What I Learned from the Zimmerman Trial

by Marianne Ball from ADVENTURES IN THE BALLPARK

Ever since the George Zimmerman trial ended, I've been trying to hear/read all sides of the arguments that have erupted.  I don't think there's a simple answer as to whether or not the verdict was correct, but here are a few things I've confirmed for myself.   

1.  Appearance - not just skin shade, but age, level of attractiveness, weight, disability, manner of dress/tattoos etc. - is not a reliable indicator of what guides a person's heart.  

2.  Anyone roaming around after dark risks being viewed as suspicious - this is not unreasonable.

3.  Gun ownership is generally supported - until somebody gets killed.

4.   If we call 911 for any reason, we need to follow the directions given.

5.  When confronted with an aggressor, it's best to WALK (or run) AWAY.   No fracas is worth dying for.

If only Zimmerman had let law enforcement handle his concerns....if he had not carried his gun into the street...if Trayvon had not been out late, looking in windows...if either one of these people had just walked away, not engaged with the stranger in the night - the outcome might have been different.

As it was, the teen and the man chose to fight.  Both felt justified  I assume both were equally scared and angry.  It's tragic that one of them - either one of them - didn't make a different choice.  Then, or earlier.

Over the course of the trial and afterwards, I kept reminding myself that our judicial system is based on facts (not necessarily truth) and governed by imperfect human beings.  Even at its best, it can still fail.  Every verdict has people simultaneously rejoicing and crying. 

Which brings me to my final reminder of the week, which is that only God knows the truth of every matter.  He knows Trayvon's heart.  He knows George Zimmerman's heart.   He alone is fully just and fully merciful.   We might argue the Zimmerman trial for years to come, as we did the O.J. trial, but in God's eyes, the matter is already settled.

I gain my peace from that.

What are your thoughts on the Zimmerman trial?

Parenting, Guns, and Rock 'n Roll

I had an entirely different post planned out for today; however, with Friday's tragedy, I felt that I had something to say.

Even as I write this, the droplets fall and make the keys slippery. My heart breaks for every family who lost someone in the Connecticut school shooting. It breaks for the children that survived while their innocence didn't. But most of all it breaks for a society where it's listed in the news as "Another Mass Shooting".

This is not okay people. This is not the new status quo, waiting in fear for someone else to walk into a public place and unload clips of ammo into innocent citizens that have nothing to do with the shooter's issues.
In case you're wondering, this is not a gun control rant. This is a parenting rant.

Friday afternoon, I had to go the DMV to register and get plates for a car. While I was at the window, an 8 year old boy was sitting in a nearby chair, playing with a bright orange handgun toy, complete with popping sounds. He was shooting my daughters, who thought it was a game and hid from him around a pillar.

I wanted to puke.

The father at the adjacent window gave a half hearted shrug when I told his kid not to point the toy gun at my girls. But the dad said nothing, gave no reprimand, just a look that clearly said, "kids will be kids".

On what planet is it okay to bring your kid into a government building and let him play with a toy gun in the waiting room? Let alone on the same day where 27 people, most of them children, were ruthlessly gunned down?

I'm begging everyone, in the words of Crosby, Stills and Nash, "Teach your children well." Teach them to be good and gentle souls. Don't turn a blind eye at violent and errant behavior. Pay attention! I have known so many parents who refuse to believe their little Johnny was capable of punching another kid, surely there must be some kind of mistake. Usually there isn't. Acting out is often a symptom that they are struggling, perhaps being bullied themselves. Give kind correction and buckets of love, but remember, you are the watchman.

As parents we are the first line of defense. Our job is to provide a safe and loving environment for our children to grow. Nurturing them so that they may in turn nurture others. But make no mistake, no matter how well intentioned or righteous we might be, the adversary is ever knocking on the door, with sneakier and stealthier ways all the time. The more we can keep filth and violence out of our homes, off our TVs, out of the iPods, the better our kids will be. The better our nation and world will be.  And God willing, the more infrequent these senseless killings will become.