Faithful Readers, my life's ambition has been to write about something that matters. I've written at length about this before and I still don't feel as if my thoughts have made an impact at all in the world. It's a helpless type of feeling, much akin to seeing someone drown unable to reach their hand to pull them out.
This week is vacation week for me and I feel as if the moment I step outside of my responsibilities in order to take a much needed break that the cohesion I worked so hard to create within my work and others' lives disintegrates and falls apart. So now the reports I hear remind me of a flag flapping in a gale storm of bizarre incidents and it gives me pause to ponder these events...
I'll start where I can start and hopefully everything makes sense... hopefully it makes more sense to you than it does to me. K, shut eyes... take breath... here we GO!
The first topic that has my brain boggling with controversial rage is this unfortunate situation unfolding in Florida. The 17 year old kid that got shot. Tragic; I feel for his family. So pointless to have a son taken away over something that most definitely could have been avoided.
But what has irked me is the level of racist thoughts and demonstrations that have come as a result of this incident. The controversy never ends and it's people's prejudice that perpetuates it... My brain is processing far beyond my words per minute capabilities so I will try to explain my reasons on this event as clearly as possible.
1. The improper use of inductive reasoning. Here's what we know: The kid was walking around a gated community at night with his hood up. The guy who winds up shooting him was on neighborhood watch, called the police to report suspicious activity and winds up following this kid against the recommendation of the dispatcher. Something happens, and there's an alleged altercation and a bullet goes through the kid.
The first conclusion drawn by some people - Racism is at the core of this incident... Sorry, I can't make that jump based on the evidence. Did this guy use some inductive reasoning when trailing this kid? Yeah, probably. Kid + Night + Vigilant = possible misunderstanding. Hind-sight is always 20/20, but this guy has taken it upon himself to protect his community. You can infer that a lot more easily than jumping to racism, especially given the history of this individual.
So the fact that this was a black kid and a white/Hispanic guy who shot coupled with the fact that no arrest was made that night (which was the expectation of justice for the parents and now for all involved) brings about cries of racism far and abroad on all sides culminating with the new Black Panthers issuing a $10,000 bounty on this guy's head. Sad state of affairs at the moment.
All of these stipulations of racism are conjectured or projected since the investigation is currently ongoing.
2. Lack of trust in the judicial system. I have had someone make the claim that justice is being perverted simply because this is not going to trial. I feel sad when our own people do not fully understand how the legal system works. This point will also attempt to bring in the aspect of God in Christian's view of legality, but we'll get to that.
So here's the deal with the legal system, it's set in place to protect people from false claims about one's innocence. Anyone can accuse someone of something, but an investigation is normally the first step to conclude whether or not there's enough evidence to base a case on it. This is precisely what is happening now and what is irritating people to death (surmounting the cries of ''RACISM!") is that both the police and FBI are unable to determine enough evidence to warrant criminal charges.
Why this upsets people? They want to prejudge him as guilty or needing to prove his innocence. However, that's not how our system works. Even IF everyone knows "HE DID IT!" our courts are designed to protect people from false accusations. See, a compelling argument for why someone is guilty is only effective when it's coupled with physical evidence or eye-witness accounts form reliable sources. This is why such cases as the Ramsey or O.J. incidents come out the way they did. Is the system broken? NO. It's working as it's supposed to. Reason and proper arguments prevail and, believe me, it's MUCH preferable to the alternative of being able to have retribution heaped upon you from a solid argument alone.
Where does God play in? Christians demand justice be served and become irate when the system "fails." As I've just said, the system didn't fail, it's just operating as well as it can. So often we people expect absolute Justice (such a thing is only possible by God's hand, not our own.) from our finite and human systems. This could only come close to perfection if our courts and judges were omniscient. What a fantastic expectation. "HE DID IT! YOU SHOULD CONVICT!" It's when Christians take this attitude that they intend to strip God of HIS authority and place the unwarranted burden upon the courts to supply perfect justice.
Let the system work how it works and allow God to handle what the limits of the system cannot do. This is what the Bible means when it tells us not to judge. Who can know the hearts of man but God the Father? That's why our courts are based on evidence. We can deduce guilt based on what is presented (physical evidence, eye witnesses, and analysis of testimony), but when we presume to infer guilt by inductive reasoning and demand judgment on things we are unsure of, we fall short of the attitude towards Justice that God intends for us.
3. Divisions... This is my least favorite of any controversy. Because there are still wounds from the racial history in America, this one incident re-sparks the sensitivity and undue wariness that causes everyone to take a huge step backwards in progressing as a united nation. If you don't agree a certain way, you're labeled as no good, racist, ignorant, blind, stupid, bigoted, etc... I'm sick of it. For the reasons I have explained above, this incident shouldn't tear us apart. We DON'T know all the facts. Those closest to this thing, the investigators, the guy involved, they know. The truth will come out. Justice will be served either in our courts or in God's. That might not satisfy everyone but, my goodness, don't make this about overarching issues that have no business being resurrected. One kid being shot does NOT equal rampant racism spreading in America... unless we make it happen. Such is the unfortunate result of pendulum backlash...
Thanks for reading! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. Do you agree? disagree? Share your reasoning; I'm more than happy to converse.
It all boils down to the circumstantial and factual evidence of the incident, and I think that there were errors by both parties. The investigators and grand jury are the ones to deal with it, not turning to mob violence mentality, disclosure of personal home addresses, and death threats. I think it is the straw that broke the camel's back as far as racial tension in that area, but it seems to me it's not an issue of color- but instead- an issue of was deadly force necessary? Is the person that used the gun culpable for the consequences of following the suspicious person, against the advice of the dispatcher? Did the person that was shot turn their back or were they a menace to the gunman?
ReplyDeleteThe legal system does not always protect the innocent, nor does it always prosecute the guilty. However, it is our chosen form of law in the U.S., and people need to let the investigators do their job.
Another reason for such backlash is the fascination with celebrity in the world. Certain people are in the news, therefore, they must know what is right. Do they? No, humans don't know everything, no matter who they are.
I understand the outrage over the death of this young man, but it should NOT lead to the conclusion that America is racist, because most Americans are not. "[People] hate each other because they fear each other, and they fear each other because they don't know each other, and they don't know each other because they are often separated from each other." Dr. Martin Luther King
http://www.christianpost.com/news/fla-stand-your-ground-law-under-microscope-in-wake-of-trayvon-martin-shooting-72101/