Trayvon Martin
Obviously there has been endless discussion in the news, on social media sites, and amongst friends, family and colleagues about the murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. For those of you who may not know about him, he was shot and killed by a neighbourhood watch leader, 28 year old George Zimmerman (who is identified as Hispanic), because according to him Trayvon looked suspicious as he walked home. Trayvon was returning from the store with some Skittles and an iced tea when Zimmerman shot and killed him claiming self defence; although there have been many witness accounts that dictate otherwise. And even though Zimmerman has admitted to killing the teen about 3 weeks ago, he is still walking, eating, drinking and living as a free man.
Are we really living in a time where all it takes to be released of charges against your actions is to cry ‘self-defence’?
I am, however, reminded of the case of John White in 2006. In that case 56 year-old Black man was defending his home as 4 young men threatened his son and his family. The young men who identified themselves as a “lynch mob”, threatened to kill his son and to rape his wife. As the men advanced on the house, a shot was fired accidentally which killed Daniel Cicciaro (who was white). White was arrested immediately and was later sentenced to 2-4 years in prison. He was later acquitted.
And to add insult to injury, there was a woman who was arrested over the weekend for throwing flour on Kim Kardashian. Now I’m not condoning the tossing of baking ingredients on anyone (except maybe in fun with your honey in the kitchen lol), but where is the standard? How does she get arrested instantly for a relative harmless act while a man who ADMITS to murdering an innocent young man walks free for nearly a month? When will enough be enough?
Now the first thing many people do is cry racism. And in this case I think it has its place, however, the bigger picture is being ignored. When will we hold people accountable for their actions? What kind of precedent is this case setting? It would be a little different if Trayvon had a gun or was threatening or behaved like a ruffian. But I’m tempted to think that all he wanted to do was go home and enjoy his recent purchase. Every picture I’ve seen of Trayvon has him pictured as a respectable young man who seemed to enjoy life!
My heart and prayers go out the Trayvon’s family. I do sincerely hope that justice is served to those who deserve it!
What are your thoughts? I would love to know!
As one who has experienced the rudiments of the penal circuit here in Canada, I am better for it for having learnt in that 'rite of passage' that "Justice delayed is Justice Denied".
ReplyDeleteIt seems quite saddeningly that justice is not a 'given' like a 'human right' but a 'privilege' which with systemic prejudices applied, manifests as a 'mirage in a desert of disenchantment' we call hypocrisy.