Is
America doomed to more cases like Trayvon Martin's?
Zimmerman Verdict Shows Neglect of Social Harmony in America (Die Tageszeitung,
Germany)
"It may be the pacifying radiance of a Black president or the cautious commentary of many Black opinion leaders that has prevented the type of mass unrest that left so many dead in the wake of the Rodney King verdict in 1992. But this cannot go on for long. If social harmony was worth anything to America, "stand your ground" would be abolished, massive rates of gun ownership restricted, and deterrence no longer based on communities bristling with firearms. The trend is in the opposite direction."
Sabrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, prepares to speak at the National Urban League. She said God chose her family to be an example, so people would change the law that allowed her son's killer to go free.
George Zimmerman is free, and
the gun he used to shoot and kill Black 17-year-old Trayvon
Martin in early 2012 has been returned to him. The verdict was predictable - but
it's still a scandal.
Little blame falls to the
jurors who decided the case. Given the absurd state laws in Florida, they had
little chance of convicting Zimmerman of murder, as the prosecution had sought.
This is so, because of the "stand your ground" law, which allows
citizens to use deadly force when they feel threatened, turns the burden of
proving guilt upside-down. The shooter doesn't have to prove there was no other
way to save their own life. Instead, the prosecution must prove that they had
no reason to feel threatened.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Zimmerman apparently pursued
the young Trayvon Martin simply because he thought the Black hoody-wearing teenager
looked suspicious. Presumably, there would never have been any interaction
between the two if self-appointed neighborhood guardian Zimmermann had not acted
based on the racial prejudice in his mind. All this, which makes Martin's death
look like a lynching to the eyes of many, was a moot point for the jury, and certainly
for American society as a whole.
The combination of racial
prejudice, lax gun control and state-sanctioned vigilantism will continue to
bring about incidents like the death of Trayvon Martin. Not even George
Zimmerman himself can truly be happy: henceforward, he will be have to look
over his shoulder in fear for his life. All as a result of misguided policies.
It may be the pacifying radiance of a Black president or the cautious commentary of many Black opinion leaders that has prevented the type of mass unrest that left so many dead in the wake of the Rodney King verdict in 1992. But this cannot go on for long. If social harmony was worth anything to America, "stand your ground" would be abolished, massive rates of gun ownership restricted, and deterrence no longer based on communities bristling with firearms. The trend is in the opposite direction.
