Trial & Error

Welp...Now that the nation has had a week to digest the verdict of the George Zimmerman murder trial, I think I'll finally share my thoughts on the matter....

I was surprised at the "Not Guilty" verdict, but not shocked.  There were so many moving parts in this case that if any one of those parts fell through, the whole case could be compromised.  The state may have aimed too high with a 2nd-Degree Murder charge...But for Zimmerman to walk away scot-free seems extremely unsettling, specially to a lot of African-Americans.

The night of the verdict, I took to Twitter to deliver a pointed, but honest assessment of the events of the evening: "To my White friends & family, nights like tonight are why your Black friends may seem angry, paranoid, agitated, 'uppity', or even defeated at times.".  I know that statement may have ruffled some feathers...But as I've learned recently, it's not my responsibility to worry about how others deal with the truth.  What matters most is that I finally speak it.

THIS is the reality that a lot of us Black & Brown folks deal with on a day to day basis.  Not only do we deal with the same trials & tribulations that everyone has to go through, not only do we face the same feelings of pain & self-doubt that everyone struggles with.  But we also have to deal with a country that fundamentally has never really figured out how to deal with people of (any) color.  Sure we are tolerated, but I don't feel that Black, Brown, or even poor White folks have ever been wholly accepted by America.  It's a systemic problem that generally only gets lip service from those in power.

Sure, America LOVES Black culture --They'll copy it, assimilate it, and even profit off of it-- But it's the Black people that some seem have a problem with.  Oh they like Black celebrities...But there's a fundamental lack of respect for average everyday hard-working Black Americans.  Not every Black person can sing or dance or tell a joke or dunk a basketball...But that does not mean that they don't matter.  "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" should not be the exclusive right/privilege of wealthy White folks.

Now it's not just the fault of the corporate elite in this country...Black & Brown folks frankly need to do better.  We need to be better students, better parents, better husbands & wives, better workers, etc.  But the problem arises when you do all of that, and you still end up on the bottom looking up.  Going to work every day waiting for something to break your way, waiting for some good fortune to "trickle down" from the top.  Now some on the Right might see that as the views of an entitled person, someone looking for a handout.  But I think I can safely speak for all hard-working, law-abiding, citizens (of any color)...We don't want a hand-out, we simply want an opportunity.  An opportunity to show what we can do, an opportunity to be judged by our work & not by our pigmentation, an opportunity to live the life that every hard-working American should have access to.

What the Zimmerman trial verdict signified to a lot of Black people is that we are still somewhat marginalized citizens.  Sure the outright and overt racism of pre-1970's America has largely dissipated, but the antiquated attitudes of that era are still held by many of the money-takers and decision-makers.  To have people actually go on TV and blame Trayvon Martin for the events that led to his death is pretty appalling.  So the guy with a weapon can stand his ground, but the kid trying to get home to his family can't?  The other thing that disturbed me was the attempt to characterize Trayvon as a "Thug".  If occasionally smoking weed, disrespecting adults, posting somewhat inappropriate pictures of yourself online, and having an inflated opinion of yourself makes you a thug...Then I know plenty of White thugs (most of them college-aged girls...Lol!).  People act as if they weren't knuckleheads at 17 (and 27, and 37, and beyond).  We don't know what this kid could have become.  He could have become a productive member of the community, a good husband, a good father.  Unfortunately we'll never know.

The other thing that kind of annoys me is people that would wish to put 100% of the burden for change on Black folks.  Fox News and the (mostly) old-guard of the Republican Party love to bring up the issue of Black-on-Black crime when it suits their arguments...But outside of that, they act like they couldn't care any less about the thousands of young Black males that are victims of violent crime every year.  Do Black people need to do better?  Absolutely...But that doesn't exonerate White folks from their responsibility either.  For Black & Brown people to live up to their full potential, we need to be more accountable for our actions AND White folks need to realize how some of their decisions have brought America to the place we are right now.  The current state of socio-economic affairs in this country is not an either/or situation...And we need an all of the above solution.

The bottom line is that George Zimmerman was tried and found "not guilty" (but not exactly "innocent" per se) by a jury of his peers.  And while I do not agree with the verdict, I respect it.  It's how our judicial system works.  Sure the legal system in America has plenty of flaws, but it's still our system...And I wouldn't trade it for any other system in the world.  The question now is where do we go from here?  Do we allow cases like this to further divide our country, or do we FINALLY start having some real conversations with each other?  Do we finally have frank conversations about race & class & poverty & gun violence in this country?  I think communication and empathy are the keys to unity.  We cannot start to heal as a nation until we begin to talk TO each other & not merely AT each other.  In the words of President Obama (who made some particularly thoughtful comments about the subject yesterday)...This is a "Teachable Moment".  The question is, what will we learn from it?  Will we learn to com together, or will we continue to teach the next generation our petty lessons of hate & fear & insensitivity?  For the sake of my nieces (and maybe my future kids), I hope so.  We've got to find a way to get along.  We've got to find a way to not only survive...But thrive as a nation.  There's been a lot of controversy about the "Justice For Trayvon Martin" movement...But I think that "Justice" extends beyond the actual verdict.  The "Justice" lies in making sure that a young man didn't die in vain.  None of us really knows what happened that night...But what we do know is that we all can do a batter job at loving our fellow man.  We all can do a better job at communicating with people who are different from us.  This case was a sad story on all sides...But what would truly be sad is if we don't learn from this and grow as a country.  Rest In Peace, Trayvon. Hopefully American can use your tragic death as a springboard to a new life in this great nation.


P.E.A.C.E.
- Positive Energy Activates Constant Elevation