Article written on The Examiner

How much do our emotions come into play with the Martin/Zimmerman Trial?

Do you believe this image?

Emotions don’t know logic.  It only knows feelings and at times those feelings can become so intense that it overwhelms all of the other senses combined.  As I read the article regarding the inadmissibility of the testimony given by experts that would conclude who was heard screaming on the 911 tapes in the Trayvon Martin murder trial, all I could do was sadly shake my head.  But it’s not for the reason that you think.

Or this one?

I knew that this was going to be a highly charged case when it came to trial.  I knew that the sensationalism surrounding this case would drive wedges between the races as cases like this has a tendency to do.  And as I read the comments of the people that were weighing in thus far, once again, I couldn’t help but shake my head in sadness.

Do you believe this image?

We would be having a completely different conversation if George Zimmerman had been black or Trayvon Martin had been white.  If this had been a black on black crime or a white on white crime, emotions wouldn’t be nearly as high.  Perhaps the comments that I had read wouldn’t have been as derogatory.

Or this one?

And as I read the comments, one thing became crystal clear.  It almost seemed as if people weren’t necessarily defending Trayvon Martin or George Zimmerman as much as they were defending their own race.  At least it reads that way from where I am sitting.

I am sure that on some rudimentary level, black people are tired of having their men and boys portrayed as thugs just as much as white people are tired of hearing how much they have discriminated against the black race.

To read the article in its entirety, click on the link below:

 http://www.examiner.com/article/how-much-do-our-emotions-come-into-play-with-the-zimmerman-martin-trial?no_cache=1372097382

~ J.L. Whitehead