Justice for Trayvon Martin

Recently, a 17-year old boy by the name of Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida by a local neighborhood watchman who claimed the boy looked suspicious. The story has taken the news world by storm considering Martin was merely walking in the neighborhood wearing a hoodie and holding a bag of skittles and a bottle of Arizona iced tea. People have been left to question if wearing a hoodie is really so "suspicious" or if this was an act of racism. The shooter, George Zimmerman, has been identified by police as white although his family says he is Hispanic. To make matters worse, Zimmerman has not been arrested or indicted for this crime. Here on Penn State's campus, there will be a march held tomorrow at 1pm, entitled "Silent Voices: Silent Hoodie March," in an effort to take a stand against this injustice. For this blog, I just wanted to talk a bit about these methods of public awareness, such as marches and protests. I believe they are a vital part of our civic engagement as a people. Although we live in a very individualistic society, I believe it is still our responsibility to support one another. When an injustice occurs, especially one like this where an innocent person is left dead, it is our responsibility as fellow citizens to bring awareness to the issue and try to make a change. I think throughout history, we have also seen that when a situation like this occurs and it seems to involve race, people are even more compelled to protest, rally and march in an effort to make society better. I believe it is such a great part of being an engaged citizen in America. Yet, it is also rather sad that typically, we are most willing to partake in a protest or rally when it is under such sad circumstances. Nevertheless, while the situation is heartbreaking, I think it is great that people are willing to come together to try to make a change. After all, if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.