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Showing posts from July, 2013

In Moment of Weakness Under the Guise of Strength....

When the Trayvon Martin case became a national story, I was quick to point out the necessity of waiting and seeing as the facts came to light.  I lost a Facebook friend over this particular stance.  But why is it that the “wait and see” opinion is so hard for people to grasp? Too often, in the court of public opinion, do we find ourselves trying criminal cases that are thrust into the national spotlight.  The 24 Hour News Cycle feeds this obsession, turning all of us into wannabe Perry Mason’s overnight.  We use whatever information is given to us to formulate our arguments, either on the side of the prosecution or the defense.  We invest ourselves in our chosen side, and forget that there are real people on the other side of the television screen, who are dealing with actual grief, loss, sadness and anger. I didn’t understand this myself, until I lived through it.   On Saint Patrick’s Day 2011, my 23 year-old nephew Clarence was stabbed in a fight in Syracuse.  He died fr