So I kind of made myself a promise that I would stay out of the whole Post-Trial situation with Zimmerman. I have seen way to many arm chair lawyers and judges giving their "informed opinions" on what SHOULD have happened. They rant that Martin was a Rabid Punk who deserved what happened to him or they cry that Zimmerman was the Closet Grand Dragon of the KKK who was out to kill all Black people. It would all be kind of amusing if it wasn't so sickening.
I have my opinion about the whole trial and anyone who knows me (or reads this column BTW) knows what that opinion is so I feel no need to yell alongside all the others. So this column isn't about the trial or whether Zimmerman deserved to be acquitted. It is about the reactions that have been running amok ever since.
If you read the above link, you will see that a lot of people are "Objecting" to the fact that a young man was shot and killed by an older man by visiting violence on people they don't even know and who have done no harm to them. They are "protesting" the fact that the older man was found not guilty by destroying and looting the property of other people. In short, to protest senseless violence, they are performing acts of senseless violence.
Now this isn't the first time this has happened. If you look back through the years at any time when some decision or event occurred that people felt was unjust or just downright wrong, people angrily took to the streets and wrecked royal havoc. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is of course the infamous Rodney King incident. 1000s of people reacted to the beating of a young Black man by rioting. They burned stores, trashed cars and assaulted people. I am sure there are many more examples.
So in all sincerity, I have to ask all of these people one simple question. ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!
Ahem, sorry about that. However the question still remains. How are you showing your support for the victim by burning down your local 7/11? How are you protesting the acquittal of the shooter by setting fire to cars and assaulting people you don't even know? IMNSHO, all you are doing is proving to everyone else that you are as violent and hateful as the man you are supposedly protesting. You are proving to the people who rally behind him that their attitudes and beliefs are correct.
If people feel that the trial was unjust, they can and should protest it. If they feel that Zimmerman being found Not Guilty was a travesty, then they should speak out. But they should do so peacefully and legally. Our governing principles give each and every one of us the right to speak out against injustice. What isn't given is the right to ran around and burn and destroy things just because you are pissed off. Those cars and stores belong to people just like you trying to just get along. Stop protesting mindless violence by engaging in mindless violence. You are only proving the Haters right.
End of Rant
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