THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Christine Armond Mason County Progressive
Dear George,
There are some things I would like to say to you. (I hope you don't mind my calling you George, but since I am more than twice your age, I feel it's okay to do so.)
People all over the world who read, watch or listen to the news, have all heard about what you are afraid of, George, and what you did as a result of that fear on the evening of February 26th, 2012.
So I would like to take this opportunity to tell you what I and many others in our country have become "afraid" of these days.
First, we are very afraid of the Stand Your Ground Law, George. If someone (like you) only "feels deadly threatened", this law entitles that person "to use deadly force" without any repercussions of any kind. (May this deadly law soon disappear into the annals of time.)
Next, we are afraid of you, George, and the fears that make you imagine things in your mind that do not exist, and make you commit actions that cannot be retracted. We pray there are no "loose cannons" like yourself roaming around the neighborhoods where we live.
Self defense you say, George? You say you acted in self defense? Across the globe, special attention has been paid to the police video in which you so effortlessly alighted from the back seat of the police car unassisted...even with your hands cuffed behind your back...even after you said you had gotten so brutally mugged. (I can't do that with my hands not cuffed, let alone mugged, but then, as I said before, I am more than twice your age.)
As the days pass on (no matter what well rehearsed stories are being told to the contrary by your family and friends who were not witness to the events), it seems to be getting more and more clear that the only person acting in self defense that evening was Trayvon Martin. Have you forgotten that it was you in your SUV (with a loaded gun) who was pursuing Trayvon who was on foot (with only a cup of iced tea and a bag of candy)? Across the globe, the rest of us have not.
You weren't so "afraid" of Trayvon that you just stayed in your car and waited for the police to come (as you were requested by the 911 dispatcher). No, instead, you left the "safety" of your SUV to pursue that "fearful" black someone in a hoodie who was on foot (but then, lest we forget, you had your loaded gun to give you courage).
That's the trouble with fear and guns, if you have fears and have a gun, you might end up using it without due cause. So that evening, the awaited moment to justify using your gun came to pass, George, except for one serious drawback...the only thing "up to no good" was your own mind making up imagined crimes that did not exist in the external reality. The external reality where Trayvon happened to be walking back to his Dad's house with snacks.
Self defense you say, George? Self defense? Really? So, yes, George, when we think of you, we are indeed afraid.
Afraid of your fears...
Afraid of your gun...
Afraid that you still have this gun...
Afraid of the law that allowed you to just walk away...
But do you want to know the scariest thing of all, George? The scariest thing of all is that you have expressed no remorse...not to Trayvon, as you allegedly straddled his face down body between your legs, while pressing both your hands down upon his back after you shot him dead. You only called out to the nearby woman (the witness to this scene) to call the police. I guess you thought Trayvon was still a threat to you even after you killed him? (Actually he is, George, but not in the way you may have thought at the time.)
Nor have you expressed any remorse to Trayvon's family or to your community. Expressing remorse would not jeopardize your trial, George (and I do believe you will eventually be charged and brought to trial).
I and many others are afraid for our country, George, really afraid. And what's more, we are ashamed.
May Trayvon Martin not have died in vain. May Trayvon's death (and those innocents killed before him for the same non-reasons) bring our country back to its senses. For starters, may this perilous Stand Your Ground law be retracted from sea to shining sea.
Meanwhile, the world is watching...
Do we in the USA let our citizens gun down innocent people walking back home from a convenience store, without even a slap on the hand that held the gun? Does our country let citizens who lethally shoot innocent victims continue to walk the streets with their loaded guns?
Yes, George, we are "afraid"...really afraid.
And what's more, we feel sorry for you, George. Sorry your mind is so besieged with stereotyping and racial profiling. Sorry your mind is besieged with so much fear it makes you senselessly strike out when no danger exists. Sorry so many others in our country suffer from this same senseless mentality. Sorry for the law protecting this senseless mentality when it lethally strikes out when no danger exists.
And our hearts ache for young Trayvon whose precious life was senselessly cut so short. And our hearts ache for his family. And our hearts ache for our country, that in all these years we have progressed no further than this.
The whole world is watching, George. Much more is involved than simply justice for Trayvon or you being charged and brought out of "hiding" to trial, or retracting a dangerous law. Our democracy is at a critical crossroads for all to see.
Sincerely,
Christine Armond
Shelton, WA
PS
There is something else I would like to tell you, George. It's about an unforgettable experience I had when "I was your age".
It happened back in the early 1970's when I was residing and setting up art workshops for children in East St. Louis, Illinois, one of the most poverty stricken cities in our country at that time. I was one of very few white people in a city of 200,000 predominately black people.
And do you know what, George...I never felt afraid. Unfortunately, you probably won't believe this, or would ever want to believe it, but it is the truth.
I walked everywhere, George, because I didn't have a car (along with many others in this city at that time), and there was no public transportation. And do you know what, George? People who did have cars to drive didn't stop and get out to hassle me. They only stopped their cars to ask me if I needed a ride somewhere.
And you know what else, George? I felt so safe and felt so much good will coming my way that I always accepted these kind offers for rides (contrary to lifelong admonishments), and always got to go where I wanted to go without incident.
I was fortunate to have a taste of how things should and can be in this country between people, George, and I will never forget what that "tasted" like....It tasted like freedom. And my heart is forever grateful for the experience.
Sadly, this story cannot be repeated today in East St. Louis, or any other American city for that matter, as the times have radically changed in so many different ways. But I've tasted freedom from fear, George. It is liberating, and it is not found in a loaded gun.
This freedom is found in mutual respect and understanding; in love and compassion; and in respect for all human life, regardless of sex, race or creed. This is the America I and many others would like to see come to pass. Jai Ma!
Link to sign the Justice for Trayvon Martin petition:
www.change.org/petitions
Graphic: eyesoftheworlds.com
We are often shocked by atrocities committed in “less civilized” countries by what we imagine must be madmen. Yet right here at home there is legislation that promotes such fear-based, cowardly, actions. This is the legacy of political demagogues manipulating the emotions of people who lack the character and courage to deal with their fears in less destructive ways. It seems, for some of us, the ability to reconcile such senseless and brutal acts is rooted in public policy.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely message to frightened George Zimmerman.
ReplyDeleteThe story of the local police, and how they acted, and even how they treated George, is the rest of this horror story.
George was not arrested, George was allowed to keep his gun and Trayvon became a "John Doe" in the morgue for three days... even when the police had his cell phone.
There is something shockingly wrong in Florida, or any state that has a "stand your ground" law.
And you know what, if Trayvon, innocent of anything other than walking while black, wearing that terrifying hoodie, had a gun; and if Trayvon had used that gun, as he would have legally been allowed to in Florida, this conversation would be radically different. "Black teenager kills neighborhood watcher" would be the headline...
And yet Trayvon is the one who should have been able to use this obscene law to stand his ground and to defend himself against the older, larger, armed George Zimmerman.
But no one believes this law is designed so frightened minorities can defend themselves against equally scared white folk.
It's a white mans law, and when the white man uses it, he's gonna get his gun back, a pat on the back, and allowed to return to whatever life he had before he killed someone of color... which apparently is still not a crime in parts of my country. Sad, very sad times in America.
SUBMITTED BY JoC
ReplyDeleteLook at the recent articles regarding the so-called cartoons linking Obama and monkeys/apes as well as articles quoting polititians and others spewing racial slurs .... and, this racial bias goes on and on.
Yes, sad, very sad times in America!