"A Death in a City"

I lived in the Chicago area most of my life. Chicago is a beautiful city; it has a marvelous lake front, two major league baseball teams, an NFL team, an NBA team and an NHL hockey team. There are some of the finest restaurants in America in the City of Chicago. There are art galleries, and symphony orchestras; botanical gardens and zoos which make Chicago a wonderful place to visit and enjoy.

Chicago has a history of organized crime, street violence and veiled references to political corruption. Chicago has terrible winters and sweltering summers. Chicago is filled with all types of racial and ethnic groups; sometimes they get along, and sometimes they don’t. Before I left the area, I had many friends in the law enforcement community, and I heard many stories of what they went through on a daily basis. Sometimes Chicago can be a very violent place; much the same as any large city in America.

One friend used to patrol the “Fillmore District” in Chicago, and he told me that when he was working “midnights” (12:00AM to 7:00AM), he would drive with his pistol on the seat, as he knew he would have to use it regularly throughout the night. He also told me there was nothing more frightening than having to pull that weapon, because somebody was probably going to get hurt. He said “I don’t have time to be a diplomat when things jump off in the street; if I hesitate, I could be dead”.

The headlines across the nation have been dwelling on the death of a young boy named Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. It has been reported that the young boy was shot during an altercation with a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, when it was alleged that Martin attacked Zimmerman and he was shot by Zimmerman in self defense. Thus far, no charges have been made against Zimmerman, and several different accounts of the incident have been reported from several different sources. This story is a tragedy; it is always a tragedy when a life is lost. Every major city in America has stories like this on a nearly daily basis; only one has gained such national prominence. Why has this story gotten such attention?

If Mr. Zimmerman is charged with something, it will probably be manslaughter. I don’t believe Mr. Zimmerman left his home that evening with the intention of killing anyone. If the young Trayvon Martin actually did attack Mr. Zimmerman, and Mr. Zimmerman was in fear of his life, it is likely that no charges will be filed against him, pending investigation of all accounts of the incident.

It is unfortunate that a segment of our political community feel it is appropriate to turn this into a “racial issue”, when it clearly doesn’t have the “wheels” to be interpreted as a “race” crime.

It appears that Mr. Zimmerman is a “solid citizen” who cares about his community, or he would never have volunteered for something with the potential danger of a neighborhood watch program. I have heard nothing in regards to Mr. Zimmerman’s views on race; perhaps because it was never an issue with him. It is too bad that the death of a young man is being used to fuel racial division and hatred. It is too bad a local crime has turned into a national “race rant” from the left. It is too bad our President said “If I had a son, he would look like him.” Once again, America is being focused on race, instead of what this is in reality; a terrible tragedy that happens across racial lines, in all major metropolitan areas. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and the New Black Panthers are inciting an issue that doesn’t exist for the purpose of making “political hay”. America has enough genuine problems without using the death of a young boy to further divide our nation.