Who are the Racists?

The jury has spoken and declared that George Zimmerman was justified in defending his life from the not-so-angelic young man violently slamming his head onto the concrete. This incident represented a scenario of self-defense in its purest form. However, the race-hustlers saw an opportunity to further their careers and the president and attorney general an opportunity to further their agenda of divisiveness, unrest and victimization. But a more sinister goal was evident in their shameful proclamations and actions.

The Department of Justice organizing and paying for the transportation of so-called “spontaneous” demonstrations demanding Zimmerman’s lynching, as reported by the Heritage Foundation and elsewhere, shows Obama and Holder are attempting to achieve the one goal that they have failed to achieve: gun control. By stirring the racial fires, by claiming that Zimmerman was motivated by racial hatred, these petty tyrants are trying to discredit the right to self-defense. By achieving that, they would be successful in eliminating any need for private possession of firearms.

It is clear that Obama and Holder have no interest in pouring oil on troubled waters. Inciting racial hatred among blacks and “guilt-ridden” liberals against whites, conservatives and anyone opposing Obama shows the level of cynicism and hatred they possess.

We will never truly know what went through the heads of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman on their day of confrontation. It’s a fair guess, however, that things would have looked vastly different depending on whose eyes they were seen through, and I’d bet that both felt fear – lots of fear – and fear tends to block both empathy and understanding.

A direct conversation, uncomfortable as it would have been, might well have defused the situation. My guess is that it was more fear than hatred that led them to skip that step. We fear the unknown when we are faced with risk, and when we cross racial lines, we are less sure of how each other will act and react. We can misinterpret, and we can overreact.

With friends and neighbors our assumptions tend to be positive and our assessments fairly accurate; when we cross cultures, that’s less the case. Internally at least, defensiveness and aggressiveness build. If we can’t “read” each other’s demeanor, stereotypes, and fear, tend to take over.

The more we interact, the better we can empathize and predict. Accusation and insult do not serve … they drive us apart and they increase our fear. Let’s stop pointing fingers and shaking heads; let’s try shaking some new hands instead.