Rufus Friday posted this link on his Facebook page just a few minutes ago. Rufus is one of my “trusted sources” so I clicked it open, not sure what I might find.
Rufus is a former Rockford Register Star circulation director and is now president and publisher of the Lexington (KY) Herald Leader. We’ve kept in touch over the past decade or two and cross paths when we can.
Since Rufus and I are occasionally on different political pages, I wasn’t sure what I might find. This was worth the reading and sharing.
And, so I share with this question: Could a white writer ask these same questions about Trayvon Martin?
I know the answer. No. Not without taking a lot of grief from those who have already decided Martin was profiled and killed for his skin color and from those who’ve determined George Zimmerman’s getting a raw deal.
I am appalled by the Stand Your Ground Act that allows residents in 21 states to use deadly force if they feel they are in imminent danger. I believe what happened between Zimmerman and Martin is a tragedy that never needed to happen, that could have been avoided. And, I believe the tragedy was made in a stew of anger, distrust, fear, ignorance and, yes, likely with a handful of racial profiling.
Martin’s dying and Zimmerman’s killing of him leave both families in tatters. They have polarized the country’s discussions yet again. If you’re not “for” Martin, you must be a racist. If you’re not “for” Zimmerman, you must be a bleeding heart liberal and anti-gun nut.
Every march, every candle-lighting, every justice committee begins with the proverbial heart in the right place. Perhaps it’s time to get our heads in the game, too. Perhaps it’s time to have these heart-breakingly hard conversations. This I know. Until we can ask, discuss and answer the questions raised by Dr. Williams in his column, we can never consider ourselves a healthy community.
(Dr. Walter E. Williams serves on the faculty of George Mason University as John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics and is the author of ‘Race and Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination?’ and ‘Up from the Projects: An Autobiography.’)
Unfortunately, I don’t think a white writer could ask the questions. I also don’t think a white writer could point out the statistics that Dr. Williams points out without being unfairly labeled. Sadly, black writers are at even more risk for asking these questions and get very hurtfully labeled as race traitors or Uncle Tom’s. I have never met a black person, regardless of political persuasion, who doesn’t want life to get better for his/her race. To be labeled a traitor for simply believing in a different route to justice and equality would hurt deeply. Race, as a topic, is so highly charged that no truly objective discussion can take place today. Without objectivity and diverse opinions on solutions, our racial problems cannot be solved.
As far as Zimmerman, maybe he did fire in self defense maybe he didn’t. If not, he should be jailed for life. If he did, then he is not guilty of a crime, but he’s still guilty of acting with incredibly poor judgement. He created a situation that didn’t need to be created and a person died. A neighborhood watch person’s most important weapons are 1. His cell phone and 2. A flashlight. He should never have exited his car. After he called the police, he should have shined a flashlight on Martin, to let him know he was spotted, and then either left it to the police or tailed Martin from the car until Martin entered his family’s house. He should have written down the address and gone back the next day to explain/apologize to Martin’s family for tailing their son
Is Martin 100% innocent? Probably not. He probably got lippy and confrontational as a 17 year old who feels unjustly accused will do. Maybe a 6′+ aggressive talking teen in a hoodie, had Zimmerman fingering his weapon and thinking he bit off more than he could chew. There was screaming, so we know there was a physical confrontation. A physical confrontation that could have been avoided had Martin pulled back his hood and said “Yes, sir, No sir, I am staying at (Address). Call my dad at (Phone) if you like”. It’s distasteful, especially to a kid that’s probably been harassed before but it is how you deal with potentially dangerous people in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Regardless of your race or theirs, stay calm, stay respectful, don’t escalate a situation, and you will probably stay alive.
@ Linda: The stand your ground law is OK but it relies on judgement. Judgement first exercised by avoiding dangerous situations, and then exercised by trying to deescalate, and only using deadly force as a last resort.