The Zimmerman Verdict: Signs of a New Generation
George Zimmerman has been acquitted of Trayvon Martin’s death. What we know for sure is that Zimmerman followed an unarmed teen and left their confrontation as the sole survivor. Though it may be appalling that the jury did not find Zimmerman guilty, we should acknowledge what happened in the court: the jury’s decision is based on solid– or least what can be considered– evidence.
Imagine being on the jury. On the one hand, you have your morales set by your upbringing. At the same time, you’re weighed under the pressure of media and an anticipating nation. You’re shown only one side of the story and evidence backing only that side up. Who do you listen to? What’s right and what’s wrong? Words are twisted and mutilated to fit each side’s case. The life of a man rests at your hand and the incident seems addled. I’m not defending Zimmerman, but rather sympathizing with the jury.
Bashing on Zimmer has been made too easy; the media has already done half the work with reports titled “Jury Lets Trayvon Martin Killer Go” and “Savage on Zimmerman.” The trial has been blown from a local to a national scale, so much that the president addressed the issue.
“I think things would have been different if George Zimmerman were black for this reason: He never would have been charged with a crime,” defense attorney O’Mara said.
A user under the name “goodknight777″ commented, “Is this in the news to get justice for Trayvon or to feel vindicated for a racially motivated crime?” on a recent Washington Post article that focuses on continuing rallies.
“Obama making the Zimmerman case a referendum on race is ‘completely inappropriate,’” says Larry Elder, a longtime radio and television celebrity.
And we should think about that. If it were not for the constant press on the president, would he have addressed the issue at all? Zimmerman is not the first man to have convicted manslaughter, and certainly the trial of Martin isn’t the first one that deals with race. So why bring the issue up now in 2013?
Some say the Zimmerman verdict reflects an old Southern way of thinking, but the abhorrence shown from the general public shows a new era. Andrew Perkins, a 55-year-old living in Sanford, stood in front of the courthouse and shouted, “He killed somebody and got away with murder. He ain’t getting no probation or nothing.”
Edye Rose leaves a message on a Huffington Post article, stating: “Trayvon looked ‘suspicious’ to Zimmerman so he stopped him and then it all began. A young black man in a hoodie with a soft drink and candy. You should not have been killed, Trayvon, and you certainly should not have been disregarded in the fact that your murder was not important enough to the jury to convict your killer.”
Some of us are beginning to rethink the traditional definition of marriage or what it means to be an American citizen. Now racial profiling and the stigma that comes with one’s ethnicity has the spotlight.
Drawn directly from NAACP’s statement on the Zimmerman trial: “As we have seen, the system does not always work perfectly. But we have shown that when we stand together as a nation we can compel it to work.” The NAACP’s support actuates a new movement, a revolution in the 21st century, against what has always been present and unfair but not addressed.
The Martin incident only brushes the surface of a far bigger and underlying issue. What about the vile pilot names exploited by KTVU that’s bound to affect Asian and Asian Americans? When was the last time we got this riled up about a crime involving Hispanic Americans or any other minority?
The spotlight on Martin has evolved from a confrontation to a propelling civil rights movement. Will the hype die out like Kony 2012? At least a portion of America refuses to give in.
Click here for more information on the trial.