I'm going to admit right now that I don't know as much as I could about the Treyvon Martin murder case. I've followed it a little bit since the day it happened, but haven't really heard any new information about it since then. But I have seen people's reactions to it and, as always, it's kind of ridiculous to see how people are reacting.
Most people who I know might say something like "What George Zimmerman did was horrible and there's very little doubt that he was acting on racial prejudice." and "He should have been arrested on sight." I would agree and I fully understand why people have gotten upset, even those who have nothing to do with any of it. But I feel as if a whole nation has suddenly taken up a cause (like we do so often) just because it's the popular thing to talk about. And it's even worse when we so unanimously seek blood!
I find it scary that a whole nation has suddenly risen up and is now calling for Zimmerman's head on a pike! Yes, he deserves justice. But that's just it! We have a justice system that has to do it's job! If it does it's job poorly then we have a right to complain and things should be changed. But as far as this case goes we really need to pick our battles. Things have to be taken care of one thing at a time. I feel like people need to calm down and stop criticizing a system that hasn't even had time to do it's job. And part of that job is investigating the people involved, and the exact events at the scene of the crime.
Many people feel that the history of these two people are irrelevant to the case. But, in my opinion, there is absolutely no reason why looking at their history is a bad thing. As for Zimmerman, if it proves that he was extremely racist and violent in nature, then it gives fuel to the prosecution. But, theoretically, if he was a peaceful man with no racism that anyone was aware of, then it's going to be a bit harder case to prove. But having all of the information you can is pretty much the only way to prove anything. And there's a possibility that it might prove things that nobody want's to believe.
I think that if we need to look into Zimmerman's past then we should look into Trayvon's past too. Nobody want's to hear that they might find something to prove that Trayvon was somehow not the perfect, upstanding youth that he's so far been portrayed as. And personally, I have no idea who he was. Obviously, he is dead and it's disrespectful to criticize him or dig around to find the negative aspects of his life. But that doesn't mean that we should just assume that he was a perfect saint. He was a kid, and there's no denying that kids don't always act rationally. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, understanding exactly who he was may help explain more of what may have happened on the night of his death!
But what I'm really interested in (as I've said before) is what actually happened at the scene. What do witnesses say? What does the evidence say? Is there any way that we can know exactly how the incident unfolded? So far I've heard very little that can prove any concrete facts. 911 calls are a very good lead, but a 911 call leaves a lot to the imagination.
It's true that looking into these people's pasts and knowing exactly what happened at the scene of the crime will not change anything that actually happened. A young man is dead and it's a tragic loss. But, unfortunately, that fact does not mean that proper insight would not change anything that matters. What matters right now is that the correct people have their facts straight before we sentence a man to death (which is a real possibility in Florida). We cannot be a country that succumbs to Mob Rule.
Edit:
This video by TYT is relevant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F2yMGLHtFGk
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