31 July 2013
The Consequence of Vigilante Justice
The Trayvon Martin killing was the inevitable result of the confluence of the possibly aggressive behavior of a member of one of society’s disaffected minorities, the misdirected attempt by one Florida community to supplant its unsatisfactory police force with its own vigilante enforcement arm, and the legalization of that measure by the state’s Stand Your Ground law. Nobody beside the shooter, George Zimmerman, who was there to witness the event lived to tell the story. That leaves a lot of room for speculation on what happened and what the motivations were.
One of those theories was what the jury in the Seminole County trial finally believed—that Mr. Zimmerman was authorized, by the community and the state, to take the life of anyone who he believed was challenging his position as guardian of the town of Sanford’s security. Another arguable conjecture has been made by Bill Whittle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebu6Yvzs4Ls) that Mr. Martin had it in for Mr. Zimmerman and personally attacked him, justifying the shooting in self-defense.
What cannot be denied is that Mr. Zimmerman was put in an impossible situation and was really incompetent to deal with it. He was truly not guilty of murdering Mr. Martin. The blame for Mr. Martin’s death must be placed at the feet of a panicked community and state that have lost confidence in the civil institutions on which our society has traditionally relied to maintain order and safety. A large civilization begins to disintegrate when its members prefer looking to themselves individually to assure their well-being.
The Trayvon Martin killing was the inevitable result of the confluence of the possibly aggressive behavior of a member of one of society’s disaffected minorities, the misdirected attempt by one Florida community to supplant its unsatisfactory police force with its own vigilante enforcement arm, and the legalization of that measure by the state’s Stand Your Ground law. Nobody beside the shooter, George Zimmerman, who was there to witness the event lived to tell the story. That leaves a lot of room for speculation on what happened and what the motivations were.
One of those theories was what the jury in the Seminole County trial finally believed—that Mr. Zimmerman was authorized, by the community and the state, to take the life of anyone who he believed was challenging his position as guardian of the town of Sanford’s security. Another arguable conjecture has been made by Bill Whittle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebu6Yvzs4Ls) that Mr. Martin had it in for Mr. Zimmerman and personally attacked him, justifying the shooting in self-defense.
What cannot be denied is that Mr. Zimmerman was put in an impossible situation and was really incompetent to deal with it. He was truly not guilty of murdering Mr. Martin. The blame for Mr. Martin’s death must be placed at the feet of a panicked community and state that have lost confidence in the civil institutions on which our society has traditionally relied to maintain order and safety. A large civilization begins to disintegrate when its members prefer looking to themselves individually to assure their well-being.
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