Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Each day I check to see the ongoing developments in the case of Trayvon and the public outcry for justice. Recently there has been a flurry of what is essentially mudslinging, making comments on his school record, his suspensions, his possession of a baggie of marijuana residue, and his suspension(s) one of which was related to graffiti on school property. At the same time that all of this is going on in virtually every media outlet, I come across a post that a friend of a friend has made on their Facebook demanding a public outcry for justice of a man and his girlfriend who were brutally murdered and suffered, in additional to other brutal act, the removal of the man's penis, as well as being set on fire. Now of course, this little outcry tries to play the racial card and state that it did not get media attention because of the fact that it was black on white crime, not white on black crime, despite the fact that Trayvon's gunman was half Latino, making this not quite white on black crime. All of the arguments I just mentioned hold little value. Firstly, simply because a teenager has decided to perform vandalism and marijuana related offenses, does not indicate that they are a violent person or a hoodlum in general. At most, it suggests that they experiment with substances (like a lot of teenagers) and that they make poor decisions that were most likely performed in the company of questionable friends who make equally poor, immature decisions (like a lot of teenagers). Half of the individuals I went to high school with almost ten years ago were occasional users of marijuana, and I know of quite a few that made some stupid decisions that involved theft, vandalism, and other petty crimes. None of those individuals however were general hoodlums and only a few ever went on to commit substantial criminal acts to my knowledge. To say that Trayvon's behavior in his teens is an indicator that he was more or less asking to be shot in self defense of a mugging is a very far stretch, if not absurd. As far as the racial issue is concerned, there is none. This case and the prosecution (or lack thereof) of Trayvon's shooter is a case of justifiable self defense, Florida's "stand your ground" law, and other general gun control issues. If the incident had occurred in another state that requires perceived threat of robbery, rape, or threat to life, Trayvon's shooter would probably be in custody as we speak, guilty of using excessive force in self defense. These issues have nothing to do with the unfortunate murder of the other individual, and while the other crime is a brutal atrocity, it is one that is likely to gain little media attention due to the lack of controversial issues surrounding it. There are plenty of individuals that are brutally slain each year, but their murders gain little media attention because at the end of the day, they are a simple murder case, with a victim, an offender, and a murder weapon. Perhaps they were killed by a knife, perhaps by a gun, or perhaps they were drawn and quartered by horses in the assailant's backyard and their remains strewn about the countryside. At the end of the day all three of those crimes are murder. There are no gun laws, or self-defense statures, or controversial political topics that could be invoked, and as such, the story makes for poor news. Should all of those crimes be investigated? Most definitely. Should all of them be pursued and the offenders prosecuted to the furthest extend of the law following a trial by a jury of their peers? Certainly. All of those cases however do not demand a dog and pony show however, nor do they demand a tabloid-like presentation of the case that is broadcast to every media outlet. News is, after all, a source of entertainment as well as facts; something made very evident by the flashy and noisy introductions to the nightly news and each section of it. If anything, such massive media attention takes something away from the case as it makes many individuals tired of hearing about it, and as their interest fades, so do their emotions associated with their stance on the issue. The take home message is this: if you want justice, facts, and the closure of a case, pursue the case in the legal system as much as you can, stand up for issues which you believe in, and obtain your news from a minimally glamorized source like NPR. If you want to laugh, cry, and be entertained, turn on the news; but do not start to whine when the story you were expecting to hear doesn't make the 10PM headlines.

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