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.
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.
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