Trayvon Martin: How to Stop the Bullying

Trayvon Martin: How to Stop the Bullying

What we are witnessing as events occurring in the wake of the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin at the hands of self-appointed vigilante, George Zimmerman, are both disgusting and absolutely absurd. As there is no reasonable justification for not having arrested Zimmerman yet, I am forced to conclude that the justice system has failed the Martin Family and the American public yet again. It is very apparent that compassionate concern for the well-being of others and a sense of justice and fair-play are not motivating factors for the members of the Zimmerman family who spoke-out, a prosecutor’s office that cannot seem to make an arrest, an NRA that constantly finds the worst cases, places, and times at which to lend support, many in the media who are milking this for all its worth, and those who have chosen to contribute to a defense fund of George Zimmerman, as if he has somehow been victimized in all of this.

Rule #1 for any business is to stay in business. So, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that the case is being tried in the media. News media outlets are known to ride the wave of one big story until the next presents itself. So, news outlets have ‘experts’ doing voice enhancement and video-analysis, along with exclusive interviews as a means of engaging the public. From the beginning, this was an open-and-shut case. Anyone with half-a-brain could clearly see that the killing should have resulted in an arrest. Up-to this day, the evidence presented has been skewed to give George Zimmerman a fighting chance in the minds and hearts of the viewing public. Perhaps, they are hoping it gets to the point where George cannot get a fair trial anywhere in America. Still, while I think this practice of creating news-media bias is quite disgusting, it has been the way news operations have conducted business for years and it is the price we pay for national attention in the news.

They say – George Zimmerman is suffering from PTSD as a result of all this. Well, I am no expert, but if I had to take a guess as to the cause of this ‘PTSD’, I could say it in one word – guilt! George Zimmerman is surrounded by friends and family who are obviously willing to do anything and everything within their power to protect him – right or wrong, even if it means obstructing justice. So, not only does George harbor the feelings of guilt associated with the killing, he now has to cope and contend with the lying, deception, and trickery orchestrated in his defense. This is likely eating him up inside and with no means of restoring inner peace, he may even become suicidal. In the event something like that does occur, few will make the connection. So, it is really in the best interest of everyone that Lady Justice has her day. The proper application of justice is a restorative measure that has a way of healing the wounds for all affected. To run from justice is to run from the very thing that could bring about the healing that everyone seeks.

Obviously, there are few in this situation with an understanding the aforementioned principle of justice or this fiasco would not have dragged-on as long. So, since it has been proven time and again that the criminal justice system does not work for the American public (in general) and Black Americans in particular, we have no choice but to develop means and methods of protecting and seeking justice for ourselves. History has shown that violent confrontation is not an effective means of solving problems. It only results in more people getting hurt or killed. So, the use of guns in taking the lives of humans is part of the problem – not a solution. Dumb meets dumber when we decide – “Oh, he has a gun, so I will get a gun too.” To attempt to prove to someone that fire burns by setting something ablaze yourself every time they start one is completely illogical.

What tends to work is to discover what motivates people to action and use that as a means of getting what you want. The child who will not eat his vegetables is either offered a cookie as a reward or denied a cookie as a punishment. Where the child is strong-willed, you simply take every child’s cookies away. Thus, the will of the child is broken in realizing he will lose the support of the group. Those who seek justice for Trayvon Martin must realize that we are dealing with bullies who are not moved by a sense of compassionate concern for the well-being of the community or even fair-play and the desire to have each man have his day in court. We are dealing with people who think that whatever they do is right, simply by right of the fact that they have the power and they feel they are better. So, how dare the Martin family question their authority, much less their reason and logic?

These are bullies we are dealing with. They don’t feel things in the way you and I feel. They get a sensation from bumping into people and knocking them down, not helping them up. Attempts to take away their cookie will result in their taking someone else’s cookie, since they feel they are cowboys who are entitled to cookies. So, you have to take away all cookies as a means of keeping these bullies in-line. In the case of justice for Trayvon Martin (and anyone else who cannot get justice), it means a boycott. It means placing sanctions on the state of Florida. We will not spend money in the state of Florida until you decide to do what’s right. We will not vacation there. We will not visit your sports arenas or your movie houses. We will not buy cars or homes there, until this situation is resolved. We might not show up for work. We will choose one grocery store from which to buy food and one gas station from which to buy gas. The rest of you can spend your time figuring out why we are upset.

The chanting, rallying, and hoodie-wearing provided a positive outlet for the anger and frustration felt by the nation over the loss of yet another one of our children. Now, along with supporting a tired and anguished Martin family that has not had time to grieve the loss of their son, we must take action that works. When the money dries up, bigger bullies will begin to surface. These are the kinds of people whose phone calls leave puzzled looks on everyone’s faces for wondering what happened. “Oh, wow! George’s dad brought him to the station to turn him in today. How did that happen? He says he is going to support his son, but that the public deserves to know the truth of this matter – whatever that should happen to be.”

Everyone has a gun. So, the anger and frustration that results in threats of violence will not solve anything. A quiet, dignified show of strength will get the attention of the world. “You gotta’ be real careful. Don’t mess with those people. They will stop eating. They will stop buying gas. They will stop performing for you. They will stop advising you. They will stop all dealings with you. They will stop talking to you. You want to see it get real dark outside. Let something happen to one of their babies. So, be extra careful with how you handle them.” Carelessness and a lack of respect is often an outgrowth of one’s inability to set clear boundaries and consequences. The free for all must end. When we get ready and willing to lay down the law, others will obey. The challenge is – we must first have discipline ourselves. Prayer, meditation, and a better diet are all tools that could be used to expand our awareness and enhance our ability to discipline ourselves. It is time we finally get justice for Trayvon and take some first steps toward stopping the bullies that are attacking and killing our children every day in America.

Copyright. James Will Power. 2012

James Power is a writer and metaphysics lecturer from Baltimore, Maryland. His work appears on Youtube at: www.youtube.com/metachannel and e-mail correspondence can be sent to: jameswillpower@gmail.com.

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The Next Trayvon Martin - A Matter of Time

Americans are to be applauded for coming together to decry the senseless and heinous murder of young Trayon Martin. This is a case where there was no justification for the murder of 17-year old Trayon, no justification for allowing the self-appointed vigilante, George Zimmerman, to walk the streets for so long without an arrest, and certainly no justification for the Sanford, Florida police chief, Bill Lee’s staunch and defiant defense of Zimmerman where the evidence showed, witnesses stated, and the whole world could clearly see Zimmerman was dead-wrong. There is a saying -"Three strikes and you're out." The actions of those entrusted and charged with protecting and serving the Sanford community show us that these folks are completely out-of-touch with even the most rudimentary sense of discernment, justice, and concern for the welfare of the public.

The Million Hoodie March is a commendable movement. It is in-step with the natural evolution of peace demonstrations. As opposed to a disruptive or destructive message, the American public chose to don hoodies as a means of protesting this outrageous miscarriage of justice. Some sent Skittles to police-chief Lee who eventually had a 'crisis of consciousness' that resulted in him stepping-down temporarily. There is simply no way he could satisfactorily respond to questions that are being raised about his professionalism and character, in light of the gross mismanagement of the people in his charge and this case in particular.

Tragedy has a way of unifying the human family in our resolve to see change for the better. Still, I could not help but think that something is missing from this and other movements whose aim is to expose the injustice suffered by the community at the hands of its leadership. If a problem keeps presenting itself perhaps the solution employed is inadequate for satisfactorily handling the problem. Every few months, some innocent teen is gunned-down at the hands of a 'peace officer'. We speak-out. We march. We protest. Then, it happens again. This has been a recurring cycle for many, many generations.

So, are there some 'next steps' that could be employed in ending this cycle of tragic shooting deaths that are the result of the senseless abuse of power? Certainly! I would humbly submit that the embrace of such would constitute an evolution in our social interaction as a species. Before determining the choices available to us, I think it necessary to take a careful look at where we are. What characterizes who we are, our behavior, and what could be termed 'the current level of our collective consciousness' with respect to guns and gun violence?

What does our allowing the continued manufacture of weapons and ammunition that are eventually used to kill other members of the human family say about us? What does the fact that we continue to celebrate the promotion of violence in our media say about us? What does our prevailing attitude about 'getting them' before they get us say about us? When and from where have we adopted this attitude about other members of the human race – that their lives are expendable? Do we not all feel pain when it is inflicted or the hurt and sorrow that accompanies the tragic loss of loved ones?

Given his prejudice, hatred, and distrust of African-Americans, George Zimmerman should never have accepted or been allowed to maintain a position as ‘peace officer’ in that neighborhood. Still, if we look at the history of our species on this planet, we clearly see that conflict of a tribal, ethnic, and racial nature has plagued us for thousands of years. It should not come as a shock to us that Zimmerman had not evolved beyond that behavior himself when we can plainly see that humanity has not evolved beyond it. Simple observation is proof that pigeons are more prone to fight other types of birds than to fight with their own. Most dogs are more likely to attack dogs of other breeds than to attack their own. So, is it sensible to be more outraged that George Zimmerman (who is not black) killed a black man than we would at the killing of black men, women, and children at the hands of other black men day-in and day-out?

Why are black Americans killing one another at such alarming rates? Further, why is there no outcry in the black community commensurate with the heinousness of crimes within and throughout our own community? I think this is a valid question in light of the fact that hundreds-of-thousands of people (many African- Americans) rallied for justice for Trayvon. Where is the rally for a cleaner, more peaceful, more productive black community? Again, I understand. Fear and love are motivators. Something about this handsome young man touched us. And, where we don’t see the faces of the thousands of silent victims who fall to gun-violence each year, this event became a national news story. So, none of this is to state that the community should have been less vocal about Trayvon, but we could stand to be more vocal about black-on-black and black-on-anybody-else crime too. Killing is wrong – period.

Let's re-focus for a minute. As Americans, there was no collective outcry against the injustice suffered by the Afghani families at the hands of the American soldier who went on a rampage killing fifteen people - mostly women and children early in March 2012. We seem to have an 'us versus them' mentality, where we could care less about what happens to them because they are not us. So, the death of ‘them’ is tolerable. I think we can all agree that as a collective, we don’t ‘feel’ for one another in the way that we should. Post 9/11/2001, we were all on high alert. There were fears that planes could fall from the sky at any moment. We needed to protect those we loved. So, we budgeted for TSA agents and air marshals. Flash-forward to today, millions of Americans are groped and mishandled in airports daily. Yet, we allow non-commuter planes to criss-cross our skies daily forming X's and O's, dumping chemical stews only a chemist could appreciate. The dominating emotions are fear and love. These emotions drive us, even to take action against ourselves. Where no one is stoking the flames of ‘fear’ or pulling on our heart-strings, we often find a way to live with anything that has become the status quo.

To be American is to exist with quite a few very, obviously contradictory realities. More Trayvon Martins die at the hands of people who resemble Trayvon Martin than people who look like George Zimmerman. And, we focus more energy on seeking justice where one or two individuals are concerned than on solving the problems that plague the collective. An ad featured on Baltimore's mass transit system reads "Only a punk would hurt a dog." In response, I could not help but think - only a fool would hurt another human. So, again, we have to take a sobering look at just how evolved we actually are in contrast to how evolved we might claim to be. At the root of George Zimmerman's corruption is the fact that he considered himself to be better than Trayvon. He placed a far greater value on his life than on Trayon's life. At the core of police chief Lee’s corruption was that he placed more value on Zimmerman's right to liberty than on Trayon's right to see justice served. At the core of America and our world's corruption is that we allow for invidious cultural and class-distinctions.

So, the first step toward a solution is to realize that we have not yet evolved enough to perceive the oneness of the human family. Certain persons may have evolved individually, but as a collective we seem to be running on that old operating system. Well, the second step toward an evolution in our collective consciousness is to realize the need to stop lending our support to ideas that are counter to our human 'right to life'. This is challenging, because humans have as part of our nature ‘animal instincts.’ Part of what it means to be human is to accept the ideas of ‘fight’ and ‘flight’. The question is – can we evolve beyond these concepts to embrace something better?

Where there is suffering and gross injustice, we must cry-out. Still, greater sacrifices are demanded of us if we are to turn the tide and realize a day where there is no violence on our planet. Humorist and humanitarian, Dick Gregory, is just one example of someone who has dedicated his life to making that greater sacrifice. Not only does he speak out, he sits-in, fasts, and uses the popularity he gained a comedian, civil rights activist, and cultural critic to give more toward the evolution of human consciousness.

Now, whether we inherit a 'violence gene' at birth is uncertain. Still, have you ever noticed that young children seem to realize that we have a relationship with money and guns from birth? A year-old baby will toss the bottle and the rattle from the high-chair. However, you will notice that the same baby keeps a death-grip hold on all dollar bills. Many toddlers, boys especially, will realize early on that playing 'cops and robbers' and getting the bad guys is just something we do.

So, whether it is genetic inheritance or a combination of that and other factors, we have to admit - violence is simply something we do. And, that is an absolutely sad thing, because the Americans who say "I am Trayvon Martin" realize that where Trayvon Martin died yesterday, another Trayvon will lose his life today, and the next will die tomorrow. I mean - it is only a matter of time before an over-zealous cop shoots some kid in the back, a deranged, gun-wielding lunatic shoots up some school, or some over-stressed, exasperated parent kills the children. So, rest in peace, Trayvon Martin. It is bitter-sweet that your short life has to be another call to consciousness for the rest of us. Perhaps, we are one day closer to the moment where we embrace this ultimate challenge we face in our evolution as a species – that of allowing others the same right to life that we hold dear.

James Will Power. Copyright. 2012. James Power is a writer and metaphysics lecturer. He can be reached via e-mail at: jameswillpower@gmail.com

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