For generations, the all-American citizen has been portrayed as a white man with Christian values, being ultra conservative. Residents of Arab, Latino and Black cultures are expected to be criminals; nevertheless, whites are seen as the ultimate peacekeepers. In the States it is an era where an African-American is leading the country—An era where supposedly all racism is forgotten. But yet, violence as serious as murder has occurred due to manifest destiny of those who believe that a true American is only to be Caucasian.
On March 26 in Sanford, Florida, seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was returning from his convenient store with a bag of Skittles and a bottle of iced tea. Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, shot the teen in what he says was self-defense. But really it was just racial thinking that led the madman to believe that a black boy with a hoodie is a potential threat to safety. Zimmerman has previously been in trouble for violent acts: He was arrested for shoving a policeman when his friend was arrested for serving alcohol to underage drinkers. Also, his unidentified ex-fiancé reportedly had a violent relationship with him; consequently, filing protective injunctions against one another. Although, there is no evidence of the crime and therefor Zimmerman has not been punished for the murder of Martin.
Zimmerman must pay for his actions, killing another human being is worth being thrown into jail for life—It doesn´t matter the color of the victim´s skin, but justice should be made in their remembrance. Even though there isn´t any evidence to proof the madman is guilty, there isn´t any proof he is innocent either. But honestly, a man who has been involved with violence numerous times like he has is not trustworthy. People can be treated very unfairly due to others´ believes, for example, in To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout is insulted by her aunt just because she doesn´t have the same interests as other girls her age have. Most likely, Zimmerman is prejudiced about Blacks just like Scout´s aunt was about girls, he probably was sure that all of them were like the criminals he heard about in the news. So he judges every African-American as cruel, violent and guile: a criminal. Not having knowledge about a case leads one to think nonsense, to commit injustice just like Zimmerman did; One acts this way because the information one is acting upon is an unreliable lie. As a community it is our job to be aware and be educated about the different cultures and ethnicity of people, so we don´t become prejudice. Just the knowledge of one person can pervade through a whole nation and protect the innocent; therefore, injustice will not be committed due to rubbish judging.
Zimmerman really is a coward, he felt the need to protect himself from a teenager because of a concept he doesn´t understand. Zimmerman does not understand that the Unites States is full of wonderful Blacks; however, he feels they are dangerous instead. Zimmerman really feared something that wasn´t true, he feared a crime that Martin would have never committed—He expected Martin, just because of the dark color of his skin and the hooded sweat shirt he had on, to threaten his safety. You see when people have this overall idea of a topic, it might not apply to everything involved with that topic, but yet their actions are all still based on the same idea and therefore are the same towards everything related to that subject. For example, referring back to To Kill A Mockingbird, the whole town believes Boo Radley is a dangerous beast that everyone needs to be aware of. But really, the man has resulted to suffering due to an abusive father—Yet Scout and Jem take precaution of Boo and taunt the man because they believe the town´s rumors. They fear this whole myth that they clearly do not understand, because it does not exist. Zimmerman feared what he believes African-Americans are, so he shot one in order to feel safe.
Bottom line is that Zimmerman was influenced to commit this crime due to all the racism and prejudice he holds in his heart. To him, a white boy with blue eyes wearing a tucked in shirt and Hush Puppies would have been completely different: a harmless, well-behaved teenager. Even if Zimmerman didn´t murder Martin based on his racists beliefs, he still took someone else´s life—If he has the guts to end a kid´s life, he should have the courage to accept his fault and end the rest of his days behind the bars.
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