my opinion on trayvon martin

It seems the whole world now knows the name Trayvon Martin. There were names like Rodney King and Elian Gonzalez before him, but Trayvon has become the latest chapter of the United States Book of Racial Controversy. So how did he become an overnight household name? I think the increased access to information through technology has caused an increase in the desire for people to create under informed opinions. A few months ago it was Kony 2012, and now it's Trayvon Martin.

So first off, for anyone reading this that for some reason does not know who Trayvon Martin is, here is a quick rundown of the story. A 17-year-old black man (Trayvon) is walking down the street in a gated community in Florida. He was apparently coming from a convenience store where he purchased Skittles and iced tea and was going to visit his father's girlfriend. The light-skinned neighborhood watch leader (George Zimmerman) see's this "suspicious" man walking down his street and calls 911. Against the advice of the 911 operator, Zimmerman approaches the young man. A scuffle ensues and Trayvon is shot to death by Zimmerman who pleads it was in self defense.

Now I don't have a particular side on this issue, I am just fascinated at how big of an issue this has become based on limited details released through the media. NBA players wearing hoodies, protests in Seattle (over 3,000 miles away), and dozens of other actions have taken place that I quite frankly do not understand.

I know our justice system is a joke at times, but I still believe people are innocent until proven guilty. I think this same thing should apply to opinions....judgement should be restricted until you actually know what the hell you are upset about. To me, the fact that Zimmerman was not immediately arrested does not prove his innocence, but it does prove that there was more to the story.

Technology has impacted how quickly information is spread and how things turn viral. Perceived racial injustices always cause a lot of emotion, but to see such nationwide outrage come from news stories reported by people who may also share this anger is crazy to me. There is a process for sorting these things out. If George Zimmerman did not abide by the law, he will receive his punishment. If in the end justice is not served, reserve anger, protests, Facebook rants, etc for that time. I wish that same outrage could be used proactively for electing politicians, fixing education, and fighting poverty instead of reactively for voicing opinions about topics people are under informed about.