The Zimmerman Verdict: What does our Response Say about Us?

I keep wondering what the difference is between reading about a trial and actually 1) being at the trial and 2) witnessing the actual event. Given that I neither witnessed the Zimmerman/Martin tragedy nor attended and was privy to the intricacies of the trial I cannot have an informed opinion. 

I do know that racism is a huge issue in our society. About 10% of the African-American male population ages 25-29 is in prison in this”land of the free;” many of them for non-violent drug offenses. Of course our society treats drug users as less than human and targets minority drug users for arrest and prosecution more than Caucasian drug users (although many of them also serve draconian sentences). This has been going on for decades but there are no rallies, no news debates, barely a “peep” out of our populace. One could be forgiven for thinking Americans don’t care about these people.

While racial inequity and intolerance continue to be problems in our society, The Zimmerman/Martin tragedy is also about guns. Whatever happened between Zimmerman and Martin, the stakes would have lowered dramatically had neither been armed. While it is common sense, it bears repeating. Because there is racism (and other “isms” and forms of cruelty, deceit and hypocrisy) in our society doesn’t it make sense to minimize access to deadly weapons?

If you’ve read my other blogs, you know I don’t believe at this point we can get rid of firearms but we can have some common sense laws. I work at an institution where there are police officers and security guards. The police officers go through the same intensive training as law enforcement professionals who work in city or county arenas. They also carry firearms and are trained to use them (and when to not use them). Our security officers carry mace but no firearm. I do not know the extent of their training but there is a clear difference between the police officers and security guards in terms of age, physique and assignments. I would submit that neighborhood watch volunteers are more likely to have the training akin to our security guards, not our police officers. Of course there are exceptions (e.g. veterans who know how to handle firearms and how to think under intense pressure) but overall what if Zimmerman had only had a can of mace? That young man would still be alive and we could at least have heard his side of the story.

I doubt there will be any consideration given to ideas like this because our society is in the grasp of a radical, unelected gun lobby that has its own agenda other than the 2nd amendment. It is this gun lobby that has pressured for the passage of laws many of which relate to self-defense with a firearm such as was the issue at point in the Zimmerman trial. If there were a similar lobby for decriminalizing marijuana we would decrease the prison population by tens of thousands of people. For all the people upset about the Zimmerman verdict and outcome, how many are calling for a review of the drug laws that incarcerate so many non-violent citizens (particularly African-Americans) and even once they have “paid their debt to society” leaves them 2nd class citizens? 

We incarcerate more citizens than any developed country on the planet – many of whom are guilty of non-violent drug offenses. Yet when a firearm is involved the rules change. Drug users are devalued as human beings but people wanting to own firearms are assumed loyal, upstanding patriots who have every right to tote a weapon around. Since Americans are so averse to details and complexity you can bet this won’t change anytime soon. Our response to the Zimmerman verdict seems to say we still won’t face the problems that firearms cause or the injustice in our “justice” system.