16 July 2013

Thoughts on Zimmerman Trial

This post has only a marginal connection to genealogy, but thought it was worth posting here anyway. I originally posted this as a status message on my facebook page...

The Zimmerman trial and verdict has stirred up some very strong feelings in our country.  Was unwise judgement used, yes. Was it racially motivated? Since I don’t personally know  Zimmerman or Martin I can’t say what was motivating either one of them.

I do know that people are saying some pretty nasty things about each other because of this and similar situations. I also know that slurs and judgements against anyone is harmful.

People have done nasty things to other people in the name of power, expansion, superiority, and sadly religion since the beginning of human history. Many peoples have been oppressed throughout history... Jews, Native Americans, African Slaves, Irish, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, and on and on and on. It has not been just the “evil” White Anglo Saxon Protestant Male who has done the oppressing. There has been oppression of Whites by Whites. There has been oppression of Blacks by Blacks. There has been oppression of Native Americans by other tribes of Native Americans.

Is it ever right for one man to oppress another? NO! But does fixating on past mistreatment fix the situation? Again, no. All it does is to create more discord. So what is the solution?

Like most people, my ancestry is from a variety of nationalities. A DNA test showed not only Western European roots, but that my ancestry also includes some Northern African roots. Thus I am of the human race like everyone else in the world. And until we all started believing that, and ACTING on that belief, nothing is going to change

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