The more I think through the Treyvon Martin case, the more convinced I am that any profiling that Zimmerman did was appropriate. We all profile everyday.
If we see something out of the ordinary that we feel poses a potential threat to our safety, we have a right to notice and take action. That action might only be to take metal note. It might be to take literal notes.
It might be to call 9-1-1.
It might be to follow while on the phone with 9-1-1.
I’m here to tell you that if my neighborhood begins to experience heightened levels of crime and I’m driving through my neighborhood, watching or just going to get a quart of milk, and I see someone that I find suspect – I’m following them.
Period.
And living in a free society with laws based on liberty of the individual, I get to do that without having to answer to questions of motive or prejudice.
More and more as I talk to people I know and meet I find myself swayed by only one argument as it pertains to the Treyvon Martin case:
Shooting an individual over simple assault is unacceptable.
That is, if one white guy were the victim of another white guy beating him, firing a gun to kill would be inappropriate. Or, if a woman were being beaten by a man, that woman would be wrong to draw a gun and shoot to kill.
This argument is simple: deadly force to avoid further bodily harm is wrong.
I think that reasonable people can disagree with the conclusion, but it is the one argument I find valid.