What the Trayvon Martin Case Says About Us

(Article first published as What the Trayvon Martin Case Says About Us on Technorati)

Only God in heaven knows how the case regarding the February 26, 2012, shooting death of Trayvon Martin will end.  But even with what we do know and what we don’t, this tragedy says some things about us as a nation.

As far as I know, only two living witnesses know exactly what happened that fateful night. They are God and George Zimmerman, the one who shot and killed Trayvon, and right now neither of these witnesses is talking.  Reportedly, there is a person who claims to have witnessed the shooting, but I am sure we will find out more on that with time as well. My point is that if I were to express in writing my take on what happened and the context in which it happened the night of the incident, it would be speculation at best.

So what does the Trayvon Martin case say about us? One, which I am sure that most will agree, is that evil is alive and well in our society. Regardless to whether or not the situation was that Trayvon attacked Zimmerman and he killed the teen in self-defense, or that Zimmerman unjustifiably killed or murdered an innocent teen, or that the truth is somewhere betwixt these possibilities, evil prevailed that fateful night.

Two, racism has not taken a hike. I have read several articles on the Trayvon Martin tragedy, and when I read some of the comments, a number of them were racially charged and directed at those who had posted previous comments. Unfortunately, too many people won’t be able to see beyond the color of Trayvon and Zimmerman’s skin. I certainly believe America has made much progress in the area of race relations, but what the Trayvon Martin case says about us is that we still have a long way to go.

Then there are statements like that of Geraldo Rivera who said that Trayvon was partially responsible for his own death because he was wearing a hoodie. Say what! I’m not quite sure what to do with that statement. But—it all feeds into the discussion as to what this case says about us as a nation.

I submit to you that evil and racism, which is an evil itself, won’t ever cease to exist-- not in this world. They will remain and continue to raise their ugly heads until the Lord Jesus Christ returns and establishes His Kingdom. But still it behooves us to do whatever  we can to wage war on the evils of our society. To be sure, we have much room for improvement. That’s what the Trayvon tragedy says about us.

Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.