Justice for Trayvon Martin is impossible. Justice is for the living, not the dead. Revenge, vengeance, or punishment on behalf of Trayvon Martin is possible. But justice is not.
During the trial I thought about how differently the outcome would have been had George Zimmerman apologized. While it would not have raised Trayvon it would have drastically altered the grief and mourning of his family. What if Mr. Zimmerman went to Trayvon’s parents and said, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that I took your son from you.”
Period. No justification, no rationalization, and no politics. Just remorse. What would that have done for the family of Trayvon? What would that have done for Mr. Zimmerman’s family? What would it have done for our country?
I used to work with people whose loved ones were murdered. I worked with one mother who didn’t attend the trial of the person who murdered her son. Her family was baffled and furious that she wouldn’t go to the trial. “Why?” she once asked me, “why would I go? It doesn’t bring back my son. I know all that I need to know.”
As unfair and shocking as the George Zimmerman verdict is, in one way it doesn’t matter. The verdict does not change the past. It does not bring back life from the dead. We need to stop talking about justice for Trayvon because that possibility ended the night he died.
So where do we go from here?
