Unless I’m missing something, only two people know what happened Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., when George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin crossed paths. That would be Zimmerman and Martin. What we do know is that a kid is dead and that a bullet that came from Zimmerman’s gun is the reason why. Why that bullet left Zimmerman’s gun, only Zimmerman knows. Martin can’t give us his opinion. Whether Zimmerman is telling the truth, only he knows. Martin can’t offer a contradicting account. Whether Zimmerman really was acting in self-defense, only he knows. Martin can’t dispute his story. Whether Zimmerman really did feel his life was at risk from Martin, only he knows. Why he didn’t heed the instructions of 911 dispatchers and stop following Martin, only he knows. But what Zimmerman and you and I and everyone else who has bothered to take the responsibility and follow this story know, no matter which side of the fence you stand on, is that if Zimmerman had ceased to follow Martin, his gun wouldn’t have fired, and Martin would be alive.
I’m certainly in no position to offer anything in the way of proclaiming Zimmerman’s guilt or innocence, and I’ll try not to. It would be irresponsible to do otherwise. I do believe the case has been bungled at just about every turn, and as with just about any case involving law enforcement I’m sure there are details we aren’t privy to for one reason or another. That’s not Zimmerman’s fault, however. I also feel comfortable stating that I hold a strong opinion that when a person goes looking for trouble, he will generally find it one way or the other. But again, that’s assuming Zimmerman was looking for trouble, and I don’t definitely know that. Only Zimmerman does. I don’t know the man. I don’t know his history. I don’t know his perceptions or the preconceived notions he may or may have not possessed. I don’t know what thoughts he conjured in his mind sitting in his automobile or what moved him to get out of it and actively engage in what he had to have known could be a dangerous situation. I don’t know what he felt was so at risk or who was so at risk that he deemed a confrontation with a stranger on a dark street was absolutely necessary immediately. Again, all I know is that a boy is dead, and the facts, as we know them currently, are that no property was stolen or damaged, and no one other than Zimmerman was put at risk by Martin. Further, Zimmerman’s risk was at his own choosing.
It’s so difficult to not want to draw immediate conclusions when cases like this surface. Most of us fall passionately on one side or the other where racism is concerned. We either hate it or we embrace it, if not overtly than subconsciously or even covertly. There has been so much racism and words and violence and injustices and lives lost tied to racism throughout man’s history, it’s nearly impossible not to draw immediate conclusions. Seemingly everyone walking the planet has seen, heard, experienced, or taken part in some type of racist action. The effects of racism have created such wide chasms, the resulting tension and fear and barriers between races seems as if they will never erode. It seems sometimes that the potential of man will always be held hostage by racism and, in at least my opinion, by short-sided thinking, ignorance, and the past. Sadly, although I see the positive in protests and marches and petitions and celebrities tweeting photos of themselves donning hoodies and U.S. senators doing the same on the congressional floor to send a bigger message, I’m left to wonder how much of a difference they will make. While I’m in favor of anything that shrinks the chasms, I wonder sometimes if the chasms can ever be completely sealed. For my kids, grandkids, and yours’, I hope so.
I see racism or covert signs of it every day in Facebook posts. I hear it in the voices of those surrounding me. I hear about accounts from my children and their friends at school, including firsthand experiences. I’ve heard forms of racism from the time I was a little boy living in a small town via insensitive jokes, hateful imagery, and more. Hell, I live in Nebraska, as corn-breed white an atmosphere as there seemingly is. One only has to look to the op-ed section of the local paper on any given day to know racism thrives.
And still I come back to the notion that all these thoughts I’ve managed to ramble through are based on the assumption that Zimmerman’s motives and actions were racially driven. I don’t know that. I don’t know if the millions of people accusing him of such are wrong or right. I don’t know how to feel about my president making the assertion that a boy died because he was wearing a hoodie. I think I’m fine with it, but I’m not certain. The president is still just a man after all, complete with feelings and opinions of his own. The fact that he has seen his own image and name repeatedly used globally and in his own homeland (and yes, this is his homeland) in disgusting posters, bumper stickers, jokes, emails, etc., by fellow politicians, judges, and everyday citizens leads me to believe that if anyone has earned the right to express an opinion on the topic, it’s him. But still, I don’t know if it’s his place or anyone else’s to assume guilt. Seems the only thing I’m certain of is that racism exists. I’m not certain racism is at the center of this case, though. Viewing video of black men who claim to know Zimmerman and don’t consider him a racist has to carry weight, doesn’t it?
Ultimately, I’m left to feel that if there’s something positive to gain from a boy losing his life it’s that so many people are talking about it. It’s tempting to believe that as with so many things in American culture today, a good number of people are taking up the Trayvon Martin cause simply because it’s the hip thing to do. I know deep down, though, that a good many people do care sincerely and do want change. I don’t know Zimmerman’s intentions or lack thereof, and I don’t know if he is indeed a racist. Ultimately, what’s seems more important is that he was involved in a death, and we need to know what his role was. Moreover, I believe that there is good that come from this event. I don’t know what the justice is where this case is concerned or if it will come to pass, but I feel encouraged that a boy’s life will transcend the streets of Sanford, Fla., and take on a wider global relevance. I truly hope that entails a positive outcome. I wish I could better articulate how Trayvon Martin’s death has affected me and better sense of it. I guess in the end, his death leaves me hoping once again for a better reality.
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