Before we begin, ask yourself this question: As a kid when you did something that you knew may be wrong, how many times did the voice of your parents ring out in the back of your head to use your common sense?  Or, how many times have you followed through on something knowing that the outcome would be bad and got punished with the lesson being if you had used your head, you wouldn’t be here now.  Better yet, as an adult, how many times have you wanted to commit an action but had to weigh out all of the consequences in your head instantly before you followed through?  Just keep that in mind as you read.

Like many people have these past few weeks, I have been following the George Zimmerman trial, and also like many people of color, I am disappointed with how the State has handled this case. From unprepared witnesses, to unasked questions, one can’t help but wonder how Florida is on the verge of messing up yet another landmark case with an egregious crime happening in their own backyard.

To be honest, if Zimmerman somehow is found not guilty, I wouldn’t be surprised, just disappointed. If we go all the way back to how the police of Sanford handled this case at the very beginning by not taking Zimmerman immediately into custody and as it looks right now, not properly processing the scene, it’s a shame that the State hasn’t asked tough questions as to why a man thought it was ok to have an open season on an unarmed teen.

I think that what’s worse about this case isn’t even so much of the spectacle that has played out in the court room but what has happened in the court of public opinion, but such is that of social media.  There are many people who have hailed Zimmerman  a hero, or hailed Martin a villain without ever really once figuring out the common sense of the situation.  Let’s look at the fact that even before this incident took place, the Neighborhood Watch trainer, Wendy Dorival testified that she instructs private citizens to be the eyes and ears of the police and NEVER to take action against anyone looking suspicious. Another fact that the 911 dispatch even told Zimmerman when he decided to pursue Martin, ‘We don’t need you to do that.’ And many have argued that it was implied and never explicit.  While we can argue the language used, again for me, common sense rules, if you are told you are not needed hang back and let the professionals whose job it is to perform it. So many times it has been hammered in my childhood, don’t go looking for trouble and what we are seeing is a long and protracted version of what ‘looking for trouble’ and finding it looks like.

Not only has the prosecution been a disappointment but just watching the general public react has been a disappointment also.  Sure there are a lot of people who want to be heard but it’s sad that many who are shouting the loudest are those have the least amount of facts straight to present a clear argument and in some worse cases are showing how far off race relations are in this country. Frank Taaffe is a perfect example of someone who is belligerent and many times racist. He is eager for his 15 minutes of fame and a poor representative of someone calling himself a friend of George Zimmerman. While I find that there is nothing wrong if people choose to side with Zimmerman, to actually try to vilify Trayvon Martin as some kind of thug based on his past is disingenuous.  To use racial slurs for those opposing the defense is the same but thanks for letting us know where you really stand. It’s common sense coming into play again, “It’s better to be called a fool and remain silent that to speak and remove all doubt” and Mr. Taaffe has removed all doubt about what kind of a man he is each and every night he has spoken on television.

Regardless of what he did prior to that moment he lost his life and no, he was no angel, at the moment that George Zimmerman decided to follow Trayvon Martin, common sense and evidence has shown that Martin was not in the process of committing a crime. He was not robbing anyone; he wasn’t burglarizing any homes nor doing anything unlawful at that moment that Zimmerman made the decision that would end Martin’s life and him looking at a possible 25 years in jail and at the least being a social pariah.

So, in my mind as I consider the jury makeup, it comes back to a simple rule that mothers usually should have taught their kids. “Don’t go looking for trouble because if you do you will find it.” I am hoping and praying that one of those six jurors, almost all who are mothers, has this in mind when they go to deliberate his fate. One of them must be saying to themselves, “That could have been my child.” Even if it doesn’t pan out that Zimmerman is found guilty, his life will be forever changed.  He will be the man who thought it was ok to do the cops’ job, he will be the man who regardless of who started the fight, opened fired on an unarmed teen, he will be the man that, if all he did was use common sense to stay put, he would be home right now out of the spotlight and Martin would be alive. Yes, I will be disappointed if he walks but even if he does, February 26, 2012 is not finished with Zimmerman yet.

“Common sense is something so rare it should be classified as a super power.”

“Common sense doesn’t exist in the criminal court system. if it did, we wouldn’t need the system.”