Most of you reading this are probably aware by now of the shooting death of a 17-year old African-American teenager named Trayvon Martin that occurred in Sanford (in suburban Orlando), Florida, at the hands of a 28-year old neighborhood watch “captain” (an armed citizen on patrol) by the name of George Zimmerman, in late February. Zimmerman claims that his actions were in self-defense, while the parents and friends of Trayvon Martin believe and have insisted that he was murdered by Zimmerman. Further complicating matters are a VARIETY of factors, including: what appears to be a ‘questionable’ handling of the investigation by the Sanford Police Department ; the previous history of Zimmerman having a temper and his penchant for racial “profiling” (it is assumed that because Martin was African-American and wearing a “hoodie”, that Zimmerman had assumed that he was a young “thug”, hell-bent on causing trouble); Martin’s comments on his Twitter account, that seem to suggest that he had some things about his personality that were less than good –intentioned or honorable, and the fact that he had been suspended from school on 3 separate occasions; the fact that Martin himself was unarmed, and had nothing on him except a can of iced tea and a bag of Skittles ; certain members of the media and Martin’s family and friends have surmised that Zimmerman chased down Trayvon and shot him in cold blood, but there are those who have speculated that Zimmerman is telling the truth when he says that he shot Martin in self-defense, by committing an act to protect his own life; African-American celebrities, in an obvious over-reaction and stepping outside of the bounds of common-sense, going on Twitter and giving out the street address to what they (MISTAKENLY) thought was Zimmerman’s house, which actually turned out to be where an elderly couple now lives.
The resulting furor has now EXPLODED into people “taking sides” along lines of race and political affiliations (both liberals and conservatives; Democrats versus Republicans , and some that are like me, that fall somewhere in between those differing views) on the issue, and appears to be divided into two camps: Those who feel that Martin was an innocent teenager who was hunted down because of his appearance --- and those who believe Zimmerman himself was ATTACKED by Martin, who was unaware that Zimmerman was actually armed, and was shot by Zimmerman in defense. Here are just a few comments on a network news website post about the issue, that I just read about 5 minutes ago before I began writing this column. “Micah G.” from Tallahassee, Florida wrote: “If someone physically attacks you, and pounds your head into the sidewalk, and tries to grab your gun, then you have the right to use lethal and deadly force in the State of Florida. This is clearly a case of self-defense. I bet that Martin wasn’t the “good kid” that his parents want us to believe that he was. I think he was a wanna-be ghetto gangsta ‘thug’ who got just what he deserved”…….. “Flyer 5” from San Antonio, Texas commented that : “President Obama’s call for Zimmerman to be arrested is a blatant misuse of his position to incite racial tension and is basically promoting the killing of another person because the Black Community is outraged. His radical past includes his own association with the Black Panther party, and this is indicative of his own true belief in the Black Liberation Theology. These are his guiding principles and the country has seen enough of what 4 more years will be like if Obama is elected.”…….. “Van Grungy” from Ann Arbor, Michigan said that: “Martin was no ‘child’!!! He was a straight-up thug piece of garbage and proved it by attacking a grown man who he thought was unarmed. What a stupid, stupid thug”……. Guest Comment from location unknown wrote: “When they arrest Zimmerman, they should let him keep his belt and shoelaces in the jail cell. The facts of this case do not reconcile with the version of events that some of you want to believe. The U.S. Constitution states that ‘all men are created equal’, and that means that Trayvon had equal protection under the law. Zimmerman will get what he deserves, when his dumb a** meets the Creator after they fry him in the electric chair”…….. “Tec 9” from Denver, Colorado stated: “The Republican Party and the Conservatives should be ashamed of themselves for throwing their support behind this liar. Zimmerman is a proven racist, and I commend President Obama and the Black Caucus in Congress for standing up for what is an obvious violation of the Black Community’s civil rights. JUSTICE FOR TRAYVON !!!!!!!!!”……. “Loose Caboose” from Wheeling, West Virginia says: “The only thing Zimmerman is guilty of is being WHITE”…….. I think it’s pretty easy to see from all of those different comments (out of the 427 that are currently posted on this particular site) , from people from a variety of places throughout the nation, are broken down along lines of race and/or political ideology. And in my opinion, it speaks to the “great divide” that is going on in this nation, and not only about the Trayvon Martin case, but about the way we as citizens of the nation view or “look at things”. Am I the only one who thinks this might just be somewhat of a problem along the way, in a day in the not-so-distant future ????
The disagreements were apparent the other day, on my own Facebook page. On my Facebook status (which asks the question “What’s on your mind?”), I had made this statement (intended as a rhetorical question, to get a variety of responses to help me get a better understanding of the situation; since I had heard conflicting media reports , including some within minutes of each other, on different networks), which was : “Well, now I’m more confused than ever ; first I heard that Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was MURDERED, but now earlier I saw a report that he was killed in self-defense , after he ATTACKED the shooter ---- Could somebody please set me straight on this whole deal, because I don’t know WHAT to believe anymore…….. “ Not long after, the responses to my comment began to appear; slowly at first, and then at break-neck speed, coming in so fast that it was impossible to keep up with all of them. The responses were divergent, ranging from those who felt Trayvon had been murdered and that his civil rights had been violated in the process, while others were of the opinion that before Zimmerman was found guilty by the news media, that perhaps it would be wise to allow his guilt or innoncence to be determined by the appropriate authorites first. There were some disagreements with each other among the comments by my friends, who themselves are from a wide variety of different backgrounds and beliefs, and were a clear illustration that not everyone viewed the controversial events of this case, in the same light.
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Those variety of comments on my Facebook page, along with the comments above from the people who commented on the post on the network news site, are just a small percentage of an alarmingly HUGE amount of people who, whether they even realize it or not, are taking “sides” , not just on the Trayvon Martin case (itself a polarizing issue, as evidenced by the information I shared with you above). This country is slowly being torn in half, breaking down along lines of race, social status, wealth (and lack of it), moral standards, political affiliations and ideologies ---- the list goes on and on. We are even being broken down recently into having separate social entities, like having “Red States” (Conservative or Republican-leaning) and “Blue States” (Liberal or Democrat-influenced) , and a ”Black America”, to just name a few. It is the beginning of the “great divide” of a nation founded on UNITY, and it most certainly will be the beginning, of our inevitable ending.
Make no mistake about it, I realize 'unity' is something that has rarely been present in this nation's history, throughout the years. events like the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's threatened to rip the very fabric of this nation apart; but yet through it all, we have always managed to endure as a nation ------ and as we face this latest crisis that has pitted neighbor against neighbor, may it be the principle of unity that we still aspire to maintain, as a way to bridge the GREAT DIVIDE that keeps us apart...........
Make no mistake about it, I realize 'unity' is something that has rarely been present in this nation's history, throughout the years. events like the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's threatened to rip the very fabric of this nation apart; but yet through it all, we have always managed to endure as a nation ------ and as we face this latest crisis that has pitted neighbor against neighbor, may it be the principle of unity that we still aspire to maintain, as a way to bridge the GREAT DIVIDE that keeps us apart...........
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