By Roger Caldwell
As America struggles with justice, fundamentally the system is flawed, and is designed to protect White men. We must remember that capitalism was set up with systemic racism, and White men are still in control of the legal system, and every other system.
On July 13, 2013, George Zimmerman was acquitted for killing 17 year old Trayvon Martin, based on self-defense. It did not matter what millions of Black folks thought. The system is created to protect White men. “The state was unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Zimmerman committed second-degree murder or manslaughter, as defined in Florida,” says Bryan Driscoll of Yahoo News.
When you come to court, ninety-five percent (95%) of the people working in the system are White. This is the way the legal system was created, and the majority of White people make deals with each other. There is no emotion in these deals if you are Black or a person of color; the White folks are in control, and you are usually guilty.
It comes as no surprise that Kyle Rittenhouse is free in his recent trial, on all five counts: not-guilty. It does not matter what you think! From the very beginning Judge Schroeder established to America that this was his court, and Mr. Rittenhouse was leaving his court a free man.
“The witnesses to the events agreed with Rittenhouse’s version of the shootings. The man shot in the arm testified that he was pointing a gun at Rittenhouse when Rittenhouse shot him. The prosecutor tried to withhold evidence and tried to color the trial by calling the men who attacked Rittenhouse victims, but Judge Schroeder wasn’t having it,” says Paul Craig Roberts, with Institute for Political Economy.
There were two men killed, Anthony Huber 26, and Joseph Rosenbaum 36, and Gaige Grosskreutz 27 was shot, and all men were White. Mr. Grosskreutz admits that he had a gun, and he pointed it at Mr. Rittenhouse. Some of the details are sketchy, but it makes no sense that there were so many guns (including a AR -15) at a Black protest, and a 17 year old was protecting small businesses, and now he is a hero.
It appears that Rittenhouse was legally correct at 17 to carry a rifle at the demonstration. And in the State of Wisconsin, he was legal. There are differences in the Zimmerman case, but still there are families who believe that justice was not executed, and the state prosecutors did a terrible job.
In both cases, the defense used self-defense, and from a legal standpoint, the state was unable to prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury agreed with the defense and the judge, and Rittenhouse is a hero, and a free man.
It is time for legal reform in America, but very few will admit that the system is broken. From the very beginning of the legal system, Blacks were considered only 3/5th of a person, and Black men are put in jail for the color of their skin.
White men can break the law, and they get a free ticket out of jail, because they are White. The legal system in 2021 is on trial, and don’t be surprised if the 3 White men are found innocent for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.
Justice will only come in America when Blacks stand up and fight every day. We will lose many more battles than we win, and our hearts will stay broken, but eventually we will start to see a change. We must never stop fighting because the legal system is broken, and fighting, protesting, and demonstrating are the only way we will win.
