No Mistakes

“There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.”
-Elizabeth Kubler-Ross


Greetings folks! I hope this post finds you doing well. Recently a writer from the Miami Herald, Laura Isensee, contacted me about contributing to a story she was writing about the tragic events surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin. Initially I was torn. I was flattered and honored that a writer would contact me regarding my opinion about the situation. However, I was also cautious about commenting on a very controversial topic. I’m not a politician. I’m an attorney and a teacher and the last thing I wanted was to have my comments negatively affect my job, my family, or add to fuel to an already raging fire. However, once Ms. Isensee informed me that her article would focus on the impact it was having at our school, with the blessing of my school’s administration and the district’s communications office, I agreed.

Trayvon Martin attended Miami Carol City Senior High for the first two years of his high school career. Understandably, my students had an affinity and emotional attachment to the case. This was evident the first day we talked about the case, March 19th, which was the first day back from Spring Break, and three weeks after Trayvon’s passing. My initial conversation with my students centered on what happened and how they felt. After listening to their initial responses, I knew there was no way I could teach what I had planned that day. However, I also knew that we couldn’t ignore my lesson plans for the rest of the school year. I got the idea to incorporate the events into my lesson. Our class went from just preparing for an upcoming mock trial, to a discussion about image, perception, homicide, and self-defense.

The discussion that ensued wasn’t about Zimmerman or the Sanford authorities and whether or not they were racists. The conversation wasn’t about Trayvon being an angel/devil. The lesson wasn’t that Skittles and iced tea make you a target. No, the lesson I taught my students was that the image we put out to the world at the mall, in school, on Facebook and Twitter matters. The lesson was that we can’t control people’s perception of us, but that we can influence it. I also taught them that justice should be demanded, not because of race, but because it’s the right thing to do.

After reading Ms. Isensee’s article, I must say that it was well-written and the photographer did a good job of actually making me look like I “really teach.” While I have touched on a few topics with my students, there are still more lessons to be learned from this. Regardless of what happens, whether or not there’s an arrest, conviction or acquittal, this case will set a precedent. This case will help define the Florida “Stand Your Ground Law” until it is revisited by the Florida legislature. This case will arm the citizens of Florida with a clearer picture of what is and is not self-defense. This case will be a lesson to teenagers all over the country about perception, profiling and what it means in their life. This case will help answer the question “what does suspicious look like?” Is it dependent on the who, what, when and where? Or is it the same regardless of the circumstances and individual involved? These are all questions which to some degree or another have always been present but in light of recent events are now demanding answers this case may be able to give.

My hope is that a year, five years or even ten years from now that we’ll still be talking about Trayvon Martin. My hope is that he didn’t die in vain and that he wasn’t just another victim of gun violence. My hope is that there is a lesson in the tragedy and that long after the grand jury convenes, long after the rallies die down and the protests stop, that we can take something away from this incident. I hope we can learn a little more about ourselves as individuals and as a collective society. I hope that we learn to think before we act, and that we learn the true sense of the term “justice is blind.”

For many of us it may be difficult to see the silver lining in the aftermath of the tragedy of Trayvon’s death and in the midst of this quest for justice. Many people think that this was all a mistake. However, I agree with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross who wrote, “There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from.” Hopefully we are all paying attention to the lessons that should be learned. Until next time, Stay Up and Be Blessed!

Miami Herald Article Link: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/02/2728302/carol-city-ethics-students-examine.html