The Zimmerman Trial – #The Grand Finale

Yesterday,  after 16 hours of deliberation the six woman jury came to the decision that George Zimmerman was NOT GUILTY and acquitted him of all charges.

No one wins in this case, and hopefully no one else will lose.  Though there were people outside the courthouse demonstrating, it was peaceful. It is a terrible things that a 17-yr. old is dead, but we do not know exactly what happened except for what the evidence showed and witnesses said.  None of us were there except for George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. Unfortunately, only George can tell us his side, Trayvon can’t…..otherwise there would have been NO CASE obviously, though that fact was mentioned so many times by the media it was ridiculous.

The jury has made their decision and we live in America where this is our jurisprudence system – trial by jury. So no matter if we agree or disagree the law has spoken. There have been many trials that people do not agree with but violence is not the answer. We were not in the courtroom listening to the compelling evidence day after day as the jury was, so we can not Monday morning quarterback and call it the way we want it though the media is ad nausuem. And isn’t that where this all started in the first place?

I don’t know how you make peace with losing a son. I have two of my own and can’t imagine the pain Trayvon’s parents are going through, but to punish George Zimmerman if he was Not Guilty according to the letter of the law would not have been fair and still wouldn’t bring Trayvon back. It also doesn’t help for people like the President to weigh in saying if he had a son he would have looked just like Trayvon. When people like Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson add their loud and one-sided opinions to the already volatile situation it does not help a case that already has racial over-tones.

George Zimmerman has been found Not Guilty, but don’t think it will end there for him. If he had more culpability as some people think, he’ll have to live with that, he’ll have to make peace with that between himself and his God, and he’ll have to live on this planet in this America that has been racially stirred and try to assimilate.

So my hope for America is that we move on. I hope we learn from this terrible tragedy. I hope we learn that there is still a racial problem in America and the only way we can fix it is by each person working on it every day, trying to realize we’re all different, but all the same. We all love our children, we all need to try to live together in peace and have compassion for each other. We need to stop looking at each other, judging for differences and just be. Perhaps people will learn from this that confrontation is not the answer, sometimes the stronger person walks or drives away. Also, being a pro-gun advocate because it is a constitutional right, I hope people will learn that carrying a gun carries very heavy responsibilities and with those responsibilities come decisions that in the heat of the moment can not be taken back and every one has to live with those far-reaching serious and sometimes deadly consequences.

Moreover, I hope for Trayvon’s parents, Sybrina and Tracy, that they can find it in their hearts to forgive George Zimmerman for he still did kill their son no matter what the circumstances. I hope they can ask the people who are so upset by this verdict to calm down, that the jury has spoken and that the answer is not violence. I hope for them that their faith in God will see them through. I myself hope that instead of this case causing a further riff in our America it can bring us some kind of strength, realizing that we need to work on our racial tension instead of letting this case make us further divided.

Also, the media needs to be held responsible for their words and actions. The way they slant things makes a big difference and hurts us all. They sway the people with their words. Why was George Zimmerman referred to as a “white” hispanic? I don’t understand what a white hispanic is…..shouldn’t he just be an hispanic? George’s lineage is a white father and a Peruvian mother.  (Thus George is “brown” and the whole argument of white versus black falls apart.) Isn’t the President considered the First African American President though technically his mother was white and his father was black? Why all the juxtapositioning of labeling people’s origin if not for causing racial strife and to suit people’s own political need? Why wasn’t it just a man accused of killing a 17-yr. old? Why were all the pictures of Trayvon shown when he was 13 or 14 so he looked less intimidating then his latest picture when he was 6 ft. and 17 yrs. old?  When he was tragically shot he was 2 weeks short of being an 18 yr. old adult, fully capable of being brought up on charges himself perhaps not the little innocent who went for skittles and iced tea? Did Zimmerman put on a lot of weight so he would look less intimidating in court? Games will be played in the media and we’re their audience……we need to get smart and not fall for it, they’re playing us!

© Evelyn Garone 7.14.13