Trayvon Martin Tragedy Exposes Biased Perceptions of Society

Mark Braboy

Blue & White Flash/Staff Writer

Not since the O.J. Simpsons trial in the early 90s has there been such a high profile criminal case with thick racial undertones and personal attachment from every angle which captured the hearts and minds of most of the country. For all intents and purposes, the case of the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman has become the trial of the 21^st century. It was also this case where we have once again seen the downright ugliness of the citizens of this country.

On July 13^th, a thick blanket of tension and anxiety covered millions of Americans as we were awaiting the verdict of the Zimmerman trial, where Zimmerman was facing charges for second degree murder in the killing of 17 year old Trayvon Martin in February 2012. The verdict, for Trayvon Martin supporters and sympathizers was a collective shock and disappointing blow. But for most African-Americans, it touched us in a way that only could be compared to the loss of a loved one as most of us could identify with it. On the other hand, it was not surprising to us, because the verdict confirmed the racial inequality that we face in the justice system.

You would think that the average person, no matter the age or ethnicity, would feel at least the smallest sliver of sympathy for the Martin Family as they face the burden of losing their son. Unfortunately, comments such as “Trayvon Martin would be alive today, okay, if he didn’t, alright, have a street attitude. That’s the bottom line,” from former police detective Harry Houck and “I submit that if they were armed, they would have shot and killed Trayvon Martin a lot sooner than George Zimmerman did. This is self-defense,” said Fox News journalist Geraldo Rivera when speaking of the jury.

And those were mild compared to the far uglier tweets and comments from the Zimmerman supporters, “I want to thank god…for that bullet that killed Trayvon Martin.” from @sarahtw33ts, ”Hey, what’s the difference between Trayvon Martin and a dead baby? They’re both dead, but Pepsi doesn’t taste like Trayvon,” from former G.O.P. official Todd Kincannon (R) , and Robert Zimmerman’s infamous tweet comparing Martin to De’Marquies Elkins, a 17 year old who allegedly shot and killed a baby in Georgia.

Martin supporters are not entirely innocent in this either as many of them made violent threats towards people of White and Latino heritage, “If Zimmerman get off, I’mma shoot the first Hispanic/White I see,” from @Dat_N****_Vonni, and “This Zimmerman s*** is so AGGY, just lock him up cause if they don’t, Imma kill a white person and they better let me go,” from @carlise_.

The mainstream media’s coverage of the case only added the fuel to the racist fire in some aspects with its unbalanced portrayal of Martin, with many outlets disrespectfully portraying him as a weed smoking gang-banging thug; especially right winged outlets such as Fox News using leaked old photos and tweets from him. The media used aspects about his personal life, both good and bad, and twisted them to manipulate the general public, with his true character being lost in the hype and serving as a distraction from the facts behind the case. As a result, the nation was divided, and both Martin and Zimmerman supporters were lost in his character and racial stereotypes instead of what it was really about; a 17 year old boy who died because of a misconception.

The problem is that we as Americans are so caught up in stereotypes against one another as we senselessly profile people based on our own paranoid perception of them. And we all are guilty of it whether its different ethnicities stereotyping each other, elder adults stereotyping the youth, or males stereotype females and vice-versa. As much as we can preach about how we as African-Americans need to educate our children, enhance the images of ourselves as a culture, enhance our faith in God, and become more unified as a race I strongly believe that this alone will not solve such a complex issue. This did not solve the scores of murders of African-Americans when even the most unassuming of them were brutally assaulted, lynched, and gunned down out of malice.

If we learned nothing at all from the outcome of the Zimmerman case, then everyone should understand how profiling someone based on a biased perception leads to disastrous results. As people, we should come together and openly address this issue as a society. For too long it has been a conversation that has been swept under the rug and if this is not addressed soon, more senseless deaths like Martin will occur.

We have seen glimpses of this in many of the rallies that have occurred after the trial, so there is hope for us as a society to come together. Hopefully, we can all reach a point where the misconceptions of a person will no longer dictate who they truly are.