David Simon, creator of the celebrated HBO series The Wire, applauds how people of color haven’t reacted violently to the July 13 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the death of Travyon Martin.
It isn’t how Simon, who blogged about the high-profile case this week, would handle if it he were a minority.
You can stand your ground if you’re white, and you can use a gun to do it. But if you stand your ground with your fists and you’re black, you’re dead.”
He added that “If I were a person of color in Florida, I would pick up a brick and start walking toward that courthouse” where George Zimmerman was found not guilty Saturday in Martin’s shooting.
Simon, whose series chronicled real-world issues like inner city crime and injustice, added that minorities who refuse to violently express their disagreement with the verdict are true patriots.
Those that do not, those that hold the pain and betrayal inside and somehow manage to resist violence — these citizens are testament to a stoic tolerance that is more than the rest of us deserve. I confess, their patience and patriotism is well beyond my own.
He went on to say he’s ashamed to call himself an American after hearing the verdict in the case.