Over
my lifetime I have seen many instances when people have stood their
ground; after which they found themselves subjected to a zinging “Got
You” moment stunning in its profound implications. I have known a
student who was ridden by a teacher. After long abuse the student
couldn’t take it anymore and snapped at the teacher—whereupon the
student was hauled to the principal’s office and forthwith
expelled.
I
have seen a work situation in which the spirit and atmosphere of the
workplace were poisoned by an arrogant and obnoxious boss. At some
point the employee couldn’t stand it anymore and snapped at the
boss—where upon with great and somber deliberation before a formal
board of discipline—with the focus entirely upon the employee—the
employee was summarily fired.
The
essence of the pattern here is of long and continued abuse followed
by an overdue response followed by weighty and sanctimonious
proceedings in which the victim of abuse is found at fault and
punished. The big picture—essential to give a shred of meaning to
the incident—is entirely ignored.
I
see the Trayvon Martin case in this light. A young man minding his
own business is stalked by a stranger armed with deadly force. As
the one pursued, Trayvon eventually summons great courage and stands
his ground. The stalker responds with deadly force killing the
victim. After great and somber deliberation by a court of law,
Trayvon effectively is found to blame because the big picture—in
which he is innocently going for a walk—is held to be completely
irrelevant. Justice, it inevitably follows, is indeed blind. The
lesson, dear children, is that the letter of the law is often
purblind and thus does not and cannot achieve justice.
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