I wasn't present the night Trayvon Martin was killed so I can't say definitively what happened. However, I do know it is a tragedy either way you slice it. Someone's child is dead, and as a mother, I find that painfully intolerable.
I know many people are angry Zimmerman appears to have gotten away with murder (angry enough to protest), and I understand their frustration with our criminal justice system which is sometimes both color blind and color dumb, but I don't think anyone ever gets away with anything. Not if you believe in God, or Karma, or universal justice.
Truth is all I know about this tragedy is what I read online and see on the news, and I'm not sure how much truth is in any of that. Still I see people taking sides and using this tragedy as trigger points to advance their own agendas. I am trying not to take sides, and respect everyone's right to feel what they feel. But it's crazy to think we can all live in the same country, and yet look at the same case and have such vastly different reactions and responses.
Still, I am not naive or ignorant of reality. I understand that I am a middle-aged white woman who can walk down the street without becoming an instant suspect because of the color of my skin. My perspective is of course different from that of the African American male teen. Make no mistake, my presumed innocence is a privilege not all people enjoy in this country. And it is this racial disparity that is fueling all the anger right now.
Did the jury get it wrong in Zimmerman's trial? Again, I don't know as I wasn't there to hear every bit of evidence. But I do know that just because a jury of peers handed down a not-guilty verdict, doesn't mean this case is over. Deep down I believe that If Zimmerman is as innocent as one side claims he will go on to live a decent, innocent life and atone for his part in this tragedy. If, however, he is as racist and crazy and violent as the other side says, he will most probably continue down the same path and end up in another courtroom someday....maybe sooner than we think.
Sometimes justice is delayed.
I know it's not fair to those who are suffering now, or for those who might suffer in the future, but over time a person will show his true colors, and then you will know the truth -- without any shadow of a doubt. Argument over.
Because this blog is about LOVE, I try not to vilify anyone and believe everyone is deserving of love, no matter what their crime. More than that, I try to figure out what lesson can be found in such senseless tragedies. For me, this tragedy is important because it exposes just how real and deep the racial divide still runs in our country. This is disheartening, of course, but on the positive side, it brings up stuff nobody wants to talk about and offers us an opportunity to recognize and change things. But we can't focus on changing the other guy and his point of view. We need to first step back and recognize our own LIMITING BELIEFS. And then we need to be willing to expand our mindset by talking kindly and calmly with each other, and LISTENING to what the other person has to say about their human experience. We might be surprised to learn that things are not as black and white as we think.
We can argue right and wrong until the end of the day, take sides, point fingers, and fuel the anger and hatred OR we can have the courage to look inside ourselves and take responsibility for how we live. It's up to us to bridge the racial divide in this country by looking beyond skin color and seeing each other for who we really are, deep down on a soul level. We are each human, capable of great love, and deserving of great love.
We need to open our hearts so we can hear the truth and recognize it when we hear it. Otherwise, we're just going to keep walking down the same path, at odds with each other. AND MORE KIDS ARE GOING TO DIE.
So become angry or look at this case as a wake up call. Things have to change. We can't continue with this vast racial divide. We can help change things but only if we're willing to do our part. Fact is change is easier than we think. It starts with letting go of fear. The divide could disappear forever if we only looked beyond skin color and treated each other as humans, with kindness, compassion, and love.
How hard is that?
Comments