The Zimmerman Verdict

First, in my generation we only heard of The Zimmerman Telegram.

Now it is the Zimmerman Verdict.

This morning at the head of a story in Yahoo telling of some looting and obstruction of a highway in southern California, there was a photo of a protestor in holding a sign stating "Being Black Is Not A Crime".

and so it goes, as we once again fall on a slippery slope of justice.

Facts:

(1) the Florida legislature is guilty of passing ambiguous laws that make good politics, but bad law;

(2) the Prosecution - and, by extension, the Florida Justice system - was not up to the task at hand of prosecuting a case under a political and ambiguous law; such a case required devotion and fire  (note: the "stand your ground law" was not argued in this trial);

(3) young black men are among the groups - Arab-looking men are another - who are the silver screen on which we often run our mental films of stereotypical fear, anger, and threat;

(4) all of us have to learn to curb our instincts to confrontation - from parents at their childrens' Little League games to arguments in the halls of Congress. We must emphasize fighting for what is right, but we must also teach to de-fuse the potential for violence.

For we are a Weaponized Society.
For good or ill, we have embraced weaponry, and the USA will live the duration of its time as a Weapon Society. If guns and the culture they engender are bad, that is our fate now. If guns and their culture are good, lucky us: determine the acceptable level of people being killed by gunfire, then live with it.
We do have to adapt to a weapon society a bit better than we have, however,
We must learn that there is always the potential for a gun shot.
If we ourselves have a gun and are confident that there is a fair fight on Main Street in Tombstone, and that we will out-gun our opponent... well, fine. But if not, someone will be having a memorial on Boot Hill.

Weapon Society... get it right. There is a time to shoot, and there is a time to be humble and walk away before you get shot.

(5) being of any race is not a crime, but rioting usually is. Let us deny giving those who wish us no good more ammunition with which to defame us.

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