In the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, there have been a wide-ranging array of reactions: joy and glee for George’s supporters and everything from disappointment to rage for those that believed him guilty. There’s been smug bragging and racist taunts from George’s supporters and talk of riots and death threats from the other side. Though surprisingly, the riots that we expected to be watching on CNN with looted grocery stores, overturned burning cars, Molotov cocktails and smoke bombs being hurled through the air – they never happened. Not to that extent anyway. Whether that’s a good thing (we want less riots) or a bad thing (people should be angrier than this) is a matter of opinion. And now, the Justice Department, at the time of this posting, is currently deciding whether or not to bring Civil Rights charges against George Zimmerman, using the Hate Crime Law that President Obama signed in 2009. Besides George Zimmerman, who else should we be mad at? Some thought that the prosecution did a lackluster job making their case and the arguments that I heard seems to support that. What about the jury? You can say they made the wrong decision, they didn’t know what they were doing but as hard as it is to admit: we weren’t on the jury. We didn’t hear all the facts. We can only guess and speculate and argue and debate. I was definitely upset when the verdict was announced. I definitely thought that George Zimmerman should’ve been found guilty, at the very least of manslaughter, if not of Second Degree murder. Why? Because I don’t think it was self-defense. But I don’t want to get into a big argument about that. It happened, George has been set free, maybe for good, maybe until the Justice Department decides to actually bring charges against him. I’m not posting this to rant and rave and speculate and argue over what we THINK happened. I’m posting this to say: remember Trayvon Martin, remember his memory and use what happened to learn from our mistakes and start making some long overdue changes. But before I get into that, I want to address the main question everybody’s asking: what about George Zimmerman? We can’t just forget him, can we? He deserves to be brought to justice, doesn’t he? Well, I have several answers for that. A – this is America, a land of rules and laws. Vigilantism is out of the question and it should be. Remember: “violence begets violence.” B – don’t rush to conclusions just yet. He may very well be charged again. We haven’t heard a decision from the Justice Department yet. Just wait, be patient. C – even if they decide to NOT charge him, meaning that’s it, it’s over, done, finished, there is still something you can do to punish him. IGNORE HIM. Exile him. Turn your back to him. Turn him into a leper. Cross the street when he’s walking toward you. Stop talking when he enters a room. Companies & establishments can refuse his service like fast food, restaurants, gas stations and hotels. While we divert all of our attention AWAY from George Zimmerman, where should we direct it to? How about the gun laws that continue to allow waaaay too many people to own completely unnecessary guns and frightening amounts of ammo? How about the racism that was the main factors in the cause of the crime, the long waiting period until George was finally arrested and ultimately the Not Guilty verdict? How about the Stand Your Ground law, which basically turns Florida into the Old West? If you can prove self-defense or if you can do your best to make it look like self-defense, you can get away with murder there. Stevie Wonder has already vowed that he will NOT perform in Florida until Stand Your Ground is abolished/repealed. Hopefully, more celebrities will follow his path and do the same. Tourists can do the same also. Refuse to shop there, refuse to visit there. Boycott Florida until they make it safer again. Remember the past but don’t get stuck in it. Look to the future but don’t forget where you are. Honor Trayvon Martin by remembering him and his memory, honor Trayvon Martin by paying respect to his family that he leaves behind. And perhaps most important, honor Trayvon Martin by fixing the system that allowed this entire series of events to transpire in the first place.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 02:33:30 +0000
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