A State of Conflict
I haven't blogged in a week because I've been unsure how to write about what's been on my mind, namely the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman tragedy. I don't usually post about politics and current events, but I really can't move forward without addressing this event which has affected my country and me personally on a deep level. Not everyone will agree with what I have to say, and that's okay. All I ask is that comments remain respectful.
What I find so upsetting about this tragedy is that a man shot a teenager and the teenager died... and it could have been so easily avoided. The man could have not jumped to conclusions about the teenager's purpose in the neighborhood, conclusions which turned out to be wrong and lead to the teenager's death. The man could have stayed in his car and waited for the police to arrive. The man could have identified himself to the teenager immediately. The teenager could have continued walking home and ignored the man. The teenager and the man could have confronted each other in a more diplomatic way.
The law in Florida says the man had the right to defend himself if he thought his life was in danger. And the teenager? All he knew was a man was following him in a car. In his eyes, the man could have been a murderer, a sex offender, a pervert, or just an asshole.
How many times had this young, Black teen been looked at suspiciously in his life? How many times had he passed a White woman and felt the tension and fear in her body language? How many times had he been followed in a store? Could that night have been the 'straw that broke the camel's back?' Instead of ignoring this "crazy ass cracker" or running home, he decided to confront him. Would he have done so if he knew the man was carrying a loaded weapon?
When I was discussing this with an elderly Black man the other day, he countered that the teenager should have known better than confronting the man. "Where were his parents?" "Why hadn't they taught him how to act?"
What he meant was that every Black man in America has been conditioned to act a certain way when confronted with a person of authority, especially a White person of authority. Even if you're not a Black male, if you've ever had a run-in with the cops, you know what I'm talking about. There's a right way and a wrong way to behave, and the wrong way can get you physically harmed.
But the teenager was not a man. He was only a few weeks into his 17th year. Should we expect him to have known how to "behave?" Should he have been chaperoned while walking to the store for some candy?
My feeling is that when there is an altercation between a teenager and a grown man, the onus is on the grown man to behave responsibly, especially if he's carrying a loaded weapon. Why would a grown man who is not a police officer get out of his car to search for (what he perceives as) a potentially dangerous criminal alone on a dark and rainy night? What if the potential criminal (in the man's eyes) had had a weapon too? The man knew he was dealing with a teenager, and he knew the teenager had seen him. Did he expect to pursue him and NOT be confronted?
The case upsets me on so many levels, I find myself going in circles in my mind about what could/should have happened that night, how this death could have been avoided, what would that teenager have become had he lived, what the parents must be feeling, what do other parents tell their children now, and how something like this could be avoided in the future. I think the answer to the latter lies in PERCEPTION... as in, how do we perceive each other?
Would you perceive a Black male wearing a hoodie walking slowly through your neighborhood as a threat?
Would you perceive a Hispanic man following you slowly in a car through your neighborhood as a threat?
If so, what would you do about it? How would you handle the situation?
There's a reason why this 1973 photo taken by Joe Crachiola of five children playing in a Detroit suburb has gone viral. It captures a spirit of innocence and acceptance that so many of us yearn for. If you've ever watched children at play, you know that they have no concept of these matters. They have no life experience upon which to build assumptions. They relate to each other on a core basic level.
photo credit: Joe Crachiola/Courtesy of The Macomb Daily
Is it only possible when we're young? Or can we see each other as human beings, not labels, races, genders, religions, nationalities, sexual orientations, etc.? Can we not jump to conclusions about each other and instead base our reactions on the individuals before us? Can we see each other as HUMAN BEINGS first?
I believe we can, and we must.