(1) Trayvon is dead
AND
(2) George Zimmerman killed him.
I will never understand how people continue to allow history to repeat itself. Perhaps it's because I have a short attention span or more so because I'm just the type of person who prefers for tragedy to be a one time thing. Who knows? I personally don't know if racism will ever be permanently exterminated out of any culture because as we can see racism has been killing millions throughout history and still continues to take lives today. Sure, we know that Zimmerman killed Trayvon. But, a plethora of other concepts, such as prejudice, insecurity, and stereotypes, slayed the teenage boy as well. I think many people can agree that the taking of life is never justified (unless referring to rapists, serial killers, ax murderers, etc which leads into a whole other debate.) The taking of a teenage boy's life is so despicably pitiful on Zimmerman's behalf and although he was found not guilty in the trial, the American people's response of outrage at his sentencing surely shows how the majority truly feels. So what do we do about this? We stop killing each other.
We obviously know not to kill each other. We obviously know that we shouldn't judge people based on the color of their skin. We obviously know that we shouldn't follow
-Ashley McNeill
Very nice post. I think you may want to connect this back to Till. His murder is seen as an epic tragedy and judicial failure in our nation (or should be). And that gives some added exigence to the way we think about Martin, right?
ReplyDeleteThis isn't to this post but just the blog. No mention of the who #ifhteygunnedmedown which picture would they use dynamic?
ReplyDeletei had only read about it on silver tongue the blog mrs bayly sent me. I actively ignore most news and completely ignored trayvon story ... but i mean i guess that was what all that talk was about the hoodie? I thought it had to do with that when he was shot he was wearing a hoodie that was the reason for standing his ground. I really don't know but maybe something worth talking bout there
ReplyDeleteI personally don't understand why you would ignore most news stories. Being politically and socially aware of events occurring around the country, as well as around the world, provides us with the ability to form concrete and informed opinions. This is especially important seeing as how we're college students. Of coarse I don't watch CNN everyday, but you're personally very opinionated so I'd assume things like that would interest you. When we're not aware of social issues we may come off as ignorant to others. For instance, Trayvon Martin's murder was much more than a hoodie. The stand your ground law was used in defense of Zimmerman because as long as he claimed Trayvon attacked him he had the right to 'stand his ground' and kill him. The murder of Trayvon Martin drew so much attention because it has become an accepted idea that Black life is disposable within our country. An unarmed boy is shot and killed because he simply looks suspicious. The man who kills him is not convicted because he concocts a story (which made no sense btw) that portrays an unarmed boy as every negative stereotype associated with Black men in the book. If races were reversed in this scenario, the Black Zimmerman would have definitely gone to jail. Or that is just the opinion I formed after making myself knowledgeable on the topic.
Delete-Ashley McNeill