Thursday, March 29, 2012

Time to Speak Up!

Jesus wore a hoodie and sandals, does that make him a thug or a hipster douche bag? Jesus also is pictured with long hair so does that make him a threat or a dug dealer? I ask these questions partly in jest but also because I'm really tired of the people in life who judge others based on their looks, skin color, piercings, hair length and tattoos. Being a natural born southerner, I inherited a rebel spirit but not one that makes me hate ethnic people or Yankees. My rebel soul makes me want to express myself in ways that aren't common to our section of the Country. Accepting people at face value and forming your own opinions should be the only reasonable way to live your life.
Racism still exist and is a dirty little secret in much of America. If the conversations that take place in private were to be know in the open, I'm afraid that all out race wars would occur. So many white Americans hold racial grudges against all ethnic people but especially against African Americans. They've been told that Black People are lazy, scary, criminals or that they have taken their jobs or been promoted when not deserving. They resent mixing of the races and interracial dating or marriages and the "N" word is alive and well whenever people feel they are in sympathetic company. At one point, it was considered acceptable to allow older people or dumb people to cling to their racist and hateful opinions but there comes a time when we can no longer remain silent. It's no longer reasonable to allow others to express racist jokes or sentiments without rebuttal. I also have a word for the Christian community....1 John 4:20- If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. Whenever you hear a Christian express hatred for President Obama, African Americans, Latinos or Liberals, just ask them to read this verse. 
It's amazing to me to watch as people become hero's or zero's based upon their perceived political actions. We watched as Captain Sully went from a right wing hero to a zero after saving lives on his airplane and then speaking up in support of unions and now, we've watched as the right wing has rallied around a confessed murderer in George Zimmerman. The support comes because he carried a gun as the NRA preaches and he has in some sick manner, obtained street credibility by killing an "evil Black Person". 
I've followed this case for days on end and I just can't let it go away. The following thoughts are simply my opinion and are not intended to be the final word in this matter. The facts are, Florida is largely run by conservatives in power and they have obeyed the NRA and a group called ALEC in passing laws that favor more gun ownership and more use of guns in the public streets. The side affect of these laws has been racism with extreme prejudice. I'm going to offer my view of how this horrible situation might have happened. You may have a different view and that's fine but in the end, we may never know everything exactly as it happened. What we do know is that a 17 year old kid, who was unarmed in dead and the killer walked free. 
In my mind, George Zimmerman is an unstable person who should have never been allowed to carry a gun. I  believe George Zimmerman had racial influences from his father who turns out to be a retired judge in Florida. Zimmerman probably watched this family and this kid as they moved through this neighborhood and it got under his skin. I'd also assume that he would be a fox viewer and right wing radio listener. The gun in his holster was much like money that burns a hole in a person's pocket until they can use it. On the night of the murder, Mr. Zimmerman took it upon himself to follow Trayvon Martin. He may have started with some honest intentions by calling the police to report a "suspicious" person but the Rambo syndrome quickly took over. It becomes apparent that he's not interested in allowing the police to do their job but his longing for wild west justice begins to take over. He follows Tayvon and as it should, it begins to make Tayvon very nervous. The 911 operator told Mr. Zimmerman  not to follow along but he continued to do so. Zimmerman caught up to Teyvon just before the police arrived and I firmly believe he tried to grab and detain him by force. As any normal person would do in that situation, Treyvon would have fought back and tried to escape. He had no idea if this guy was trying to kidnap or assault him. I believe that Zimmerman pulled his gun in an attempt to subdue Trayvon and as you can hear in the 911 calls, Trayvon appears to be begging for his life. In the end, Zimmerman pulls the trigger and kills Trayvon. If the stand and defend law applies here, it would be more on the side of Trayvon Martin than Zimmerman because Zimmerman was clearly the aggressor and was staking a 17 year old kid who had no weapons. The hit job being done by the republicans against the dead is unforgivable and the newest development of Mr. Zimmerman's father talking to the media and blaming the President, the NAACP and civil rights leaders for hatred is, in my opinion is the final missing piece of the puzzle. His father is working the media in order to obtain all the right wing support possible and in the end, what we're dealing with is a case of a former judges son who committed murder and was allowed to be released because of his father's connections. Much of the current unrest would be quieted if the shooter was simply arrested and placed in jail until a real investigation could run it's course but the longer he remains at large, the more we risk further violence.