Justice for Trayvon Martin

Justice: a highly demanded tiny seven letter noun with so many meanings at this point in time. Justice is often defined as the quality of being just or righteous. It is a moral principle that determines just conduct. A principle we as humans must conform and manifest in order to administer deserved punishment or reward when dealing with equitable treatment of others.

I've remained silent on the issues revolving the Trayvon Martin case for quite some time now for many reasons. I often find it difficult to write about situations that strike close to home as it makes it difficult to maintain a neutral journalistic standpoint. However I decided a long time ago that silence enabled injustice and now in a demoralizing time such as this speaking up is necessary. Everyone who knows me well knows that my two younger brothers mean more than the world to me. They are the two people I hold closest and dearest to my heart, therefore myself and many others can not only relate to the fear that has struck many hearts, we possess the empathetic connection that: MY SON, MY UNCLE, MY FATHER, MY COUSIN, MY FRIEND, MY BROTHERS... COULD BE THE NEXT TARGETS.

At the surface of the issue many would deem this as another "racial war" that African Americans are trying make into more than what it really is. People die every day, homicides are committed every day so why choose this case to magnify and closely monitor. Why create shirts, and FaceBook posts, why go on countless marches when young people, old people, all kinds of people die every day. And while I understand that ignorance is bliss for many we must take the time to truly realize that at this point racial profiling is just the surface of the Trayvon Martin tragedy. We live in a country that is a super power, a force to be reckoned with, a nation that boasts of unity, strength, and freedom. Yet it seems at this current moment "liberty and justice for all" is being loosely interpreted to fit the needs of some instead of all. Personally I am not surprised by the outcome based solely off of the grossly slanted statistics we as a nation possess in regards to incarceration rates. Are we to assume that African American males are always in the wrong place wrong time? Or that there are targets on their backs from the moment they enter puberty?

Stereotypes are consistently incorporated into our daily interaction so greatly that we may not even notice. It becomes a major issue when these stereotypes cause a young male to lose his life. Though we may not be born with the mentality that : "blacks look like this" and "whites speak like that" we are conditioned into these beliefs on a daily basis with what we see portrayed in the media. We often mask the severity of the preconceived judgements we possess behind humor, but that truth of the matter is the images we see, the music we hear, and the jokes we make are all apart of this problem. Why? Because as long as there are people like Zimmerman who internalize these preconceived notions as their reality we will continue to have a repeat of mankind taking the laws into their own hands. No "hooded" person whether black, white, or hispanic should be deemed as a threat until they pose a threat. As a young petite female I must admit that I have been guilty of taking precautions that I have deemed as necessary. However there is a major difference between locking the doors, and crossing the street in comparison to shooting someone who seems suspicious to me. Taking caution and taking action are two completely different options and clearly Zimmerman made the wrong choice.

At the end of the day I think we need to look at this case clearly as what it truly is. A seventeen year old boy was killed in cold blood for doing nothing that warranted losing his life. I've read the stories, I've heard arguments from all sides but at the end of the day the fact remains that: a an unarmed boy was killed, we know who killed him, and he must be brought to justice. Every other asset of this situation may be discussed until kingdom come but that will not change the fact that what he did was undoubtedly wrong.

I understand that some may feel that they are tired of hearing about this case, or there are other important things we as a nation can be focusing on, or there are more developing news stories we should take notice of on a daily basis. I truly hope that you understand this as well: awareness is the first key to change and without it we will continue to study tragedies within our history because we did too little too late. Remaining silent, turning your back, or making a joke out of the situation is not only a huge disservice to the memory of Trayvon Martin, it is an act of injustice to those who have fallen victim to the lack of awareness in the past. People who think "this doesn't affect me" or "this has nothing to do with me" place one more building block into the recreation of slavery, holocausts, genocides, school massacres. We've seen the repetition of history occur time after time... and it's just about time that we stop.

MJB

KONY 2012: Awareness vs Popularity

With every passing day my generation moves closer and closer to being the generation saying the unavoidable catch phrase: "These younger generations are doing nothing with their lives. They fight no causes and get worse and worse every year". But just before we reach that "old-timer status" we are currently at the brink of a new "flavor of the week" so to speak. As an objective writer I tend to keep my political and religious beliefs in check, as a subjective writer I involve my emotions with every key stroke I press. In regards to Joseph Kony and the Invisible Children movement it is difficult to write strictly objectively or subjectively. With this difficult task at hand, I find that my only solution is to dive into this subject completely and wholeheartedly in order to present both sides accurately.

As with any popular movement that receives support there will always be the inevitable opposition filled with bias negativity looking to make people "think". I've seen the response videos, status updates, and ignorant comments in regards the popularity that the KONY 2012 movement has gained over a few short days. I also understand where these reactions stem from. We are a nation that is consumed with popularity, status, and celebrity. With these three elements combined and used inappropriately we often find, that we as a nation are easily manipulated into believing whatever we are told without question. Take into consideration that both the mistreatment of animals, and cancer have been around for longer than you and I can both begin to calculate; throw in a few celebrities, properly placed advertisement, and a decent touching sob story then you have every American walking around with a yellow LiveStrong bracelet on their wrist, and an ASPCA bumper sticker on their cars. Does this mean that Lance Armstrong and Sarah McLaughlin's affiliation with their cause cheapened it's credibility? Did the popularity of a yellow LiveStrong bracelet derail researchers from their main goal?

I understand big business schemes have left a bad taste in our mouths, but the fact of the matter is money is a necessary part of making change. I am not condoning aimlessly donating to every charity that pops up, I do however feel that a little research on the part of the donator is necessary.

Being weary is one thing, but putting down a movement that can possibly bring about a positive change is another. Awareness always has and hopefully will not always be a major issue when educating young people. It's difficult to get them to be aware of their surroundings let alone aware that there is a world outside of their own. This is what this movement and all "flavor of the week" movements are about: awareness. Making sure you know that it exists, making sure you know what is going on, making the invisible… visible so you decide on your own what is the next step you must take. You shouldn't just jump and do because everyone is doing it, you should just react because everyone is reacting, and you shouldn't donate because everyone is donating. You do what you believe is the next necessary step for you to do not for anyone else. The important key factor is that you KNOW what is going on around you so the choice lies within your hands. In the end it is important to realize that the video was created to build awareness about an issue that has been taking place for over two decades. With awareness comes progress, movement, understanding, and possibly a solution. Downplaying an important issue that has become popular just because it is popular while you go on to watch the millionth "Shit Black Girls Say" spinoff video makes you apart of the problem.

*Educate your self

MJB