On the anniversary of another controversial Florida case, that of Terri Schiavo, Jake DiMare wonders where are all of the Floridians who held vigil for her life, now that we’re talking about the life of a vibrant young man?
As the controversy surrounding the tragic Trayvon Martin case continues to grow in Florida, so does an implacable public frustration with Sanford law enforcement’s prostrate stance on initiating the legal process toward justice. At best their paralyzed position is perceived as castrated and weak, at worst…completely corrupt. This week even more evidence has been produced backing the most horrifying scenario: An over-zealous neighborhood watchman decides a black teenage boy is ‘suspicious’ so he stalks him, illegally detains him, and then murders him in cold blood. Incredibly, the shooter still walks free.
But what’s Sanford Chief of Police Lee to do? Florida state laws protect a shooter in cases where more rational states would demand they flee from a situation, rather than use deadly force. In other words: In Massachusetts Zimmerman is a murderer. In Florida, not so much. And after all, law enforcement is about the rule of law, not the rule of justice.
I couldn’t help but notice today is the 7th anniversary of the day when the United States Senate stepped in to weigh the justice of another set of laws in Florida. Back then the Federal government intervened in a state matter on behalf of the parents of Terri Schiavo, to enact Terri’s Law II, authorizing her parents to seek a federal court review of whether Terri’s rights have been protected. Is it perhaps true, that laws are not always just?
This memory also made me wonder, where all of Florida’s pious, white, christian-conservatives are now…Those who held constant vigil around Terri’s parents? Why is all the right-to-life bluster so much more zealous when applied to zygotes and those barely clinging to a life they never wanted. Is the life of a vibrant teenage boy somehow less valuable?
When a boy is slain by a hollow, frightened, whelp of a man, who spends his time wandering around a complex of townhouses profiling his neighbors and their guests, is this justice to you men and women of Jesus? Where is your outrage now? When is the Christian vigil for Trayvon’s mother?
Terri may have been classified as “brain-dead”…but did that meant her soul was also dead? Does soul = consciousness? The soul leaves the body when the body is dead which is what most people believe in. My grandmother who has passed on, was paralyzed from the neck down and survived for a few years…in her later years, she was pretty much in the same vegetative state as Terri. My mother’s religion does not believe in “pulling the plug”, so she let my grandmother die a natural death (in her own country). At the time of her death, my grandmother shriveled… Read more »
Prior comment was moderated so I shall repost with less vitriolic language and additional context… Given the consistent (and usually poorly informed) anti-Catholic stance of the writers and moderators that dominate the discussion here I find myself unwilling to continue participating as a reader and a commenter. I do not mind a spirited debate with those whose positions differ from mine but when the bias pours forth from the writers and editors it becomes obvious that I and those like me are not welcome. In his article and posted comments Mr. Dimare calls the “Bishops and Cardinals” who supported Terri… Read more »
That Florida bishop’s propaganda website is really cool and all but until Catholics stop voting in politicians who shoot down healthcare, social services and education and promote bombs, imperial ambitions and corporations, they are all hypocrites in my opinion.
In 2008 54% of Catholics voted for Obama while 45% voted for McCain. In 2004 50% of Catholics voted for Al Gore while 47% voted for Bush. Do some basic research on the until then you should stick to topics you have a grasp of. Devout Catholics vote based on myriad issues. You’re coming off as incredibly uninformed. Question for moderators- so its a OK for a writer to make uninformed, generalized assumptions about 80 million Americans based on how they choose to worship? Seriously? Would you let a WRITER (let alone a commentor) say “all Jews are greedy!” or… Read more »
When I put facts in my articles I source them. If you’d like me to take your arguments seriously, please do the same.
This isn’t exactly data that is hard to find. Its been covered in every election since I have been old enough to vote. Here are exit polling data covering the last 3 elections. http://www.pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/How-the-Faithful-Voted.aspx So many articles here decry making assumptions based on known trends because of the danger of marginalizing those who do not fit the general trend. You have generalized nearly 80 million people based on ephemera. Literally- you do not know of which you speak yet you continue to shout. I do not expect any retraction from you. However, I hope that others who read this exchange… Read more »
CW- First of all, you’ve done a great job of steering this conversation away from the message of the article, and for that I applaud you. Second of all, I will retract something…After I point out that in these comments I was sharing my opinion, not fact. I’m pleased to know my opinion is so important to you as to make you so angry…but it is only my opinion all Catholics are hypocrites…and not a statement of fact. Interestingly, I base my personal opinion that all Catholics are hypocrites on a cherished bit of Christian Conservative logic that goes a… Read more »
applying that “logic”- you couldn’t pay taxes in good concience. Surely the possibility of a penalty isnt enough to force you to comply against your will?
Yet, I suppose you feel that by working to right wrongs through voting, activism etc… you’re not commiting egregious moral harm.
Reminds me of that fantastic old Bushism: You’re either with the terrorists or against them. Well, I happen to believe you’re either with the molesters or against them. There’s no middle ground there.
I believe that if something good is broken you don’t throw it out, you fix it. I volunteer to work with kids at my church. I’ve had background checks. I’ve taken full day classes on how to maintain a safe environment for children. I have to undergo ongoing training to keep my certifications. We have a parish council of laymen that act as an independent board of oversight. My parish is determined to keep children safe. There are millions of people like me in thousands of parishes around the country. You were wrong about Catholic social priorities. You were wrong… Read more »
“You were wrong about Catholic social priorities. You were wrong about the voting tendencies of Catholics. Now you say 80 million Americans support child molesters. Think about that- 80 MILLION PEOPLE.” It’s been fun going back and forth with you but now I have to get literal. Your little misdirection isn’t going to work: Show me where the word Catholic appears in my article. You jumped into this conversation on March 22, 2012 at 1:49 pm and automatically assumed the point of my article was Catholics based on a passing reference I made to Bishops and Cardinals in a comment.… Read more »
so your reference to Bishops and Cardinals didn’t refer to Catholics? You Perhaps you should have stated that in the first reply back to me. As far as I can tell from reading your comments and a quick scan of your blog you’ve got enough vitriol to go around and its pretty obvious where most of your bile is pointed. And if you volunteer with Youth ANYWHERE (religious or secular- hey, I do both) where you are in a position of authority and no direct oversight you will need to have similar checks and training. The Girl Scouts are just… Read more »
So anyone who is against expanding executive powers and anti-islamic discrimination and also votes for Obama will be a hypocrite as well, since he ordered the assassination of a muslim cleric who was an american citizen without a proper trial?
I don’t disagree. Let’s not forget the 2011 NDAA, or Obama’s cozy relationship with the architects of the financial meltdown, both of which I staunchly oppose.
Thanks for pointing that out Valter. We had it right in the article but when it got keyed into the CMS it seems the header and subhead got botched. Will be fixed ASAP.
Detecting the gestalt of high test metaphors isn’t for everyone.
Oh dear, there seem to be some fundamental problems in this analysis. The comparisons to Terri Shiavo are meaningless for three reasons: One, there is a confusion between pre- and post-killing analysis. The actions over Shiavo’s life dealt with someone who is still living. As satisfying as a large prison sentence for Martin’s killer may be, it will not bring him back to life. This makes the issues fundamentally different: one is actions taken to help someone still living, the other is anger and outrage over someone who is already dead. Two, in the case of Terri Shiavo, there was… Read more »
You make some excellent points Mike. Particularly towards the end.
“This makes the issues fundamentally different: one is actions taken to help someone still living, the other is anger and outrage over someone who is already dead.” Yeah, but can you really say this won’t happen again? Federal intervention might very well dissuade future Zimmerman’s from believing that they have the right to act as judge jury and executioner. Its not just the fact that one life has been ended needlessly (which is bad enough) its that this is representative of a larger problem which threatens a whole group of people. The rest of the post made sense except that… Read more »
Oh and something else which is terribly ironic about this incredibly stupid tragedy. Zimmerman actually worked for Trayvon. As the child of someone who lived in the neighborhood Zimmerman was watching, Zimmerman was supposed to be serving Trayvon and helping to protect him. That’s how terribly unprepared he was for what he was doing. And I’m sorry, but you can’t use the word terrible enough in this story.
Well I’m not a Floridian, but I’m a pious, white, christian-conservative. So there’s one. And I think neighborhood watches are a good thing. You just can’t bring in messed up individuals like Zimmerman and expect anything but disaster. He should have given Trayvon a ride home that day. That would have been doing the job right.
I agree with you on Zimmerman…my vitriol is more aimed at the Government, and the laws, and the lack of an uproar among ‘pro-lifers’ who don’t seem to shed a tear for the tragic loss of a child’s life. Particularly when he’s black. Why are there no bishops or cardinals publicly proclaiming their outrage over such a tragic miscarriage of justice? Why are not white, religious folks rallying with the black community, their neighbors, when a woman has lost her son?
Hypocrisy. That’s why.
@Jake: I wonder too , how much of this is because he is a man (boy). Would the outrage over this shooting have been greating if this was a woman that was killed.
Kinda makes you wonder doesn’t it.
I don’t wonder at all. If Martin was a white teenager and Zimmerman was a black man he’d have been in jail the same night.
Oh I’m sure gener has more than a bit of a role in this if for no reason that its males that get stereotyped as violent just as race does. If Tryvon Martin had been Terri Martin we’d be staring down the barrell of a new Terri’s Law in order to prevent this from happening again.