Nobody Wins

The Trayvon Martin murder case of 2012 brought to the forefront a conversation that many Americans grew fond of ignoring.

If you aren't aware (which you at least should be), Martin was a black, Florida teen who was gunned down by neighborhood watchman, George Zimmerman, after he suspected the the youngster of being an intruder near a gated apartment complex. Zimmerman called the cops who then instructed that he not follow Martin around the residence. George obviously ignored him. Minutes later, a scuffle ensued and Martin was dead.

A year later, the case is finally going to trial and you better believe that the country, for whatever reason, is divided over this one. Some would say that Martin shouldn't have ran from Zimmerman, that he was already a certified thug who often skipped class and smoked weed. They would say Zimmerman acted like that of a concerned watchman patrolling a neighborhood after a string of robberies orchestrated by black, male criminals. Others would say that George deliberately disobeyed the police dispatcher and acted outside of the authoritative boundaries given to neighborhood watchmen. Whether you stand on Martin or Zimmerman's side is irrelevant to the heart of the situation. Regardless of if Martin was already a thug or not or whether Zimmerman acted appropriately, is beside the point.

I'm sure we all know that some of the harshest, irrational critics like to surface on discussion boards all over the internet. These people, with their cheesy, over-thought usernames, pull every offensive scenario out of their asses over this case which ultimately returns to the real root of this situation: race.

On the second day of the trial, Rachel Jeantel, the 19-year-old who spoke to Martin in the moments leading up to his death, stated that Martin called Zimmerman a "creepy ass cracker."

Now hold up!

I immediately scroll down to the comments sections, which is a surefire way to get my blood pressure to skyrocket, and found exactly what I was looking for. One user commented, "Creepy ass cracker," hm? Looks like St. Skittles was a touch racist, no? Another user came to Martins's defense saying "cracker" is not a racist term. Then, another user (white, obviously) said, "cracker isn't a racist term" but in a sarcastic way. You know, in the time that I've been aware of this country we call America, I have never seen one ethnic group be so confused in their own country. White people love to tan, have fuller lips, plumper butts, enjoy twerking and wear jewelry common in the black community (ex: gold hoops with your name in the middle, grills) because they think it's cute or trendy. Nothing more, nothing less. But, when the time comes to combat discrimination or racism of any kind, that't when they retreat back to their outward appearances to help them get by.

 So what exactly am I getting at? Basically, I'm tired of white people wanting to hop on the African-American gravy train when they want and then jump ship when the seas get rough. I feel like even with all of the progress that's been made, white people always try to one up minorities. For example, Trayvon Martin calling Zimmerman a "creepy ass cracker" and every other white person screaming racism. How is cracker racist? That's like someone calling me ugly or a bitch. Those words can only undermine someone's outward appearance or attitude. Those type of insults don't insult people's intelligence, potential or family all in the same breath. Sort of like the word "cracker." That word means nothing more than the color of someone's skin. Nigger, on the other hand, virtually dismisses every fiber of who I am as woman AND a black woman.

So to be fair, if people are really going to be outraged over Martin calling Zimmerman a cracker, let's not be so quick to forget Zimmerman's initial racial profiling when he noticed a certain black teen wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Among the other prejudiced and discriminatory things Zimmerman was recorded saying on the 911 call about how black people "always get away." Regardless of if Trayvon was a thug, skipped school and was minutes away from being revealed as the Antichrist," it was this trigger-happy neighborhood "cop" that started all of this and brought race into the issue!