If we marched for every black teenager in America who was ever a victim of racial injustice, obesity would not be in the top five health issues in our country.
Every person I have spoken with about Trayvon Martin has admitted they aren’t familiar with the entire story or end up asking me directly what happened. Only now, a month later, do people actually know where the events took place, who was involved and what the controversy is.
The inconsistency of uproars against racial injustice becomes apparent when we only point out the obvious cases of injustice.
It’s easy to fight for a cause when all you have to do is retweet someone’s grammatically incorrect hashtag which includes an outdated picture of the victim, who was 17.
Unfortunately, selective activism has become a popular trend in our society.
The only facts about the story which seem to be common knowledge are that he was a black teenager wearing a hoodie, had some Skittles and was shot to death because he appeared to be a threat.
Until the recent release of the 911 call, people didn’t know it was a Hispanic security guard, George Zimmerman, who continued following Martin after being told by a 911 operator to stop. Most also don’t know about the physical altercation before the shooting between Zimmerman and Martin.
This is because so many holes were carelessly left in this case that justice activists from around the country are able to put their word in and mix the pot of confusion for the general audience.
We can conclude race was an evident issue in this case. Although it took Al Sharpton referencing the Jena Six for Trayvon Martin’s case to actually be heard, it’s finally happening.
So why are people of America still mailing empty Skittles bags to the Sanford, Fla., police department and confusing our youth even more? Dragging out the efforts only makes it clear that we are never going to get rid of Black History Month.
Racial injustice exists.
Nobody wants to hear this, but unfortunate events of injustice and hate crimes will continue whether people march against them or not.
When you live in a world where social media makes violence and stereotypes the norm – why are you surprised when hate crimes take place in real life?
Florida remains one of 21 states where “stand-your-ground laws” that allow citizens to use a firearm for self-defense exist. By now, everyone over the age of 10 should know guns play a large role in American society.
In other words, don’t instigate a fight you know you can’t win.
In my opinion, Zimmerman had intent to harm Martin, and that couldn’t have been prevented. But better judgment could have been applied in every other aspect of this situation, including our own.
Marie-Therese Yokum is a 19-year-old sophomore from Lafayette double majoring in public relations and finance. Follow her on Twitter at @TDR_mtyokum.
 
 
 
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Contact Marie-Therese Yokum at [email protected]