In the aftermath of the Martin/Zimmerman case the United States of America stands divided. There are those that believe the not guilty verdict has justly resolved the matter and that this matter was not about race . Then there are those tht feel the verdict is not just and Zimmerman has unjustly gotten away with murder. The one thing that most Americans do agree on is that on the fundamental issue of Justice their's is a house divided.
The prosecution and defense both agreed that the charges and trial were not about race. For the prosecution it was about murder. For the defense it was merely about self defense. Those were the oft repeated and well articulated positions. Yet in actual fact the positions were different from those officially claimed.
Minutes after the Jury delivered the verdict the lead defense counsel claimed if Zimmerman had been black he would never have been charged. So let me understand it. Zimmerman was charged because he was not black? If that claim is believed by the Defense and the defendant to be true race was considered by them to be the prime reason for Zimmerman being charged. The defense also produced evidence to show that the area of Trayvon's murder had been victimised by a rash of burglaries in the recent past by mostly black men. After the verdict the lead counsel also claimed that Trayvon had been previously involved in a burglary or two but that they could not produce that evidence in the trial. During the 911 call Zimmerman was heard using racial epithets while describing Trayvon alleging these "a--holes always get away". Call it what ever you wish, it is certainly profiling criminal conduct that was mainly engaged in by black males. So the trailing or persistent pursuit of Trayvon by Zimmerman certainly had a racial aspect to it. For clarity and brevity one is entitled to call it racial profiling.
The prosecution in its submissions to the jury said everything that would , taken together,amount to a claim of racial profiling. But in fairness to them I do not recall them actually using the term. All the efforts of the activists and demonstrators that resulted in Zimmerman's eventual arrest and trial had already established that belief in the minds of people who, for lack of a better term, may be called Trayvon supporters. These supporters felt that Trayvon being black was profiled by Zimmerman and eventually killed and that as a 17 year old black victim Trayvon's life was not as important as that of a white kid. They claimed if Zimmerman had been black he would not have been allowed to walk free after presenting himself to the police. They believed a black Zimmerman would have been arrested , charged and tried expeditiously.
So there you have it. The Trayvon supporters believing one thing : If Zimmerman had been black he would have been charged and tried without delay. The Zimmerman team and supporters believing the opposite: If Zimmerman had been black he would never have been charged and tried. That much is quite clear just from a cursory look at the facts. If that is so this case was not only about murder and self defense it was undeniably also about Race .
My mind goes to an other image on CNN where a journalist asked a group of young black males at church to indicate by a show of hands how many of them had felt racially profiled in their lives? About 80% of the young black men raised their hands. Shocking though it was, it was quite revealing.The question of race is still very much alive and present as a part of the American narrative . We are still very far from the post racial America that many Americans dreamed of when Obama was elected president. America is a great country and still the most powerful in the world. Yet like most countries it is far from perfect. It has its demons as have others though one would have expected that two score and four years after the assassination of Martin Luther King the colour of Trayvon's skin would not have resulted in a mindless pursuit and his senseless murder.
In the agonising debate before, during and after the trial much has been written and said. Some profound and lots of it just banal. Of the former I am reminded of a black commentator on CNN asking what if any spaces were safe for young black males in America to walk and at what speed? Much was made by the defense, of Trayvon not going straight home when he had the chance to(and of course with Zimmerman in an unnecessary and totally unwarranted pursuit). Why did he not just run home ? Why did he not just keep walking home? Why could he not ignore Zimmerman? Why did Trayvon linger? Applying that standard to someone being profiled and followed by an overzealous neighbourhood watch coordinator I hazard to say there will be not be many places in America where a young black 17 year old male would be safe to walk. The safest might be inside the White House and only If you walked in the White House. Because if you are out and about in the country as President you could suffer the Lincoln/Kennedy fate. As I understand Obama gets more threats against his life than any other President in history. So even a White House stint exposes you to more danger than usual if you happen to be black (or otherwise reviled which Obama is not. At least not at this time).
It is hard to argue though as do many people that Justice is some how divisible. In an ideal state if the verdict is just for Zimmerman it ought to be equally just and felt to be so for Trayvon. We hear supporters of Zimmerman saying the not guilty verdict was just. We hear the others arguing that verdict did not do justice to Trayvon. I agree with President Obama that a nation of laws must accept the verdict and move forward to make this a better world for all for all time to come. But I am equally clear that the ideal of indivisible justice remains elusive even in the mighty United States of America belying the motto of 'One Nation, Indivisible under--'.
Justice and liberty are indivisible in the world. Any injustice anywhere diminishes my liberty and the justness of my existence.
Ujjal Dosanjh
