I Don't Believe In Zimmerman

There was no reason for George Zimmerman to follow Trayvon Martin on that rainy February evening in Florida.  It was he who provoked the confrontation, and he shouldn't have so foolish to let it escalate into a fight that left Martin dead from a gunshot wound.  Zimmerman shot Martin in cold blood based on a racially based supposition that young black men were "punks" and based on the idea that he had a right to "defend" his own territory - "stand his ground" - by any means necessary.  That is why I found the "not guilty" verdict in the Zimmerman trial completely wrong.  I don't buy his "self-defense" argument any more than I believe the American Legislative Exchange Council's outrageous insistences that "stand your ground" laws ensure a safer environment for anyone.

Although I've been inspired by the rainbow coalition of folks who have protested this verdict and who aim to get Florida's "stand your ground" law repealed, and although people are seriously addressing the condition of young black men who must live in fear of being mistaken for criminals even when they're only out to buy candy and iced tea, I'm not holding my breath in waiting for positive social change to come out of this.  Because when all is said and done, nothing will change, just as nothing has changed in the past.  Every time America seems to have overcome its legacy of racial injustice - or any of its other unsavory legacies - it always ends up going back to . . . being America.      

And that is all I have to say about this issue.