#Trayvon Martin and George #Zimmerman - The Aftermath

I knew how I felt when the names "Trayvon Martin" and "George Zimmerman" first came to my attention.  Incensed.  Betrayed.  Determined.  I did not know the details of that night with certainty, not with one of the participants dead and the other untrustworthy.  What I knew for sure was that far too much leniency had been shown to George Zimmerman.  How could he not be arrested after admitting he shot and killed an unarmed teen whose path he crossed because he chose to get out of his car and follow Trayvon rather than minding his own damn business?  Being on Neighborhood Watch does not give one the right to harass passersby.  And to do so while carrying a loaded weapon is unconscionable.  It is provoking a fight that you have no chance of losing and the other person has no hope of surviving if you lose your cool.  Lose his cool is precisely what George Zimmerman did.  The legal term for this that ended up getting him acquitted is Self Defense.  Another term brought to our attention over the months following that brutal night was Stand Your Ground.  Why was it George's ground more than it was Trayvon's to protect?  George may have lived in the complex but Trayvon was visiting a resident so belonged there as well.  According to Zimmerman, Trayvon was acting suspiciously.  That's a pretty vague description of one's behavior.  If you suspect someone of being up to no good by a glance at their skin color, grooming, age, fashion sense, they automatically become suspicious by the mere act of existing in your presence.  It isn't a crime to consider somebody a suspect.  But when you act as judge, jury and executioner all in one, that certainly is a crime in my book.  I was under the impression that this constituted a crime in the opinion of our justice system as well.

Like countless others I demanded justice for Trayvon, and by this I specifically meant an arrest of George Zimmerman and a trial where he would be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.  I got what I wanted.  It took considerably more than should have been necessary but George Zimmerman eventually had his day in court.  As for the verdict, that was out of the hands of everyone but six carefully if not wisely selected people.  We got to hear the evidence along with them but only they were permitted to decide on it, to weigh in on George Zimmerman's fate.  They declared him to be Not Guilty.  This isn't the same as Innocent but serves flawlessly as a Get Out of Jail Free card.  Many people, I among them, are greatly dissatisfied with the result.  But I know that the verdict isn't necessarily the final result of this matter.  I'm not referring to the possibility of a civil trial.  I mean that the nation paid far too much attention to this case for it not to have far reaching repercussions.  Change should be brought about.  Good may come out of it in the long run.  Our disappointment, anger and pain was not in vain - or so I hope to be true.

We've learned substantial lessons as result of Trayvon Martin's untimely death.  Brought to mainstream attention was the fact that Stand Your Ground laws are sprinkled about this country, and in general are a bad idea.  Knowing this, we can now get to work on eliminating them.  The folly of our gun regulations and lack thereof was once again highlighted.  A spotlight was shed on racial profiling, even if the phrase did not make it into the courtroom.  People vented about being singled out, communicated in innumerable ways how insulting, demoralizing, and potentially dangerous it can be.  Even if ignored, their voices were heard.  Stop and Frisk is a policy that should end up with considerably less public support/acceptance as result of the killing of Trayvon Martin.  We learned that when seeking justice it is ideal for a jury to be peers of the victim as well as the accused, rather than only one or the other.  When George Zimmerman was not arrested right off the bat, we signed petitions and took to blogs and to Twitter and Facebook and every public venue we could find to express our dismay.  We learned that when we speak as one on a cause that truly matters to us, to the core of our being, we will be heard.  We also learned we have a President that could have stayed neutral and out of it, but instead jumped in and made us proud that he did not step aside from his blackness.

Coverage of the story from a wide variety of perspectives was exhaustive and omnipresent, but does that mean its effects will linger?  Will the killing and subsequent trial and resulting uproar over the verdict be like the Alamo, an event never to be forgotten so the chances of history repeating itself will be minimized?  Or will this all quickly fade when the next Big Thing arrives and snatches our attention spans?  Newtown shooting to Boston Bombing to Snowden the Snitch to Zimmerman trial to catastrophe to be named and hashtagged later.

I'd like to think that if nothing else, the death of Trayvon Martin at the acquitted blood stained hands of George Zimmerman will result in greatly increased incidents of non-instant judgment.  Fewer irreversible opinions formed at a glance would be a wonderful legacy for Trayvon's unfortunate death to stand for.  In a closer to perfect world we will not decide who a person is and what he/she is about based on skin color.  Or race of significant other.  Or accent.  Or attire.  Or hairstyle.  Or zip code.  Or political party.  Or level of education.  Or the name they call God.  Or their particular path taken in pursuit of happiness.

  

If the following is a cliche, that is only because it is true.  We should judge our fellow man strictly on the content of his character.  This quality is impossible to measure from the presence of a packet of candy, a sugary beverage, or a hoodie worn to keep the rain off but incapable of slowing the deadly path of a bullet.

WE ARE NOT TRAYVON MARTIN

Trayvon Martin Foundation

Stranger Than Fiction - RIP Trayvon Martin

After the night Trayvon Martin died at the hands of George Zimmerman, various pieces of information emerged that are indisputable facts. This is largely due to research by those other than the police department assigned to the case. They seem for some reason to have done the bare minimum, if that. George Zimmerman is the only living person who can reveal the entire truth of what happened. Perhaps he will eventually be pressed to give full disclosure. That is my hope. In an ideal world, or at least a fair one, those details would be revealed before a judge and jury.

As a writer of fiction I am interested not only in the usefulness of facts, but also in the power of imagination. Until Lady Justice puts that blindfold back on that never should have been removed in the first place, allowing George Zimmerman to improbably be free from custody, we are left to connect the dots for ourselves.

When writing a story I often start with the conclusion, then jump to the beginning and try to figure out how to get back to the end. I do not write the stuff of fantasy, so the progression of events I concoct needs to be logical. No matter how fantastic the tale may be, my goal is to make it realistic, plausible.

Knowing what I do about the tragic end of Trayvon Martin’s life, this is my best guess as to how it came about. George Zimmerman is a zealot, looking for trouble and happiest when it’s found. He saw a young black man that he did not recognize. Seeing himself as a sort of Wild West sheriff on account of his involvement in a loosely organized neighborhood watch program, he decided to take matters into his own hands. This was against the instructions of a 911 operator who advised him to stay put. George saw himself as someone who gives orders, not takes them. When you’re carrying a concealed weapon it’s particularly easy to assume the role of bully.

Like many kids, Trayvon saw himself as more or less immortal, invincible. The Hispanic/White looking guy who stalked him perhaps made him nervous, but even more so, really pissed him off. What was this guy’s problem? Who did he think he was? Unable to restrain himself, George directly confronts Trayvon who at most had been willing to pick up his pace but for damn sure was not about to run from this clown. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” I’m guessing George did not ask very politely. Trayvon could have explained that he was visiting the home of his father’s girlfriend, given her name and address, proven that he was precisely where he belonged. But he didn’t know that George was carrying a concealed weapon, or that he was mentally unstable, which is my personal diagnosis. Trayvon only knew that some jerk was bothering him, making ignorant racist assumptions about him, refusing to mind his own business. An insult no doubt was hurled by one of them, followed by return verbal fire. No major harm in that. But Trayvon was exasperated by having to defend himself when all he was doing was walking down a street with snack food. He didn’t have time for this fool. Possibly he feared that Zimmerman was not actually suspicious of him, but rather, that the large man was going to try to molest or even kidnap him. Perhaps George grabbed at him first or maybe the highly irritated Trayvon just thought to himself “F this nonsense” and got the physical contact started with a quick punch. Sure the guy was bigger and probably stronger than him, but young people are impetuous. They also know that the first punch to land is often the one that finishes matters. Not in this case though. No matter how well Trayvon started off in the tussle he was destined to lose it so long as George was able to get to his gun. Perhaps George honestly feels that he was merely defending himself when he pulled the trigger, especially if he spent a fair portion of the battle on the losing end, ignoring the fact that the fight was needlessly caused by his own provocation.

That’s how I figure it went down, but I’m just a second hand storyteller who was nowhere near the scene of the crime. If things eventually work out the way they are supposed to in the land of the free and home of the brave, George Zimmerman will need to answer for his actions on that fateful night. In the meantime, Trayvon’s family and loved ones along with those of us on the outside are left longing for justice. Many are angry, which is difficult to find blameworthy. I won’t get preachy and advise people not to make blanket accusations, not to blame many for the behavior of just a few. Too early for that. It’s natural to immediately lash out when you’re hurt.

George Zimmerman has some explaining to do, so does the police department, and I’d also toss in those who passed a law that gives people freedom to act out their darkest fantasies and then use a handy get-out-of-jail-free self defense claim. Of course this is infuriating to anyone who has ever been profiled, ever had assumptions made about them on account of their melanin count. This will be the case even if your guess at how that night played out is different than my hypothesis, or your views about race relations or gun control are a far cry from my own.

I trust we can all agree at the very least that the right to walk down a street minding your own business is not one that anyone in the United States of America should ever have to fight for, much less die for. I’ve strolled down my fair share of dark streets alone with my thoughts. So far I’ve lived to tell the tale, but as the saying goes – There, but for the grace of God, go I.

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ADDENDUM

Since I wrote the hypothesis above, the picture has come into much clearer focus. Some of the assumptions made by myself and others were right, some were wrong.

Those who felt that the initial evidence overwhelmingly pointed to George Zimmerman needing to be arrested were right.

Those who felt that the color of Trayvon Martin’s skin played a major part in his death were in all probability right.

Did his hoodie play a part as well? You’d have to ask George Zimmerman. But I think the brown face beneath the hood is what mattered most.

Yet if you felt this was a simple case of blatant racism at work, you were somewhat off base because this case is anything but simple.

For one, Trayvon Martin was black but George Zimmerman is no more white than President Obama, that is, half.

But even if his family tree was 100% white, that’s not why George received preferential treatment, why a cover up took place.

This was not a matter of “since the killer is white & the victim is black, let the killer go”. Some suggested as much but that’s too simple a take.

Zimmerman had connections that resulted in him being protected. I suspected he might be an informant. Turns out his dad’s a former judge.

Orders came down from lead prosecutor to chief of police to officers on the case. Accept Zimmerman’s story. Don’t poke around for confirmation.

It never made sense that the cops felt they lacked sufficient evidence to hold Zimmerman, even if you accepted lies told to us as gospel.

Once again I state my battle cry of ARREST ZIMMERMAN. But at this point I would not be surprised if George is Gone Baby Gone.

If you're one of those who felt Zimmerman remained free because he most likely was innocent, I'd say that you were seeing what you wanted to see, refusing to accept that racism played a major part.

But not just race. This is a story about CORRUPTION. And about a life needlessly lost. And about a fight for justice that Trayvon's parents have bravely fought.