Trayvon Martin’s Lesson: Clearly, We Must Arm All Black Youth

After the Trayvon Martin case’s sad, sorry conclusion in Florida this week, you’d be very hard pressed to find the rare American who isn’t saddened over the young life so quickly ended during a 7-11 run — they’re out there, still tweeting about “thugs” and “lean” or being siblings with George Zimmerman, but most people realize regardless of which side they’re on, the kid’s death was a tragedy.

And whoa, were there sides — quite bizarrely, Trayvon Martin’s “supporters” were neatly “of color,” or liberal, or often both, while George Zimmerman’s supporters were white, conservative, and even more perplexingly, the bible-thumping sort. Funny, that. I say “supporters” in quotes because in life, Martin was every teen — he died never knowing his name would become a worldwide symbol of varying things, most notably the troubled legacy of race in America.

But while Trayvon Martin’s death marked a horrific and needless waste, perhaps one of the lessons we can learn is one both sides could clearly get behind: we must arm black youth, in great numbers, to ensure they may equally Stand Their Ground should push come to literal shove on a rainy sidewalk.

There’s no way the conservative element that so loves guns and so closely supported Zimmerman could disagree — after all, we’ve heard for months since the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut that only a good man with a gun can stop a bad man with a gun. (Luckily we womenfolk have men with guns, protecting us from any danger.)

NRA advocates would surely agree Trayvon Martin, armed with nothing more than a bag of candy and an iced tea, could have at least had a shot against the man who fired a fatal round straight into his still developing heart had he had the chance to return fire.

Sure, you may say, Trayvon Martin was (at just two weeks past 17) unable to legally carry. And a gun would not have been an option. But many black youths travel with other, older teens who can step in to defend them should the local Neighborhood Watch get touchy feely, even if their hearts are in the right place. (It’s not like anyone is likely to profile a creepy ass cracker and shoot first, is it?)

I cannot take credit for this brilliant bipartisan outreach idea, as it’s been bandied about on Twitter for days, but there’s no way the National Rifle Association could possibly disagree with this, is there? It would conceivably undermine their whole platform of guns for self-defense, right? How could any truly supportive gun rights advocate say this is a bad idea? After all, bad men come in all colors, don’t they? Adam Lanza, after all, was lily white.

So too was James Holmes. And Dylan Klebold. And Eric Harris. And countless others. Sure, Colin Ferguson was black, but we always have at least one person willing to shatter racial boundaries and aim higher. Or closer. I don’t really know much about guns.

We could have the Negro Rifle Association, to reach out in urban communities and teach young, easily profiled men how to aim, fire and assess threats with legal firearms obtained solely for the purpose of preventing another Trayvon Martin from ever getting shot. Why would a second “NRA” be necessary?

Because, as WaPo writer Jonathan Capeheart retweets, the NRA has been eerily silent on what is the perfect self defense example, Trayvon Martin. It’s perplexing the pro-gun organization would miss the chance to stand on Martin’s body and call for more guns, but one body doesn’t provide as much of a platform as 27, perhaps.

The original tweet read:

.@CapehartJ Please discuss why the NRA isn’t out there telling young black men to arm themselves in self defense..@Lawrence

— Alexis (@tsubi) July 17, 2013

PBS’ Tavis Smiley said the same tonight on Bill O’Reilly, that cases like that of Trayvon Martin could be avoided if we just made a grassroots effort to arm black teens and young adults — he told the host:

Arm every black person in America, and then let’s see what the NRA has to say.

It is truly stunning the NRA has been quiet on the Martin case, but someone should start a petition or something urging the organization to reach out to black teens and perhaps start an inner-city gun training initiative. Think of all the bad men in high-crime areas who will be stopped by this ad hoc army in waiting with their good guy guns! I think we’re really on to something here.

Black parents, if you’re reading this, you’re probably still a bit horrified and sad over what the Trayvon Martin verdict means for your children’s safety. Any parent with a lick of decency, white or black, would feel the same way. Scratch that, any human being — because what kind of a person is okay with youth being so callously blown away in a fight between a boy and a man with what are likely, let’s face it, some Freud-style insecurities?

Lucky for us all, a solution to avoid all the future Trayvon Martins is at hand, holstered if you will, right in our reach like Zimmerman’s gun was that night in February of 2012.

If you’ve got college funds set aside, perhaps consider earmarking some for guns, ammo, and shooting lessons for your vulnerable black child. A Florida jury declared open season on black teens Saturday night, hands tied by Florida laws, and clearly, the law is not going to help your innocent children. And unless they are capable of returning fire at the next George Zimmerman, I think we know how this whole story ends. And I am tired of lamenting.

While the mostly liberal Trayvon Martin supporters might find more guns a bitter pill, I think we can all accept that it’s slightly better than the depressing spectacle we saw in Florida last week. Forewarned is forearmed, and if you can’t beat them, join them. Or shoot them, and just tell someone you found their creepy cracker ass scary.