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4 Opinion The tragedy of Trayvon Learn the lesson of independent thinking By Joseph Patton Staff Reporter It’s hard to tread far in media without seeing the name “Trayvon Martin.” The fallen 17-year-old’s name has held a lot of headlines since his infamous death in late February. George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic male in charge of the Neighborhood Watch in the community where Martin’s father lives, has received just as much publicity. Their names have been on everyone’s tongues for weeks now, and the overwhelming verdict is cold, deliberate murder. The nation at large has demanded the arrest and arraignment of Zimmerman for what some say is a vicious slaying of an innocent youth, an outcry which has as of late been responded to with the charge of second-degree murder being brought against him. But, in light of the recent charges, it’s hard to feel as though the ordeal was handled the right way. Yes, Martin is dead and his blood seems to be on Zimmerman’s hands. But, is Zimmerman completely guilty of what he has been accused of, and does he deserve the reproach of a nation? When there is a murder anywhere (and it happens quite often), two things are duly noted: the age and race of both the victim and the slayer. It is no surprise that upon finding out that Martin was black and that his killer is not, the obvious choice of motive was racism. The thought held by many is that Zimmerman profiled Martin and viewed him as a threat to the safety of the community, so he hunted him down and killed him. It is an understandable concern. I am a black youth myself. I have experienced the stigma of profiling and stereotypes; racism is real and is in some ways still a problem in this country. The situation as a whole admittedly looks bad. But, rather than sift through the mire of details, the average person defaults to the racism ploy without any prior knowledge of Zimmerman’s motives. Contrary to what might be expected, Zimmerman was intent upon becoming a police officer. He had even been the voice that snagged a few arrests for his community prior to the incident. It’s clear that Zimmerman had a passion for something, as evidenced by the numerous times he had called the police to his neighborhood in recent years and his opting to watch the streets in the first place. The gated collection of homes, known as the Retreat at Twin Lakes, isn’t perfect by any means. There have been a number of petty crimes there in the past year, and Zimmerman’s appointment on the behalf of his neighbors clearly shows that he possessed some merit. The killer’s family also asserts his support of racial activism in the past (on the behalf of black people), a fact that seems to bear no weight in light of his recent actions. However, one can’t help but think that maybe he isn’t the brutal killer that he’s been portrayed as. Stating those published facts is in no way an effort to defend Zimmerman. He is still accused of killing another human being, a young man with a lot of life ahead of him. Would a rational person think before killing someone else, especially someone so young? I’d like to think so. But, therein lays the problem. I am not George Zimmerman, nor is anyone else. No one knows precisely what happened there but the accused and the deceased, and rather than attempting to figure out precisely what happened, the general populace turned to arms. With zero hesitation, everyone picked up their rifles and set their crosshairs directly on Zimmerman. The images of Martin as a child were all too compelling, and it’s very easy to turn to uproar when life is taken. But, does the voice of the people resound out of a sincere concern for injustice or a visceral desire to watch someone else burn? It would seem as though people have just been dying to have something to devote their energy to, and this incident gave them the incentive they needed to get loud. When things go wrong, everyone wants to pitch in; that’s just how things work. When a nation is in crisis or a natural disaster happens, we all get involved on a personal level. We like it when others see that we’re doing our part and it makes us feel warm inside when we imagine that our bit plays a part in the bigger picture. On a more base level, human beings tend to be animalistic, and here we see two distinct attributes of animals: aggression and the ability to be controlled. Upon hearing that a kid had been killed, most people simply stopped there, grabbed their pitchforks and lit torches. But why Trayvon Martin? Why George Zimmerman? Murder isn’t a new thing, and far more gruesome murders than this occur all the time, many of them close to us in location. The fact that many decided to drive this one home is in large part bandwagon behavior. If someone else is talking about it, you should be too, right? That isn’t to say that there aren’t those of us who are active and conscious all the time, but there are many people who aren’t nearly as concerned about social issues. Suddenly, though, we’re all activists and we think that we’re shouting at our television screens for the right reasons because the nice, powdered people on CNN told us so. If this case has proven anything, it’s that we as a whole lack the ability to discern for ourselves what exactly is going on in the world and that we’re content with being told when to be angry. It’s easy to turn to violence. It’s easy to turn to revenge. If George Zimmerman did kill Martin, perhaps it was this innate human impetuousness that lead him to do it. After all, if he could stop crime from happening again, why not step up and play his part? Again, this is just hypothetical. It’s an analysis, taking information from different sources, weeding through what’s worth listening to and what’s false and coming to conclusions for oneself. That’s what should have been done here. Whether or not the case should have been blown to such a proportion is subject to debate, but perhaps Zimmerman shouldn’t quite be the villain that he is. Would the case have even been brought to national attention were Trayvon of a different race? Would it be worse or less severe if Zimmerman had been white or black? Maybe. But that’s the point. There are so many variables in the situation that plainly stating that Zimmerman is a bloodthirsty criminal is too black-and-white to be a sound judgment. Between the slew of surfacing photographs and facts, it’s hard to say who is wrong here, if “wrong” is even an applicable term. Yes, Zimmerman could have been more careful, and maybe he was profiling Martin. Maybe he wasn’t. The death is no less tragic based upon Zimmerman’s motives, but the truth of what happened and the character of those involved is known only to those involved and their families. With so many assertions and pieces of evidence being thrown in from so many angles, there may never be a definitive answer to the question of what truly happened to Trayvon Martin. What’s important to remember here is that when news arises, using a filter is key to keeping a clear head. Instead of going along with what is told to you, maybe deciding for yourself what happened is better than calling for blood with the rest of the nation. Perhaps then, we could avoid making murderers and martyrs of people who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The shooting of Trayvon Martin (left) by George Zimmerman (middle) took place February 26, 2012, in Sanford, Florida. While on an errand Zimmerman saw Martin walking inside the gated community where he was visiting. Zimmerman called the Sanford Police Department and described Martin as suspicious. Shortly afterwards there was an altercation which ended with Zimmerman fatally shooting Martin once in the chest at close range. Police said that they had not found evidence to contradict his assertion of self-defense. The circumstances of Martin’s death and the delay in charging Zimmerman have received national and international attention. Allegations of racist motivation for the shooting contributed to public demands for Zimmerman’s arrest (as pictured during the “Million Hoodie March,” seen right). Zimmerman was later charged of second degree murder. Martin and Million Hoodie March photos courtesy of Wikipedia, Zimmerman photo courtesy of MCT Campus.
5 Opinion Decision 2012... or not? Voting is for the mature, not high school students The treasures of being an adult are granted to each US citizen once they reach their 18th birthday. The admittance to purchase tobacco, to enter the military, and to vote, are all perks to reaching the ripe age of 18, the latter being perhaps the most influential. One might wonder though, if it is too early to be granted with such a daunting task: choosing politicians to represent the very rights they cherish for x amount of years. Although turning 18 is technically the beginning of adulthood, is that technicality correct? Especially when considering the task of voting. More often than not, a brand new 18 year old is still a high schooler, still living with his/her parents and not yet independent, so is it right to put the future in the hands of one that hasn’t yet lived in the real world? High school isn’t the real world. We are babysat five times throughout the day for 70 The importance and responsibility of voting It’s a simple fact to state that our age group has the lowest voter turnout of any in the nation. That fact is backed up by numerous statistics gathered over the last few years. The 18-20 age group had a voter turn out of 16 percent during the 2010 midterm election and it becomes increasingly obvious that our age group truly has the worst voter turnout. Historically this has always been true; our best turn out was during the 2008 presidential election in which 41 percent of all registered 18-20 year old voters went out to the polls. Even that record setting turnout is terrible when compared to the group with the best turnout, senior citizens age 65 and older. minutes, have lunched served to us (no matter the quality) for a measly two dollars, and get suspended for getting into a fight. In the real world, there’s no babysitters and living on your own isn’t free. In the real world, unless you call a McDouble and a large sweet tea satisfying day in and day out, then two dollars might not cut it for you. And in the real world, if you get into a fight, you’ll more than likely face jail time, and perhaps a lawsuit. So how is it that 18 year olds are granted with the responsibilities suited for one in the real world? The right to vote is a privilege that should be honored by those wise enough to make such a decision. Those who have experienced the things that voting affects are the ones fit to vote. Michael Dicken Their turnout is consistently above the 60 percent mark and has been for the past decade and a half. Our age group represents nearly 19 percent of the nearly 230 million registered voters in the country; we could easily swing an election in any direction we please. With that type of pull we should easily be able to attract political candidates to our interests but that’s not the case because of our terrible voter turnout. These facts should force everyone in our age group to ask themselves, “What is wrong with us?” Perhaps it’s just that some people feel that their vote doesn’t matter because their needs aren’t met anyways. To vote or not to vote: what’s the difference? This upcoming November, it will be time to vote for either Republican, Mitt Romney, or Democrat, and current president, Barack Obama. Most of the senior class will have the opportunity to vote on either candidate; however, is there really a point? The only incentive that most 18 year-olds will want to vote is because they simply can and also so that they can say they did. Recent presidential candidates all say the same things and have the same ideas/goals for the country, and make little difference for the United States of America. The presidents for over the last decade have barely helped out the country, and have not only made the economy horrible, but also require us to get a second job just to pay for gas. As each day goes by, hundreds of people are getting fired from their jobs and forced to wait for the word that they have a new job, as their families suffer financially. Past presidential candidates have talked about how they are trying to make the Perhaps some believe that we are not ready to take the reins of responsibility that comes with influencing a country. Perhaps the problem is those people who believe that politics doesn’t matter and doesn’t affect them in any way. How long have we, as a generation, gone on believing that someday, somehow, the country will get better, with or without us? How long have we swallowed this sickly sweet poison of indifference? How long will we leave all the responsibility on the shoulders of the senior citizens of the nation? The time for action is now, not tomorrow when we feel like we’re responsible enough. country a better place for us citizens, when in actuality they just say political garbage in order to get our votes. Once they get our votes they can do whatever they want and don’t have to live up to their promises that they made to us. The last president, in my opinion, to make a big difference was John F. Kennedy as he helped fight for civil rights and believed that everybody should be treated equal. Since then, all of the presidents have been busts and haven’t lived up to the expectations that they brought upon themselves through bogus speeches and promises that appear to be kept. Now, don’t let an opinion story on voting prevent you from voicing your opinions. But if and when you’re in the booth deciding on who to vote on, remember that the votes just go to a couple of guys who won’t do anything to change the country for the better. Jake Larson Our age group must vote in every election, whether it is the senior choice awards or the presidential election. We must shape the country into what we want it to be, what it needs to be. Our tomorrow is not that of the senior citizens’, it is a tomorrow that is uniquely our own. We must claim ownership now, lest we lose out on our own future. This is our country and whatever happens to it should be our responsibility, not our grandparents. “Our tomorrow is not that of the senior citizens’, it is a tomorrow that is uniquely our own.” “The right to vote is a privilege that should be honored by those wise enough to make such a decision.” Sam Gubitz “Remember that the votes just go to a couple of guys who won’t do anything to change the country for the better.”
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8 - Merrillville Community School

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