Igwe and I came home a couple hours ago, turned on the television, and right there in white capital letters and a red background, we read, BREAKING NEWS. And then, on the next line, it said, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN NOT GUILTY.” What?????????????
I had mentioned in a previous post that I hoped he would at least be found guilty of Manslaughter and be given the maximum sentence. But this verdict was such a slap in the face that I would have rather had him sentenced to something, anything, even community service. But not guilty though? I’m lying. Community service would have been an insult.
Yes, I know that the burden of proof was on the prosecutors, and I know that they were unable to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that George Zimmerman was guilty, but I am still pissed off. I spent the next hour ranting on Twitter about my anger and disappointment. I cried Racism. Injustice. Unfairness. Wickedness. Stupid Jurors. Cocky Defense Lawyers. Awkward Florida Laws. And what about when Michael Vicks went to jail for killing dogs? And Casey Anthony is free.
Trayvon Martin is still dead. And his killer is now free.
And there were so many tweets from so many wise people on Twitter. Someone wished that we (Black people) would get this angry every time a Black person dies. And I thought about it. I live in the City of Baltimore, and almost everyday, there is a report about some Black person being shot somewhere. I don’t pay much attention to it. I sympathize, but just for a fleeting moment. It’s just another dead Black person. Na today?
And someone asked why we (Black people) don’t get as angry when we kill ourselves, but only when others kill us? And I looked myself in the mirror – figuratively – and realized I was one of us, the people who only notice when the perpetrator is not Black, especially White. Like, how dare you kill us when we can kill ourselves?
I honestly don’t know how to fix this problem. But I know we have to fix us first before anyone or anything fixes us. It’s the same thing with Nigerian people. We have Nigerians dying in Nigeria due to crime, negligence, etc, but we just call on God to punish the killer (and the Government), and then we move on with our hustle and bustle. But let a foreigner in Malaysia dare to kill one of us. All hell will break lose.
In the end, the tweets below sum up this sacrilege for me:
Meanwhile, somewhere in America, Casey Anthony is like, “Yasss, honey! I am no longer the most hated person in America.” #ZimmermanTrial
— Vera Ezimora (@verastic) July 14, 2013
Tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter. RIP Trayvon Martin. #ZimmermanTrial #TrayvonMartin
— Vera Ezimora (@verastic) July 14, 2013
Rest in peace, Trayvon Martin. You were gone too soon. May your death not be in vain, and may God grant your family the fortitude to bear this horrible loss. Amen.
The verdict did not surprise me. I am sad for Trayvon and his family. I discussed the verdict this morning with a friend and it boiled down to me asking the very same question that you asked. Don’t AA’s kill themselves on a daily in this country? Where’s the outrage then? I read an article a while ago written by a Black woman that AA youth are quick to react to the least provocation, real or imagined due to a fragile sense of self/esteem. I thought about it and its 100% true. I am not saying Trayvon attacked him. I don’t believe Zimmerman for a minute. BUT Trayon’s female friend testified that he told her “This white cracker is following me.” Now if he said that then who is to say he did not get confrontational even physical? And Trayvon had every right to be under the “Stand Your Ground law” If GZ felt threatened, then why couldn’t Trayvon Martin claim the same? Afterall it was Zimmerman who was armed and BIGGER!
Now how would an African 17 year old have reacted in the same set of circumstances I ask myself? How would I have reacted? I and other Africans would probably have been calmer and walked off and not given this Zimmerman fool the time of day. And therin lies the subtle (but very important) difference in reaction to problems from our Black American siblings. They blow their top very quickly and everybody knows this. If I were an AA parent to a Black child in Florida, knowing full well such a law exists that gives license to those who hate Blacks to kill, I will school my kid on how to react and what to react to. These Southners are ALL heavily armed! And the least provocation will result in a gun fight. It’s up to you the Black individual to pick your battles carefully. Calling him a mu****ucking white cracker is good indication that he was willing to get into a brawl with this killer! I am so sad. Am sad for Black kids everywhere in this murderous country. Then again who can blame them for reacting as quickly as they do if you’ve had to put up with this your whole life? Its like a never ending cycle. Black children in this country NEED INTACT HOMES with FATHERS present to instill discipline. Yes Trayvon’s father looks like he was involved. We just need more dads across the board. Let me just end here. I don’t know what to say anymore.
I really like your comment. And I’d never thought about if GZ had been the one who got killed… what would the courts have said? Simple and short, George Zimmerman made the first move when he got out of his car. He made the next move when he reached for his gun. Trayvon was the one who was attacked.
I agree that if it was an African boy, the chances of the scuffle and its outcome would most probably have been different.
Thank you, Berry.
Brooms, you’re totally right. I also read a blog in which the author said that as much as people are afraid of African American men, the African American men are twice afraid of them. That was such a profound statement to read as I never thought about it that way. So Trayvon must have been afraid that George Zimmerman was following him, and he reacted to it. Still, like you said, George Zimmerman murdered the boy. Period.
Well, your questions are valid. However, I don’t care if African Americans kill themselves. It is not like there are not Caucasians or Hispanics doing the same thing. Yes, there are millions of others deaths that happen that we are not privy to and even when we are privy to them, we don’t treat it with much significance. I can only speak for myself. Every time, I hear on the news that a person, black, white, brown, yellow, etc has been killed, I am not happy. Yes, I have not done anything other than rant in my house or with friends about it, but I am still not happy. Questions need to be raised on why a man was found NOT GUILTY after killing someone. They kept on asking, who the aggressor was but isn’t The Stand your Ground law supposed to work for both sides? How come no one said The Stand Your Ground law should benefit Trayvon as well. I will tell you that if someone approaches me for a fight and tries to use a gun, I will fight like heck to defend myself. Why is it that an African American woman shot IN THE AIR to scare away an intruder/trespasser on her property in Florida and she got 20 years in jail?? Why is it that Michael Vick was jailed for using dogs to fight for money?? And yet, a man actually kills someone and he is found not guilty??? It starts from each of us. Like the previous commenter wrote, let’s educate ourselves, mothers and fathers be there for your families, teach your kids street smarts as well as book smarts. This goes to Nigerians as well because we seem to always say, it will never happen to us. The rate I see Nigerians and Nigerian parents being complacent is alarming to me. Stop allowing your kids to rule you and start being the parents that God created you to be. From the beginning, train your children. Just because they are in the US does not mean they cannot dobale as is our culture when greeting. The bible says we should train our children in the way they should go and when they grow old, they will not depart from it. May God help and bless us all.
Not Happy, I am not happy either. And you do make a very valid point about Nigerian parents slacking. I’m thinking of putting up a post about Nigerian parents slacking — though it’s not really about the side of street smarts.
Vera, I’m looking forward to reading it
Yayyy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebu6Yvzs4Ls
Justice prevailed in this case.
The “kid” was a violent drug addict.
Is that right Zackery?? You knew him personally right? And you and Bill whittle’s “opinion” warrants someone killing him right? Have several seats and may God bless you accordingly hiss!!!
Not Happy, don’t pay attention to people like Zachery. He just wants to piss you off.
Whatever Zachery, you’re just trying to get a reaction from people.