He Would Still Be Alive

Do you think it’s fair to be judged only because of the color of your skin or you your religion? Certainly not. You might think that nowadays, racism and prejudice don’t cross peoples’ minds as it did before, but you would be surprised with what these things still lead people to do.   

17 year-old Trayvon Martin wasn’t showing any kind of threat, however, this black, young man was shot and killed when walking back from a convenience store on the night of February 26, 2012 in a community in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman, who was the volunteer neighborhood watchman (with no training) at the time, was the causer of this horrific murder. He claims that he shot Martin in self-defense and that the he was wearing a hoodie and looked “suspicious”. Zimmerman says this boy was “up to no good” and followed him, while all that this teenager was carrying were a bag of skittles and a bottle of iced tea, and he was unarmed. Worst of all, Zimmerman hasn’t been arrested for his actions and he truly deserves to be.       

Prejudice can lead to injustice because once you have an unfavorable opinion about someone or a race itself it can lead you to treat that person unfairly without you even realizing; this case can certainly prove it.  Not every black man who’s walking at night, wearing a hoodie is a thief and neither is dangerous- we experience Trayvon Martin being the victim of a murder because of this exact kind of prejudice. Prejudice is just a sign of ignorance and Mr. Zimmerman proved to be a very ignorant and racist person. When someone is taught or used to judge based on other peoples’ opinions, they can’t make fair judgments. Most likely, George Zimmerman has always been a racist man even though his father sent a letter to the Orlando Sentinel declaring that his son wasn’t at all racist: "George is a Spanish speaking minority with many black family members and friends. He would be the last to discriminate for any reason whatsoever."    

"A black person in a hoodie isn't automatically 'suspicious.' Let's put an end to racial profiling!" Occupy Wall Street posted on its website… I bet that if Martin had been wearing expensive clothes instead he would have been “less suspicious”; what would you have done in Zimmerman’s case?

The Million Hoodie March was a protest in Union Square, New York, in which millions participated in favor of George Zimmerman’s arrest for the killing of Trayvon Martin. This millions of individuals were marching in remembrance of this innocent boy and in solidarity for his family. I believe that individuals have a responsibility to protect the innocent because then no one will and they would suffer. There are sometimes when you just know that protecting someone innocent is the right thing to do. The innocent and helpless-in this case Trayvon- are the ones who will be exposed to the dangers and prejudice of society because they have no way of defending themselves, sometimes; moreover, they have a tougher life. Trayvon is not alive anymore, but by this march in his honor many people are protecting him in a way. 

I can relate this to Atticus defending Tom Robinson’s case in To Kill A Mockingbird; I still don’t know much about what he is defending him of but he makes us see that Tom is innocent. He says that he has to help this black man; otherwise, he couldn’t be able to stand up for himself; he is sure that this man is innocent and that he is doing the right thing. It is his responsibility to protect this black man.

Nevertheless, another way that society can help the innocent is just stop being discriminative and racist. Now it’s Zimmerman who has triggered this whole commotion and people have started protesting on how society won’t get better. But it will get better if one by one, we stop being so prejudice because this is something that we all do. No one really understands why but its just one of the ways people function- we are always ready to judge and criticize. We all fear what we cannot understand: prejudice. It’s impossible to understand this kind of stereotype and racism that is abundant in our lives; yet, we all fear that something like what happened to Trayvon might happen to anybody else.    

 Gender stereotypes can absolutely influence people’s behavior towards a person. I believe it’s mainly if you’re a woman, you-can’t-do-as-much-as-men kind of stereotype. In this case, I’m sure that if it had been a woman with a hoodie instead of Trayvon, Zimmerman wouldn’t have been so prejudiced and wouldn’t have shot the “suspect” because of her gender. All I really know is that if George Zimmerman had followed 911’s instructions to leave the boy alone, and if he hadn’t been so prejudiced Trayvon Martin would still be alive.          

We Were So Close!

I awoke that morning and thought the world was endin’- it was a bizarre thing that it would snow in Maycomb County. Mr. Avery said that when children didn’t obey their parents, the seasons would change and Jem and me felt guilty for being the reason of winter in the middle of autumn. Since it was the coldest weather since 1885, we didn’t go to school that day. It was amazing to see snow for the first time, but I was freezing and missed the usual sweltering heat.

            Jem told me not to walk about in the snow so much or I would waste it, so I was meticulous because we really wanted to do a snowman. Jem had an idea: we could go walk in Miss Maudie’s yard and waste her snow instead. Dissension existed between Jem and Miss Maudie –while Jem said the snow was beautiful, she said it wasn’t because it would freeze her azaleas. She told us we could take all her snow since it was freezing her plants. Jem went to Miss Maudie’s back yard and collected baskets of dirt and snow, which was kind of a mess. I thought it wouldn’t work but he took handfuls of dirt and built it into the body of our nigger snowman. It looked like Miss Crawford but he continued his plan. He suddenly said, “Mr. Avery’s sort of shaped like a snowman, ain’t he?” We conspired to make a Mr. Avery snowman; he grabbed snow and put it on the mud, letting me only cover the back. Then we added eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons, and a stick of stove wood to make him look cross.

            When Atticus got home, he lionized Jem and admired our creation, but then obligated us to disguise the fellow because it was wrong to make caricatures of the neighbors. In the afternoon it stopped snowing and I went to sleep with coal on the fire in my room; it seemed like a long time had elapsed when Atticus woke me up. I interrogated him –trying to figure out what was the matter. I then assimilated that something was wrong in our neighborhood: Miss Maudie’s house was on fire! We did as told, and Jem and me walked towards the Radley Place, leaving behind the calamitous scene. We saw as the men in our neighborhood, including Atticus, helped get Miss Maudie’s things out of the burning house. Even with the gigantic fire I was shivering from the cold. Fire trucks came to the rescue and tried to extinguish the fire; but the roof burned and the house collapsed.

            Atticus led us home and offered us hot chocolate. He was staring at me and I didn’t know why. “Whose blanket is that?” I didn’t know what he was talking about, looked down, and saw a brown blanket around my shoulders. I turned to ask Jem for an answer and we both apprehended –Boo Radley had put it around my arms so I wouldn’t be cold. I could believe we hadn’t seen him! We were so close…         

            

June, I Miss You

Dear June,

         How are you? It seems like ages elapsed since I last saw you; 20 years seems more than a lifetime. How are you doing with Neil? I miss both of you so much! I hope you are doing great, and please, let me see you sometime soon. The pink house is so bizarre without May –after the calamity- and then without you. 

         I know we always had dissensions in mostly everything when I first got to Tiburon –and I still remember the time I was about to touch Black Mary’s heart but passed out because it seemed that you hated me; it was impossible to get along with you. But something that will also stay in my mind forever is rolling on the floor next to you, laughing under the shining sun –the moment when we finally became friends. I apprehended then why we couldn’t get along, you thought we were TOO different, but in that moment you realized we were two girls laughing at the same thing –we were actually very alike.

         I knew the moment to get along with each other had to come. I tried to be meticulous near you, but you always found something wrong. And surprisingly, I find myself thanking you for that because it made me stronger. You made me a better person, June; in many ways.

         Things are fine, let’s say perfect, here in the pink house –only August and I; and the bees and black Mary. It’s not that their company isn’t enough –I love them all- but I miss the times when we were all together. Sometimes Rosaleen and Zach come visit. Now I can be with Zach whenever I want. I interrogate them every time they come, don’t be amazed if the next time I see you I do the same. I miss them terribly, too.

         The days are sweltering, but beautiful, and we usually go out and watch the bees getting lost in their secret life of honey making. August is very proud of me because I’ve become a writer. She lionizes me sometimes, and Zach and Rosaleen do too. But I tell them I’m the same Lily, no need for exaggeration.

I’ve been writing mainly about my life. How everything came to be what it is –it’s interesting if you put it all together. About my many mothers –including you. That’s one of the reasons I need to see you again. The other one is that I miss you. I anxiously await a response.

Love,

Lily Owens