We Are Trayvon Martin

It’s a dark and rainy night even though is only 7:30 PM. You are walking on that miserable night on your way to where you have been staying for a few days but this is not your “home” and you are not familiar with the neighbors. As you are walking you noticed a car with a person watching your every move, but think nothing of it until you notice that the car is following you. Your heart beats faster and your pace picks up a bit. You walk by the car and make eye contact with the driver; you want to send him a message that you know what he is doing. You hope this will deter him from following you.

You decide to walk into an area where the car can’t follow you, with any luck whoever is following you will desist now that you are not that accessible. To your surprise and dismay, the person comes out of the car and starts walking in your direction.

Damn rain! What does this guy wants to come after you even under this miserable rain? Does he want to abduct you? You run and hide behind some bushes hoping that the guy will walk away and the whole thing has just been a mere coincidence. But the man doesn’t walk away, rather he takes out a flashlight and now you are positive he is after you and will search for you and what’s worse, he will find you! Before you are surprised, you decide to surprise him instead and confront him.

The man seems confident and cocky when you ask him what is it that he wants. Not once this man asked where were you going or tell you he is the captain of the neighborhood watch nor does he tell you that the police is on their way. For you, this man wants to harm you and you have no idea what his intentions are. Words are exchanged and you punch the man right on the nose. The man falls and hit himself on the concrete. Before he gets up, you jump on him and try to subdue him and you even managed to throw a few more punches.

All the while, you are crying at the top of your lungs for help. You hope that someone will come to your aid, but no one does. The man pulls out a gun and the unmistakable sound of a gunshot is heard in the dark and your cries for help are forever silenced. You fall face down on the ground, and your last gasp for air is filled with grass, water and the dirt that is under you.

The shooter doesn’t feel any compassion for you or remorse for his actions, for having taken your life. Rather, he desperately is trying to find a weapon on you, unsuccessfully. He is trying to find something on you to justify in front of the police why he had to shoot you but all he finds is an unopened can of Arizona tea and a bag of skittles.

According to many people, you deserved to die for throwing that first punch. Long gone are the days where two men would have a fistfight and where the only thing coming out of that fight would be a few bruises and a broken ego.

Everything that will be heard after your death will be the story given by your murderer, since no one in that neighborhood had the guts to come out in your defense, not on that night not  afterwards and the other witness, you, is dead.

Stand your ground can be translated into I’ll put you in the ground and walk free, especially if you happen to be a black man in Florida.

To Kill a Mockinbird... Again

Today the Florida State Attorney, Angela Corey, announced that there will be no grand jury for Trayvon Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman. Even though Ms. Corey said since the beginning that there might be no need for a grand jury, for me this news came as a surprise. Came as a surprise because the fate of George Zimmerman rests solely on the shoulders of Ms. Corey and whatever decision she comes to the decision is absolute, there are no appeals.

What if she announces that she reached the conclusion that Mr. Zimmerman is not guilty? What will the parents of Mr. Martin to do?

I cannot conceive, given this announcement, the findings will be that of a guilty verdict. I believe that if a person is found guilty, there should be a jury. Is Ms. Corey going to be the judge, juror and executioner? Doubt it. Then, this must mean that she will find him not guilty and that would be one of the greatest injustices that I’ve heard since I can remember.

I fear that Ms. Corey will find the murderer not guilty, especially after reading an article from the Examiner.com where it read: “According to Sanford Mayor Jeff Triplett, the city’s emergency management team has met regularly with the DOJ to construct a plan. Extra police officers and fire department officials are on standby and neighboring agencies have also been asked to assist if needed.” - That statement doesn’t sound too promising. For me that translates to Mr. Zimmerman will be found Not Guilty and the city is preparing for the riots that will follow that announcement.

If the findings are not favorable to Mr. Martin’s family, they will feel devastated, disillusioned and rightfully enraged and so will most of the citizens of the United States.

If my suspicions are correct, we can be sure that in this country justice is not blind and will not be for a long time. It hasn’t been in over 500 years, why would we expect it to be any different now? That dame might be blindfolded but her scale is definitively tipped.

When Racism Goes Rampant

I think I can’t get away from the Trayvon Martin’s case even if I wanted to.  Every day I hear more information and what disturbs me the most is that there are so many people defending George Zimmerman.  I try very hard not express what I really think at the first confrontation, but if I am to be honest, the thought in my mind always is: “sure, because Martin was black we must give the benefit of the doubt to Zimmerman.”

How can anyone say that there is any doubt?  Martin was walking on a sidewalk, if he looked suspicious or not it shouldn’t matter.  His actions are what should have been important.  All he was doing when Zimmerman saw him was walking, and when Martin realized he was being followed, he walked faster.  The way a person walks should not serve as an excuse to kill them.  Assuming, and this is not true by the way, that Martin was drunk or on drugs on his way home.  Still Zimmerman had no right to kill him.  Simple.

Then I have met a few people on Facebook who keep posting articles of black men that have killed white folks, with comments such as “where is the rage for these people?”  I must mention that the black men that committed those horrific crimes were caught and are in jail, even the one that claimed that he killed the victim in self-defense.  That is not the case with Zimmerman who is free almost a month after he murdered Martin.

There are those that mention the now infamous “John.”  The elusive neighbor that said that Martin was the one on top of the obese Zimmerman and Zimmerman was the one crying for help.  The same John that doesn’t want to face the reporters and that most likely will not appear in court.

A month after the assassination of this young man, the white racists that are so abundant in this country are trying to make the victim out of the victimizer… The thing is, their “logic’ simply doesn’t add up.

Analyzing things from a purely objective perspective, I can say that:

1. Trayvon Martin had all the right in the world to walk in that gated community at whatever time he wanted as long as he wasn’t disturbing the peace – walking doesn’t disturb anyone.  His father lived there and Martin was staying in that community.  He wasn’t an “intruder.”

2. Zimmerman in his vehicle (which can be a lethal “weapon”) was the one following Martin even going against the police officer suggestion of to not follow Martin.  Martin was trying to get away from Zimmerman.

3. Zimmerman confronted Martin and to do this he stepped out of the car.  Martin didn’t go to Zimmerman’s car and knock on the window.

4. Zimmerman claimed to police after the killing, that he stepped out of the car to take a better look at the street name to be sure he would give the cops the correct street where Martin was.  There are so many holes in this claim that I am surprised that no one has made any comments about it.  Why would a man that patrols the neighborhood every night and therefore should know the community like the palm of his hand, step out of the car to read the street name?  He should have known it.  Second, if Martin was walking, by the time the police would arrive I am sure that Martin would no longer be there… so why look at the street name?  That statement alone doesn’t hold any water.

5. Zimmerman claims that while he was looking at the street name, Martin attacked him from behind and beat him to the ground.  Zimmerman claims he was screaming for help.  Keep in mind that Zimmerman was 100 pounds heavier than Martin and that Zimmerman was carrying a gun while Martin was carrying an Arizona Tea can and Skittles.  But we are to believe this story!  Sorry, but I don’t.  

All autopsies are Public Record, the Sanford police haven’t released the results of Martin’s autopsy (almost a month after his death) but I am sure that if what Zimmerman claims was true, by now the Sanford police would have at least make mention that Martin’s knuckles showed signs of aggression (this could still be true if he was defending himself) but the fact that the police, who has been so terrible in their investigation to the point of stepping down, haven’t mentioned it to at least "save their reputation" leads me to believe it is because there are no signs of aggression whatsoever.  

6. People are claiming that Martin attacked Zimmerman and the fact that Zimmerman was ‘bloody’ from his nose and his shirt showed grass stains suggesting a struggle is proof enough.  It would not be the first time that a murderer staged a scene to protect himself, especially one that had aspirations of becoming a cop and knows the tricks of the trade.  Smacking yourself on the back of the head or even punching yourself on the nose in order to avoid jail is not unthinkable nor would it be the first time it has ever been done.

7. Then we have idiots like Geraldo Rivera that blame Martin for wearing a hoodie… Since when an article of clothing it's an excuse for murder?  

Or others like the lunatic of Glenn Beck that is claiming that because Martin was suspended from school he was a no-good individual.  If that was true, most of us belong in the same category.  

8. There is one witness who is on tape with the 911 police that states quite the contrary of what Zimmerman or John said.  This caller saw the whole thing at ground level – not from inside his house  or from a window (like John).  This caller was walking his dog and saw Martin on the grass screaming for help.  He was going to help him but his dog got away.  As he went to get his dog and while Martin was screaming, he heard the one shot that ended Martin’s life.  This man is on tape telling police what he had witnessed but no one seems to care.   Listen to the tape at around 01:07, that's when this witness picks up the phone from his sister to talk to the police.

911 call of witness to Sanford Police on the night of Martin's murder.

So I beg of you, all the racists out there that persist in blaming Martin and are saying that we are not allowing due process to take place, that we are serving as juror, judges and executioners to stop this bullshit. If this case is being investigated (a month after the murder) at all it’s precisely because people have demanded it, because if it was for people like you, Zimmerman probably would receive a medal of honor!  For people like you, it is a crime to be black.  Period.

Edited by: J. Schapiro