Simply put, the Trayvon Martin case that has been in the news since the night of Feb. 26 is a doozy. Though it has been over a month since Trayvon’s death, it is of little surprise that the case is still making headlines across the nation. The story of how neighborhood watch patrolman George Zimmerman fatally shot an unarmed, black 17-year-old walking around his own neighborhood, and then claimed self-defense, has all the makings of a sensationalistic news story, and the media has been having a field day.
I’ve been following the case closely since day one, curious to see the outcome and keeping myself updated by reading articles from various sources as the days go by. After listening to the 911 calls and reading through the multiple accounts of the confrontation between Trayvon and Zimmerman, I now find myself coming across a different set of articles: those attempting to dig into Trayvon’s past and paint the picture of him as a troubled young man.
Some media outlets have made a point of emphasizing the fact that Trayvon was with his father on the day that he was shot because he had received a 10-day suspension from his high school — a suspension that was issued because Trayvon had been caught in an unauthorized area on the school’s campus, according to his father.
Others have chosen to focus on Trayvon’s multiple tattoos. Apparently, perusing Trayvon’s Twitter and Myspace accounts have allowed reporters to procure photos of Trayvon’s two tattoos. One was a large tattoo that took up most of his upper arm and the other was on his wrist. It said “Sybrina,” his mom’s name.
Still others have gone on to pull screen-captures of Facebook posts from Trayvon’s friends that imply that he may have smoked marijuana, a fact that they believe is confirmed by the pictures of blunts that some of his Twitter followers chose to post.
As I sort through the multitude of articles focusing on this subject matter, I can’t help but wonder how this information is being received.
If my conservative, immigrant mother was told that there was a kid at school with tattoos who smoked weed and had been suspended, she would immediately declare the described individual as a “hoodlum” and tell me not to hang out with him. But when I hear these details, I can’t help but laugh and think about some of the people I knew in high school who fit this description. To me, the details above make me think of nothing more than a naive high schooler at that point in his life when he thinks he’s invincible. Someone young enough to think the best way to make his mom proud is to tattoo her name across his wrist.
Still, I find myself thinking, so what? How is any of this information at all relevant to the events of Feb. 26?
These details being presented about Trayvon and his life, regardless of whether they are true or false, have absolutely nothing to do with what transpired on the night he was killed. They merely serve to help those of us who didn’t know Trayvon form our own prejudices and pick sides based on irrelevant information. It provides people with the means to mold the story of that night in a way that they see fit.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether Trayvon was suspended or even expelled. None of this information about Trayvon or his past is relevant to his death, because the fact is that George Zimmerman didn’t know anything about Trayvon when they came across each other that night. He didn’t shoot Trayvon because he was an alleged drug dealer or because he had multiple tattoos. All we know is that he shot Trayvon based on what happened in the moments their lives intersected on that night, so why is it even necessary for the media to dig into Trayvon’s past and slander him posthumously?
That having been said, it’s important to look at the flip side and realize that the attempts to paint Trayvon in an extremely positive light are just as irrelevant as those that are attempting to taint his character. Both attempts to characterize Trayvon should not be taken seriously.
Sure, Trayvon may not have been the fresh-faced and innocent kid that his family is portraying him as, but can you really blame his parents for trying to remember their son in the best light possible? The Martin family has been criticized for their supposed attempts to “cover up” darker parts of Trayvon’s life, but is anyone really surprised that two parents who lost a young son are trying to remember only the good parts of his life? For the media to deny them the right to ask others to remember their son as they see fit is simply adding insult to injury. At this point, let’s just remember to focus on the events that happened on that Sunday night, and in doing so, let Trayvon rest in peace.
Ravali wants to know what you think. Email her at ravreddy “at” stanford “dot” edu.