Some feel justice was served. Others feel it failed. Some believe it stood true. Others believe it was manipulated by ghosts of the past, haunting the system once more.
A jury found a man not guilty. At best, a possibly innocent man was not jailed. I have my beliefs, but did not see the events. None of us did. I do know that none of us — individually or as a nation that strives to be one out of many — won. The big winner was fear. It has been winning as of late and it's on a big global winning streak with its pal ignorance.
Fear is being used to divide us on multiple fronts on multiple issues. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being thought weak. Fear of loss. Fear of hurt. Fear of not enough. Fear of having what's yours taken from you. Fear of the Other. Fear of compromise. Fear that a differing opinion might have value. Fear of change from without and within. Fear of challenge. Fear of growth. Fear of compassion. Fear of the unknown.
Fear caused these events. Fear is what allows those abusing power to manipulate the rest of us into fighting for scraps and protecting their power. We are ALL acting like sheeple in the face of our fears and it is not making things any better. It is not making us more secure.
I invite all fellow humans to think, examine themselves, identify their fears, and find a way to work against them. Live from courage, not fear. It's not always easy, but the benefits for ourselves, our communities, and our loved ones are great and far-reaching. Strength gained through fear is a lie. Strength cultivated through courage in the face of the fears within is the greater, more lasting strength.
No matter who you are, no matter what you believe, no matter how you tend to vote, face fear. Acknowledge fear. Challenge fear. And when we do, we will be better able to address a larger and more dangerous fear: the fear of our collective ruin.
Fight fear.
Please.
— Gregory Parks, 14 July 2013
A jury found a man not guilty. At best, a possibly innocent man was not jailed. I have my beliefs, but did not see the events. None of us did. I do know that none of us — individually or as a nation that strives to be one out of many — won. The big winner was fear. It has been winning as of late and it's on a big global winning streak with its pal ignorance.
Fear is being used to divide us on multiple fronts on multiple issues. Fear of being wrong. Fear of being thought weak. Fear of loss. Fear of hurt. Fear of not enough. Fear of having what's yours taken from you. Fear of the Other. Fear of compromise. Fear that a differing opinion might have value. Fear of change from without and within. Fear of challenge. Fear of growth. Fear of compassion. Fear of the unknown.
Fear caused these events. Fear is what allows those abusing power to manipulate the rest of us into fighting for scraps and protecting their power. We are ALL acting like sheeple in the face of our fears and it is not making things any better. It is not making us more secure.
I invite all fellow humans to think, examine themselves, identify their fears, and find a way to work against them. Live from courage, not fear. It's not always easy, but the benefits for ourselves, our communities, and our loved ones are great and far-reaching. Strength gained through fear is a lie. Strength cultivated through courage in the face of the fears within is the greater, more lasting strength.
No matter who you are, no matter what you believe, no matter how you tend to vote, face fear. Acknowledge fear. Challenge fear. And when we do, we will be better able to address a larger and more dangerous fear: the fear of our collective ruin.
Fight fear.
Please.
— Gregory Parks, 14 July 2013
Excellent, excellent words, Greg. Thanks for making me think as always. I firmly believe that the 24-hours news cycle that appeared in the 1990s is largely responsible for a lot of the hype. Get it first, get it fast, get it sensationalized has replaced the get it right mentality of yesteryear. We care about the stories that the media tell us to care about and forget the others.
ReplyDeleteI was having lunch yesterday after a book signing for one of my favorite Romance authors. Our little corner of this small-town Maryland bar consisted of me, my sister, two employees of the Baltimore Sun, and this gentleman who was waiting for his wife to get out of the bookstore. All Caucasian. News junkie Linds+PR goddess Jules+Sun employees+random dude because it's Maryland and we do this = the conversation turned to the news, specifically Trayvon (before the verdict). The four from Baltimore (J and I didn't know the married Sun folks) thought he'd be found guilty of something. After all, he was the one who brought the gun to the Skittles fight. The other gentleman simply asked why this was the case we were hearing about and not the hell zone in Chicago or, even, our beloved Baltimore. I was mad, eager to make my point that one does not bring a gun to a Skittles fight, but I realize now that he didn't actually express his opinion of the case, merely asked why this one was the important one.
And then I thought back to the FB status I had just before 7/4 this year. Baltimore has had a rough year murder-wise. We are not Chicago by any means, but we have had several rough weekends that will put us back on the map as "The City that Bleeds" when the year ends (we are at 126 right at this moment). Most are young black men killing each other over gang and drug activities with a few innocent "peripheral" victims and a couple of domestics thrown in. The overwhelming feeling we have around here, however, is that if you are not auditioning for an extra role on "The Wire," Baltimore City is a safe place for you to live. Don't seek out trouble, and trouble will largely not find you. It doesn't affect you, so you don't need to care.
And that's wrong. I'm not saying that we should all turn into new-style George Zimmermans (good lord, no), but we should care. We should care that young black men are killing each other over drugs and gang retaliation. Here in Baltimore, we've had 22 such murders since June 21. We should care that somebody's son, boyfriend, brother didn't know a way to grab an opportunity outside of "the life" and paid the ultimate price for it. We should get mad that the attitude of an average citizenry is so outraged by one case while largely ignoring opportunities to prevent other cases before they start.
In hindsight, I thought that my FB posting about Baltimore being a "safe" town unless someone was seeking out trouble disturbs me to no end. I love my city, and I should fight better for it. In the name of Trayvon Martin, I will.