If Trayvon Martin had been my son or nephew, I would have been as angry as his family is. Martin is reported to have had his problems, but to wind up dead at the hands of a neighborhood watch volunteer? When George Zimmerman called the police (his 46th such call since 2001) saying he was following a suspicious-looking character, he was told, “We don’t need you to do that.” Nevertheless, he persisted in following and after a confrontation, shot and killed the 17-year-old on Feb. 26.
Zimmerman was taken into custody for questioning by police and released hours later with no charges filed against him. I don’t know exactly what happened that rainy night in central Florida, but I do know that a kid was killed and the taking of any life should require a careful inquiry. The initial appearance of insensitivity, even nonchalance, on the part of the police in an investigation that was certainly lacking in thoroughness gave the impression that Martin’s death was no big deal.
Jim White
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As if the circumstances were not tragic enough already, it began to become really ugly really fast. Martin’s family, reeling from shock and grief, charged that the police did not fully investigate the circumstances because he was African American. Zimmerman is Hispanic American.
Soon, as the story became public via the media, suspicions developed that race played a part in the killing—at least in Zimmerman’s belief that Martin was up to no good. Instances of racial profiling create suspicions that lie smoldering just beneath the surface of race relations in this country and the slightest fanning can create a flame.
Unfortunately, NBC’s Today Show provided the bellows when it played an edited tape of Zimmerman speaking to the police dispatcher. “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black,” he appears to say. In reality, the conversation went:
Zimmerman: “This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.”
Dispatcher: “OK, and this guy—is he black, white or Hispanic?”
Zimmerman: “He looks black.”
The belief that the event had racial overtones caused movie producer Spike Lee to send what he believed was Zimmerman’s address to his 240,000 Twitter followers. But the address turned out to belong to Elaine and David McClain, a couple in their 70s, who fled their home because of the threats they received. Even if the address had been correct, how could justice have been served by sending it out?
As anger mounted, the governor of Florida appointed special prosecutor Angela Corey to investigate. On April 11, second-degree murder charges were filed against Zimmerman. As the investigation proceeded, the wheels of justice turned so slowly that some believed they had stopped altogether for Martin.
But now, Zimmerman will be tried for the shooting. Martin’s mother magnanimously maintains that the shooting was accidental, that the confrontation got out of hand and led to her son’s death. The family says they just wanted Martin’s death to matter enough to be fully investigated and for Zimmerman to be held accountable without the facts being swept under the rug.
Just as Martin’s family demanded justice, Zimmerman’s, too, is speaking out. They contend that the rage directed at Zimmerman is not only misdirected but makes it unlikely that he can receive a fair trial at this point.
Perhaps in court Zimmerman’s contention that he acted in self defense will be upheld; I don’t know. For now, however, justice requires that jurors be found who can be swayed only by the facts of the case without being caught up in hotly-held emotional convictions held by family members and their supporters on both sides.
As I usually do in such cases, I have applied the circumstances to the church. I can’t help it. Church is too much a part of who I am! I wonder what applications can be made to the body of Christ?
For starters, I have noticed some in the church who seem to believe their role in the body is as “watchers.” They are watching everybody else to see if they are up to no good. They become suspicious of and critical of others based on some perceived fault. They need to hear the Spirit say, “We don’t need you to do that.”
Also, have you noticed that church people tend to become emotionally charged and rally around their favorite causes and people? While it is only natural to come to the defense of those we care about, we have to be careful with the truth. A lot of church folk are like Spike Lee. They go off spreading what they believe to be true out of a sense of vengeance or justice or defending people. But there are two big problems with this kind of behavior. They may be spreading false or misleading information; and secondly, even if it is true, it doesn’t need to be spread. Something can be true and still be gossip!
But even worse, every church seems to have a few folks who will take information and adjust it to suit their purposes—as NBC seems to have done with its edits. When their edited version of the facts came to light, NBC News President Steve Capus issued a statement to Reuters calling it simply “a mistake.” I have known religious literalists who have no qualms spreading half-truths because they are not really lying, they seem to reason. If someone draws a false conclusion based on what they’ve said, it isn’t their problem!
But I have also known church leaders who didn’t do a good job of making everybody in the congregation count. Many churches have people who don’t feel valued because they don’t get the same attention as others. Like the Sanford police, leaders sometimes give the impression that they are insensitive to the pain of peripheral people. No church believes this about itself, but the rolls of most contain a good number of dropouts who didn’t feel cared for.
Finally, the church should learn to resist escalating conflict. Groups form around emotional issues, but the cause of Christ is hampered by those who are quick to get angry. Seek the truth which often lies somewhere between high voltage emotional extremes. Accusations and responses have a tendency to escalate and create bigger problems. The church needs cool-headed people who can keep the peace.
But aside from what we can learn as a church, what can we learn as a society? I know all the bumper sticker arguments. “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” Except Zimmerman was licensed to carry a gun and Martin was packing Skittles. So much for the outlaw argument.
Or, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” True enough, but if Zimmerman hadn’t had a gun, Martin would, without doubt, still be alive today.
Jim White ([email protected]) is executive editor of the Religious Herald.