The George Zimmerman Trial has generated some interesting discussions on line and on television. It would be easy to state that the divisions are along the lines of race but I don't think that's what it is; rather, I see it as a division between the application of law as it stands and the application of the emotional 'but that ain't right!' mentality used by so many people today.
I have a great deal of sympathy for the 'that ain't right' People. I have one foot firmly in that camp. I am not blind to the injustices of the world and there are plenty of things going on around me that just should NOT be allowed - they may be legal, they may be justified in some strange way, but they ain't right.
It is not right that the number one cause of death of young African American males in this country is other African American males.
It is not right that, because of my gender, it is absolutely foolish of me to walk down certain streets in Modesto at midnight. I will be assaulted at the least, raped and murdered at the worst. That is not right. I am an American woman. I should be able to walk down any street I want as long as I am within the parameters of the law of the land.
It is not right that babies are killed in their mother's womb. It is legal. It is rarely a 'choice' of the mother; rather it is a result of coercion by the father of the child, by the grandparents of the child or by the cacophony of voices from the culture that tell the young woman 'you will never be able to reach your full potential now because you are pregnant - your only logical solution is to kill it so later you can become a professor or a scientist or an astronaut'.
It is not right that a young man, specifically Treyvon Martin, was so abandoned by his parents that he felt the proper response to being followed by a man in a car was to offer to fight that man. It is not right that, according to his young friend who spoke to the news media, his world included smoking marijuana 'twice a week' (you know, like how every person stopped for a DUI has had two drinks?) and getting into fist fights on the bus. It is not right that he was told that being a man meant being belligerent and foul mouthed and tough.
It is not right that George Zimmerman felt the need to carry a firearm in order to watch over his neighbors. It is not right that he thought he knew better than the Law Enforcement he called for direction, that he was so frustrated by previous problems in his area that he felt compelled to take care of the situation himself.
Eric Holder was brilliant in front of the NAACP. Why? Because he basically pulled a slight of hand trick - he knows that the DOJ cannot do a darn thing to George Zimmerman but he can't say that in front of a group of wealthy contributors to his boss' campaign coffers. Instead, what he did was change the subject. George Zimmerman cannot be investigated any further - let's look at the 'stand your ground' laws instead.
What I am sorry about is that people in the streets of LA and Oakland felt that the proper response to what THEY perceived as injustice was to rampage in the neighborhood, attack people at bus stops (based on their race) and threaten to 'waylay' Zimmerman so they can get revenge.
Compare that to what happened to OJ Simpson.
A man who most likely stood on the back of the woman who gave birth to two of his children, grabbed her by the hair, bent her head back and slit her throat because she DARED to have sex with someone other than HIM, was frozen out of decent society. No longer the darling of the wealthy world in which he once danced around with ease, he ended up hanging with trash and trying to bully someone ELSE into doing what he wanted them to do - and now sits in a prison cell as a result. At the time of his acquittal, a commentator (I cannot remember the name) announced, "Now you will see the white America version of rioting - and the only one that will be demolished as a result will be OJ Simpson".
I get the sociological ramifications behind the two responses. I can even accept, to a certain extent, the argument that rage builds and builds and builds as a result of injustice after injustice after injustice. However, and I want you to think about this, if that is true for human beings across the board then the men of this planet better start sleeping with one eye open - white, black, brown or yellow.
Why?
Because men have been piling injustice after injustice and hardship after hardship and lie after lie on the females of their species for CENTURIES.
I am not talking about the femiNazi idea that 'all men are bad'. I am talking about the abandonment of basic Judeo-Christian values of love, honor and devotion that men have failed to demonstrate to women since the dawn of time. That's right - I said since the dawn of time. Since we were created, men have failed us. You have not treated your mothers, your daughters and your sisters with the respect you are CHARGED to have for us by GOD. You are certainly not loving us as Christ loves His Church. We are enduring injustice and have been forever and a day. When was the last time you saw a large crowd of women running through the streets and destroying property because of what we have to endure any day of the week?
So if you are going to rampage through the streets when a jury reaches a verdict you don't like, if you are going to hit white men and women over the head as they wait at a bus stop because a black kid was shot in a fight, if you are going to rape women because you are mad that the guy who shot the kid did not get convicted of murder and you are going to point to your RAGE at INJUSTICE for the reason you behave like thugs then buddy, buckle your seat belts.....
No, I think we have to stop and use the brains given to us by Our Creator. People get angry but society has to be willing to hold each other to a higher standard of behavior than that demonstrated by angry mobs. Society must be ready to condemn bad actions, not excuse them. If we do not condemn them, we have to be willing to give every group ever treated poorly the same leeway. I am just not ready to do that; rather, I am ready to condemn people who riot and applaud those who state their opinions with love and logic. I may not agree with them, but I will listen and ponder with them. I will entertain their ideas. I will apply the eyes and heart of Faith to their arguments and then I will reach my own conclusion.
May Our Lady comfort the Martin family during this time of grief and anger.
4 comments:
Leslie,
My impression is that you feel strongly about the recent Zimmerman trial, and its conclusion and fallout. I would like to talk to you later about some of your conclusions, but for now I will interpret your message a challenge for “us men” to rise above the chaos and live as men, not mob inspired marauders. Prayers are a good starting point.
Sometimes it is what it is. I will now listen to a little of the Spencer Davis Group and CTA ;-)
Kinda sorta, Robert. I am challenging people to look beyond race and look at how we have abandoned our God given roles as men and women. Women tried to act like immoral men and call that freedom. But that reach came out of a rage at being treated less like the Bride of Christ and more like a piece of property. Men must be willing to take up their roles and walk towards heaven. Women should honor and support and cheer them on instead of looking at such men and thinking they are boring. Both sides of the aisle - we gotta grow up.
It sounds like we are on the same page; grow up and walk on two legs. You are one of the few people who I can share a common perspective with, and that is refreshing. Happy moon landing day, Leslie!
I wrote this post and two days later the MPD found the body of a young Hispanic woman, face down in a pool of blood in someone's garage. As of yesterday, she had not been identified as yet. Just another nameless, faceless daughter/sister/mother/aunt. My heart breaks and I hold fast to the Hand of Jesus.
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