'm talking about you and me and how we
respond when faced with someone not of our tribe.
I
wish that race wasn't an issue in this case. A person with a gun
followed another person who was carrying no weapon. The first person
ended up shooting and killing the second and received no punishment.
That is messed up regardless of the races of the people involved.
True, the second person might not have responded to being confronted
on a dark and stormy night by a person with a gun in the calm, cool
and collected way that you or I surely would have, but still.
Something is wrong with the law when it's legal to chase down and
kill a person who's just walking down the street. It is a little bit
crazy that the prosecution had to try to prove that the defendant was
a hateful racist. It turns out that an overzealous man with a need to
be a hero can be just as deadly.
And
race is certainly an issue in the aftermath of the trial. All the
posts that I've seen on facebook pointing out what a horrible person
Trayvon Martin was are by white males. He did drugs and liked guns?
There's a picture of him with his middle fingers raised? And your
point is? CNN is full of lies? I don't care. The press has the
freedom to choose which stories to cover and how to report them. Why
does your love for Fox News lead you to attack the character of a
person who was tragically killed? If Martin was a white, gun loving
alcoholic would you be posting the same things about him? Or would
you be demanding that people show some respect for the deceased?
Are
you prejudiced just like me and George?
Can
you pause for a minute and examine your reaction?
What
are you afraid of?
What
can we say and do from now on to promote life rather than
perpetuating violence and hatred?
