“No Justice, No Peace!” is the cry of demonstrations across the
country since the “not guilty” verdict for George Zimmerman, the
vigilante murderer of black teenager Trayvon Martin. This outrageous
verdict was not just the product of some jurors but of the capitalist
justice system itself. The racist nature of the justice system remains
regardless of whether the Republicans or Democrats rule. Nor has it
disappeared because there’s a black president and attorney general. So
it is up to the masses of all nationalities to again rise up against
the injustice of the system.
Some of the details of the murder of Trayvon will remain unknown.
Nevertheless the general picture is clear. Zimmerman habitually phoned
the police about black people whom he arbitrarily decided didn’t belong
in his community. Zimmerman identified Trayvon as black. Zimmerman
described whoever he thought was guilty of dubious activity in his
neighborhood as “these assholes [who] always get away”. He carried a
loaded gun as part of his “community patrol” though the patrol was not
supposed to confront anyone. Trayvon Martin was doing no wrong
travelling from a convenience store to the residence where his father
was. Zimmerman tailed him in his vehicle and ran after him. Against the
advice of a police dispatcher Zimmerman left his vehicle to pursue
Martin.
There is little question that Zimmerman was racial profiling. His
“mixed race” background or having black acquaintances doesn’t change
this. His pursuit and false and racist assumptions about Martin led to
the contact between the two. Wherever Martin ran, Zimmerman followed.
Confronted in this way Trayvon Martin eventually stopped trying or
could not escape. There was a brief fight as Trayvon rightfully
defended himself against the armed and unknown assailant. In this
fight, Zimmerman picked up some minor injuries, none of which could
have disabled him from defending himself. Zimmerman nevertheless shot
Martin to death. Whatever details are missing, all the above means
Zimmerman got away with murder.
Zimmerman’s lawyers contended that, despite having only minor
injuries, Zimmerman was pinned to the ground by Trayvon and was
helpless to defend himself except by shooting Martin. They had a
martial arts instructor testify what a weak person Zimmerman was and
that despite a year of martial arts training he was not yet qualified
to throw a punch! But even accepting the scenario of Zimmerman’s
lawyers, the “helpless” Zimmerman was strong enough and free enough to
draw his gun from his holster, free enough to contact the front of
Martin’s sweatshirt and free enough to somehow shoot directly at
Trayvon’s heart, killing him instantly.
The only thing Zimmerman’s lawyers can really prove is that Zimmerman had some minor injuries. The defense story is the physical confrontation started with Trayvon attacking first and then pinning Zimmerman to the ground and beating him. Some witnesses did testify Zimmerman was pinned and being punched by Trayvon. Other witnesses said Zimmerman was on top. But how did the fight wind up on the ground? The defense claims Trayvon knocked Zimmerman down. But there’s no evidence of that. What if Zimmerman instigated the fight by drawing his gun in the earliest moments of the fight or even before that? That would be at least as plausible as the defense story. That could be another legitimate reason for Trayvon to vigorously defend himself in addition to being stalked by an unknown armed man. It also may explain how Zimmerman was able to have his gun in his hand. It’s certainly more plausible than the defense explanation that he somehow grabbed it while he was completely helpless underneath Trayvon. What’s certain though is the murder of Trayvon prevented his views being told.
There should be laws that protect citizens from criminal charges for
merely defending themselves from an attacker. But the “stand your
ground” laws and other laws in Florida make it easier for those like
Zimmerman to escape criminal charges and convictions no matter what
actions they take in the name of self-defense. Under “stand your
ground” a person who thinks they might suffer serious harm or death in
any public place need no longer even try to retreat from their
perceived peril. They can just shoot and kill and have an added
incentive to do so since the murdered person cannot offer testimony
against the killer.
“Stand your ground” language was included in the instructions given
the jury in the Zimmerman case. Even so, three of six jurors were
considering convicting Zimmerman of some charges. A much more
reasonable self-defense law may well have assisted the prosecution
although a conviction still wouldn’t be guaranteed.
Whatever the personal beliefs of the jurors, the judge’s
instructions not to consider anything before the first blow, as well
as her statements telling the jurors to not consider race as an element
of the incident between Zimmerman and Trayvon, and the laws
themselves, could not but have tipped the field in favor of Zimmerman.
Anyone with a fair mind would have at least called into consideration
the entire events the night of the murder. What about considering
Zimmerman’s profiling, his hunting down of Trayvon, Trayvon’s
reasonable action faced with an armed stalker, and his right to
self-defense? Trayvon was the one hunted down and if the right of
self-defense is at stake, Trayvon, the victim, deserved to be
considered a million times more than the man who hunted him.
Some say that if Zimmerman listened to the police request not to
pursue Martin, Trayvon would still be alive. Maybe. The history of the
local police toward black people shows that if they had encountered
Trayvon alive, he might still have been in jeopardy. No one knows for
sure what would have happened in that case.
But when Sanford police apprehended Zimmerman they let him go! They
said they believed Zimmerman’s shaky story of self-defense and couldn’t
charge him because of the “stand your ground” law. Meanwhile, the
police never bothered to contact the best witness to the event, Rachel
Jeantel, a black teenage friend of Trayvon who was on her cell phone
with Trayvon seconds before the murder. She had the most solid
information on the incident which indicates Zimmerman’s guilt. The
police may have been reluctant to kill Trayvon themselves but
sanctioned a vigilante murder. Indeed it took six weeks of nationwide
protests for state authorities to charge Zimmerman.
But this is nothing unusual for the local cops. The police chief
when Zimmerman murdered Trayvon, Bill Lee, Jr., eventually got fired
because of his handling of the case. A year before Lee’s firing the
previous police chief got canned because a lieutenant’s son attacked a
homeless black man. No arrest took place after the son was interviewed,
and eventually the son turned himself in because his attack surfaced on
YouTube. In 2005, a police volunteer and the son of a former veteran of
the Sanford police shot to death a black teenager in an apartment
complex they were hired to guard (sound familiar?). At least this time
they were charged. But a judge threw out the charges for lack of
evidence!
While the local authorities and state authorities had to be prodded
into even investigating the murder of Trayvon seriously, what was the
stand of Obama? He spoke after the trial. He called attention to the
historic plight of black people in the US and present indignities. He
said maybe there should be a review of “stand your ground” laws and
even hinted that Trayvon may have had the right to defend himself in
the situation. Very well. But what does he think of the Zimmerman
verdict? He praised the judge! This is the judge who instructed the
jurors that they should follow the “stand your ground” laws, that they
should consider none of the circumstances prior to the actual physical
fight itself, and that they should ignore the issue of race in this
incident! And Obama warned those who engage in protest to behave
themselves. Above all else he advocates the “rule of law”, that is,
the rule of racist and capitalist law. This is not surprising given the
administration’s Homeland Security authorities instigating violent
crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street protests in various cities over the
past couple of years. It hardly needs mentioning that the Republicans
consider Obama’s meek stand against racism to be reckless militancy.
The failure of the capitalist establishment to provide justice for Trayvon is part of a whole system where justice is denied to workers in general but even more seriously to the black masses. Racial profiling is not just a habit in a little Southern town. It has long been a well-known policy of the police forces across the country with well-known scandals in New York City and other major metropolitan areas. So are arbitrary police shootings of supposedly “suspicious” blacks and Latinos.
The relative lack of economic opportunity and education among the
black masses feeds discrimination in the justice system, and the lack
of justice in the system reinforces the economic hardships. With legal
opportunities to earn a living more restricted, crime expands. So does
targeting by police. Tougher laws are written for the minority
community which is unjustly blamed for being “lawless”. An example is
the drug laws with stiffer punishment for drugs used more in black
communities compared to similar drugs elsewhere. The number of drug
arrests in the black communities is disproportional to equal numbers of
drug users elsewhere.
What chance is there for a poor black person hauled before the
courts? There is a whole history of police manufacturing evidence and
falsely testifying behind their shiny badges. The black defendant is
stuck with an overworked public defender without proper resources or
time for a sound defense, and so true lawbreakers and the innocent
alike are processed through the courts, plea bargain and fill the
jails. Any worker or poor person can face this problem, but the racism
of the authorities and the more poverty within the black community
creates rampant discrimination. A huge percent of poor blacks are
crushed by this system.
A number of other laws are particularly aimed at the black and
minority communities. Many states are out to limit black voting rights
through new voter ID laws and other methods that will make it
particularly hard for blacks and others to vote. The blatant racist
laws remindful of Jim Crow are coming back.
The racial discrimination in the justice system is also shown by the
treatment of undocumented immigrant labor. Millions of “illegals” from
Mexico provide cheap labor for the capitalists on farms, construction,
services, etc. But they have no access to the justice system at all
unless they’re arrested or deported. Meanwhile various states are
passing laws to step up harassment by the police on illegals or
citizens whom they arbitrarily decide look like illegal immigrants.
Amid the hysteria about terrorism, the US justice system has also been carrying out relentless discrimination against Middle Eastern looking people or whatever region the government has targeted as a terrorist haven.
These are just some of the examples of the racism that remains well-embedded in the US justice system.
The racism of the justice system is itself a product of capitalism.
The capitalist austerity measures are taking a harsh toll on all
workers, but the sections of the workforce already in worse conditions
are being driven into the ground. The racist justice system assists the
capitalists because the less rights for workers, the easier come the
profits, and the more certain sections of the workforce can be singled
out for special oppression, the harder it is for the workers to unite
for a struggle to defend themselves from the capitalist exploiters.
Whether it is Obama or Congress we are talking about the ruling
political parties are tied to the capitalists. And because of their
loyalty to the capitalists the racism in the justice system either
intensifies or, at best, is alleviated in the slowest and most minor
ways.
It’s only through the force of the workers and poor of all
nationalities banding together for struggle that conditions improve.
It took countrywide protests just to get Zimmerman put on trial though
the capitalist justice system again failed to produce a just verdict.
Powerful mass actions are needed against all facets of the racist
justice system.
But some of the main organizers of the recent protests like Rev. Al Sharpton are misleading the anti-racist movement by diverting it into faith in Obama and similar Democratic Party politicians who are carrying out the austerity measures of the capitalists. Sharpton ignores that Obama is carrying out austerity measures. And he pretends capitalist austerity has nothing to do with the reactionary and racist police, laws, court decisions, etc. Instead Obama and Sharpton use the trial to proclaim the justice system worked except that maybe the “stand your ground” laws need change.
Workers and activists need a different orientation in order to
strengthen the struggle against racism and the racist justice system.
We must connect the struggle against racism to the fight against
capitalist austerity which feeds bodies into the racist justice system.
This must be a fight based on mobilizing the rank-and-file workers, not
the sellout union leaders tied to the Democrats. We need to expose the
basic connection between the racism of the justice system and
capitalism itself.
We should reveal the complicity of Republicans and Democrats in
maintaining the racist nature of the justice system because of the
repressive laws they make or maintain, their tolerance or
encouragement of police misconduct, and the militarization of the
police. We must work to break any illusions that the mere overthrow of
“stand your ground” laws or other minor changes will break the racist
nature of the justice system.
There should be participation in mass struggles no matter if the
leaders have reformist views. But anti-capitalist views on the
struggle for racial justice should be spread there. Organizing
independently from the reformists should be carried in the workplaces,
communities, schools, etc. Protests need not wait on the Sharptons and
other reformist apologists for Obama. The forms of protest should not
be confined merely to what the bourgeois establishment considers
proper, but to whatever will be most effective and in step with the
level of organization, consciousness and willingness of the
participants.
The more workers of all nationalities rally against racist
injustice aimed at their most oppressed sections, the stronger will be
the overall class struggle. <>
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