I think there is NO question that the conversation about the death of 17yo Trayvon Martin in Sanford Fl in February 2012 will continue. No doubt either that the rawness of the emotions relating to the acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, will also continue. For days. Weeks. Months. Perhaps years.
BUT as the shock and horror of the jury verdict sinks in and settles in...what next?
There is talk of investigations and perhaps lawsuits by the Justice Department. I say, GOOD.
There won't be the same kind of result that would have been possible with a 2nd degree murder conviction in criminal court. Then again, at this point at least some justice is still possible...but we shall see.
But, irregardless of all that, indeed...what next?
In my humble opinion, I think a number of things SCREAM OUT for attention here. This will be an ongoing work, and I have no doubt that there will be many revisions as time goes on. For all this is NOT simple, or easy, or quick to resolve nor even something that is easy to even determine in terms of the scope and scale of the problems and the needed solutions. One thing I DO know...
There is a NEED for changing the nations' Stand Your Ground laws. These statutes were ill-conceived, and only serve to further things just such as what happened to Trayvon, and do NOT offer up even the remotest possibility of true justice being served.
Then there is Emmett Till.
Then there is Marissa Alexander.
and the HITS just keep on coming. AND WILL until we get a handle on our BROKEN criminal justice system. Like so much else in our society, times have changed but our institutions have not changed and kept pace with the new realities.
That is true everywhere you look. In Washington DC, and in states all over the country. AND we keep falling further and further behind. It is SHAMEFUL that the wealthiest nation on earth has such decrepit infrastructure. AND we have primarily the Republicans to thank for that. Where is former President Dwight D Eisenhower when we need him, or FDR, or LBJ. Everywhere and everything from roads and bridges to rail transportation to water systems to our environment to our police and fire responders and their needs, and then on to things like our political and institutional infrastructure.
Another thing that is blatantly obvious is the sad state of race relations in America and the way our broken political, criminal justice, and social network systems do not serve minorities, nor the rest of us either very well and things like the SYG laws only exacerbate and amply demonstrate just how sadly broken all this has become. WE have been asleep at the proverbial switch for FAR too long.
NOT ONLY has the baby been thrown out with the bath water, but the water system no longer works and the bathtub leaks.
BEFORE TOO LONG, WE MUST BEGIN to have meaningful discussions that will lead to fixing the things we know don't work anymore. Sooner or later, we have GOT to face up to what we are doing to ourselves and the nation we have been given to take care of and protect. If there is ONE THING that might come out of this horrible tragedy that could be viewed as a positive step, it would be that.
BUT will WE AS A PEOPLE, WE AS A NATION, WE AS A SOCIETY have the brains, the determination and the WILL to effect the changes we need to in order to make AMERICA the GREATEST NATION ON EARTH ONCE AGAIN, OR will we watch this once formidable democratic experiment falter and die.
IT'S UP TO US, PEOPLE. IT IS UP TO US AND NO ONE ELSE. WE CAN DO THIS, but NOT if we don't get off our dead butts and try.
Db
BUT as the shock and horror of the jury verdict sinks in and settles in...what next?
There is talk of investigations and perhaps lawsuits by the Justice Department. I say, GOOD.
There won't be the same kind of result that would have been possible with a 2nd degree murder conviction in criminal court. Then again, at this point at least some justice is still possible...but we shall see.
But, irregardless of all that, indeed...what next?
In my humble opinion, I think a number of things SCREAM OUT for attention here. This will be an ongoing work, and I have no doubt that there will be many revisions as time goes on. For all this is NOT simple, or easy, or quick to resolve nor even something that is easy to even determine in terms of the scope and scale of the problems and the needed solutions. One thing I DO know...
There is a NEED for changing the nations' Stand Your Ground laws. These statutes were ill-conceived, and only serve to further things just such as what happened to Trayvon, and do NOT offer up even the remotest possibility of true justice being served.
Then there is Emmett Till.
Then there is Marissa Alexander.
and the HITS just keep on coming. AND WILL until we get a handle on our BROKEN criminal justice system. Like so much else in our society, times have changed but our institutions have not changed and kept pace with the new realities.
That is true everywhere you look. In Washington DC, and in states all over the country. AND we keep falling further and further behind. It is SHAMEFUL that the wealthiest nation on earth has such decrepit infrastructure. AND we have primarily the Republicans to thank for that. Where is former President Dwight D Eisenhower when we need him, or FDR, or LBJ. Everywhere and everything from roads and bridges to rail transportation to water systems to our environment to our police and fire responders and their needs, and then on to things like our political and institutional infrastructure.
Another thing that is blatantly obvious is the sad state of race relations in America and the way our broken political, criminal justice, and social network systems do not serve minorities, nor the rest of us either very well and things like the SYG laws only exacerbate and amply demonstrate just how sadly broken all this has become. WE have been asleep at the proverbial switch for FAR too long.
NOT ONLY has the baby been thrown out with the bath water, but the water system no longer works and the bathtub leaks.
BEFORE TOO LONG, WE MUST BEGIN to have meaningful discussions that will lead to fixing the things we know don't work anymore. Sooner or later, we have GOT to face up to what we are doing to ourselves and the nation we have been given to take care of and protect. If there is ONE THING that might come out of this horrible tragedy that could be viewed as a positive step, it would be that.
BUT will WE AS A PEOPLE, WE AS A NATION, WE AS A SOCIETY have the brains, the determination and the WILL to effect the changes we need to in order to make AMERICA the GREATEST NATION ON EARTH ONCE AGAIN, OR will we watch this once formidable democratic experiment falter and die.
IT'S UP TO US, PEOPLE. IT IS UP TO US AND NO ONE ELSE. WE CAN DO THIS, but NOT if we don't get off our dead butts and try.
Db
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