On
February 26th a 17 year old African American young person was shot
and killed in Florida by a Neighborhood Crime Watch community worker in what
appeared to be an unprovoked encounter.
The assailant, Mr. Zimmerman said it was an act of self-defense in
accord with the Florida state’s “Stand Your Ground” law. This law gives people the right to kill
others who they perceive are threatening them.
The circumstances around this incident, the lack of police reporting,
the tapes of the 911 call just before the shooting, the time lapse before this
received national attention all indicate to me that racial profiling and a
serious breach of justice has occurred.
The investigation continues and the man who killed the honor student
high school junior has not been arrested.
Truly the world needs to study the ramifications
of this law and how it can result in the death of innocent people. There is no peace until there is justice.
How do
we respond to such a horrific crime? We
look at our laws and see where they are permissive in ways that give people
dangerous rights. We study our
communities and see where there are racial tensions among people and begin
dialogues and conversations. We need to
examine our hearts and see where we are in our journey of racial inclusivity.
What attitudes do we need to change and how can we personally speak out against
injustice?
We need to show the love of Jesus more and the exclusivity of religion less. We need to take an active stand outside the church buildings and see the racism, sexism, and ageism that exists. We need to take action. We may need to start in small ways with small groups then allow the ripple effect to take place.
ReplyDeleteI believe we are beyond the age of quiet activism we need to join hands with people of other faiths and find our common ground-which is we are created to love each other and in that way we love the Creator.
Apparently, the FBI disagrees with your "racial profiling" accusation, as do I. If Zimmerman is telling the truth that Martin was on top of him slamming his head into the sidewalk and he had fear that he would soon pass out and have no other way to protect himself, I think he was justified to stop Martin with any means available. There is no evidence that Zimmerman racially profiled Trevor Martin. Of course, we are both entitled to our opinions and God will be the ultimate judge.
ReplyDeleteRoyce Logan
North East United Methodist Church