On
February 26, 2012, an unarmed African American teenager, Treyvon
Martin, was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida by George Zimmerman,
a multi-racial Hispanic American neighborhood watch coordinator.
Although he had been instructed by the police not to follow the
boy, Zimmerman persisted. In a subsequent scuffle, the details
of which are not clear, Treyvon was shot at close range and killed.
Zimmerman claims he shot the unarmed teen in self-defense.*
The
trial has been taking place over the last few weeks. Yesterday
evening Zimmerman was acquitted of all charges, by a jury of his
peers. Truly a sad day in my view for this nation, the United
States.
A
friend of mine posted the following poem on Facebook which for me fits perfectly. At times like these it is often images and poetry that get
closest to expressing the rage we may feel while at the same time
holding forth our undying commitment to fighting on 'til the victory
is won.
If
We Must Die
If
we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an
inglorious spot,
While
round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our
accursed lot.
If
we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not
be shed in vain;
Then even the monsters we defy shall be
constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! we must meet the
common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And
for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though
before us lies the open grave?
Like men we'll face the murderous,
cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting
back!
~ By
Claude McKay ~
*An
additional debate has been sparked by this case about Florida's
Stand Your Ground law which states that a person may justifiably use
force in self-defense when there is reasonable belief of an unlawful
threat.
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