This image has been floating around the web for awhile now, and on the surface, it may seem like a legitimate point – but again, it is only what’s on the surface that makes these cases similar. The reason I am posting this is to really clear up some things about the two cases, and to at least point out some things.
There are a few things I REALLY dislike about this meme thing that’s been floating around. First, it’s deceptive. Again, on the surface, they seem like the same case. Two 17 year old boys shot and killed by someone of another race. However, there is a big difference in how the two cases were handled – and in the case of Trayvon Parker, things were handled much differently.
What are the differences? I’ll tell you, but as I do, let’s try something. I’m going to leave race out of the stories, because it’s really quite irrelevant, because the fact is that in both cases, two lives were taken for no good reason. In Marley Lion’s case, he was approached by two men while in his car, then shot and killed. After his death, it didn’t take long for the police to arrest and charge four people involved in the shooting. They were put away. From my understanding, there was no more evidence pointing to the men that were arrested other than there was pointing to Zimmerman in the Trayvon Parker case.
In Parker’s case, he was a approached by a man with a gun on the grounds that he ‘looked suspicious.’ The man we all know as Zimmerman was asked by police to do the exact opposite, to stay in his vehicle until police arrived. Instead, by choice he left his vehicle, gun in hand (or holster), started trouble with Parker, and ended the feud by killing him.
Zimmerman was then arrested, questioned, and released on the grounds that he killed Parker in self defense. It wasn’t until the police department began receiving high media pressure that Zimmerman was actually arrested and tried before a jury, and found innocent on the grounds that there just wasn’t enough evidence.
So, as far as what happened between Lion and Parker, two horrible tragedies took place. Two young, innocent KIDS were shot and killed by an adult. In that sense, there is no difference there, and my heart goes out to those affected by the loss of these two young men. However, the difference is in how the cases were handled, and that’s what sparked a fire in the media.
Now, if I can share my opinion….I’m glad that Lion’s killers were brought to justice, but I am downright discomforted that Parker’s is still walking around free. There are so many questions I have that don’t seem to have been answered. What good reason did Zimmerman have to leave his car WITH A GUN, if not with the intent of using it to kill someone?! What made Trayvon Parker ‘look suspicious’? Was it because of the way he dressed? The color of his skin? From my observation, Zimmerman – someone with a record of violent behavior (including assaulting a police officer and a restraining order from his ex wife because of domestic violence), saw some black kid with baggy pants and assumed he was a thug, and decided to leave his car with a gun, start trouble, and commit murder. That’s my own observation, and I believe the observation of many others.
Back to the point of Lion Vs. Parker – I hope this post has cleared up any confusion as to why Parker’s case received so much attention while Lion’s did not. The fact is, they were both equally tragic and devastating; unfortunately, only one victim’s killer was brought to justice, and the other is still roaming the streets.
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