For the past month, the Trayvon Martin case has made
its way across national headlines and news outlets. At first glance, the story
looks horrific. A 17-year old African-American male is walking through his
gated community after purchasing an iced tea and Skittles from the store. An
overzealous white neighborhood watchman sees the boy and calls 911 to report a
suspicious looking character. The watchman insists on following the youth
although the 911 operator advises against it. Eventually, the youth is shot and
the watchman, George Zimmerman, is not charged in the killing, and is allowed
to walk free.
Millions of people protest, in defense of the child’s
innocence. Zimmerman goes into hiding, fearing for his own safety as the
outrage of citizens grows. The police chief of Sanford, FL temporarily resigns,
raising the angst of many, because his resignation is not permanent.
Now, today I read that the Martin family is looking
to trademark Trayvon’s name on memorabilia that is being sold by others. This
comes on the heels of new information that claims Martin had been suspended
from school three times in the last year, once for marijuana possession. The
official police report claims that Martin (over six feet, but slight at 150
pounds) may have attacked Zimmerman (5’9” and over 200 pounds, but less than
the initial 250 reported) and reached for his gun, bolstering the guard’s
initial claim of self-defense.
As this drama plays itself out, one thing is becoming
apparent. This story will not go away soon, and I fear that the details,
factual or fictional, are going to get more sordid. And many wrongs are making none
of this right.
Upon reading of the Martin’s trademark request, I
almost fell out of my chair. I thought that they have to be kidding – to take
financial advantage of their son’s murder. Truth is, they are probably trying
to stop others from doing the same.
Something happened that night in Sanford, and George
Zimmerman should have been arrested. He should be in jail now awaiting trial. I
have no idea or not that he was acting in self-defense, but do believe he
should have backed off when advised to do so.
The fact that Trayvon Martin may not be quite as
innocent as the pictures flashed across every news channel has nothing to do
with this. Two males got in a scuffle and one was shot and killed. The person
who fired the shot may be “innocent until proven guilty,” but he can’t just be
allowed to walk. We have court procedures and a due process system designed to
determine guilt or innocence. But, until the process takes place, the shooter
must be detained. Period.
On another note, my summer activities will now
feature “cookouts” when I’m going to an outdoors event with food and games. Here’s
why.
Last week, I received a lesson in etymology, or the
meaning of words. It was disturbing to say the least. As it turns out, the
meaning of the word “picnic” goes far back, and I’d bet that many others, like
myself were unaware of this.
As it turns out, back in the days of slavery, the
occasion of a slave sale was quite the festive event. Families came from all
around, bringing food and fun to celebrate the occasion. Since the “sale” was
actually an auction, there could be a bidding war occurring from time to time.
So, beforehand, the plantation masters would survey the slaves who were being
sold that day, or “picking” who they wanted to make a bid on. Of course, most
people know what the N-word is short for. Add one and one together and the
event was a “pick-a-….”
I was not aware of this and am now horribly embarrassed.
Is it just me?
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