Martin-Zimmerman

The acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin will outrage some and make others feel safer. Neither reaction is rational.

 

The confrontation of an unrecognized 17-year-old by a 28-year-old resident in a gated community in Florida was not in itself anything unpredictable. I understand the defensiveness of people who retreat to gated communities. I do not share it.

 

For example, yesterday there were seven muscular and tall adolescents on my subway car. They were loudly speaking what sounded like Portuguese. I speculated that they are of Cape Verde heritage. They intimidated the other passengers on the car with their loud and violent behavior toward each other, which included a brief wrestling match between two of them. When they exited the train at my stop, they blocked the exit stairs and continued to be loud and raucous. A petite woman who was near me on the stairs stood unusually close to me as we slowly ascended behind the cavorting and clueless bunch. She followed on my heels for several blocks as we walked from the station. She looked very afraid.

 

If those adolescents turned their aggression on me and if I was armed, I would have drawn my firearm in defense. No question. And, if they attacked me, I would have discharged my firearm. No question. This is why I choose not to own a firearm.

 

I do not believe guns are the solution to feeling afraid. I do not live in a gated community. I do not believe retreating behind gates (social segregation) is the healthy solution to feeling uncomfortable with social change.

 

The State of Florida apparently believes in gates and guns. Trayvon Martin apparently did not fully comprehend where he was . He had no acquired respect for the fear of those who retreat behind gates. It would have served him well. George Zimmerman did not fully comprehend how miserably fearful he was. He also did not comprehend that his mental state was not up to the responsibility of owning a gun.

 

The meeting of these two human beings was intrinsically fraught with dangers, just as my encounter on the subway was. However, guns and poor socialization collided with an irreversible result. Martin is dead. Zimmerman will never have a truly peaceful life. Martin was not a martyr. Zimmerman is not a paragon of civility. The problems lie in poor education, poor socialization, poor mental health treatment and, most of all, the inappropriate and dangerous presence of hand guns in our civilian society.