Friday, July 19, 2013

Be careful what you ask for (or at least don't let yourself be inoculated when you get it)

Since the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case came down on July 13th there has been an outcry of "injustice!" in my infosphere.  I generally agree with the conclusions made in this piece, but I have found the outcry to be hollow.

Do this thought exercise...  Think of America on July 12th before the jury handed out the verdict.  Now imagine a guilty verdict for George Zimmerman (on all counts if you prefer or perhaps just the manslaughter count).  Then imagine American now; now that "justice has been served."  Would the present outcry over injustice still exist?  And would we would be better or worse off?

Justice is never only about one person or family.  Justice is systemic and surrounds and impacts all of us whether we are conscious of it or not.  There is good reason to believe that we have systemic issues of justice to work on in America.  Perhaps the greatest gift that the Trayvon Martin jury gave us and the greatest legacy of the tragedy of Trayvon Martin is that we weren't given a piece of local justice at the expense of a more lasting and global justice.

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