Today I dedicate this blog to the memory of Trayvon Martin. He is the young man who went out to the store, got some Skittles and was shot dead by George Zimmerman the neighborhood watch member. I don’t know what transpired between the two to cause Mr. Zimmerman to shoot. But I do know that this tragedy that took place on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida ought to be a wake-up call for our country. Vigilantism even from a neighborhood watch group is run amok. This is a terrible example of what can happen when you abdicate law enforcement to non-professionals. Young Trayvon like millions of other teenagers chose to put on a hoodie. My own son must have more than a dozen hoodies. And the recent pictures of Trayvon that have appeared in the press show him shirtless, mugging for the camera with s0 called “gang signs” shows a complete ignorance of how this has entered popular culture. Go on any teenagers Facebook page–you are likely to see the same mugging for the camera regardless of the race or gender of the young person. These pictures are trying to imply that he is a gang member. My guess he was just a teenager.
There is a lot to fuel tensions in this case. Issues of race, class, stand your ground laws which helps to fuel these vigilante type cases. But the overarching problem is that a young man is dead. And we are all to blame. May his memory live for a blessing and God bring comfort to our families