Almost against my will I have been consumed this week by the trial of Michael David Dunn in the shooting death of unarmed teenager, Jordan Davis. And when I say consumed I mean, keeping tabs on progress, watching the live stream of the trial, having ‘twittersation’ about it … the whole nine yards.
And there is just so much to it: seeing the justice system in action; listening to those not involved provide their opinions; and seeing the lives of the victims, accusers and people they know literally laid out for the world to see – in the form of questions and answers.
If you are unaware of the case you can learn more here but while you’re learning, I’m just going to go ahead and share my thoughts okay? Ok. The facts as we know them are that Dunn fired 10 shots into the car the four boys were in after he got into a verbal spar with one of them because the music was “too loud”.
I am concerned.
I’m concerned that too few people seem interested in what’s happening with this case and its many implications. Like the Zimmerman trial, the defendant is accused of shooting a young Black male because he “felt threatened”.
I’m also concerned that a 45 year old man would not simply move his car or leave the parking lot altogether.
I’m concerned that all too easily the blame has been shifted to the boys in the car and that there is a sense of “they probably deserved it”.
I am dumfounded.
I can’t seem to wrap my mind around the fact that you can simply say you “felt” threatened – by people in a car and you were in your car – and fire, not one or two warning shots, but TEN shots into a vehicle at close range.
I also can’t imagine why not simply more your vehicle if you felt the music was “too loud” – after all, you pulled your vehicle up beside theirs.
I am sad.
Undoubtedly, children can do and say some really outrageous things when they are out of the presence of their caregivers (I have firsthand knowledge as a parent and as a formerly stubborn youngster). That is understandable. But how is it that we have gotten to a point where their childish/immature behavior is being met with oftentimes serious bodily harm and death?
Why are so many parents grieving the loss of their children?
I am aware that race absolutely matters.
No one ever wants to talk about the “r” word. I have mentioned that before and I wholeheartedly believe it. People who are not ‘melanin rich’ will never understand the role that race plays in everyday life, and personally I think it’s ridiculous to even have that expectation. But I do think it is important to have conversation about it.
In this particular case, the situation is simple:
– 4 Black males sitting in a parked truck with tinted windows blasting music
– 1 White male pulls up beside them, becomes agitated by their music, begins a word exchange, ends with firing 10 shots into Jordan Davis’ window
If the situation was reversed and there were 4 white males and 1 Black male ….
Would he have felt emboldened or entitled enough to pull up beside, and then ask them to turn the radio down?
Would he have felt safe enough to ride around with a concealed weapon?
Would he have been able to not even be questioned until the following day?
Would he not have been arrested and charged 3 days after the murder took place?
Would he have been able to put forth Stand Your Ground as a defense? (see Marissa Alexander)
I’m just going to leave this here for now.
Copyright © 2014 Tamika Brown and TheFynePrynt.com
Photo of Jordan Russell Davis
from actionnewsjax
The Fyne Prynt 