Trayvon Martin, Gun Laws and Justice

Yes, it's inevitable that I talk about this case.  Don't worry . . . it will be quick.

First of all, the whole thing is a tragedy.  This young man lost his life, for no reason at all.  Of course, there are a bunch of stories emerging about how Trayvon wasn't the most innocent boy in the world or that maybe he initiated the fight and got a few good hits in on the man that ultimately ended up murdering him.  Regardless, who gives a shit?  Honestly.  The boy paid for it with his life.  And if you want me to get really real, if it came down to blows with Trayvon and Mr. Zimmerman, who's to say that Trayvon wouldn't have been justified?  Who's to say that Mr. Zimmerman didn't look suspicious to Trayvon?  Maybe TM felt he needed to defend himself.  You got some weirdo following you around in a car and then gets out of his car and approaches you . . . what would you do?  You can run or you can fight.  Is there a law in Florida that says you can kill someone that looks intimidating to you but you can't punch them?  At the end of the day, the boy couldn't win.  Regardless, I will leave it to the professionals to do the investigating.  Hopefully the authorities will address this obviously mishandled situation with respect for what's fair, regardless of the boy's race and Zimmerman's connections to the police force AND Florida's idiotic gun law.

And I know there's a huge race element to this whole situation.  As I've read and heard all over the place, it's forcing folks to revisit the topic of race relations in America.  I honestly don't even want to go there.  I think any time Black people talk about race, it gives everyone the opportunity to play the "'using the race card' card."  And I don't want to give anyone that kind of power.  I don't want to argue with anyone about whether racism exists or not.  I think that the focus needs to be on the gun law.  Nobody should have the right to kill people on the sole basis of feeling intimidated.  Here's a quick story - the other day my boyfriend and I watched as a suspicious, hooded figure proceeded to walk up the stairs to our front door and just stand there for a while before he bent over and began tying his shoes.  Mind you, we were right behind him wondering what the f*** he was doing (and I was dialing 9-1-1) while peering over the boyfriend's shoulders like a scared housewife.  The boyfriend addressed the guy, asked him what he was doing.  Dude told him that he was just tying his shoes before going over to his garage (the apartment garages happen to be next to our apartment.)  My boyfriend gave him the "okay, just keep it moving then" vibes and we watched the guy wobble away.  (He was super drunk by the way).  But the whole point to this story is that the guy looked scary as shit.  (Again, I'm just being real).  Not only did he have a hood on and we couldn't see his face, but he literally walked up to our apartment and stood at our door.  Did that give my boyfriend the right to shoot him and end his life?  What if the Florida gun law applied in PA?  If my boyfriend shot and killed that man, then and there, and then after the fact it was proven that dude was just a discombobulated drunkard who was lost . . . then what?  In reality, the whole situation worked out very nicely.  Dude took his hood down, looked us dead in the eye and apologized, the boyfriend and our huge American Bulldog walked out and watched him make it to his garage safely - which he was not lying, he really did have a garage - and the night ended with no loss of life.  I understand that not all things work out that way but at the end of the day, we can't resort to shooting people.  If you have a gun, that gives you even more reason to be thorough before you pull a trigger.

I've always believed that guns are for cowards and every day that goes by, I believe it even more.  I always joke around (not really joking) and tell the boyfriend that if it came down to it and the world became an apocalyptic war torn country where everyone carried guns, I will be the first one shot dead because I refuse to walk around like Quick-Draw McGraw, living in fear with a coward's weapon trembling in my hand.  I wouldn't want to live like that.  I already grew up in the hood.  Rather than relive that nightmare, I'd rather just get it all over with and meet Jesus in the new kingdom. After living in a country like Japan where it's illegal for people to carry handguns, I cannot stress enough how peace of mind is priceless.  At 27 years old, I experienced for the first time, being able to walk down a street alone at night without any fear of being shot.  I don't know that I'll ever have that feeling in this country, but I think that after experiencing it that one time - I will NEVER EVER support any law that lets regular people walk around with a machine that allows you to take someone's life away from them.  Life is too precious to be given such a dishonorable, cheap and cowardly end.  And I think if anyone is willing to recklessly pull a trigger and make a HUGE decision that takes someone's life and changes the lives of that person's family and friends forever, they should be willing to face some consequences that will change their life as well.

Okay, that's all.  Sorry I wrote more than I planned.

Goodnight!