J’hiana Jlapion, 4, sits on the shoulders of her father Jabari Jlapion during a protest in Atlanta on Monday of George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict in the 2012 shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin.Justice is supposed to be the American way. But the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin has revealed two starkly different visions of what Americans think justice should be.
What is justice for Martin – the 17-year-old black youth, mourned by many as a victim who was minding his own business when he fell under misplaced suspicion? What is justice for Zimmerman, seen by many others as a good neighbor who made a fatal mistake?
The national conversation over the verdict shows two sides talking about two different things: either the two minutes when Zimmerman and Martin fought face to face, or the centuries of racial context that many believe caused a senseless death.
The debate also has revealed deep resistance to the idea that justice in this case might not be black and white, but could include a gray area with important parts of both visions.
“Is justice getting the bad guy?” asks Gene Demby, who writes about race for National Public Radio’s “Code Switch” blog.