The shooting and subsequent death of Trayvon Martin was a modern tragedy. A tragedy born of anonymity and mutual distrust. Two people who lived in a community but didn’t know each other. Their first meeting led to angry words, shoving, fighting and death. This modern tragedy was and is preventable.
Background: we get more published information on the survivor, as he was charged with murder and history is written by survivors. George Zimmerman was a man who felt unsafe and wanted to do something to help prevent crime in his community. There were break-ins and robberies in his neighborhood. With the help of the local police, a neighborhood watch association was formed and George was appointed coordinator. He chose to sit out in his car and literally wach his neighborhood to help prevent the crime which was occurring. Subsequently he witnessed youths casing apartments. He called police and before the police could arrive, they were gone. Then a break-in was reported, George identified the youth that he saw casing the apartment. But what good was neighborhood watch, if he was powerless to stop the break-ins? He wanted to prevent the crime, not witness it. The table was set. Trayvon Martin went out to buy some candy one night and take a walk and was walking back to his Dad’s fiance’s apartment when he realized he was being followed. George was going to prevent a crime which wasn't occurring. Rather than turn and address George and have a respectful conversation, he ducked back, waited for the man to approach and confronted him. Angry words were exchanged, push came to shove and a fight broke out. Most of this comes from this wiki site, which I recommend:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin
Zimmerman was interviewed after the incident. He was voice stress tested for truth. Key eye witnesses came forward to give testimony. The consensus from these sources, as well as physical evidence from the scene was: rather than have an open conversation, their human interchange devolved into angry words and a shoving match, which ended with Trayvon on top of Zimmerman, wailing away mixed martial arts style and George pulling his gun and shooting Trayvon in the heart.
The reason this is preventable is two people should be able to talk to each other and learn that neither intends harm. Without knowledge of each other, we shouldn’t have immediate distrust, without skepticism. Here distrust prevailed. Both knew (wrongly) the other was up to no good. Trayvon referred to George as “a creepy-ass cracker.” George pictured Trayvon as a criminal who was not in his own neighborhood but was planning a break-in. George was wrong. Trayvon had a reason to be there because he was returning home. George was following because of neighborhood break-ins. Rather than respect each other and act civilly toward each other and have a reasoned conversation, a fight broke out and Trayvon was killed. Guns do escalate violence rather quickly. What went from a butt kicking of George to the death of Trayvon was courtesy of a concealed firearm. It’s true no one knows if George hadn’t had the gun what would have ultimately happened to him. Maybe just a good beating. We’ll never know because the fight escalated to a killing. The point, however, is there was no need for harsh words, shoving, or violence.
Distrust, crime, racial hatred (which, by the way, is not a one way street) and lack of civility and most of all, a large, non-homogenous population which is not bound by shared religion, beliefs, or values, can devolve into violence and killing in a heart beat. Much has been made of Trayvon’s age and race. The President identified with him. Yet we haven’t had anybody step up and say, if you would have neighborhood watch, get to know those neighbors. Stop hating each other. Let's not just identify that the tragedy involved a black youth wearing a hoody. Let's identify that we had a unnecessary confrontation between two human beings that could have and should have been avoided. The President could have been the coordinator of the neighborhood watch too. Stop the violence, people. As long as the moral and social values of disparate groups of citizens are so diverse, we will have confrontations and dislike and distrust, unless or until, leaders ask citizens to reach out and try to understand different motivations and life styles. The President's reach here should be to understand both sides to prevent a tragedy. We need basic trust in human beings. It is a pillar of society. Race is an issue but dislike, distrust and immediate recourse to angry words needs to cease. Calling out race only adds to the dislike and distrust. This issue is far from over but saying George Zimmerman is a racist is really an emotional response to a much bigger problem. George Zimmerman thought Trayvon Martin was a criminal because he looked and acted like criminals George had witnessed. Arabs are profiled because they run terrorist organizations. Young black youths are profiled because, at least in George's neighborhood, they were the one's breaking into apartments. If George is on the lookout for people fitting the description of criminal activity, that makes him logical. Trayvon immediately distrusted George too. He was being followed after all. What transpired certainly was fed by that profiling but it was not the proximate cause of Trayvon's death. The proximate cause of Trayvon's death was two human beings who failed to adequately communicate with each other in a reasonable way. Two human beings who instinctively feared and distrusted each other. Violence killed Trayvon Martin. Violence escalated from failed communication. We need to better understand how to teach each other to communicate.
It is crystal clear that George Zimmerman should not have gotten out of his car. We know the police would eventually come and probably after Trayvon had gotten back to his apartment. George would then have felt frustrated but that’s better than spending time in jail, accused of murder after shooting a fellow human being. If you would watch, stay in your car. Watching and confronting are not the same thing and precipitated the event. That doesn’t take a genius to figure out and was established at trial. It was a prominent and pivotal factor, but there are reasoned solutions to prevent escalation to violence when people approach each other.
Number one, you will be harmed and create harm for others if you automatically hate and distrust those with whom you come into contact. If you speak with respect and listen with intention to understand, you will create good will and peace. It is true a majority of the time. There are damaged people who will not be able to communicate with you and who mean you harm because they know nothing but harming themselves and others. Their history has damaged them almost beyond repair. But they are in the extreme minority of human beings. Governing yourself most of the time by the threat of confrontation with damaged people makes society unworkable. Most people mean you no harm. Return the favor.
Second, if you are not a policeman, lock your gun away. A vast majority of the time a gun will be used on it’s owner or the owner's family member or a friend. It will be used for suicide. A tragic accident will occur. A child will die. The use of the gun will harm the owner in unfortunate or preventable ways. It happens almost every day. Or like the Zimmerman case, it will be used to kill an innocent boy. It is the rare minority of occasions that a gun will actually be used for it’s intended purpose. I must admit that I have known small women who live in dangerous circumstances who protected themselves with a gun. There are exceptions to every rule but this rule is clear. If you have a gun, and it is used on a human being (pistols are people shooters), that human being will be yourself, your spouse, your family or your friends and it will be a tragedy. Your circumstance will need to be extreme to justify having a weapon handy and even then it likely will do you more harm than good. The gun also provided false confidence to George Zimmerman when he decided to follow Trayvon Martin, thinking he was up to no good. Without it, he likely would have waited for police. That is a true tragedy. I’m not sure what Trayvon thought of George but he distrusted his motivations immediately. What happened to him was a horrible tragedy but a moment to stop and speak with respect to another human being would have saved his life. “Hey man, I Iive here and I’m going home. What are you up to? Why are you following me?” I realize some of it is fear but we shouldn’t automatically revert to confrontation. Throw up your deuces instead of your dukes. Can life be that simple? Why not? This confrontation was fed by immediate dislike and lack of understanding and respect from both sides. The only thing the perfect storm lacked was Trayvon’s gun. Then they could have just killed each other.
If George and Trayvon could have met and spoken and listened with mutual respect, they could, in time, have been brothers or friends. If not, they could at least have avoided violence. Mutual respect doesn't need to involve liking. Because human beings are brothers and brothers don't always get along. But brothers are family and family is blood. Mutual respect means caring. Wishing and hoping for the best for each other. It's a basic human belief that we are created equal and we need to begin to treat each other that way. But each, for their own reasons, immediately distrusted the other and their meeting was one of confrontation, violence and death. It was a self-fulfilling vision of tragedy. They saw each other as enemies and made it so.
It shouldn't be that way. It can't stay that way.
I wish only peace for Trayvon’s family. I hope George Zimmerman can heal, as well. His sorrow should be profound. This was a tragedy born of unfortunate circumstance fed by xenophobia and distrust. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.” If this tragedy teaches anything, it teaches us he was right. Open the hand of friendship to those you don’t know. Listen to their stories. Offer compassion to heal their wounds. Make understanding their life your purpose. That's a neighborhood watch that needs to get started today.
Background: we get more published information on the survivor, as he was charged with murder and history is written by survivors. George Zimmerman was a man who felt unsafe and wanted to do something to help prevent crime in his community. There were break-ins and robberies in his neighborhood. With the help of the local police, a neighborhood watch association was formed and George was appointed coordinator. He chose to sit out in his car and literally wach his neighborhood to help prevent the crime which was occurring. Subsequently he witnessed youths casing apartments. He called police and before the police could arrive, they were gone. Then a break-in was reported, George identified the youth that he saw casing the apartment. But what good was neighborhood watch, if he was powerless to stop the break-ins? He wanted to prevent the crime, not witness it. The table was set. Trayvon Martin went out to buy some candy one night and take a walk and was walking back to his Dad’s fiance’s apartment when he realized he was being followed. George was going to prevent a crime which wasn't occurring. Rather than turn and address George and have a respectful conversation, he ducked back, waited for the man to approach and confronted him. Angry words were exchanged, push came to shove and a fight broke out. Most of this comes from this wiki site, which I recommend:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin
Zimmerman was interviewed after the incident. He was voice stress tested for truth. Key eye witnesses came forward to give testimony. The consensus from these sources, as well as physical evidence from the scene was: rather than have an open conversation, their human interchange devolved into angry words and a shoving match, which ended with Trayvon on top of Zimmerman, wailing away mixed martial arts style and George pulling his gun and shooting Trayvon in the heart.
The reason this is preventable is two people should be able to talk to each other and learn that neither intends harm. Without knowledge of each other, we shouldn’t have immediate distrust, without skepticism. Here distrust prevailed. Both knew (wrongly) the other was up to no good. Trayvon referred to George as “a creepy-ass cracker.” George pictured Trayvon as a criminal who was not in his own neighborhood but was planning a break-in. George was wrong. Trayvon had a reason to be there because he was returning home. George was following because of neighborhood break-ins. Rather than respect each other and act civilly toward each other and have a reasoned conversation, a fight broke out and Trayvon was killed. Guns do escalate violence rather quickly. What went from a butt kicking of George to the death of Trayvon was courtesy of a concealed firearm. It’s true no one knows if George hadn’t had the gun what would have ultimately happened to him. Maybe just a good beating. We’ll never know because the fight escalated to a killing. The point, however, is there was no need for harsh words, shoving, or violence.
Distrust, crime, racial hatred (which, by the way, is not a one way street) and lack of civility and most of all, a large, non-homogenous population which is not bound by shared religion, beliefs, or values, can devolve into violence and killing in a heart beat. Much has been made of Trayvon’s age and race. The President identified with him. Yet we haven’t had anybody step up and say, if you would have neighborhood watch, get to know those neighbors. Stop hating each other. Let's not just identify that the tragedy involved a black youth wearing a hoody. Let's identify that we had a unnecessary confrontation between two human beings that could have and should have been avoided. The President could have been the coordinator of the neighborhood watch too. Stop the violence, people. As long as the moral and social values of disparate groups of citizens are so diverse, we will have confrontations and dislike and distrust, unless or until, leaders ask citizens to reach out and try to understand different motivations and life styles. The President's reach here should be to understand both sides to prevent a tragedy. We need basic trust in human beings. It is a pillar of society. Race is an issue but dislike, distrust and immediate recourse to angry words needs to cease. Calling out race only adds to the dislike and distrust. This issue is far from over but saying George Zimmerman is a racist is really an emotional response to a much bigger problem. George Zimmerman thought Trayvon Martin was a criminal because he looked and acted like criminals George had witnessed. Arabs are profiled because they run terrorist organizations. Young black youths are profiled because, at least in George's neighborhood, they were the one's breaking into apartments. If George is on the lookout for people fitting the description of criminal activity, that makes him logical. Trayvon immediately distrusted George too. He was being followed after all. What transpired certainly was fed by that profiling but it was not the proximate cause of Trayvon's death. The proximate cause of Trayvon's death was two human beings who failed to adequately communicate with each other in a reasonable way. Two human beings who instinctively feared and distrusted each other. Violence killed Trayvon Martin. Violence escalated from failed communication. We need to better understand how to teach each other to communicate.
It is crystal clear that George Zimmerman should not have gotten out of his car. We know the police would eventually come and probably after Trayvon had gotten back to his apartment. George would then have felt frustrated but that’s better than spending time in jail, accused of murder after shooting a fellow human being. If you would watch, stay in your car. Watching and confronting are not the same thing and precipitated the event. That doesn’t take a genius to figure out and was established at trial. It was a prominent and pivotal factor, but there are reasoned solutions to prevent escalation to violence when people approach each other.
Number one, you will be harmed and create harm for others if you automatically hate and distrust those with whom you come into contact. If you speak with respect and listen with intention to understand, you will create good will and peace. It is true a majority of the time. There are damaged people who will not be able to communicate with you and who mean you harm because they know nothing but harming themselves and others. Their history has damaged them almost beyond repair. But they are in the extreme minority of human beings. Governing yourself most of the time by the threat of confrontation with damaged people makes society unworkable. Most people mean you no harm. Return the favor.
Second, if you are not a policeman, lock your gun away. A vast majority of the time a gun will be used on it’s owner or the owner's family member or a friend. It will be used for suicide. A tragic accident will occur. A child will die. The use of the gun will harm the owner in unfortunate or preventable ways. It happens almost every day. Or like the Zimmerman case, it will be used to kill an innocent boy. It is the rare minority of occasions that a gun will actually be used for it’s intended purpose. I must admit that I have known small women who live in dangerous circumstances who protected themselves with a gun. There are exceptions to every rule but this rule is clear. If you have a gun, and it is used on a human being (pistols are people shooters), that human being will be yourself, your spouse, your family or your friends and it will be a tragedy. Your circumstance will need to be extreme to justify having a weapon handy and even then it likely will do you more harm than good. The gun also provided false confidence to George Zimmerman when he decided to follow Trayvon Martin, thinking he was up to no good. Without it, he likely would have waited for police. That is a true tragedy. I’m not sure what Trayvon thought of George but he distrusted his motivations immediately. What happened to him was a horrible tragedy but a moment to stop and speak with respect to another human being would have saved his life. “Hey man, I Iive here and I’m going home. What are you up to? Why are you following me?” I realize some of it is fear but we shouldn’t automatically revert to confrontation. Throw up your deuces instead of your dukes. Can life be that simple? Why not? This confrontation was fed by immediate dislike and lack of understanding and respect from both sides. The only thing the perfect storm lacked was Trayvon’s gun. Then they could have just killed each other.
If George and Trayvon could have met and spoken and listened with mutual respect, they could, in time, have been brothers or friends. If not, they could at least have avoided violence. Mutual respect doesn't need to involve liking. Because human beings are brothers and brothers don't always get along. But brothers are family and family is blood. Mutual respect means caring. Wishing and hoping for the best for each other. It's a basic human belief that we are created equal and we need to begin to treat each other that way. But each, for their own reasons, immediately distrusted the other and their meeting was one of confrontation, violence and death. It was a self-fulfilling vision of tragedy. They saw each other as enemies and made it so.
It shouldn't be that way. It can't stay that way.
I wish only peace for Trayvon’s family. I hope George Zimmerman can heal, as well. His sorrow should be profound. This was a tragedy born of unfortunate circumstance fed by xenophobia and distrust. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will perish together as fools.” If this tragedy teaches anything, it teaches us he was right. Open the hand of friendship to those you don’t know. Listen to their stories. Offer compassion to heal their wounds. Make understanding their life your purpose. That's a neighborhood watch that needs to get started today.
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