Saturday, July 13, 2013. A verdict is in. George Zimmerman has been acquitted of all charges--second degree murder and manslaughter--concerning the death of seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin. When the not guilty verdict was announced, I must admit that a single tear escaped my eye. But not for the reason you'd might think. While most people expressed their shock and disappointment in the jury's decision, I must say that I was not the least bit surprised. In fact, I think the jury reached the right decision. According to Florida law, George Zimmerman was not guilty of degree murder or manslaughter.
But make no mistake about it, Zimmerman's not guilty verdict does not make him an innocent man.
Now, I'm no attorney (although I wish to be one someday) and I am certainly not an expert in Florida state laws. But, I will offer this bit of advice to my friends and peers angered by the Zimmerman outcome: don't hate the players, hate the game. Everyone did their respective jobs in this case. The prosecution, albeit shaky at times, did their absolute best considering the limited amount of evidence and witnesses on their side. Similarly, the defense adequately showed that the state could not prove their case against their client beyond a reasonable doubt. And the jury took their meticulous time and reached the appropriate decision. Thus, we should all be happy, right? Justice has been served, correct?
Absolutely not. Hence, don't hate the players but hate the game.
First off, Florida's Stand Your Ground law is incredibly flawed and over-reaching. According to the law, if anyone ever feels any sort of threat--whatever that threat may be--they have the right to defend themselves. Sounds appropriate, but think about that for a little bit. According to that law, if I perceived ANYTHING to be a threat to me, I could defend myself and claim self defense. Does that mean I could shoot and kill an unarmed individual half my size, as in this particular case? I believe the law should be narrowed so that the terms threat and self defense are clearly defined and appropriate to specific situations. In this case, I believe we can all agree that Zimmerman's act of self defense against Trayvon Martin was unnecessary and inappropriate. But, the prosecution could not prove that he was acting out of anything BUT self defense. And so, the jury was forced to acquit him based on the broadness of the law.
Yet at the heart of this case, the sad truth remains: A young, innocent boy was killed based on the careless assumption that he was up to no good. Let's be completely honest with ourselves. The reason George Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin and accused him of being up to suspicious activity was because he was African American. Yes, George Zimmerman is one hundred percent guilty of racial profiling; and because of that, he irresponsibly took the life of an innocent young boy. I don't know happened that night, and I'm not one to speculate. None of us will ever now. In fact, George Zimmerman could be telling the truth. Maybe self defense was the only option. But still, even that can not explain nor excuse the fact that it was Zimmerman's ignorant assumptions about Martin that led to his death.
My heart absolutely breaks for Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's parents. For their son to have been so young and killed so senselessly, I can't even imagine. While I believe the jury made the right decision, I certainly do not believe it was a just one. And for everyone out there still trying to say that this situation wasn't about race, who are you fooling? This had everything to do with race. I strongly believe that had Trayvon Martin been a young white male wearing a polo shirt and khakis, George Zimmerman never would have pursued him and he still would have been alive. So, let's be honest with ourselves. Trayvon Martin lost his life last year at the hands of George Zimmerman because he was an African American male.
As an African American woman myself, I urge my friends and family not to grow discouraged by this verdict. If our ancestors gave up in the wake of their many defeats, where would we be today? Please, don't give up on the system. Rather, improve the system. Or better yet, combat the system. Continue to fight the unjust and disgusting stereotypes placed upon us. That way, ignorant people such as George Zimmerman will not even have so much as an excuse to accuse us of being suspicious. And while it is unfair that we must shoulder this responsibility of disproving inaccurate assumptions, we must do it for us and our posterity.
I'd rather not end this post discussing George Zimmerman. Instead, I'd like to conclude by honoring the life of Trayvon Martin and offering prayers to his family. Trayvon could have been my brother; he could have been my cousin; and he could have been my friend. To know that his life was so senselessly taken from him at such a young age will forever haunt me. It will forever disgust me, and it will forever sadden me. But most importantly, it will forever inspire me.
Rest in peace, Trayvon.
No comments:
Post a Comment