By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 24 Aug 2013 14:17:09 +0000

At 17, Trayvon Martin was NOT a man, and George Zimmerman was 28 at the time, which made him 11 years older. An 11-year age difference either way is a big deal when we are 17, in spite of the attempts of Zimmerman’s defenders to draw false equivalencies between the perpetrator and the victim in order to rationalize this senseless murder. Since there are whites who are just as outraged as we are at the murder itself, the piss poor excuse for an investigation by the Sanford PD which allowed this man to go home strictly on his word alone, and the sickening miscarriage of justice resulting from the trial, it’s simplistic to make such a sweeping generalization of white folks in this issue. The case HAS shone an unflattering light on the existence of racism in this country, and also what happens when a criminal is given every benefit of the doubt due to his father’s connections with the legal system as well as the defendant’s friendship with the police department in Sanford. Another aspect that has been spotlighted is the fact that someone can get a record of confrontational violence expunged and be able to obtain guns, also because of his father’s connections. It’s worth remembering also that it took 44 days for George Zimmerman to be arrested and charged, and that happened only because people of all races protested. The Sanford PD is famous for marginalizing crimes involving black victims, and they thought they were going to do it this time. The preferential treatment George Zimmerman got even extended to getting a slap on the wrist even after his wife perjured herself in court by lying and saying they were indigent. This was in spite of the huge amount of money they had from donations by his supporters. They were caught talking about moving that money to an account of hers while he was briefly imprisoned. The truth of the matter is that not even most everyday white folks get that much preferential treatment, even though they get more benefit of the doubt than black folks do. So, the case reinforced racial divisions, it also showed that there are white folks who get it and those who don’t.

Comments on: Perspectives on Trayvon and George: What Just Happened in America?

By: Anne