I might be the only one among my friends who agree with the Zimmerman not-guilty verdict. I agree that it’s a travesty that young Trayvon Martin died that fateful night, no one can say whether he truly deserved it, but the verdict was almost guaranteed.
People are turning this into a race crime, but it’s not. Many people would have done the same thing given the circumstances. I will admit, that if I see a young, man of African decent standing outside my house in a hoodie I would feel suspicious. I would do the same if the person was of Indian decent as well. I probably wouldn’t if the person was white or Chinese. Many of us have this in-built stereotyping and can’t help ourselves. We do judge a book by its colour.
If I had a gun, I would probably be more emboldened to confront a suspicious person. And if that person becomes aggressive, I would also like the right to defend myself with force. I’m sure that many other people will want that as well.
We all want to right to protect and take back the community from criminals. But many of us can’t as we have to depend on the Police to protect us. If I see a suspicious person and call the police, will the police actually come? What happens if that person becomes an aggressor, can I protect myself with force? Sometimes the answers to these questions is no.
But if I was able to “stand my ground” I can confront people and use deadly force if necessary if they did pose a threat.
The jury had to find Zimmerman not-guilty. They too want to be able to stop possible criminals. They too want to be bold enough to step up and kill if they had to. A guilty verdict could change all of that.
I don’t know the events of that night, but I know that if I was in the same position, I might have reacted similarly. This was no premeditated act. This was simply Zimmerman wanting to protect the community. Taking away the racial undertones, no jury would have found him guilty.