In the wake of the verdict, I've heard all sorts of opinions about it. I listened to every side, from he's a killer to he's innocent, some say he just deserved manslaughter, but one opinion stood out, a friend asked me last night, "Why are we so focused on this one murder? This type of thing happens everyday." I told him that he's missing the point, this case has national attention because it is bigger than the murder of young Trayvon Martin, this case is so big because of what the not guilty verdict means. To me, it means that if you're black, then you better justify to white people why you are in certain neighborhoods at certain times, and even in 2013, you will defer to the caucasians. Dr. King's daughter, Dr. Bernice King said, "Only in America can a young black child be put on trial for his own murder." It certainly feels like Trayvon was the one on trial here, and not the adult responsible for his death.
George Zimmerman and his legal team successfully convinced the jury that George wasn't racist, that his actions had nothing to do with race. They said he was simply a good samaritan who got in over his head. However, at the same time, they painted Trayvon Martin as a menace who failed to properly justify his existence. How does an adult with a gun, chase down a child, kill him, and claim self-defense? It's amazing what a law school and some good old fashioned spin can do to other people's opinions.
The aftermath of this decision scares me. It gives the green light to every racially paranoid cracker out there, who now knows that they can hide behind racist "Stand your ground", and "Stop and frisk" laws. This acquittal promotes a vigilante mentality, and lets sadistic bigots police others. This is why gun capitalism is so fucking dangerous, it's paranoid logic. It isn't the entire country though, and that remains the lone silver lining here. Millions of white people are devastated by this news. Millions of white people don't make it their business to self-police people of color. Trayvon Martin is dead because he's black, and that's a fact.
Not to mention that the same day a black woman in Florida was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing warning shots near her abusive husband (who she had a restraining order against) when he tried to get into her house. Talk about a huge double standard.
ReplyDeleteI love this "Who's dick is bigger?" argument that conservative states and Florida seem to have every year. "I'm more racist than you are!" Your move Alaska. Your move.
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