Hoodies & Hatred

Hoodies & Hatred

The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Genesis 4:10 NIV

I haven’t written a blog post in a while. I have a million excuses; school, trip overseas, new book, blah, blah, blah. Truthfully, I just didn’t make time to do it. And for whatever reason, I wanted to try to avoid the whole Trayvon Martin thing because frankly, its depressing. In 2012, we still have disillusioned, hateful people who could look at another human being and end their life for no real reason at all. And then we have the racial issue. So as if black males don’t have enough to worry about in this life, they now have to be concerned about looking “suspicious” while walking home and probably should alter their attire to not wear hoodies anymore. I used to think that I was lucky. I hear stories from the older generation of black Americans who talk about having to always be on the lookout for the KKK or some other overtly hateful group who wanted to kill or hurt them for no other reason that their skin color. I used to think, “Man. I’m glad I didn’t live back then.” But truthfully I’m not sure things are actually getting better. Sure I can hang out with a few white friends without worrying about getting lynched. Maybe I can even go to their house or have them over mine and converse in a way that makes it seem like race doesn’t matter. And then we hear about stuff like this. At least back in the day when people hated you based on your skin color, they admitted it publicly, even if they did hide behind hoods. Now it’s your friendly neighborhood watch guy who might be the one to snuff you out based on sterotypes and perceived danger. Because of course, potential burglary warrants death of the possible assailant (sarcasm in case you didn’t get it). And don’t get me started on the political ones who claim to not be racist as they print bumper stickers that are clearly racist. I wish they would just admit it. At least I could respect them for it.

So I find it ironic that as white men in hoods used to hunt black people without them, now it’s any person without a hood hunting black people with hoods. How about that? The identities of an enemy used to be overt yet concealed but still it is the victims that seem to remain the invisible ones. How many other Trayvon’s do we not hear about? How many other Trayvon’s have been killed and their killers not brought to justice? How many other parents don’t have the strength to fight the way Trayvon’s parents do? Trayvon’s case is not just about one family’s grief. It’s about not letting the perpetrators of hate go unpunished, black, white or whatever. Zimmerman is reported to be Hispanic. So I guess, technically, this is a minority on minority crime. But I’m glad that Trayvon’s family didn’t let this get swept under the rug and forgotten. Had it not been for media coverage, I would never have heard about Trayvon. His death would have come and gone and most of America none the wiser. I don’t really care if Zimmerman is white, Hispanic or black. He killed an unarmed teenage boy and he is still walking free.

Here’s one reason this is important. Our legal system works on a common law basis. That means that our laws are based on previous cases where the courts have ruled. If your case is similar to enough to the other cases where the court already ruled, then the outcome will be most likely the same. That’s why we hear about attorneys doing their research to find the cases where the courts have already set the law in place. If George Zimmerman does not go to court and face trial for this murder, then there is no legal precedent for or against a killing like this. So that means that at any time where someone sees a “suspicious” looking black male in their neighborhood, they can shoot to kill with no worry about being charged with the crime because there may not be any precedent in place to convict them. So if Zimmerman goes free, who else will be able to go free for shooting a young black male? Especially if they make a 911 call before they do it. But a trial and conviction will get a precedent in place on which to base future cases. But without it, I think we may have declared open season on young black males.

The oldest recorded murder in history is the story of Cain and Able. If you recall, Cain killed Able out of hate and jealousy. When confronted by God about Able’s whereabouts, Cain said that he was not responsible for his brother. Cain knew what he did, and so did God. The earth cried out to God when Cain killed Able. The earth is crying out now for the Trayvon’s of the world. And all of this attention and media coverage and “Million Hoodie March” stuff I believe is God saying, “Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.” It lets the family know that God hears. It can’t bring Trayvon back, but it can help them heal. I pray that this part of the fight comes to an end so that they can continue to grieve for their son. That will be a lifetime process. But this battle has an end. Zimmerman didn’t think he was Trayvon’s keeper. But if we at all believe that we are, then we have to keep posting, signing petitions and not allow Trayvon or anyone else become an invisible victim when their killer is known. I’m not sure how much I can do, but I’m willing to do something. Even my small part may identify me as my brother’s keeper. My apathy identifies me with Cain. Some will join because they love the bandwagon. Others because they know this pain personally. Others because they love justice. And some because their conscience won’t allow them not to. As much as I would like to focus on other things, I can’t ignore this forever. It could happen to anyone. And if Zimmerman remains free, it just might.