I have no intentions of getting political or even taking a side in this matter. I strongly believe that both sides of this issue made poor decisions that night, and tragic consequences followed. But I'm so tired of hearing people on Facebook, web comments, and even the news pundits (though should we be surprised?) turn this into a politicized affair.
Truth is, this is a complex issue. We have people rushing to defend Martin because he's black, and so are they. We have people who rush to defend him because of "white guilt." And more rush because they hate guns and see this as platform for their political persuasion.
On the other hand, we have people who rush to defend Zimmerman because they don't trust black people. We have people who rush to defend Zimmerman because they don't want to believe someone would kill out of malice or irresponsibility. And we have those who see this as a threat to gun ownership, so they vilify Martin.
And we have so many many other kinds of people that fall in place in between.
Why aren't we asking ourselves the tough questions? Are we ever going to get around to those? What can we learn from this awful event? What should we do going forward?
The important questions is not "Is Zimmerman guilty?" I can tell you that. Does anyone really believe that persecuting or prosecuting Zimmerman will fix problems? Will it really heal the black communities? No and no.
No one--NO ONE--knows exactly what happened that night except for one dead kid and a very remorseful man. If people don't want Martin's death to be in vain, if they want answers to why this happened, if they want to see racial tensions end, they need to look at themselves, not figure out which party to blame. Because the blame isn't on Trayvon, or Zimmerman, or the state of Florida for its Stand Your Ground law, or the 6 female jurors, or the prosecution. It's on everyone.
It's on communities and families. It's on parents. It's on a society with a screwed up value system. The old adage about pointing fingers seems apt.
Why should people have to feel the need to carry guns? Or have neighborhood watches? Or need to call 911? Why can't we treat our fellow man with respect and brotherly love? It seems that these questions matter more, and the answers will bring the peace and solace to our hearts that we seek, not seeing someone "get what they deserve."
God bless Trayvon's family, and George Zimmerman and his family.
Truth is, this is a complex issue. We have people rushing to defend Martin because he's black, and so are they. We have people who rush to defend him because of "white guilt." And more rush because they hate guns and see this as platform for their political persuasion.
On the other hand, we have people who rush to defend Zimmerman because they don't trust black people. We have people who rush to defend Zimmerman because they don't want to believe someone would kill out of malice or irresponsibility. And we have those who see this as a threat to gun ownership, so they vilify Martin.
And we have so many many other kinds of people that fall in place in between.
Why aren't we asking ourselves the tough questions? Are we ever going to get around to those? What can we learn from this awful event? What should we do going forward?
The important questions is not "Is Zimmerman guilty?" I can tell you that. Does anyone really believe that persecuting or prosecuting Zimmerman will fix problems? Will it really heal the black communities? No and no.
No one--NO ONE--knows exactly what happened that night except for one dead kid and a very remorseful man. If people don't want Martin's death to be in vain, if they want answers to why this happened, if they want to see racial tensions end, they need to look at themselves, not figure out which party to blame. Because the blame isn't on Trayvon, or Zimmerman, or the state of Florida for its Stand Your Ground law, or the 6 female jurors, or the prosecution. It's on everyone.
It's on communities and families. It's on parents. It's on a society with a screwed up value system. The old adage about pointing fingers seems apt.
Why should people have to feel the need to carry guns? Or have neighborhood watches? Or need to call 911? Why can't we treat our fellow man with respect and brotherly love? It seems that these questions matter more, and the answers will bring the peace and solace to our hearts that we seek, not seeing someone "get what they deserve."
God bless Trayvon's family, and George Zimmerman and his family.
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