Between hearing the verdict on the Zimmerman trial and finding out about Cory Monteith's overdose, last night just wasn't a good night. I'm praying that the Martin family continue to find peace in this trying time and that Cory's loved ones do the same. I wasn't sure if I was going to address the Zimmerman trial on my blog, but then I saw a Facebook post from a friend earlier that stuck with me and I think I'm going to share instead. His words sum up exactly what I've been thinking about this case for the longest time.
I promised I would let my emotions subside before I decided to post. I think to some degree I have. I think now is the time for me to state this one time, and one time only. In no way, shape, form, or fashion is the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial indicative of justice. It is an example that the system worked but not that justice was served. This tragedy, this heartbreaking, terrible, disrespectful tragedy, speaks volumes of us as a nation. Not that we are unconcerned but that we are overly concerned about the wrong aspects of justice. Justice does not start in the court room, in the jail cell, or even at the scene of the crime. Justice starts in the classrooms in which we teach disenfranchised youth that through the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom they can overcome and transcend their circumstances. Justice starts in the political arena when fair legislation is drafted to help members of the working poor. Justice starts with the pen of the congressmen who works to reform punitive penal repercussions that ruin the lives of men and women who had to chose between feeding their families and waiting on a job that may never come. Justice starts in the home when the guardian looks a child in the eye and reminds them that what they possess in between their ears is more powerful than anything ever created. Justice starts in the community when we all take notice of the situation our brothers and sisters of similar hue and struggle find themselves in. Justice starts in the most intimate interactions between man and woman when he says I love you, means it, and plans to build a life with her. Justice starts when the war on the poor stops. Justice starts when we as a nation take stock in the fact that ignorance and insecurity cause violent reactions by men and women of all races. Justice was not lost due to a verdict, justice was lost long before that. Justice was lost when Zimmerman was first exposed to the idea that black men are trouble makers and must be put in their place. We America created this monster and we America must now deal with the repercussions. So I will cry for the Martin family. As I will cry for the families who have lost sons, fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles, grandfathers, and the like to senseless acts of violence brought on by stereotypical and prejudicial thoughts and beliefs about others. Join me America in standing at the gate and say no more. No more death due to ignorance. No more death due to insecurity. No more death due to disrespect. No more death due to poverty. We change the world if we focus on solutions rather than the problem. I am looking for one, are you?
[Image: http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/sexischerzo06/signature3revised_zps9aeec628.jpg]
I do believe that Zimmerman should've at least been charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, but since he wasn't I believe thatMarissa Alexander should get her retrial (or her lawyer should file for an appeal) since Zimmerman got off on the same 'Stand your Ground' law. I guess the NAACP website is down due to the high volume of traffic for the petition, but as soon as it's up and running again I will sign the petition for a civil rights suit to be filed against Zimmerman. Times are different now, I know that Rodney King wasn't that long ago but I think we learned from those riots that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blindand more people in jail. People complain that folks took to Twitter and other social media instead of taking physical action after that verdict was released, but I think people did that for a reason. Knowledge is power and social media spreads it at lightening speed! Within minutes people knew about the petition and were able to sign it and many chose to take that route instead of going and doing something illegal like rioting. We're using our words now and our words are powerful. Instead of telling people to take their anger out in a way that could get them in trouble we're telling people to hold your children a little tighter, to explain to them that though we've come pretty far as a country we haven't come far enough to prevent this. Trayvon could've been my little brother, he could've been my cousin, he could be my nephew in a decade. No child should have to walk in fear, no person should have to live in fear that simply walking home would allow them to be otherized and tried, convicted and sentenced to death.
