strange fruit

so, justice? we got the arrest, we got the charges. but did we really get justice? did the martin family really get justice? i think not. the state of florida, who failed to find the killer of caylee anthony, or bungled the case against her mother, casey. the same state that several times let aaron hernandez walk on felony charges. the same state that did not afford a self defense argument to a woman, victimized by her abusive husband, when she fired her gun into the air. the state of florida has proven time and again that they cannot or will not find justice for anybody. and, with the verdict in this case, it's clear that on even down to the local level will be no justice for certain people.

why won't i just say that black men can't have justice? well, because that's obvious. that's always been obvious. we've known that since dredd scott had his freedom stripped from him in the famous supreme court case. the truth is in this country no white or white looking person will ever be convicted of doing anything to a black man. if that was somehow obscured by the election of  president obama, now it''s clear again. the mask is off of america and it's face is as white as it's always been. what i will say is something that might be lost on some people: this trial was a joke. zimmerman's intent was never questioned. his reasons for profiling martin were never pushed to the forefront. his psychological history was never raised. his criminal background never researched. no toxicology screen was given to the assailant. evidence containing DNA was bagged in such a way that it degraded to the point of ruin. the states attorney used ethically questionable practices with their evidence. and the way the witnesses were handled was an absolute travesty.

so what now? do we take to the streets and burn it all down? no. we fight. the right way. by taking the power back from those who would see us remain second class citizens. by urging our lawmakers to change the ridiculous laws that led to this travesty of justice. by changing our gun laws so men like zimmerman can't kill a human whom they've unfairly profiled and keep the weapon. how about by automatically treating every incident of gun violence as a potential felony FROM THE START instead of waiting over a month to start the investigation in earnest. or pushing for laws that put the ownus on the profiler, rulling the incident to have been initiated from the point wher the profiler becomes the pursuer?

there were some poignant points made on the issue tonight. one of my twitter followers who's race is the same as mine and trayvons asked "what am i supposed to tell me son to do when a man with a gun comes up to him now?". because trayvon defended himself and was killed. and according to the jury he brought it on himself. because he defended his life he was at fault when his life was taken. and mark o'mara, the defense attorney, asked why the young man felt it was necessary to lash out violently at his pursuer. we'll never know trayvon's mindset. unlike his killer, hew wasn't available to defend himself at trial.