In the wake of the 'Not Guilty' verdict of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a lot of raw emotion has been seen from those who feel like the verdict was unjust. We've seen media coverage of peaceful protests around the nation (I had the privilege of participating in one here in Greenville, SC) and violent riots in Los Angeles. We've seen thousands on social media sites show their support of Trayvon Martin and his family by blacking out their profile pics or replacing them with Trayvon Martin himself, themselves in hoodies and other artistic expressions. It's an act of unity that shows the way people can unite when faced with tragedy.
Of course, this act of unity and this tragedy has divided our nation. While the nation pretty much unanimously united over the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT which included the deaths of 20 children, the death of Trayvon Martin sparked a debate not only on the perception of the young Black male in America, but also on the way Black people responded. The questions that have been raised range from "Why are Black people protesting when they don't protest over Black on Black crime?" to "Why are Black people making this a Black and white thing when George Zimmerman is not white?". The question of race has long been a sensitive issue in American history and now, with race relations under the most intense scrutiny we've seen since probably the 70's and 80's, the potential for unrest is very real.
Recent events, for example, the Paula Deen situation, show that there are still some Americans who have not evolved in their perception of Black Americans. While many will often harp on this being a white issue, the Black perception is pretty universal among all other racial groups. Some will say that it doesn't help that we are portrayed on television and through some popular music the way that we are. During a conversation I had with a white person on facebook, the comment was made that this person talked to some Black people from "the 'hood" and asked them why Black people don't protest when a Black person shoots another Black person. He said they responded "that's just 'hood life." He also mentioned that 'Lil Wayne performed talking about violence while wearing a Trayvon Martin T-shirt. He said it was things like this that confused him regarding the reasoning of Black people and what they choose to support or not support. The problem in this instance is that this person is using just two examples in which his perception is based on. Those individuals that said "Oh, that's just 'hood life", to me represent a small, ignorant portion of those living in the "'hood". In areas like Chicago, where shooting deaths of young Black people have been receiving major media coverage, there have been all sorts of rallies and protests to try and stop the gun violence. Growing up in a pretty rough area of South Jamaica Queens, NY, I've personally witnessed organizational efforts to stop Black on Black crime and gun violence. Acceptance of the death of any young Black person due to violence of any sort is not 'hood life. Those who say that are part of the problem. As far as basing your perception of Black people on a millionaire rapper like 'Lil Wayne? Well, I think that says more about the person than it says about anything that 'Lil Wayne does.
Another common response to the verdict and the resulting outcry has been the notion that this case was "spammed", as the above mentioned facebooker said, by the media to push a government agenda. As we all know, gun violence has been a hot topic over the past year. I refer back to the Newtwon shooting here as well, noting that many feel the same way regarding that particular tragedy. Whether you feel that way or not doesn't change the facts of either shooting or it's tragic impact on all those involved. Trayvon's case is no different than Melissa Alexander's case or Jordan Davis' case or Darius Simmons' case. Although the media has not covered these cases with the same vigilance as they did with the Martin case, the outcry over anyone of these situations is an outcry for the others. It's not like the cry for justice has just been for Trayvon Martin. The cry for justice has been for everyone involved in situations like this in the past, during the present and for those cases that are sure to happen in the future. Part of the outrage is that we continually re-visit these events because they are still happening. Another part is because our outrage is continually trivialized by bandwagon accusations and confusion as to why Black people are upset. It's like white America is wondering why Black people haven't gotten used to these things because they've happened so much before and happen so often now. They use the same reasoning when someone like Paula Deen is held accountable for her actions towards Black people. It burns me to hear someone ask why Black people get offended by white usage of the word nigger when Black people use it in regards to each other all the time (maybe that has something to do with that little thing called slavery and the creation and usage of the word to demean those slaves. Black usage of the word today amongst Blacks is a separate issue altogether). It burns me just the same when people ask now why we're so outraged by another death of a young Black person when young Black people kill other young Black people all the time. Some even say that white people don't protest when a Black person commits a crime against a white person. The reason for that is because white people don't have to. It is pretty much assumed by all that a Black person who commits any crime against a white person will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Some will bring up the case of OJ Simpson, who was acquitted of a double murder charge when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Some will say Black people celebrated his acquittal, while we protested the acquittal of George Zimmerman. I think in the case of OJ Simpson, it was the fact that he wasn't railroaded as many thought he would be. The facts in that case were presented and when the evidence lacked to prove that he did it, he was acquitted. Many Black people were elated that he got off, but we all knew OJ would pay the price someday. As he serves time right now for essentially trying to steal back his own property, many in the Black community know why and have accepted that fact. OJ got off on a technicality. Many people on both sides of the racial divide think he did it and won't dispute that his current incarceration is linked to that. But even that convoluted reasoning goes back to one thing, OJ is a Black man believed to have killed 2 white people and seemingly got away with it. To those who were outraged over his acquittal probably feel justice was served, just slower than they would have liked.
Now, I know there are many white Americans that feel the same way many Black Americans do when it comes to the Zimmerman verdict, so I hope I don't come across like I am not recognizing that fact. In fact, that is kind of the point I am aiming to make. Since the crux of this situation is not based on a white man killing a Black teen but on the perception that George Zimmerman, a Hispanic man, had of young Black men, white Americans should know what this is about. But the condescending tone that some of the comments that are being made carry and the trivialization of Trayvon Martin's death that certain questions bring about is disturbing. The fact that Trayvon Martin was someone's child is getting lost in this whole thing. The jury seemed to base their verdict on the fact that they felt that George Zimmerman was not a racist. They have said that they think he would have done the same thing over again regardless of the race of the person. But what they fail to admit is that since he was Hispanic, if it was a white person that he shot and killed, chances are his case could have turned out different. If Zimmerman was black and Trayvon was white, it would have most certainly turned out different. Why? Because the evidence clearly showed that Zimmerman was at the very least guilty of unnecessarily shooting an unarmed person. Many reports have said that Trayvon could have ran away from Zimmerman. The recorded call to the dispatcher shows that George Zimmerman purposely pursued Martin when he could have well enough just listened to the dispatcher and stayed in his car. If Trayvon had run, George most likely would've kept up the pursuit. His history of calls to the non-emergency dispatcher shows he would not have reacted the same way if Martin was white because he never did. A white person would have been assumed to be a resident of the community. All of this was overlooked. That's the reason for the outrage of the verdict. That's the reason for the protests. That's the reason why the white confusion confuses Black people. Why wouldn't anyone be outraged over the killing of an unarmed young man, regardless of his race? What if, during the alleged struggle, Trayvon Martin had somehow gained possession of Zimmerman's gun, shot and killed him, then claimed self defense? Wouldn't the phone call that Zimmerman had made to the non-emergency dispatcher have proven that Zimmerman was the aggressor and that Trayvon had a legitimate self-defense claim? If what Zimmerman claimed was true, that Martin punched him then repeatedly slammed his head into the ground, shouldn't the fact that Zimmerman pursued him and approached him and had a gun give Martin just as much a claim to self defense? Shouldn't Zimmerman, at the very least, have been charged with negligent use of a firearm, since he wasn't even supposed to have one on his patrol? That blame can go on the prosecution, but you should see where I am going with this. Zimmerman is guilty of a crime here, in one way, shape form or fashion. It's just that the jury decided that he wasn't a racist, and they decided that he didn't shoot and kill Trayvon because he was black. Seems like he got off on a technicality of interpretation to me.
This case will long resonate with Black people, but it should resonate with white people as well. This was a situation where two minorities were involved but the white perception prevailed. Zimmerman's white attorney's played upon this perception when they characterized Martin as a thug, as a threat, as "suspiciously" walking through his own neighborhood. They played upon the white superiority complex that some white Americans have by questioning why didn't Martin comply to Zimmerman's authority. They even said Martin had time to run if he felt like he was being threatened. The problem is, the jury took everything that Zimmerman said happened as fact and took the actual facts that they could gather from phone records, defense testimony and the like as speculative. Trayvon couldn't defend himself. At least one of the jury members is a registered gun owner. All of the 6 jurors (5 white women and one Hispanic woman) agreed that George acted wrongfully in his pursuit of Martin. Black confusion turned to outrage and the white confusion enrages Black people further. Why are we so upset? Why are we protesting? Why are we not accepting the verdict? The real questions all of us should be asking is why isn't EVERY AMERICAN angry? Why is anyone confused? Why are we struggling with acceptance in America when we have a Black president serving a second term? Why haven't we changed AT ALL as a nation yet? I think a truthful answer to that last question can also all those before it.
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