The tragic death of Trayvon Martin has given the media much fodder to publicly chew over the past few months. To date there are hundreds of in-depth media analyses and news stories, hyping this case into distracting agendas of racism and bigotry.
I think this story is so fascinating for us because it demonstrates how the assumptions we make about each other can lead to truly horrible consequences.
On the surface it's a simple set-up. Trayvon, the hoodie wearer with a black face, was the victim of unfounded suspicion and fear. He had experienced being followed and confronted prior to that fateful night, so was ready to defend himself against future attacks. George, the overweight ADD child, had developed his own sense of defensiveness and insecurity. Both went out that night primed to confront the enemy their separate communities defined for them. Trayvon was ready to resist "the man" or any white person challenging his right to be present on the streets of his neighborhood. George took the role of gun-toting community protector against burglars or other low life trespassers on his, the very same, neighborhood streets.
It seems to me that we can all relate to both of these positions. Haven't we all claimed the right to move through the world unmolested by those who miss-perceive us as threats and the right to feel safe where we live? I know that I have felt both sides of this.
In fact, I can still recall the summer afternoon in 1973 I took unpaid leave from a mobile home assembly line to stand before a judge in a courtroom in Boise, Idaho. The week before, driving home from work, I was in the right lane in an intersection when a Mercedes driver to my left decided to make a right turn, into the left front fender of my '63 Ford station wagon. The impact was strong enough to tear my headlight rim off.
Even though I wasn't at fault, I found myself required to appear in traffic court. I assumed a quick explanation would settle the matter, without any expensive charges or fines. I left work early one hot afternoon to appear at the appointed time in court. Being sure of my innocence, I didn't even consider how my patched jeans, scuffed boots and sweat would look to the judge. It didn't even occur to me to bring along a change of clothes that would make me look more like the "respectable" party in the case. After all, I assumed that the judge would be more interested in the facts of the incident than my social status.
I assumed wrongly. Called up to the bench and unacquainted with courtroom propriety, I inadvertently rested my sweaty forearm on the edge of the judge's polished walnut separation barrier at shoulder height. His first question surprised me: "Are you tired?" he asked. "Not really, your honor," I replied. "Then would you please remove your arm from my bench?" By then, I was done for.
I quickly moved my arm, and just as quickly held my tongue from saying that my taxes paid for his bench. I forgot my planned explanations. I pled guilty to overtaking in an intersection when, in fact, I was being overtaken. I paid my fine, watched my liability insurance rates rise, and seethed as I returned to sliding that rapid-fire air nailer along the j-rail of the mobile home roof edge in my assembly line bay.
I hope that we can honor Trayvon's memory by setting aside our own assumptions of others long enough to remember what it feels like to be unfairly judged ourselves. Let's use this true example to reinforce the lessons of the Bible that warn us against biases of appearance, social status, skin color, or gender. Together, let's engage a real Spirit-led battle against such sins that beset us as a nation, even in Big Horn County. Maybe heightened compassion could help prevent more horrendous consequences to ourselves and other people. It wouldn't be the first time faith has been at the center of repentance and change in our nation.
The following are a few sources linking the Christian faith center of our nation's religious history to major social repentance, particularly the end of slavery and the civil rights revolution with Dr. Martin Luther King.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/slavery_1.shtm
Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]
Born in present-day Ghana, Quobna Ottobah Cugoano was kidnapped at the age of thirteen and sold into slavery by his fellow Africans in 1770; he worked in the brutal plantation chain gangs of the West Indies before being freed in England. His Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery is the most direct criticism of slavery by a writer of African descent. Cugoano refutes pro-slavery arguments of the day, including slavery's supposed divine sanction; the belief that Africans gladly sold their own families into slavery; that Africans were especially suited to its rigors; and that West Indian slaves led better lives than European serfs. Exploiting his dual identity as both an African and a British citizen, Cugoano daringly asserted that all those under slavery's yoke had a moral obligation to rebel, while at the same time he appealed to white England's better self.
When God Made Martin Luther King Jr. Smile: The Man, The Leader, The Dreamer [Paperback]
Raymond Sturgishttp://www.amazon.com/When-Made-Martin-Luther-Smile/dp/1456420992/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376003050&sr=1-8&keywords=Martin+Luther+King+faith
Mobilizing Hope: Faith-Inspired Activism for a Post-Civil Rights Generation[Paperback]
Adam Taylorhttp://www.amazon.com/Mobilizing-Hope-Faith-Inspired-Post-Civil-Generation/dp/0830838376 , Jim Wallis
Racism in the Obama opposition in Arizona removes the façade. It really is about race. Is it also race in Big Horn County?
Following is some information on the Zimmerman trial for murder of Trayvon Martin:
The trial itself was flawed from the very beginning. This occurred partly because of something known in law enforcement as "parallel construction." It's motivated by a desire to win a case in court without ensuring the identity of the perpetrator. In the case of Trayvon, the parallel construction occurred in place of the truth, and the prosecution may have been caught up in ensuring the exoneration of George Zimmerman.
The conversation in the media by professional journalists and pundits has been no freer of foolishness than that in the barber/beauty shops and parking lots of our nation. And conversation on the Trayvon Martin case has been obsessive. http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/22/big-racial-divide-over-zimmerman-verdict/
Stand your ground laws state by state
http://www.people-press.org/2013/07/22/big-racial-divide-over-zimmerman-verdict/
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David Graber
Hardin, MT 59034
graberdb@gmail.com
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