This is a post I felt I had to write. Originally I was going to write about Kony 2012, however photos of the man behind it waving his penis around San Diego along with everyone coming to the same realization that I had the second I saw the video made it obsolete (in the short-term it’s this: when dealing with third world countries, when you capture one warlord or dictator, there’s always another one ready to take their place that’s usually more ruthless and that it’s not just about capturing Kony—which is the easy part—but changing the way things are done in Uganda, which will take a lot of effort).

However Trayvon Martin is something that needs attention, and thankfully this case is getting the attention needed.

In case you aren’t aware of the situation, take a look at the wikipedia entry, which is thus far fairly accurate.

The details are there, and I’m sure you’ve heard the 911 calls both from the neighbors in the area as well as from George Zimmerman, the gunman who killed Martin.

Based off of the details I’m in the camp that does not believe it was self-defense. I’m sorry but if someone scares you enough, you go the other way. Zimmerman did not, even though the 911 operator specifically told him when asked if he should keep following him “we don’t need you to do that”. I’ve shown my support for Trayvon by making my Facebook and Twitter icon a picture of me wearing a hoodie while drinking an iced tea, which is also in protest of Geraldo Rivera’s idiotic comments.

Also in the tape you can hear Zimmerman cock his gun, which not too many people have brought up.

What also hurts Zimmerman’s case was two statements he made on his call. One of them being “The assholes always get away” and another statement which can’t be confirmed very well where he allegedly calls Martin a “coon”. His family friend claimed that a. it wasn’t coon but instead “goon” (which is better how exactly) and b. that he hasn’t heard any young people use the word “coon” in a while (I can call BS on that, for I have heard people younger than me use that word; also he must not have access to the internet because I’ve seen that word thrown around in various message boards).

However, for all of the anger towards Zimmerman, I also feel sympathy for him. Getting arrested and investigated would actually have been better for him than what happened instead, which was a very half-assed investigation where the police took him for his word that it was “self-defense.”

Had he been arrested and charged, a more through investigation would’ve either confirmed what many believe (he acted in cold blood) or exonerated him. Sure there would be people who would be upset (there always are, I’m sure if the internet were around in the 70’s there would have been people defending Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy), but he wouldn’t have to live in fear and most certainly wouldn’t have the Black Panthers offering a $10,000 bounty on his head (which is just as disgusting as what Zimmerman did if you ask me).

The fact that this became a political issue isn’t surprising at all. Anything is a political issue even when it shouldn’t be (this is one of those times where it shouldn’t be). The fact of the matter is this let gun-control advocates find something to latch onto to attempt to repeal Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, while many people in favor of the law make excuses for him.

Oh yes, my old nemesis the “all-or-nothing” principle is back in play. Why do I hate the all-or-nothing you’re either with us or against us principle? Because it forces us to see things in black and white, when the reality is in everything there’s grey areas. The grey areas are the important part that lets us make up our own minds and formulate our own ideas. It’s the grey areas that make life great.

This case is full of them. However because we’ve been put into this “all or nothing, you’re either with us or against us” mode, then to support the Stand Your Ground law means that you are a racist who thought that Trayvon Martin deserved to die and that Zimmerman was just protecting himself; while sympathizing with Martin means you’re against the law itself.

I see things both ways for one simple reason, and to provide context, I will give you the full contents of the law right here. As you’re reading this, think about what you know happened that fateful night and see if Zimmerman’s story adds up:

776.012 Use of force in defense of person.—A person is justified in using force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force. However, a person is justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat if:

Gonna go tumblr crazy now with text. 

The Orange Bowl is gone, and has been replaced by what looks like a Flying Saucer that you can play baseball in. 

The Dolphins are so terrible that we’ve given up on them. 

Because of that the Heat are now Miami’s most beloved team. 

The Marlins are making huge pushes in Free Agency for superstars. 

The Panthers are contending for a playoff spot. 

Most shockingly, Harry Belafonte and Michael Moore, two liberals so far to the left that they make Lenin blush, are able to sign books and speak at Miami’s Book Fair, but the main protest isn’t about them appearing and isn’t from the Cuban Exile community, instead it’s Occupy Miami, a group that as recently as 10 years ago would’ve never been able to protest. 

It’s Miami 2011, different from any Miami you once knew. 

The Miami I grew up with saw the two main sports teams as the Dolphins and Hurricanes football. The Heat were winter distractions, the Marlins were only worth paying attention to when they made the playoffs, and the Panthers were just there. 

But the big news always revolved around Castro. You got elected to office in Miami by proving you were as far to the right as possible. Any inkling that you might support anything considered liberal was grounds for you to be run out of town. 

Anita Bryant was able to campaign against a law demanding equal treatment for homosexuals by appealing to Cuban voters by stating that homosexuality was so anti-family that it was communist (of course she ignored what many others ignored: Castro’s Cuba is extremely homophobic, and still is to this day; conservatives will never say that because they hate Castro and are against gay rights, while liberals have never said it because they don’t know. I know about this because when Castro sent out his “undesirables” to the United States through 1980’s Mariel Boatlift, he considered gays as “undesirable”). 

To nobody’s surprise, the bill passed. Today it’s looked at as one of Miami’s darkest moments. But if you lived in Miami today, you would have no idea that this city once passed a bill that just about made it illegal to be gay only 34 years ago when other cities started to accept and in some cases embrace gays. 

But that’s not the only way Miami has changed. Advocate something as simple and pragmatic as ending the Cuban Embargo would end your political career in Miami. Ending the embargo is pragmatic because in the words of one of my favorite teachers, Steve O’Brien, “you can’t be fat and happy and still be a communist.” Also ignored when talking about the embargo is that Castro would lose a trump card he often uses towards the Cuban People: The United States and the people that live there don’t care about you, not even your families. 

But that Miami seems to be dying. Instead we have a more liberal and progressive Miami in terms of thoughts and ideas. 

The same Miami that only 21 years ago refused to officially greet Nelson Mandela, who’s only one of the kindest and most important human beings in the world, all because he made some statements in support of Castro, who in fairness was one of the few world leaders who spoke out against apartheid and Mandela’s imprisonment from the very start. 

The same Miami that less than 15 years ago tried to ban Cuban band Los Van Van from performing. 

Yes, that Miami, is now not only accepting Harry Belafonte at their Book Fair, but Michael Moore as well. 

That Miami is allowing an Occupy Miami group to protest, and of all of the cities that have been “Occupied”, Miami is one of the few that has mostly seen peace between protesters and police (in fairness, it might be because the police are fighting among themselves). 

I admit, all of these changes are improvements from the Miami I grew up in. I consider myself a libertarian, which is about as far from Socialism as you can get. I’m all for individual rights and as anti-Castro and for an economically and socially free Cuba as they come (I’d love to see Cuba become a true Free Market paradise free of political prisoners, communism and crony-capitalism with a splash of Amsterdam mixed in if you get my drift, and while it will have to be done in stages, I believe it could happen).  

Most important of those rights is Freedom of Speech. Miami’s history as you have seen has been devoid of that until now. It’s not because I agree with Moore, Belafonte or the Occupy movement that I’m happy about this more liberal Miami, it’s because I disagree with all of them but still get to hear them that makes me happy. I live in a city that used to attempt to censor anything relating to the left, now they’re not only allowing those opinions to be expressed in a peaceful way, but they’re embracing some of them. Now you will see Cuban-Americans as members of the Occupy movement, which would have never happened in the past.

But as proud of my city and as happy as I am about this city embracing freedom of speech, there is a part of me that’s scared. Not scared that this city will go to hell in a handbasket (it won’t, this actually means it’s getting better), but scared that the Miami I grew up in will be no more. 

What it really means to me, and what really scares me it’s an indicator that people I love so dearly and are the reason I was born and grew up in this great land of ours where I have the freedom to think for myself won’t be around for too much longer. 

Part of the reason for this “liberalization” of Miami is because the Cuban Exile community doesn’t hold as much sway as they used to. Younger Cubans political views have swayed a bit from hard right closer to the center. Obama did very well among Cuban Americans in 2008, and nobody would’ve ever thought that a Democrat would do well among Cubans, let alone an African-American one with a Muslim-sounding name. 

But why doesn’t the Cuban Exile community hold as much sway as in the past? As sad as it is to say, because they’re dying. They’re getting older, more frail. Many (like my grandparents) are still involved. But as they age, it will become harder for them to go out and vote, and because of that, a new generation comes in. It’s already happened, and it will continue on this route. 

That’s the sad part. Most people in my position, a first or second-generation Cuban-American, might disagree with our grandparents and parents from time to time, but we do still have a strong sense of family and we love our parents and grandparents to death. 

Despite the disagreements, we would never want to lose them, never want to let them go. 

But there’s going to come a time when we will have to, and the shrinking influence of the Cuban Exile community is a reminder of this.