I made a joke to my dad yesterday, that as sad as it is when someone dies, no matter what they are always remembered as the person that loved everyone and everyone loved them and they had no enemies and no drama in their lives. It's good to remember those things about our loved ones, because why dwell on the mistakes they made when they were alive. I don't fault anyone for saying those things about people they love, but sometimes we do need to remember that people aren't perfect. Including Trayvon Martin.
For good reasons Trayvon is being remembered by his family as a wonderful son and friend. I am sure that he was those things. But he was also 17 years old. Race aside, even gender aside, when have you met a 17 year old that didn't make mistakes? Trayvon was suspended from school multiple times, he smoked marijuana, he was never convicted of theft but there was solid evidence he had committed theft. Trayvon was troubled, he was living in Florida because he was suspended from school. There is a chance he was casing the homes in order to break in, an equal chance he was not. But he was not a perfect young man. He had his struggles. Struggles that can be argued he was predisposed to because of our cultures innate ability to put young black men "in their place" and make them criminals even when they are not. Trayvon, sadly, was going down the path our society told him was the only one he deserved.
This country is racist. We have racism so deep in our veins that even when we try not to be racist we are still. Being anything other than a white man means you will have to fight for the things you want. Which sucks. And I will be the first person to stand up and say that our society sucks when it comes to race relations.
George Zimmerman is not society. He is one man. One man who was not on neighborhood watch duty that night, whose house had been broken into, and whose neighbors homes had been broken into. The suspect was a black teenage boy. He had reason, beyond race, to be suspicious of Trayvon. As a matter of fact, when I'm driving in my neighborhood at night I'm pretty suspicious of mostly everybody out late at night. So are you. And most of us, because of our upbringing will more quickly be suspicious of the black teenager than the white one, even if that is a stupid way to feel. In order to truly fight racism, we have to acknowledge our own faults, we are all kind of racist. Its not ok to be racist, and you should ask yourself why you judge black teenagers (and young men) quicker than white ones, this way you can become less racist. But Zimmerman had lots of reasons to be suspicious of Trayvon.
Law says that unless there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody is guilty, they are innocent. There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, in the form of confession, that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. And there is proof that they got into a fight. And there is proof that Trayvon had a habit of picking fights.
My point is this case is a lot less about race than it is about gun laws. There is no proof beyond a reasonable doubt that George Zimmerman didn't fear for his life during his altercation with Trayvon. Which means the jury was right, legally speaking, to come back with a "not guilty" verdict.
But even if Trayvon Martin picked fights, and broke into homes, and was on drugs, none of those things are worthy of being put to death. Trayvon didn't deserve the death penalty for being seventeen. And he wouldn't have gotten it had George Zimmerman not had a gun that night. Zimmerman would have found a way to over power Trayvon Martin. Without a gun, George Zimmerman might have been less inclined to follow Trayvon Martin. Without a gun Trayvon wouldn't have allegedly said "you're going to die tonight" since he allegedly said it after seeing the gun.
There was absolutely no reason what so ever for George Zimmerman to carry a gun when he was running out to the grocery store. What did he think might happen at the grocery store? Or was he carrying a gun because his gated community was so dangerous. Sure, it had experienced a few break ins recently, but nothing that was cause for a gun.
When you aren't carrying a gun you are much more likely to find other ways to save your life that are not killing the person who seems suspicious. I don't carry a gun, and I have never been killed nor have a ever killed anyone. When in doubt I have found safety and called 911. We don't just need to enforce the laws that allowed George Zimmerman to carry a gun that night and shoot Trayvon Martin, we need to create laws that protect people like Trayvon Martin. That keep guns where they belong, which is at shooting ranges, and hunting (ranges? areas? what is a hunting spot called?). Our white, gated, rich communities are not so dangerous that you need to carry a gun.
So yes, the jury was legally correct to find George Zimmerman "not guilty" because the law was not on Trayvon Martins side.
