I promised I would let my emotions subside before I decided to post. I think to some degree I have. I think now is the time for me to state this one time, and one time only. In no way, shape, form, or fashion is the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial indicative of justice. It is an example that the system worked but not that justice was served. This tragedy, this heartbreaking, terrible, disrespectful tragedy, speaks volumes of us as a nation. Not that we are unconcerned but that we are overly concerned about the wrong aspects of justice. Justice does not start in the court room, in the jail cell, or even at the scene of the crime. Justice starts in the classrooms in which we teach disenfranchised youth that through the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom they can overcome and transcend their circumstances. Justice starts in the political arena when fair legislation is drafted to help members of the working poor. Justice starts with the pen of the congressmen who works to reform punitive penal repercussions that ruin the lives of men and women who had to chose between feeding their families and waiting on a job that may never come. Justice starts in the home when the guardian looks a child in the eye and reminds them that what they possess in between their ears is more powerful than anything ever created. Justice starts in the community when we all take notice of the situation our brothers and sisters of similar hue and struggle find themselves in. Justice starts in the most intimate interactions between man and woman when he says I love you, means it, and plans to build a life with her. Justice starts when the war on the poor stops. Justice starts when we as a nation take stock in the fact that ignorance and insecurity cause violent reactions by men and women of all races. Justice was not lost due to a verdict, justice was lost long before that. Justice was lost when Zimmerman was first exposed to the idea that black men are trouble makers and must be put in their place. We America created this monster and we America must now deal with the repercussions. So I will cry for the Martin family. As I will cry for the families who have lost sons, fathers, brothers, cousins, uncles, grandfathers, and the like to senseless acts of violence brought on by stereotypical and prejudicial thoughts and beliefs about others. Join me America in standing at the gate and say no more. No more death due to ignorance. No more death due to insecurity. No more death due to disrespect. No more death due to poverty. We change the world if we focus on solutions rather than the problem. I am looking for one, are you?
