“I Am Trayvon Martin.” A phrase that has been broadcasted nation-wide lately, reaching thousands and thousands of supporters. There is no doubt in my mind that everyone wants justice for the slaying of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin, however, recently, I feel as though many activists and supporters are turning the case into much more than murder.
Granted, racial factors played a key role in Trayvon’s case, as made evident by George Zimmerman’s 911 calls, but there are now a variety of generalizations being made by various ethnic communities about different races. People are attacking one another, taking the focus off of “Justice For Trayvon” and putting it on “I’m white, I’m black, this group suppressed me, I have to fight fire with fire.” No, you don’t, as Trayvon’s family made clear, opposing to Minister Mikhal of the Black Panthers, who put a bounty on Zimmerman’s head, saying he and his party will take the law into their own hands in order to have justice for Trayvon.
Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” I strongly agree with this. I am not naive, and I will not sit here and say that racism is dead, it’s not. However, how relevant people make a race in their lives is what constitutes it’s grounds for prominence in today’s society. If you make clear distinctions and acknowledge differences and stereotypes in a negative way, and reinforce those stereotypes to people around you, they then maintain prevalence because you speak them into truth.
Self-fulfilling prophecy is defined as a prediction or an expectation that comes true simply because one acts as if it were true (Gamble, Gamble. pg. 51). Pygmalion effect is defined as the principle that we fulfill the expectations of others (Gamble & Gamble). Simply, if you act a certain way, others will perceive you to be that way. One must make changes in order to change perceptions of themselves, as well as expectations others have for them. If you fulfill a societal norm, or stereotype, it will be hard to break that stereotype. No one first impression can tell you about a person in their entirety, one must break through the layers of that person to see who they are, and not judge merely based on surface appearances/actions.
Times have changed, and although there is still a variety of views, differences on culture, and racial issues, there is one common bond with my generation: to come together, regardless of race, and support equality and justice.
It hurts me to hear how bias people can be, especially on Twitter. People are constantly tweeting “jokes” about any races, including their own, but do they realize the harm that can do? Again, speaking something into truth therefore makes it believable. Everyday, I see, “White people can’t cook. White people are too picky. White people have more opportunities than any other race. I’m surprised this white girl can cook,” or things like, “Damn, black people stay losing. Black people never get good jobs because they don’t go to school or college. Black people don’t have as many opportunities as other races.”
This is blasphemy to me; Sorry I’m not sorry. How can you generalize a single individual based on the color of their skin? How can you so strongly generalize that how one race raises their child is different and/or to how another race raises their child? The difference should be how parents conduct their parenting, not what color the parents are. I have numerous friends, of ALL RACES, that go to school, have good jobs, happy families and homes. So, to simply come to the conclusion that someone can or cannot, or will or will not have things in life based on their skin color is ridiculous.
If you speak something into to truth, then that is your own fault. If you believe something is that way, then it will be that way until you decide to change it. You acknowledge what you believe to be true, but you also have the power to change that by thinking differently. Some things are inevitable, but many things are able to be changed as long as you have the hope and the willpower to endure and conquer opposition.
I had an African-American tell me that because I am white, I shouldn’t care as much as I do about the Trayvon Martin case; that I wouldn’t understand “their struggle.” Do I not have morals? Do I not have a heart? Do I not have a mind of my own to recognizably distinguish what is right from what is wrong? I was raised to believe that if you want something, you must truly believe in it, work tirelessly for it, and continue to want better things out of your life. I was taught to not compare the differences of other people, but to accept them as my own, and to acknowledge diversity as a learning experience. Expanding the knowledge of cultures expands the mind.
There is a lot to be learned from the Trayvon Martin case; America, regardless of race, is clearly in need of help in all aspects: judicially, racially, socially, and economically. We get no where as a community of peers and equals if we continue to acknowledge differences in a negative way. We get no where if we continue to acknowledge and fulfill stereotypes. We make our own paths for ourselves, we should be our own successors. What we leave behind, how our generation raises our children, what we teach our peers and children to believe is what will shape our future generations.
“Things are never just black and white, but various shades of gray.” -Nicole Skarbek
