Reactions To The Trayvon Martin Shooting

I'm always reluctant to write about race related issues for fear of my words being twisted by the race-baiters. And trying to explain your way out of any racist allegation, even if its completely untrue, can be an uphill battle. I find it troubling that we can't have honest, open discussions on this topic.

With that being said, with all of the recent media attention given to the Trayvon Martin shooting, I feel compelled to give my two cents. Although I have my own opinion of the way it's been handled, I will try to be as objective as possible.....

First off, anytime a young person's life is needlessly cut short, it's indeed a tragedy. What we need to remember is that a seventeen year old is now dead. It doesn't matter if he was black, white or blue. He was just a kid.

I have read the circumstances of the case through various media sources. And this is what I understand about it.....

Trayvon Martin entered a gated community in Sanford, Florida. The reason for his visit was to buy candy at a local 7-11 convenience store. After exiting the store, Trayvon was spotted by George Zimmerman, a member of the community watch group. Trayvon, wearing a "hoodie", appeared suspicious to Zimmerman. As Zimmerman followed the teenager, he called 911 to report the "suspicious character". The 911 dispatcher advised Zimmerman to back off and discontinue the pursuit. It appears that Zimmerman ignored the request....

Shortly afterwards, there was a struggle between Trayvon and Zimmerman. According to Zimmerman, Trayvon instigated the assault and he was then  forced to defend himself. The end result......Trayvon was shot by Zimmerman. He died a short time later. There were no weapons found on the teenager.

At least one witness came forth and said that the teenager was indeed on top of Zimmerman and beating him. The Sanford Police Department determined that physical evidence on Zimmerman (broken nose, scratches, grass stains on his clothes, etc.) supported his claim of self-defense. Zimmerman was not charged with any crime and was released. This is when things got really heated......

Blacks in the community were outraged over the police department's decision to not charge Zimmerman (who is described as a "white" Hispanic) with murder. They viewed it as a situation where a young man was profiled (and eventually killed) just because he happened to be black. And then the media's ears perked up......

Before long, the usual race hustlers (Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson) showed up. These two guys, in my opinion, do nothing but fan the flames of racism. I personally believe that they have done far more harm than good to race relations in this country. So, when they got involved with this recent incident, I knew things were destined to get much worse.

I have also seen some news bits floating around the internet that suggest that Trayvon wasn't the choirboy that the media has led us to believe. I have no proof of these stories being legitimate, and I certainly don't expect the media to look into them any time soon. Here's one of the photos that is making it's rounds.....

This one has recently surfaced via the internet. However, I have no  proof of it's validity.

Over the past week, here are some of the reactions to this volatile situation:

• The Black Panther Party has offered a $10,000 bounty for the capture of George Zimmerman. Apparently, Zimmerman is now in hiding? I also saw from at least one source where the capture could be "dead or alive". I'm pretty sure it's illegal to form posse groups in America. But ever since the Panthers got a pass with voter intimidation in Philadelphia in 2008 by the Justice Department, I guess they figure they're above the law.
• Led by LeBron James, the Miami Heat basketball team donned hoodies to show solidarity in support of Trayvon Martin. Personally, I think sports teams should stay out of controversial issues, especially before we know all of the facts.
• Many black church-goers wore black hoodies at Sunday services in support of Trayvon.
• Louis Farrakhan has predicted that "retaliation" will be coming very soon.
• President Obama even spoke out about the incident. He urged for cooperation among law enforcement. Perhaps he'll offer up a beer summit? Obama also said that some "soul searching" was needed throughout this country. I have to wonder what he actually means by this.

Is any of this really helping the issue??

I'm confident that the overwhelming majority of this country is not happy about a young man being shot and killed. So, it irritates me that this is being turned into a racial issue. The police had their reasons for releasing Zimmerman. I can understand the urge to push for a more in-depth investigation, but the divisiveness does none of us any good.

The sad fact of the matter is that young men (especially young black men) are needlessly gunned down in the streets everyday in this country. So, why are we only outraged when the trigger man happens to be white (or in this case, a "white Hispanic"). Where is Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton when blacks are dying on the streets of Baltimore almost daily? They remain silent because it's almost impossible to play the race card with black-on-black violence. They also say absolutely nothing when blacks commit "hate-crimes" against whites. It doesn't fit their agenda.....

If it's determined that George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin for no justifiable reason, then he should be charged and sentenced accordingly. And I'm pretty sure than most people in this country would agree (including most white people!). So, let's stop making this a race issue.

Whether Zimmerman was justified and acting in self-defense or whether he unnecessarily pulled the trigger, a young man did not have to die. In the end, Trayvon's parents had to bury their son. And that's a tragedy any way you look at it.....

kw