The Acquittal of George Zimmerman: A Bigger Picture of America

For those of you who'd simply like to chalk up the Zimmerman trial as the result of "Florida law" or a basic case of "self defense", you are quite welcome to your opinions. I would definitely agree that the state's prosecution was ineffective to say the least. 

But for millions of Americans, its much bigger than all of that. 

It is much more about the value that is placed on a White Life in this country, versus a Black Life. It should not be that way, but it is, and there is no denying it. All we have to do is look at conviction rates (and disparate sentencing) nationwide of blacks vs whites, for the same crimes. For example, us white people love our drugs just as much or more than brown or black folks, yet we do not often receive the same life altering punishments for drug crimes at the hefty rate that black and brown people experience. 

Still though, even bigger than the two separate systems of justice in this country are the entirely separate inalienable rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Looking at the #1 cause of death among young Black males in America, we see that it is homicide, gun murders. If you leave your house each morning and being shot to death is the most likely thing that is going to prevent you from coming home at the end of the day, what does that do to your outlook on the present tense, let alone the future? This is partly why much of this violence comes at the hands of "black on black" crime, a direct result of systemic poverty, massive inequity, and an American life filled with daily violence that looks much more like Afghanistan than the United States. 

But, above all of the inequities within our nations justice system, and our unequal distribution of "inalienable rights," it is the pervasive levels of injustice with regard to the stigma of skin color. Forevermore in this country there has been deeply insidious levels of prejudice, hatred, and violence perpetrated against Black people simply based upon genetic pigmentation. It's totally outrageous! It began before the founding of our nation and is a false theory known as "Scientific Racism." The majority of esteemed white "Thinkers" back in the day perpetrated these accepted beliefs that Black people were not capable of equivalent IQ's to Whites --and among other made up shit-- that they had an entirely different kind of blood, like an alien. There were then laws created like the "One Drop" rule that stated if it could proved that a given person had "one drop" of Black blood, that they were not to be considered white, nor equal. Over time this definition of "whiteness" would be altered and would evolve to the benefit of many whom were once considered non-whites. Such as the Irish, the Italians, and Armenians. All of this racist and ignorant "scientific" hoopla has had devastating psychological affects that carryover today. 

When a young black boy walks down the street (be they Emmett Till or Trayvon Martin) there is an instant reaction that takes place in the brain of whites (whether we like it or not) due to generations of racist stereotyping and fear-mongering by the mainstream. This is above all the biggest and most impactful injustice that circulates daily throughout our world regardless of whether or not we want to admit it, acknowledge it, or accept it. Sadly though, it is because so many of us are either unaware or in denial of this overtly damaging force, that it continues to do so much harm to us all. So, while one may make the seemingly sound argument in simplistic legal terms for the acquittal of George Zimmerman, I would argue that we really need to step back much further and look at the bigger picture if we care to actually move forward as a people. Doing so is much more scary, and much more ugly, but it is the hard truth and it is not going away anytime soon. 

Know justice, know peace.