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TRAYVON

What we witnessed last night July 13, 2013 doesn't even come close to resembling justice yet it’s the system we live under; a system that is sending a clear and not so subtle message that people of color are not equally protected under the law.

Do not tell me this wasn't racial. Do not insult my intelligence with fairy tales of equality designed to lull  disenfranchised masses into compliance. If the ethnicities had been reversed the Sanford police department would NOT have had to yield to pressure to arrest the shooter, it would have been done. By and large when the shooter looks like me he is arrested or shot in haste. And for those that believe because Zimmerman has Hispanic roots it negates the race issue, I’ll remind you that this country is all about PERCEPTION.

You ARE what you appear to be.
Your book IS judged by its cover.
And to the disgrace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream, you are prejudged by the color of your skin way before most can even get to the content of your character. 

I know two things from the case:
  • George Zimmerman’s actions were above and beyond his charge as neighborhood watchman… a charge that he was NOT entrusted with but one he assumed.
  • His actions were the direct cause of death of an unarmed young man.


Now I realize that the trials are not over and he is still on the hook for civil action but the criminal legal system allowed for absolutely NO remedy… NO REMEDY. REALLY? I mean I’m not a lawyer and maybe tied up with all that is intent which the state didn't prove but what kind of system basically relegates this case where a young life was lost, to civil recourse?

This trial wasn't about Zimmerman. It was about the system and how far it has NOT come. It’s about a system of belief that black men are somehow less human because we are not capable of fear.  Why else would Zimmerman not even consider that Trayvon was afraid after being followed? Why else would a jury not believe this young man was in fear for his well being when he realized the man following him in a vehicle had gotten out? Why not run, well being forced to face fears others do not, conditions your response. Don’t buy into that Hollywood hero bullshit that we all walk without fear. ALL PERCEPTION. Just because one feels fear doesn't mean one cowers or acts fearful. A lesson that is learned quickly when fear is part of one's existence because it makes you a target. The walk may be confident but the fear is still there because we are flesh and blood. Fear for the safety of our women, for the future, for ourselves… for our children walking home from a innocent snack run.


The outcome of this case has made it unrealistic for Zimmerman to move back to Sanford. I am not saying my brothers and sisters in that community can not control themselves, clearly we can as the violent riots did NOT materialize. However, the underlying feeling of not being welcome, of not belonging, of having your every move watched because the community considers you suspect, will no doubt permeate every corner and street in Sanford.  Ironic this is the same feeling many of my brothers and sisters live with just being themselves.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Couldn´t have been said better!
July 15, 2013 at 12:55 PM
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