There are no words that properly contextualize the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin. His parents and loved ones will grieve for him long after the media frenzy moves on to the next national outrage.
While it’s good that we’ve placed an enormous magnifying glass on the laws and police force that allowed a man to gun down an unarmed teenager to walk away charged with no crime, it comes at a heavy price. Bitter enemies who had never heard of Trayvon before are now exploiting his demise to settle old scores.
I’m talking of course of the conservatives who emerged from the weeds to earn a few seconds in the spotlight by criticizing President Obama for offering his public condolences to Trayvon’s family.
“If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” Obama said last Friday. “I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness this deserves and get to the bottom of what happened.”
