Does anyone who hasn't taken a course on the 1960's and/or Civil Rights movement know who Emmett Till is anymore? Just as a short refresher. Young master Till was visiting relatives in the deep south from Chicago, he wolf whistled at a white lady and taken by a lynch mob that night. He was barely recognizable when his body was found but his grieving mother insisted on an open casket to display the results of hate and white supremacy for the rest of society. Till wasn't the first, and certainly not the last, victim of violence in the south. Fast forward to 2012, when this kind of vigilante "justice" was supposed to be ancient history, and another young black man was murdered. Trayvon Martin was just walking home after getting a snack and was stalked and killed by a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain. The shooter, George Zimmerman, was not arrested because he claimed self-defense and under Florida's "Stand your ground" law, it is up to the state to prove he did not. What? GG Allin would be so proud, apparently murder has finally been legalized.
The problem with putting Till and Martin side by side is that beyond being black, murdered, and their murderers (so far) not facing any consequences there is little correlation. Till broke a strong and well-established southern more, and was murdered by a mob. This was long established tradition in the south, Till being a northerner was ignorant of it, but the point is that his murder was "extra-legal." Martin, by contrast, was a resident and broke no law or more, most importantly the law allowed what Zimmerman did. He stalked and killed Martin in daylight and in public, and suffered no consequences thusfar.
If you travel to my neck of the woods, however, there is a recent case with more similarity to Till's murder. Bo Morrisson was a 20 year old African-American who got drunk at a house party in a very white little community. Two strikes right? Even with no speculation on whether he wolf-whistled at any white girls at this party, the cops showed up to bust the party. Morrisson fled to the next door neighbor's enclosed porch to escape what would have been a pretty bad situation. And the homeowner, who still hasn't been identified, went onto the porch and shot him. Morrisson broke laws and mores by getting drunk at that party, then broke more of each by hiding on the porch. His murderer broke none. The evil twin of the "Stand your ground" law is called the "Castle doctrine" and says deadly force can be used to defend your family and property.
Dumb kids are gonna be dumb kids no matter where or when, but does being a dumbass warrant a death sentence by private individuals, "just because?" Zimmerman, Martin's murderer, hasn't exactly won much public support. But "the homeowner" who gunned down Morrisson in the middle of the night for being on his porch? Holy Moly has there been an outpouring of support for him. A simple smell test can tell you a lot about what these murders were about. Imagine it was a white kid gunned down on a black homeowner's porch. Perhaps some of the emminantly reasonable objections to this scenario would go like this: "Did the homeowner really have to kill this kid?" "This is not what the castle doctrine was intended for?" "Couldn't the homeowner have retreated inside his house behind a locked door and called the cops?" Unfortunately, this is not what happened.
So far, this is what passes for support for george zimmerman:
War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.
I pray that Civil War is not imminent, but if it is, the legalization of murdering black kids should probably be considered it's Dred Scott decision.
GG would be proud that this society has become just as sick as him.
A few reference pieces, you figure them out. I know I can't remember why they are here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/collins-pity-the-poor-gun-lobby.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/shot-to-death-in-florida.html?src=tp&smid=fb-share
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/03/21/do-stand-your-ground-laws-encourage-vigilantes/?ref=opinion
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/kristof-politics-odors-and-soap.html
http://onmilwaukee.com/living/articles/concealedcarrycastlelaws.html?29675
http://www.wisn.com/download/2012/0321/30733454.pdf
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