Everyone
in the country is waiting and watching, anxious to see what will happen
to George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case.
And
as is only natural, everyone has an opinion as to whether or not the
shooting was racially motivated. The truth is, we will probably never
know. The verity lies somewhere between a dead 17-year-old and the man
holding the smoking gun. However, what unsettles me about all of
this is something that very few people are talking about, but something
that many more people should be.
I
remember reading about the Trayvon Martin case for the first time.
Within hours, I watched as thousands of my Facebook friends demand
“justice for Trayvon.” I remember following the case almost daily, and I
recall my outrage after NBC released the 911 call. I remember feeling
disgusted when, a few days later, NBC was called out on an “editing error”;
an editing error painting George Zimmerman as a racist, in contrast to
the facts of the call. Then, of course, there were the photos of
Zimmerman’s blood soaked scalp
suppressed by mainstream media until much later, which might support
his “self-defense” claim. And while everyone was rightfully up in arms
about all of these items for one reason or another, others took up arms in the name of Trayvon Martin.
One thing I have remarkably little tolerance for is violence in the name of justice.
Unfortunately, violence for justice is a trend spreading like a macro
virus across this great nation of ours. Arrests and racially motivated
hate crimes have been on the rise ever since the Martin case surfaced. Angry individuals and mobs are using their “anger”
about the Martin case to justify thefts and beatings, to express their
disdain; and they do so all in the name of Trayvon Martin.
Where is the national outrage for this? Where are the efflux of Facebook posts for people like Matthew Owens? More importantly, how is violence for violence “justice for Trayvon?”
However,
this alone doesn’t unsettle me as much as the potential for this trend
to continue works it’s way deeply into my craw. I suspect current trends
of violence escalating significantly, in the event that Zimmerman is
acquitted of the second-degree murder charge and I predict rioting the
likes of which we haven’t seen since 1992, circa the Rodney King verdict. And again, I ask: How would any of that be justice for Trayvon?
And in the wake of high tensions and abounding hate crimes, few people are saying anything of value.
What happened to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, did they suddenly fall
off the planet? They should be spearheading campaigns to quell the
violence. They should be using their influence in the community to
remind America that hate for hate never wins, and that violence against
innocents is most certainly never justice. What is being done to stop
the outpouring siege of viciousness and animosity? Nothing. Who is speaking out for these victims? No one.
Hate crimes are never okay, no matter what color you are, what religion you observe or what your sexual orientation may be. That is the message of justice we need today. Because where there is no justice, there is no peace.
If
it’s justice for Trayvon you are after, believe in our justice system.
If you crave peace for his family, then pray. Nevertheless, stealing
purses from little old ladies or beating up a man because of the color
of his skin dishonors the Martin family almost as much as it dishonors
your own.
Of course, that’s just my two cents.
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