Fear is usually the antagonist for racism, bigotry and injustices  against mankind.  A recent case in Florida where a young African American teen boy was killed because the assailant claimed he was in fear of his own safety after following this young teen boy relentlessly and eventually confronting and killing the unarmed teen boy with his weapon, a handgun. The line of defense for the assailant, Zimmerman is that he claimed he was afraid of an unarmed teenage boy walking alone at night minding his own business. Yet , fear was the antagonist for this deplorable, racist action that resulted  in the death of Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman has been charged  with second degree murder because he claimed to be fearful of a young teen boy that he stalked and eventually murder. What was Trayvon Martins offense? Some believe it was a Black youth walking at night with a can of  Arizona tea, bag of skittles and wearing a hoodie. 

It’s obvious, Martin did not pose a threat and there wasn’t a reason to be fearful of this African American youth. In this case it appears that racism promoted violence as well as fear.  Society must closely examine this case to conclude. if in fact racism is the catalyst of fear and  violence against people of color. 

There have been occasions when an elderly woman might clutch her purse a bit closer to her because she may spot a Hispanic or African American in close proximity of where she is walking. Is this elderly woman fearful because of their race or gender? It’s clearly evident society has racial stereotypes and prejudices against people of color. They seem to be the object of these unfounded fears.

Sadly, it seems to take a case of this magnitude to examine these prejudiced fears. An unwarranted fear, is baseless for this crime against Trayvon Martin, because this fear is based on irrational stereotypes and a preconceived notion that African American youths are up to no good and should be feared by society at large. 

It’s a disgrace that men of color are subjected to this type of unfair prejudice. Martin was not in an unfamiliar neighborhood or area. Martin was just a few yards from his home. Yet, he was victimized by an assailant that was up to no good. Some have said, “Zimmerman was acting as a vigilante”. However, most believe Zimmermans actions were the actions of a coward.