By: Pedro Heizer
We’ve all heard of Trayvon Martin in one way or another, we’ve all heard of the injustice, we’ve heard the cries of outrage, and we’ve seen an entire nation coming together to find justice for one teen.
Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old high school student from Sanford, Florida, a community north of Orlando.
James Gilchrist of Orlando, Fla., attends a rally for slain teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., on Thursday. Trayvon was wearing a hoodie when he was shot.
Martin left his family’s Sanford townhouse on a rainy Sunday night nearly a month ago to walk to a nearby convenience store to buy a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea.
As Martin walked back, Skittles and canned ice tea in hand, George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, decided he looked suspicious. He immediately called police who advised him not to follow the boy.
Zimmerman decided not to follow the instructions by the police and followed him anyways. According to Zimmerman, he felt threatened. He responded by taking out a 9mm handgun and shooting Martin in the chest in self-defense.
Martin was pronounced dead on the spot and Zimmerman has not been charged with anything for killing this 17 year old high school teenager.
I understand Florida has the Stand-Your-Ground law which is a law that states a person may use deadly force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of a threat. But what exactly was the threat here? Was Martin going to throw Skittles at Zimmerman and demand him to give up all his money?
This is an issue far greater than any of us think; could this have been a racist crime? What could be at fault here, was it his hoodie?
It was a rainy Sunday night and so Martin was wearing a hoodie. Apparently this hoodie and the fact he was black made him look suspicious. Are you serious? Are you telling me that only because someone is black and they are wearing a hoodie it means they are hoodlums that are up to no good?
Miami Heat players wear team hoodies in this image posted to LeBron James' Twitter page. NBA stars Dwyane Wade and James decided Thursday to make their reactions to Trayvon's death public.
During the past few weeks, many celebrities have donned a hoodie in support of Trayvon. Even the Miami Heat stepped up in and had special hoodies made for them to wear during their game on March 23.
It’s tough to find a closet in America that doesn’t have a hoodie hanging there. Many people wear them, celebrities, athletes, college kids, blue-collar workers and, yes, criminals.
The question everyone is asking is did Zimmerman shoot the innocent Martin in the chest because he felt threatened by a black male in a hoodie walking in his direction with a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea?
Why is it so hard for some people to believe this 17 year old was at the convenience store buying a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea? From what I understand, Martin was on his way to his stepmom’s house to watch a basketball game; he didn’t have any bad intentions… Maybe he likes to eat Skittles while watching basketball and they were out of Skittles and he went to buy some.
There are people out there that see nothing wrong with the situation; they believe Zimmerman was simply protecting himself. But again I ask you, what was he protecting himself from?
As of right now, Zimmerman is a free man. He is not facing any charges for the death of Trayvon Martin. The court systems in Florida has said that this was part of the Stand-Your-Ground law. I just hope in the near future Zimmerman is brought to justice.
What kind of justice system do we have that lets a man free after killing a person and locks up someone for 23 months for killing an animal? What does this show about our society? Do we truly value the life of a pet more than that of a human?
