I have tried to bite my tongue, for as long as I could. I didn’t want to “upset” anyone, or “offend” anyone. I’m talking about the Trayvon Martin case. But why should I have to bite my tongue? I have feelings & opinions, just like everyone else, right? (If you have had enough of this case, then please stop reading now.) I will not be silent, I will not sit in the corner & pretend everything is all right-because it isn’t!
More than feelings & opinions, I have two (2) brown-skinned sons. Their father, my husband, is African American. Like so many others have said, “That could have been MY son!” When did it become ok to stalk an unarmed teen, follow him for no apparent reason other than he “looks suspicious”, which we all know is code for “he’s black!” George Zimmerman was asked, “Are you following him?” to which he replied, “Yes.” He was then told NOT TO! But he followed him anyways.
That could have been my son, walking home from work… like he normally does. What would my son have done if someone was following him? If someone approached him & asked him what he was doing in that neighborhood? If he feared for his life?
To say that Trayvon Martin used his Fists & the Sidewalk as his weapons… I’ve never heard anything so foolish in all my life. I am still so upset by the verdict, I can barely type this out. An adult male, armed with a gun; stalked & followed an unarmed teen- he then proceeded to interact with the teen- a fight ensued and he shot and killed the teen. ALL because the teen “looked suspicious”… it still blows my mind. Then he used Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, really? Stand your ground? Zimmerman went after Trayvon, with a weapon! If anyone was trying to defend themselves, it was Trayvon! If you are not a parent, or if you are not the parent of a brown-skinned child… you may not feel what I feel right now. Be thankful you don’t know what this feels like.
To see a jury say that George Zimmerman does not belong in jail-it hurts me to the core. I have tears in my eyes as I am typing this out. That could have been my son! Black children matter, just as much as white children do. Black children have worth- they have dreams & aspirations. Their parents love and care for them. My children are my world. Black children are not disposable. Trayvon mattered, his life meant something. He had people that loved him.
Black does not equal criminal! Don’t look at my brown-skinned son & automatically think Criminal! My son works 5 days a week. He has never been in trouble with the law, he is polite and respectful. He does not drink or smoke or run the streets! He’s not a baby daddy- he doesn’t even have a girlfriend. He’s intelligent & well-spoken. My son is not a criminal!
This case has shed light on just how many people feel the way Zimmerman feels. People that believe he did nothing wrong, that feel he was justified in shooting & killing Trayvon. That scares the crap outta me. I fear for my boys, living in a world that views them as criminals, because of the color of their skin. And don’t tell me this case wasn’t about race, I know better! If Trayvon had been white & Zimmerman black… yeah, we all know what the outcome would have been.
A friend of mine said something, that I want to share with you. “What if that were YOUR child. What if Zimmerman shot & killed YOUR son, under the exact same circumstances… would that have been ok?!”
Until America stops equating Black with Criminal- our children will never be safe from the George Zimmerman’s of the world.
