Trayvon Martin: The Facts

Trayvon Martin

February 26, 2012 Trayvon Martin was found face down in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to the back of his head in Sanford Florida.

Minutes before Martin was shot the Sanford police received a phone call from “a concerned citizen” George Zimmerman.  Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighbor watch man spotted and flowed Martin, all while still on the phone with the police.  Zimmerman told the police Martin “looked like he is on drugs or something” and that he looks “up to no good.”  Fact: Martin was walking home from the store with an ice tea and bag of skittles, to go watch the NBA finals with his dad, and was wearing jeans, a hoodie, and sneakers.  Real suspicious, I went to the mall this weekend, and sported that very look; jeans, sneakers, and a sweater.  However, I was no shot down, like innocent Trayvon was.  The Sanford police found Zimmerman standing over the body with the gun in his hand! They questioned Zimmerman, he claimed “self-defense” and was let go free.  Zimmerman did not have a scratch anywhere on him, yet he claims self defense.  How can it be self-defense if you are the one stalking, and the one with the weapon? It seems more like Zimmerman blatantly shot down an innocent UNSUSPECTING teen. The Sanford police did not run a drug or alcohol test, and did not do a background check on Zimmerman.  However, they did run a drug test and alcohol test on the murdered seventeen year old.

As of March 23^rd, George Zimmerman was still a free man.  The FBI are investigating the case and the Sanford police, who claim there is not enough evidence to arrest Zimmerman. Even though, they have the weapon, an eyewitness, and the tapes in which Zimmerman tells the police he was FOLLOWING Martin.

Sanford has some serious explaining to do… not only to the Martin family, but also to the rest of the country.

The R Word

The "R" word.

Much debate has go on, on how to deal with the word.  Many feel the word should be banned, President Obama recently passed Rosa's Bill which changed the terms "mental retardation" to "intellectual disability" and "mentally retarded individual" to "individual with an intellectual disability" in federal health, education, and labor laws.  However, many feel the word should not be banned, because that it’s like trying to ban and idea.  Instead of banning the word, people should take time to understand it and those who have a mental disability.

I agree, with this "movement" of not banning the word, but rather understanding it.  If the word is banned a new slur will just rise up, with the same negative meaning. It will still be used to describe something that is "stupid” or "dumb" just as the r word does now. 

I feel we need to take the time to educate ourselves on the word, and purge the word of all negative connotations.  Many associate those with a disability as being less than nothing insignificant people, but this is because they have never taken the time to get to know someone.  Learn Potter, is a Glee cast member with a mental disability, and yet she is on a hit TV show. 

Every year the my high school soccer team takes a trip to School of the Holy Childhood, it is honestly one of the most rewarding days of my year.  The school is dedicated to helping those with disabilities.  One starts in kindergarten and goes all the way to 12th grade.  The School also teaches the older students how to work, so they can go get a job and contribute to society. 

I feel people who use the R word, in every day conversation are just ignorant uneducated people, making fools of themselves whenever they open their mouths. 

Banning a word is like banning an idea, we do not need to ban anything, we just need to understand.