The Stakes of the Trayvon Martin Case... and the Need to SEIZE THE TIME!
July 7, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African-American, walking home at 7:30 pm with a can of ice tea and a bag of candy. George Zimmerman had never talked to Trayvon Martin, never met Trayvon Martin, knew nothing about Trayvon Martin, never even heard of him. But nevertheless this society—this system—had trained George Zimmerman to “know” and to say that Trayvon Martin was “suspicious” and more—that Trayvon Martin was a "fucking punk...a fucking asshole" who “always gets away with it.”
George Zimmerman had no training, no judgment, no sense of the gravity of human life, nor any shred of respect or feeling for the lives of people like Trayvon Martin. Yet George Zimmerman carried a pistol with hollow-point “man-killer” bullets as he prowled in his car, with the blessings of this system. George Zimmerman stalked Trayvon Martin, with that pistol in his jacket, and George Zimmerman then confronted Trayvon Martin, feeling the whole strength of this system behind him. And then George Zimmerman decided to kill Trayvon Martin.
This was one more horrible, heartbreaking outrage at the end of a 400-year chain of such outrages. That is the heart of the matter.
June 10 in Sanford, Florida: revcom.us and Stop Mass Incarceration. Photo: Li Onesto/Revolution
Right now, American society—with the whole world increasingly taking notice—is polarizing. Two sides are lining up—one upholding the right of the Trayvon Martins of this world to live and flourish and, if they are attacked, to have justice... and the other upholding the supposed rights of people like George Zimmerman to kill people like Trayvon with impunity. This should be clear, but every day the powers-that-be work to cloud this, so we must all insist on this basic truth.
And every day the breadth and ferocity of this polarization grow and intensify. Last week the reactionaries vented their hatred and fury on Trayvon’s friend Rachel Jeantel in a vicious, gutter-level attack by a “virtual” mob. Rachel Jeantel is a key witness in the trial, the person Trayvon was talking to on the phone when George Zimmerman confronted him. Once again, these bullies had been trained to act and react by a system, to spew their ignorant venom full of the confidence of someone who feels they have power on their side. This kind of shit must be fought all along the way, and this growing polarization must be repolarized into deeper and broader energy, clarity, and direction for justice for Trayvon Martin... and for revolution and emancipation altogether.
You who read this paper must now step up. You have a chance to change history and you cannot step aside from that. Here is some of what you can do:
- Get what revcom.us has to say into social media... inject its leadership into the intensifying societal debate... get to us with ideas on how to do it and take initiative yourself...
- Take out materials on this trial—our newspaper, or materials from the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, or other positive things—and get them into people’s hands, even if it is just you and a friend at first... grow these into impromptu speak-outs and demonstrations when you do...
- Spread the “We Say NO MORE” statement and get people to sign it... change the polarization and give strength and expression to the side of justice...
- Answer the call of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network (SMIN) (check online at stopmassincarceration.net and revcom.us) to build public vigils when the jury goes out, so that there is a powerful collective response to the verdict... and join with that network, supporting and participating in it...
- Donate funds to revcom.us so that we can create MAXIMUM social impact...
And most of all, this: the most essential and important fact about the world today is that the Trayvon Martins in it DO NOT HAVE TO DIE. The most essential fact is that a society is possible in which the Trayvon Martins and Rachel Jeantels and the millions and billions like them, here and around the world, can not only survive, but can flourish and fully contribute all they have to offer to the world. Such a society is possible through revolution—a revolution based on the theory developed by Bob Avakian and won with the leadership provided by the Party he leads, the Revolutionary Communist Party. In the midst of this massive social upheaval, BA must truly be everywhere—the film of his speech BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! sold and shown all over... the revolutionary handbook of his talks and writings, BAsics, out everywhere... his image out and around in every struggle, sparking people’s curiosity and thinking and letting them know the revolution is here, there IS a way out.
Do not turn away from this challenge. Don’t let them win this round. This is about the kind of world we want to live in.
For more, see “The Trial of George Zimmerman: The Persecution of Trayvon Martin.”
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