When will we learn? – Part 1
According to the recordings of the emergency 911 call
center, it was dark and raining when an armed neighborhood watch volunteer
fired one shot that killed Trayvon Martin. There are so many problems with what happened in Sanford,
Florida that it is difficult to know where to start.
Fear: From all
accounts there were two people who were gripped with fear that dark night – the
late Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.
Trayvon seems to have been afraid because someone was following him as he
walked from a convenience store to a home he was visiting. George Zimmerman was afraid because
Trayvon was carrying a bag of candy, a bottle of iced tea and put his hand in
his waist band. And, in addition,
Trayvon was wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
Why were Trayvon and George afraid of each other? We will never know exactly why Trayvon
was afraid. But, from the recordings, it sounds as if George Zimmerman had
stereotyped Trayvon as a criminal threat.
George knew Trayvon was black and wearing a hooded sweatshirt and he
decided Trayvon was a criminal.
Difference:
Discussion of fear leads to the reality of the differences between people. We are all created different from everyone
else. Families may have DNA
similarities, but the scientists say that even identical twins have small
differences. We can either embrace
our differences or fear them. I
have always said the world would be a very boring place if everyone was alike –
homogenized.
It was the late Rev. Mac Charles Jones, pastor of St.
Stephen’s Baptist Church in Kansas City who said that integration should be
fruit salad, not potato salad.
When we make potato salad the resulting food is all one color and
texture. But when we make fruit
salad, the original fruits retain the color, texture and essence of taste. Each fruit contributes unique
properties that make the whole better than the sum on the parts.
Deadly force: The use of deadly force is an
overarching element in the death of Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman is a neighborhood watch volunteer, not a
trained law enforcement officer.
The “911” tape indicated that the trained “911” dispatcher instructed
George Zimmer NOT to follow Trayvon Martin. The instruction – “We don’t need you to do that.” – may not
have been definitive enough, but George Zimmerman’s disregard of the
instruction demonstrates his untrained status.
The volunteer, armed with a handgun then confronted Trayvon
Martin and fired one fatal shot.
There have been several news reports that state Trayvon was suspended
from school at the time of his death or that he assaulted George
Zimmerman. Even if the statements
are true, a bag of candy and a bottle of iced tea are no match for a handgun.
It was Abraham Lincoln who said:
"It is the eternal struggle between two principles, right and
wrong, throughout the world. It is the same spirit that says 'you toil and work
and earn bread, and I'll eat it.' No matter in what shape it comes, whether
from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation,
and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for
enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle." [Lincoln-Douglas debates, 15 October 1858]
Lincoln, when he spoke of democracy, said,
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses
my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the
difference, is no democracy."
Who is responsible for the death of Trayvon Martin? George Zimmerman pulled the
trigger. But the responsibility
goes much further. More in part 2
of this post, “When will we learn?”
Dr. Ron Patton, H.R.
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