This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Outting Our Rage -- Moving Past The Zimmerman Verdict

“Whenever any American’s life is taken by another American unnecessarily – whether it is done in the name of the law or in the defiance of the law, by one man or a gang, in cold blood or in passion, in an attack of violence or in response to violence – whenever we tear at the fabric of the life which another man has painfully and clumsily woven for himself and his children, the whole nation is degraded.” Robert Kennedy, 1968

Trayvon Martin is dead and ain't never coming back.

When George Zimmerman was found not guilty, police departments from coast to coast braced themselves for mass mayhem and rioting.

With a long history of perceived injustice and racial inequities in the court system, many expected this would be the last straw for Black people who'd just had it with the system.

Thankfully, thus far there have been no riots or looting. No destructive uprising or cases of widespread random violence. But emotions are running high.

People are pissed off. And have good reason for feeling this way. Multiple large demonstrations are being held in different cities, including Baltimore. 

Expressing anger and disappointment at the system is important. Our system is broken and to say it's in need of reform would be an understatement. But after the rage simmers and emotions taper off, where do we go from here? 

Our problems go beyond what many of us feel is a rotten verdict. Two teenage boys were shot over the weekend. One died, the other is expected to survive. They were both nearly the same age as Martin. Why has Baltimore allowed these kinds of incidents to become so routine in occurrence  and until recently, showed little public outcry?

In my commentary entitled Zimmerman Is Innocent! - But We're All Guilty, I make the point that we must be on guard not to fall for temporary emotionalism and shady grandstanding media whores. If we want change, and boy do we need it, we're going to have to move past this and tackle the issues that threaten us all, not just when the media is watching. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from North Baltimore