It is summer time, that time of year when we are frequently blessed
with the fragrant aroma of our neighbors preparing their meals outside on a gas-fired
grill.
Mmmmmm. Steak…
When I was younger, I would stoke our Weber™ grill with a
bag of charcoal and apply most of a can of lighter fluid to it before striking
the match. This would create a spectacular flame – satisfying my inner
pyromaniac – producing an instantaneous, but short-lived, heat. I would throw a
slab of meat into the fire like an ancient sacrifice, quickly retrieve my burnt
offering, and remorsefully eat my over-cooked dinner.
Since then, the First Mate has taught me a better way of
grilling – “low and slow”. Lower heat and a slow cooking process that will
render a perfect, medium-rare steak almost every time.
I take that same approach now when responding to the big
news stories of the day. While others feel the need to sound off immediately
and emotionally – as if there’s some prize for being first and fervent – I choose
to sit back with a glass of my favorite libation and carefully ponder a more
thoughtful response.
As with grilling, I have found that this method helps prevent
getting my meat burned.
Which brings us to the big news of the week, the Zimmerman
trial. Like me, you’ve probably heard more about this than you care to. From
the intentionally inflammatory coverage after the shooting, to the wall-to-wall
coverage of the trial, to the outrage vented via Facebook and Twitter, to the
endless commentaries that have followed, we’ve beaten that horse to death now.
In fact, you have probably heard so much already that you’re
not really interested in reading the rest of this blog post. And that’s okay. I
write for myself. It’s like therapy, only cheaper.
Just remember, “low and slow.” Thank you and come again soon.
Back to the Zimmerman case: what do we really know about
what happened that night?
The incident happened February 26, 2012 in Sanford, FL. Twenty-eight-year-old
George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Those are the facts. They are undisputed.
But even when the facts seem clear, in America we allow
everyone a fair trial. And George Zimmerman got his last week.
Unfortunately, over the 16 months that followed the shooting,
the media has tried this case in the court of public opinion, at times misrepresenting
the case, at times distorting the facts. But since the news media are not
trained attorneys and are not bound by the same ethics, they were not obligated
to present the information in either a fair or accurate manner. And I’m
guessing, from the outcry I am hearing, that many people in this country
latched onto one of those early reports and decided the fate of George
Zimmerman before his trial ever took place.
So much for being entitled to “a jury of one’s peers” and “innocent
until proven guilty”, two concepts we used to hold dear.
Entered into the record we have George Zimmerman’s self-protecting
account of what happened that night, although he never took the stand in his
own defense. What we don’t have is Trayvon Martin’s testimony. He’s dead. So we
will never know for sure what actually transpired between them.
Thus, the court case was narrowly focused on the state of
mind of George Zimmerman at the moment he pulled the trigger. All other
information was deemed irrelevant, despite what Nancy Grace might think.
-Should
George Zimmerman have followed Trayvon Martin that fateful night? Irrelevant.
-Should
Zimmerman have stayed in his car like he was instructed to by the police?
Irrelevant.
-Should he
have been carrying a gun on his Neighborhood Watch patrol? Irrelevant.
-Is he a racist? Irrelevant.
-Did he
fear for his life? Yes. Perhaps because he is a racist, but that, again, is irrelevant.
The defense team convinced the jury that George Zimmerman
did, in fact, fear for his life at the moment he pulled and fired his weapon,
making it a simple case of self-defense.
I say simple, but we must remember that a teenager died.
And in truth, no verdict – innocent or guilty – could ever
replace the life that was taken.
So now the jury has spoken. And within the framework of our
laws, like it or not, justice has been served. I can accept that. I have to
accept that. We are a people of laws.
Because we don’t particularly care for the outcome does not
give us the right to participate in violent protests, assault passersby, and loot
local merchants as we have seen. I will not accept that.
And I cannot accept the violence that so many did to this tragic
story in other ways, twisting it around to aid completely unrelated causes:
-Anti-racism
groups immediately shouted, “If Trayvon had been white, Zimmerman would already
be on Death Row.” “If Zimmerman had been black, we never would have heard of
this case.” “This is about racial profiling.” “This is about white fear of the young
black man.”
-Anti-abortion
people started crying, “We get upset over the death of this one teenager, but
ignore the thousands of children who are murdered each year by abortions.”
-Anti-gun
people pretend to be incredulous: “Can you believe they are giving Zimmerman
his gun back?”
-Anti-“stand
your ground” people are demanding a better law and better legislators.
All good points, but completely self-serving.
Trayvon Martin is not a “cause”, not a mascot, not a tool to
be used to manipulate our feelings. He was a person. Somebody’s son. Somebody’s
brother. And now he’s dead.
As I reach to pour myself another drink – I apologize for
the length of this post – I realize that oftentimes our words get in the way. More
often than not, at times like these we should just shut our mouths and hold close
those who grieve.
Low and slow…
