My previous post about Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman can be found here. I still stand behind every word.
Not long after the Trayvon Martin story broke, I found myself in a similar situation to George Zimmerman. I wasn't on neighborhood watch duty. I was, however, making my way through an empty parking lot with two toddlers and trying to go to Parks Mall. All while there was a torrential downpour.
Stressful enough, right?
As I passed a row of cars, and happened upon two African American teenaged boys wearing hoodies. They practically came out of nowhere.
As I am wrangling my two kids while heading to the entrance, I look into the reflection of the glass doors and the teens running towards me.
As they passed me they looked back at me. Not with a smile or a grimace -- just a look.
And then, they stopped.
As I got closer to the doors, they opened them and said, "Here ya go ma'am."
I was appalled at the thought of being a "ma'am."
But, I let it slide and graciously thanked them for their help.
It was so appreciated and it actually made my day.
You won't believe how many times teenaged boys have walked into a door in front of me while I was pushing a stroller with one hand and trying to contain the walker/runner toddler with the other only to let it shut behind them. Not just African American teenaged boys -- all types -- from every race, religion and class.
So no matter what the boys looked like, it was nice to see that chivalry was not dead.
Are you wondering what this has to do with Trayvon Martin?
Like these two boys, he was doing something normal teenaged boys would be doing. They were going to hang out at the mall, and he was walking home from the convenient store with a drink and candy while chatting with a girl.
I am glad I didn't view these kids as suspicious for doing nothing more than walking towards my direction.
I could have turned around and gave them a nervous look.
I could have clutched my purse and started walking a little faster.
I could have turned around and told them to back off and stop following me.
And when I saw them running towards me, I could have massed them in the face out of fear.
Any scenarios I mentioned above would have stopped those boys from trying to help me and would have absolutely been wrong on my part.
Also, like Martin, these two gentleman happened to be black.
However, the death of Martin and the tragic events leading up to it goes much deeper than skin color.
In all honesty, I think Zimmerman would have acted the same way regardless of skin color.
The problem wasn't race. It was assumptions and misperceptions. It caused things to escalate very quickly and ultimately end a young man's life.
From reports I have read, I gathered Zimmerman was an overzealous guy with a hero complex trying to save the day.
That leads me to believe that he would have approached any teenaged boy wearing a hoodie that night - white, black, Asian or Mexican.
Zimmerman assumed Martin was up to no good and was trying to burglarize houses. Reports say he told the dispatcher he noticed the kid walking around looking at houses.
He was also advised to stay in the car and not follow Martin and that police were on the way. I am sure he initially followed him because he didn't want the police to lose track of him. I am sure he wanted to get an "atta boy" from police for assisting and preventing a crime.
Martin also assumed was Zimmerman had some nefarious plans in mind. He told a friend that a "creepy a-- cracker" was following him. The friend on the other end of the line later testified that the phrase meant pervert.
If Zimmerman's perception of Martin was the fuse. The teenager's perception of Zimmerman was the match.
Zimmerman was found not guilty, but what he did wasn't OK. He acted recklessly. I've heard many people say that Martin shouldn't have reacted to Zimmerman chasing him. He shouldn't have ran and he shouldn't have fought with him. Perhaps they are right. But he was a teenager doing nothing wrong. He was likely alarmed by a stranger in plain clothes following him. For all he knew, a creep was chasing him to mug him.
While found not guilty in a court of law, he will have to wrestle with the fact that he ended a young boy's life. He may justify that it was self defense. But, when he is all alone and the house is quiet, his mind may start wandering. Scenarios likely will play through his head. What if I listened to the dispatcher? What if I hadn't have chased him? What kind of man would Martin turned out to be? Unfortunately, we'll never know because of his actions.
I will close with this food for thought. Zimmerman and Martin have both been portrayed as villains and saints in the public eye. Some news outlets showed a old picture of a younger, angelic looking Martin and a dated mugshot of Zimmerman. Others Showed a thuggish looking Martin and a smiling picture of Zimmerman. Often, it is likely somewhere in between.
