Stolen People cannot expect justice on Stolen Land.
(from a facebook post)
I am not into politics in any way, shape or form but I do follow many trials. Usually those that involve great injustices. I have followed the Trayvon Martin story since day 1. I did not understand it. The kid was shot in the heart because a vigilante neighborhood watch man did not think he “fit” the demographic of the area. This man and Trayvon Martin got into a scuffle and he was shot in the heart. Oh did I forget to mention, this man called 911 and was told NOT TO FOLLOW the boy. I still am trying to figure out what Trayvon was doing that even made George Zimmerman suspicious. He was walking…. oh right, walking in a neighborhood that apparently he did not “fit” in! Today there was a verdict in this case and of course he was found not guilty. The jury believes that he acted in self defense. Self defense of a boy carrying juice and candy. Yes, Trayvon, in fear of his own life got into a sparring match with him but why did Zimmerman even have a gun on him. He instigated an altercation and then killed a young man. There should be repercussions for that. This week a florida woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for firing WARNING shots inside her home when her abusive husband that she has a protection order against came after her.
The sad part was I am not surprised in the least with the verdict. We have a very flawed judicial system but the prosecution did not do their part either. Their key witness was not prepared and her bumbling on the stand played a huge role in not convicting George Zimmerman. I remember when Troy Davis was executed for a crime that no one knows if he committed or not. The witnesses recanted and the evidence was heavily flawed but hey, he was still murdered by the United States for it. It took me a long time to feel ok after that. I just do not understand it. I live in a world of right and wrong, fair and unfair but unfortunately its not reality. I do not want to believe in racism but I know it is alive and well. I have friends of all races and ethnicities and have been blessed enough not to have personally dealt with blatant racism but I have seen prejudices. Social media allows us all to have constant access to others’ opinion and thoughts and today I realized how small minded and low key racist alot of my so-called friends from my college days have grown to be. It disappoints and haunts me. When will we ever stop and realize we ARE ALL humans and ALL equals! The quote at the beginning of this post really struck a chord with me. We are a stolen people living in a stolen land. But I refuse to believe we cannot have true justice. I will never lose hope on humanity. I will have faith that my fellow non-whites can feel as if they are equals in this country. It is not easy being a woman in America (well the world) and even harder being a NON-White woman in America. I am truly saddened by the verdict today but just like we all petitioned and overwhelmed social media about Troy Davis and Jena Six, we cannot wait until the next “heavily publicized”injustice to come out. We have to better ourselves and work for peace. Kick out the hate and replace it with love. Educate and mentor our youth.
As fashion and style bloggers, let us try to visit, support and comment on sites that are not whom we typically think we would like. Lets see more non-whites supporting white bloggers and vice versa. Let us not stay in categories and just recognize style as what it is. Let us pop the bubbles we put ourselves in. It is small but it may help. It is far too segregated just in this small DC fashion world. No more divide!
My prayers and heart go out to Trayvon Martin’s family and even George Zimmerman. I refuse to hate that man but hope he repents for what he did. I also hope that no one who sees him attempts to be a vigilante and take matters into their own hands. Two wrongs do not make a right. Ever.
