The Verdict

   

                                                                        The Verdict


     As I sit contemplating the verdict of the Zimmerman trial, I ask myself why it came to be that a (black) teenager could be followed by a stranger, shot and killed and no one is held accountable.       
     Looking back, I can see many mistakes that were made by the prosecutor. The first was the assumption that five white mothers, in a community such as this, on a jury would find a white son guilty of anything when it comes to the death of a black teenager. That's enough reason to believe that there would be an acquittal. You my argue that all of the mothers weren't white, but the fifth juror wasn't black either! Whereas A lone black juror would have been vehement in her objection to a not guilty verdict, a supposedly hispanic or latino woman would be tempted to not make waves and just go along. I heard one news commentator say that she saw tears in the eyes of that woman, but yet she did go along with the verdict. It was unanimous! If she had been a person of privilege, she would see a black teenager with the same negativism as the rest did.
     The second mistake was not arguing that the instructions to bar the term "racial profiling" from being used would his prosecution, because that is just what Mr. Zimmerman did. Even though Mr. Zimmerman was told not to continue following the young man, he continued to do so anyway. He followed the young using profanity laced language and judging him without knowing anything about him. The young man came from a family of college educated people and was college bound himself. And he was in the apartment complex where one of his parents lived, minding his own business, walking and talking on the phone. Why should he expect anyone to be following him? And when he did realize that someone was following him, didn't he have the right to defend himself. And why didn't the prosecution ever point this out?
     And just for the sake of argument, let's say that all of Zimmerman's account of what happened during their was true ( which I believe was full of lies), does that negate the fact that it was his actions that caused this tragedy? If his actions caused this whole incident don't they make him responsible? If he is responsible how can the jury bring back a not guilty verdict?
     I heard one of the prosecutors and some commentators make the same comment that "if the situation had been reversed would the jurors have convicted Trayvon Martin"? That could never have happened! Has any white person in the history of these United states of America EVER been racially profiled?! It was the racial profiling part that made all actins happen,: a young black man with a hood on his head! If it had been a young white man with a hood on his head, he would have been overlooked completely.
     So, myself being a black man in America, I realize that there is always the very real possibility of being shot to death for just being a black man. This includes by police officers or by white citizens. The history of America is rife with these injustices towards us. In my experience as a young man growing up especially in the south in the 1960's, I have seen and heard of too many bad things that have happened to black men for no reason other than that they were black. And now, in present day America, I see these things making a return as some try to bring back the hatred between the races of the past by denying people the right to vote and passing gun laws so that our society can someday have a killing frenzy.
     I have had to teach my sons not just to respect, but also to be very careful in dealing with white policemen because some of them come from places where they are taught to hate them and come onto the force with animosity in their hearts towards them. The evidence is in the evening news on a pretty regular basis. And I love my sons too much to have something like that happen to them. I know that it's hard for most white America to understand or believe what I'm saying is true. You don't believe these things are happening in America today. That's because you don't have to live in black skin. You don't have the things happen to you that we have happen constantly in this society. And I don't need any sympathy or pity for myself; I'm a soldier and a child of God. But I do want you to open your eyes and really see and understand. And not just about this issue, either. There are many other issues in our society that All Americans need to wake up to. Get you head out of your ass!
     I'll close this article with some things I have heard from a reliable source, namely the Bible the Word of God. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. And last but surely not least, don't be fooled, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man plants that shall he also reap. And that reaping will come in his lifetime. But if not in his lifetime, it will affect next generations in his family. I have seen it happen many times. So black men don't worry about the seeds of hatred being planted against you. Just keep trusting in God and in due time you'll reap a reward if you faint not.