Letters to the Editor
Many others could’ve been Martin
7/26/2013There is truth for me in the President’s words: “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago” (“President shares views about race; ‘Some soul searching’ needed, Obama says,” July 20).
Unlike the President and Mr. Martin, I am not black; I am Asian-American. I don’t think that you have to be a young black man to have someone judge you as trouble.
I can imagine my young self cutting through a neighborhood on the way from the store and getting questioned by a block watch person.
I see myself making an obscene gesture, because I was not doing anything wrong. And if that block watch person would have approached me, I would not have backed down.
I have no idea what happened between Mr. Martin and George Zimmerman, but if it were me and Mr. Zimmerman, I too would have been shot dead.
It is unforgivable that some people are placing the responsibility on Mr. Martin for his own death. He could have walked down a different street or ran from Mr. Zimmerman, but he didn’t. Mr. Martin stood his ground, as I would have.
I thank the President for getting me to think that I also could have been Trayvon Martin.
SCOT YARNELL
Wildwood Road
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A parent feels for Martin’s mother
As the mother of grown sons who were once impulsive teenagers, my heart breaks for Mr. Martin’s mother.
I imagine my oldest son, at 17, confronted by a stocky, muscular man. We try to teach our sons to back away from a bully. But I know my son and he would not have done that.
I abide by the law and respect the decision of the jurors. But I question the integrity and morality of a law that cost a mother the life of her son as he walked home.
KAREN McCONNELL
Oregon
Mace would’ve been better
Losing a son as I have recently because of natural causes, I cannot feel the anguish the parents of Mr. Martin must feel in losing a son to violence.
I’m not against the concealed carrying of a firearm, but if Mr. Zimmerman would have had pepper spray or Mace with him, he could have accomplished his escape without the loss of a young man’s life.
GERARD JACOBS
Fairhaven Drive
Victim’s parents showed class
In the wake of their son’s death and subsequent jury verdict, the parents of Trayvon Martin have exhibited class. The way they have handled the death of their son should be an example to everyone else put in this tragic circumstance.
GREG REDLIN
Whitehouse
Martin brought trouble on himself
As much as the Trayvon Martin situation and verdict leave a bitter taste in my mouth, the sad fact is that he brought all this on himself.
I, as a man of color, have to ask: What kind of an idiot attacks a man who is carrying a gun?
VICTOR BAKER
21st Street