A word concerning Rachel Jeantel and the court of Black opinion

In a perfect world, a beautiful, articulate, college-educated white woman, with a rich husband, razor-sharp hearing, a spotless credit record, and a saintly visage would have been the last person that Trayvon Martin spoke to on the phone... 

Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world, so all we have is a young Black girl who has been thrust into a national spotlight under the worst of circumstances.

As I listened to people clown this young lady over the past two days and talk down about her looks, speech and demeanor, it reminded me of just how imperfect our legal system is and how easy it is for us to become the very thing that we ourselves despise-

Our legal system tells us that there are certain types of people whose testimonies aren't worthy or reputable simply because they are not the perfect witness. Forget about the fact that an injustice has occurred against them. God forbid you're brutalized by police and you have a felony record; your testimony against those thugs in uniform is not worthy because you're a convict... And God forbid you happen to be a woman who likes to have sex with multiple partners and one of those men rapes you; you are now a less than perfect witness of the crime against your body, because of your past. Here you are, a victim, but because of factors unrelated to the crime, you are shamed and discredited in court.

And now we get to Rachel Jeantel, who has done nothing wrong, but we- the oh so mighty court of Black opinion- have scorned her for being a less-than-perfect witness, not because she's a criminal or deviant, but because she doesn't speak and act the way we think she should act. I'm sorry she did not pass your test of acceptability for valid witness testimony, but we live in an imperfect world with an imperfect U.S. Justice system in which there are imperfect witnesses.

And this is where we, the "formal speaking, perfectly poised" collective of the Black Community embody the injustice of our legal system that we so readily speak out against. If you're out there shaming young Rachel, then you are no better that the legal system that shames the rape victim for not being the blessed Virgin Mary. Don't put on your Black hoodie in solidarity with Trayvon Martin and then do the very thing that you accuse George Zimmerman of- profiling a victim.

As a witness, she may not be what you want, but she is what you've got... or, what you "have," I should say (lest someone decide to discredit this post due to it's grammatical errors). And if you are for the cause of Trayvon, then be for it; it was an imperfect situation to begin with so don't expect perfection now.

So, show a little empathy folks and get over your unfounded elitism. Every person on this earth is important, and everyone's voice should matter, whether you like or agree with the sound of that voice or not.

Why the "He did it too" Argument is Not an Acceptable Justification for Wrong-Doing

Remember when you were a child and you'd get into trouble and you'd defend yourself by saying "He was doing it too..." ? "He" may have been a sibling, classmate, friend, or just any old random person who'd done the same thing and gotten away with it. Do you remember how the "He did it too" argument NEVER worked? Well, I do. You probably even got the notorious "If he jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?" reply, often used by authority figures as a response to a child's "He did it too" protestation.

I learned as a child that just because someone else does something wrong, that does not mean that I can do it too, and it surely doesn't mean that my wrongdoing is justified by the fact that I'm not the only party partaking in the wrong.

However, as an adult, I am mystified by the sheer number of grown, intelligent, and powerful people who are still using the "He did it too!" argument. Racists use this argument to justify their use of the N word (Black people use it too!). Political Parties use it to justify why they're not addressing the needs of their constituents (Democrats don't care about you either!). Presidents use it to justify questionable policies (my predecessor did it too!). Sports figures use it to justify poor sportsmanship (Serena lashes out too!), and so on and so on.

I don't know how these people went through their whole lives without someone setting them straight, but "He did it too" is a juvenile and unacceptable argument that I cannot take seriously from anyone over the age of 8. Using someone else's actions to justify your own almost never works. One can not simply set a precedent for wrong doing by which the rest of the world can justify their own wrong. Life doesn't work that way. You are judged by your own actions, inaction, and screw ups. Continuing to lay the burden of responsibility on a random third party does not serve anyone well and certainly doesn't solve or justify the underlying problem.

So I'd like to say to the grown-behind, decades-old, adult people who are still using the "He did it too argument": stop responding to life like third graders and start taking responsibility for yourself, your words and your actions.

And to the third-graders out there who already understand and live by the concept of personal responsibility, I meant no offense...