After George Zimmerman was acquitted of all counts for the death of Trayvon Martin, my Facebook Newsfeed blew up with opinions that I had to unsubscribe to a few just so I could see all the pregnancies and updated marathon times. But I decided to ask a few of the most intelligently rabid a few questions to understand their side of the story.

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#HoodiesUp Rally NYC by jerekeys

After George Zimmerman was acquitted for the death of Trayvon Martin, my Facebook feed blew up with opinions about the trail from the ignorant and otherwise. As someone that lost interest in the trial as soon as celebrities got involved, I found the outburst a little obnoxious quite frankly.

But while sifting through the most ignorantly racist and annoying posts from the trial voyeurs and even reading a few aloud to my brother on the way back home from a wedding (in ironically, Florida), I decided I wasn't giving my rabid Facebook friends with an opinion a fair chance and became slighted with how initially annoyed with them I really was.  So instead of writing it off to another stupid, high-profile trial cult-like following, I decided to ask a few of my most avid yet more intelligent Facebook  Trayvon Martin supporters why they were so passionate about the verdict to figure out what the anger was really all about.  I am not including their name in order to protect their privacy. I wanted them to have the opportunity to vent more publicly. .

  1.  The Nurse  

Where are you from?

Rome, GA  

What race do you identify yourself with?

Black  

Have you followed the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Case? If so, are you surprised by the verdict? Why or why not?

I have followed the trial and I was surprised by the verdict. While I thought the state failed to prove without a reasonable doubt Zimmerman was guilty of second degree murder, I did think that the jury would find him convicted of manslaughter simply because he deliberately disobeyed the instructions given to him by the non emergency dispatch and placed himself in a situation that he ended up losing control of. I felt that the story he told was very inconsistent and being a nurse, the injuries he sustained were not consistent with his statement on how he sustained them. I think that had Zimmerman identified himself as the neighborhood watch leader, the outcome of the situation would have been different. In my opinion, this verdict tells people that it is ok to profile and stalk someone take matters ,into your own hands and if things don't go like you think they will, you can kill the person you think may be doing something with no evidence of wrong doing on their part.  

Did you know Trayvon Martin or do you know George Zimmerman personally? Do you have any ties to the case? If not, do you follow other high profile trials?  Why was this particular trail something you found interesting?

I do not know anybody that was involved in the trial and I usually don't follow trials at all, but I found this one interesting because I am a mother with four children, one of them being a boy. I have six nephews and many friends with children as well.

Will you volunteer your time to raise awareness over what you feel is an injustice in relation to the outcome of this trial? 

At the end of the day, I feel like George Zimmerman profiled Trayvon Martin (I don't think he racially profiled him because it was dark, how could he know he was black until he actually got up on him?), decided to confront him because he was tired of the recent break-ins in the neighborhood, and simply but of more than he could chew and got his ass kicked by a 17 year old kid. Do I think he had intentions on killing Trayvon? No, I don't. I think he was just fed up and tired of nothing being done about the recent crime in the area and things just got out of hand and someone died because Zimmerman took the law into his own hands. He will forever have to live with the fact that he killed a child that was armed with Shuttles and tea. And he will also live in fear; constantly looking over his shoulder hoping no-one decides to take his life because they felt that justice was not served. I pray for both families and everyone involved.

2. The Disabled Veteran and Aspiring Writer  

Where are you from?

Atlanta, Georgia   

What race do you identify yourself with?

White

  Have you followed the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Case? If so, are you surprised by the verdict? 

I'm not terribly surprised because honestly the prosecution tried for the murder charge they couldn't get and did a terrible job of proving it.

  Did you know Trayvon Martin or do you know George Zimmerman personally? Do you have any ties to the case? If not, do you follow other trials for example: the James Holmes or Jodi Arias trials? Why was this particular trail something you found interesting?

They should have just tried for manslaughter, and gotten it. I did not know either personally. I followed this trial more because it was more available. I'd be interested to read about the James Holmes trial as well, but I haven't seen much in the MSM.

Will you volunteer your time to raise awareness over what you feel is an injustice in relation to the outcome of this trial? 

I will be writing articles on Yahoo! Voices about injustices in the system, but probably not doing more than that.

 3. The Deputy Clerk

Where are you from?

Lyons, GA

  What race do you identify yourself with?

White

  Have you followed the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Case? If so, are you surprised by the verdict? 

I have been following the Martin/Zimmerman case and I was shocked by the verdict. I can see how/why the jury found him not guilty of second-degree murder, but I don't understand why they failed to convict him on a lesser charge of manslaughter. I am aware of Florida's stand your ground law and that Zimmerman maintained shooting Trayvon was an act of self-defense, nonetheless, that still doesn't make sense to me based on certain aspects of the case. He was told by the police not to follow him and he continued to do so instead of allowing law enforcement to do their job. He was an armed man following an unarmed kid, what was he defending himself from? Zimmerman's intentions may have been good; however, he still shot and killed an unarmed, innocent kid. I feel for both families, my thoughts and prayers are with both, but my heart is a little heavier with the verdict of this trail.

  Did you know Trayvon Martin or do you know George Zimmerman personally? Do you have any ties to the case? If not, do you follow other trials?  Why was this particular trail something you found interesting?

I do not know either party personally, nor do I have any ties to the case. However, I do pay attention to current events, national news, and I like to look at cases from a social scientist point of view. I found this trail interesting because it emphasizes the way our society has taught us to social profile.

  Will you volunteer your time to raise awareness over what you feel is an injustice in relation to the outcome of this trial? Why or why not?

Yes, I would like to volunteer my time to raise awareness; not only to this case, but to other cases that highlight social constructs we have created that can have a negative effect on our lives. I will be attending a party affiliated gala next weekend to discuss options of unity and ways to better our society.

If you can think of anything to add feel free to do so.

We are all human beings. A crime is a crime. A mistake is a mistake. Everyone should be held accountable for their actions. I still have faith in humanity, but the verdict of the trail illustrates to me that we have a long way to go.  

4. The Newsroom Clerk/stringer

  Where are you from?

Rome, Ga.      

What race do you identify yourself with?

African American             

Have you followed the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Case? If so, are you surprised by the verdict? 

 I didn't watch the entire trial but I knew about the case. I was initially surprised because I honestly thought that a juror of mothers would be able to relate to a mother who lost her son simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But after the fact, I realized that if Fla. found Casey Anthony innocent than why not do the same for Zimmerman. The laws in that state need to be reviewed and changed or else more cases like this will continue to occur.  

Did you know Trayvon Martin or do you know George Zimmerman personally? Do you have any ties to the case? If not, do you follow other trials for example: the James Holmes or Jodi Arias trials? Why was this particular trail something you found interesting?

With my job, it's hard not to follow breaking news stories such as James Holmes shooting up a theater or Jodi Arias killing her boyfriend but I can relate to this particular case because I am black and I have a step-son, cousins, nephews, and friends who could have easily been in Trayvon's shoes. Why? Because they are young, black men that may even dress like Trayvon would, i.e. wear a hoodie. Also, some of them are not perfect by any means, but do they still deserve the right to walk home at night while wearing a hoodie, and not be looked at as a suspect? HELL YES THEY DO AND SO DID TRAYVON.

Will you volunteer your time to raise awareness over what you feel is an injustice in relation to the outcome of this trial? Why or why not?

If the people who witnessed what happened at the trial can't make a conscious decision to change their actions and way of thinking, then honestly all the volunteering in the world won't do a damn thing. So, I'll answer this question with a quote from the movie "Notorious". "If you want to change the world, we first have to change ourselves". That's how I plan to raise awareness, by working on me and my actions.

5.  The Nurse:

  Where are you from?

Hiram, Georgia  

What race do you identify yourself with?

African American

  Have you followed the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Case? If so, are you surprised by the verdict? Why or why not?

I am a RN. I am African American. I have followed the case from the beginning and signed the petition to at least get him investigated. I am unfortunately not surprised by the verdict. I do not believe that he racially profiled Trayvon but I do believe he criminally profiled Trayvon and based his decision on the fact that there had been break ins that has involved young African Americans and he thought he was going to have justice for his neighborhood. He just should have followed the instructions given to him by the 911 operator. I wasn't surprised on how the jury voted because of how GZ was portrayed. The fact is that had he not got out of his car and followed Trayvon there would never have been a fight and he wouldn't have felt the need to use deadly force. Our country is in turmoil right now over race issues and stereotyping that should not still exist in 2013

Did you know Trayvon Martin or do you know George Zimmerman personally? Do you have any ties to the case? If not, do you follow other trials for example: the James Holmes or Jodi Arias trials?

I do not know Trayvon or George Zimmerman personally. I have no ties to this case. I followed the Jodi Arias trials and thought what she did was despicable and uncalled for. She deserved the punishment that she received. This case was an interest just because of the fact that George Zimmerman could have avoided this altogether if he had not taken matters into his own hands. This mattered to me more because I am a mother and I have a young son and this could have easily happened to him if he were Trayvon's age.

Will you volunteer your time to raise awareness over what you feel is an injustice in relation to the outcome of this trial?

I have attended some of the marches and I have and will again volunteer my time to raise awareness over this tragedy that did not have to occur. This is an injustice to not only the African American community but to other racial communities as well. Trayvon was a son he could have been anyone's child no matter what race or nationality. People should not feel as though they can decide to take the law into their own hands and disregard instructions given by law enforcement individuals.

And this nurse ended with "thanks for valuing my opinion" and she actually made me feel glad that I took the time to ask her questions.

The Development Associate:

Where are you from?

New York City

What race do you identify yourself with?

Black - Afro Caribbean

Have you followed the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman Case? If so, are you surprised by the verdict?

Yes. I was not surprised by the verdict because even on the day Zimmerman murdered Martin, he was not arrested. They let him go straight home. That showed me how seriously they would take this issue in Central Florida. Also, I used to live in that area and I know the vigilante culture that is present there. I know that Floridians still see this kid [Trayvon Martin] as a threat to the community and up to no good despite the fact that he was unarmed and just coming back from the store with junk food. I just hope that this case gets moved up to the federal level, that there is a following civil suit, and that states repeal their 'Stand Your Ground' laws. (As it stands, you can approach someone with a weapon and initiate a fight, and if they fight back, you can legally kill them.)

Did you know Trayvon Martin or do you know George Zimmerman personally? Do you have any ties to the case? If not, do you follow other trials? Why was this particular trail something you found interesting?

I do not normally follow high-profile cases and I do not personally know either party, but I do know people similar to Zimmerman and Martin. I know people that are overzealous vigilantes looking to find a 'criminal' and shoot them (we have a serious cowboy-culture issue here in the U.S.) and often are looking for 'suspicious-looking' people (who often turn out to be minorities that aren't wearing business attire). And I know people that are minorities that are often terrified that people will look at them and assume they are a criminal and that puts them in danger. Even growing up as a minority in relatively wealthy areas on the east coast, I am often afraid if I'm in a neighborhood where I don't look like I belong. I'm more scared for my life walking alone at night in these areas than I am in some of New York's most dangerous neighborhoods. My parents have always told me that I have to be extra careful because I am a minority and that I might get racially profiled by police or vigilantes. I always thought that it was just because they were living in 1980s New York when they were in their 20's, and that things were different now. I only recently realized that the reason I hadn't experienced any of this is because my parents carefully chose our neighborhoods when we lived in Central Florida and North Metro Atlanta. But upon graduating college and moving out, I've been able to see what they were talking about all over the country. I travel a lot and I'm very careful of where I go. I don't leave my car in rural areas or places where I don't see other visible minorities. For me, the verdict of this case means that I have to continue to be scared, because anyone that intends to profile and attack a person that doesn't look like they belong will know that they can continue to intimidate people with impunity. How can I be sure that I won't get profiled/followed/attacked/killed next time I am walking down the street in a hoodie?

  Will you volunteer your time to raise awareness over what you feel is an injustice in relation to the outcome of this trial? Why or why not?

Yes. I'm already a natural protester and I attend a lot of protests over variety of issues. On Sunday I went to a protest in New York, and I intend to attend many more. Justice was not served. And the message coming out of Florida seems to be: "It's okay to take the law into your own hands, and if you're wrong and kill someone that's okay; it's better to kill a hundred innocent persons than to let one criminal into our neighborhood"

Say what you will about the responses you read and although I don't share the same views with a few of the people with the answers given above, it is obvious to me that this trial meant more to some than it being just an unarmed black kid getting shot to death by a mixed man in Florida and nobody has a right to tell them otherwise.

 There are those that are slighted by the system and the historical track record of our country has not been fair and it would be sheer ignorance to claim that things are equal today.  But how can we move forward from here in a way that properly honors the memory of Trayvon Martin? 

Authors Bio:

Is an aspiring writer and advocate on mental illness awareness.