George, Trayvon and the Quest for Justice

They arrested him. After 40+ days, umpteen protests, press conferences by Travon’s parents, hundreds of death threats, and bounties, the police in Florida have arrested self proclaimed ‘neighborhood watch man’ , George Zimmerman.
Now let me just say that I am sick to death of this case. Sick. To. Death. Tired of hearing about it. Tired of seeing the media show the picture of a 13 year-old smiling ‘kid-next-door’ Trayvon, that was FAR from the 18 year-old, over 6’ tall, muscled young man he was. Don’t believe me? Check his Facebook page. Certainly tired of hearing the New Black Panthers calling for the head of Mr Zimmerman, the (ahem) “Reverend” Al Sharpton and his ilk spouting their racist rhetoric. Martin Luther King Jr (God rest his soul) would be appalled at the antics of these folks. He was all about content of character instead skin color.

But I digress.

Not only have they arrested George Zimmerman, the special prosecutor has filed Second Degree Murder charges against him. Apparently the State of Florida learned nothing from the Casey Anthony case, as this appears to be an ‘all or nothing’ charge – there were no lesser charges filed (involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide, ect) that the jury could convict him on if they found there was not conclusive evidence shown by the State to prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Mr Zimmerman is in fact guilty of the charge of 2nd Degree Murder. If they find him not guilty of that sole charge, he will leave the court room a free man. Much as Ms Anthony walked on her murder charge (which we later found out from the jury that they would have convicted on a lesser charge – such as involuntary manslaughter - had they been given one).

Now. If and when this happens, all hell is going to break loose. As sure as the sun sets in the west, excrement will hit the fan. The “Sharptonites” will riot; they will pillage; they will do violence, and they will destroy everything in sight. Can you say “Rodney King Trial”??? Yeah, it will be a lot like that. And it will be because of race….they will say the defendant was “white” so he got a pass. Just like the Rodney King riots. That being said, I hope that the jury that will be seated in this case also finds the courage to convict or not convict BASED ON THE EVIDENCE, not convict because they’re afraid of the ramifications from the black community if they find him innocent. A conviction to avoid the blowback isn’t justice for Trayvon. It would be the complete opposite of that - a total miscarriage of justice, making a mockery of our judicial system. And whom does that benefit? Nobody.

Do I think George Zimmerman intentionally killed Trayvon Martin. No. At least not in the way you’re thinking. I do not think he followed Trayvon with the intent of killing him. Not at all. I think that if George Zimmerman was, in fact, assaulted by Trayon Martin, then I absolutely believe George Zimmerman shot him in self defense. And was justified in doing so. I find it quite interesting that Trayvon’s father, upon listening to the 9-1-1 call in which a male voice could be heard yelling repeatedly for help, said definitively that the voice was NOT his son’s. Let me repeat that….the voice was NOT his son’s. After the black community started calling for an arrest and charges and blah blah blah, THEN all of a sudden Mr Martin changed his tune. Then it WAS Trayvon’s voice on the tape. Curious, don’t you think?

This case isn’t about a young black man in a hoodie being killed in cold blood by a white man claiming self defense. Its about two human beings, the course of events that unfolded that night that which led to one of them taking the life of the other, and making sure that justice is served. For BOTH of them. The statue of Justice is blindfolded for a reason. Sometimes I wish we all were. Maybe then justice could be carried out free of regard for the color of a person’s skin.