I am absolutely exhausted by the Trayvon Martin case. Things have become unacceptable at this point. There has been obsession poured forth by both the media and society over the death of Trayvon Martin. I am tired of hearing about how unethical the incident was, how it was racist, how the police department made mistakes, how the “stand your ground” law is not applicable and you may all be right. The bottom line is I don’t care.
It is extremely unfortunate that a 17-year-old boy was shot to death and that he was stolen at a young age from family and friends. It is unfortunate things like this happen every day in the US and abroad. It is unfortunate that hundreds of thousands of people think that standing in the streets while wearing hoodies will accomplish political change. They are not.
Face it people, all that is accomplished by this is the fatting of the pockets belonging to Wrigley (the company that owns Skittles) and Nike. To expose real corruption and start real change in a large scope, there needs to be action, not energy. I can yell and scream in the street all I want, but unless I educate myself, think analytically, make my own decisions and then take the actions that will actualize the objectives I wish to see, nothing will get done. It is all well and good that you voted for “change” but you have actually accomplished nothing until you vote for your congressional representatives and change the balance of the party system.
There is no doubt the system is corrupt, however it will remain that way until the public becomes actively involved in rooting out the corruption by either becoming part of the system or voting in people who can clean it up.
Of course the US is not the only country in history to suffer horrible tragedies like the one in Florida. Every day, across the globe millions of people suffer the same tragedies: Darfur, Syria, Mali. These tragedies, and worse, happen on a global scale with little or no recourse or remorse. We as a human race need to step forward and solve these problems. I do not mean give your $1.50 to Greenpeace every month. I mean step up and join a group trying to raise awareness about sex slavery or genocide. I mean becoming a member of congress and voting to end legislation that legitimizes profiling based on race. These are actions, standing in a street is inaction; learn the difference.
Another note I have wanted to touch upon concerning the Trayvon Martin case is race. I know how the media has portrayed the case and you as a reader will have your own personal convictions concerning the race of both involved but I want to pose a question. Food for thought: what would happen, or be different, if Trayvon was white and Zimmerman was black? I believe the Black community would be up in arms about how the proverbial ‘man’ couldn’t arrest a black man without un-doubtable proof that he had committed the crime. The cry of racism in America would still be alive and well resounding off the media outlets with Al Sharpton leading the charge. Like I said, food for thought.
Its funny when people who write in a newspaper write some idiotic repose to an event and state that they “dont care”. Just because they have a means to express their opinion into a, even somewhat limited, populace so they feel it is their “constitutional right” to say what comes to mind; never mind the thoughts, views and opinions of anyone around them. Ah the beginning of another limbaugh I see, full of the belief that their view is correct and let’s use the media to press it onto others. Sure, if they dont want to read/liten then they have the choice, but again this is only about constitutional rights and not about the moral obligations of the media.
First, the laws of this country such as the imminent danger law being focused on here. The laws in this country were designed from the beginning to uphold the rights of white males and to protect the same people from prosecution should they have to kill a person of color. These laws evolved into what is termed “Jim Crow” laws and are still adhered to to this day in some form or another. While it is no longer legal to kill a person, regardless of race, there are still laws on the books that can be used to protect individuals that do somehow kill someone of color. To think this is not about racial right or about racial tension is pure ignorance. It demonstrates that you know only 1/2 of the story and really dont care to know the rest —great job reporting.
The idea that the march is ineffective is also ignorance. You stated that “…it will remain that way until the public becomes actively involved…”, how is people marching about the injustice Trayvon and his family is receiving not doing so? Or is it that you believe that “people” need to be more quiet and do things the “proper” way? You make it sound like the issue is some minor offense in both as a murder case as well as the issue of the racism.
I am not saying that I know you and after reading this I prefer it remain so for now, no offense intended. I state that because college life is a place for a person to grow educationally as well as personally, and it seems that you need to do more soul searching and look at things outside the box. Your response here indicates a background of a person that, although not being isolated, has the viewpoints of a person who sees the world from a one sided point of view — the caucasian side. And before you go off on a rant about how that is a racist remark, I am caucasian as well, but my life experiences have, or so I like to believe, opened my mind.
Open Editorials are opinion based in the most part, and very few have the ability to affect anyone in some major manner; yet in a college setting where you have young minds that are easily guided (or in this case misguided) it can create more problems then necessary. I have always disliked reporters for this reason, they write, report and say anything to get ratings, regardless if what they are saying is accurate or responsible.
My only hope is that while in college, young reporters like yourself mature mentally and acquire the sense of moral responsibility to judge that what they are reporting.
The bulk of the energy being focused in protest and (at least for me) the majority of my outrage is specifically on drawing attention to a law in Florida that has allowed in the past, and potentially in this case, the slaying of unarmed individuals that (as was later found) posed little or no threat relative to the reaction they evoked from their attacker. Not sure how that wouldn’t be applicable or how the marches, media attention, and general nationwide scrutiny has not been largely successful in changing public opinion of the legitimacy of this law.
If Trayvon was white and Zimmerman was black? You know what would happen? There wouldn’t be any media/public outcry about it. The black man would have been arrested on the spot for murder without batting an eye. You have to be kidding me if you think the police would allow a black man to get off with a “self defense” excuse. And now switch it back to reality. Was the white guy arrested on the spot for murder? Nope. They allowed him the “self defense” excuse.
Watch it now, your naivete and privilege is showing.
After reading the poorly written opinion piece by Greg Bieger (“Think before you march” 10 April 2012) concerning his disdain for the thousands of supporters of Trayvon Martin, I felt compelled to respond.
Bieger states that he is “absolutely exhausted” from hearing the calls of thousands of supporters for justice for Trayvon and that their only accomplishment has been “the fatting (sic) of the pockets” of Wrigley and Nike. Ironically, Bieger’s apathy has compelled him to publicly criticize those who are involved with social justice issues.
Marching in the streets, according to Bieger, is “inaction” and accomplishes nothing compared to “becoming a member of congress” or voting “for your congressional representatives and [changing] the balance of the party system.” I am not sure what Congress has to do with the Trayvon case, but apparently if we pull a lever every couple of years something good will eventually happen!
Of course, even a cursory glance at the history of civil rights in America reveals that marching in the streets has been a vital strategy for achieving social justice. Imagine for a moment if Martin Luther King, Jr. would have simply voted for a new congressman instead of marching in the streets. Nothing would have been accomplished.
Thousands of supporters who are willing to “yell and scream in the street” have pressured the authorities to take a second look at the facts of the case, resulting in the arrest of George Zimmerman. This is the definition of action and it has achieved tangible results, allowing the system of justice to properly run its course.
Let us hope that American citizens do not forget the power of collective action or else we will fall victim to the apathy that Beiger is so proud to share with others. March on my friends!