Tuesday, October 26, 2010

TKAM Anticipation Guide

Our Race is not what defines us. Agree.
Our upbringing is what defines our future personality or intellect, not our race. Race only shows our background, where our family originates from; and the only factor race influences, is our physical appearance. No matter what you believe in, where you come from, what other people of your country have done, or what you look like, generalization is not something that should be tolerated, even less in a court of law.  Just because we look a certain way, doesn’t mean we all think the same, have the same level of intelligence, have the same thoughts in our minds, or behave in the same manner; to believe that, is simply childish and unrealistic.
In segregated America, the generalization of black men and women as stupid, lazy, and simply bellow the white people, was a widely accepted fact. The white Americans could generalize for the African American race, but when it came to their own, everyone was different. There were smart white people and there were dumb white people, there were hardworking white people and there were lazy white people, there were rich white people and there were poor white people. Although they were from the same race, they were all different. Then, how come all black people in segregated America were considered to be lazy or stupid and thus treated unfairly?
                                       



If you are truly innocent then you have nothing to fear from a judicial system.  Disagree.
In law, the jury, who voice the opinion for their community on the matter being discussed, are the ones who need to be convinced by the prosecutor or the defense, for it is the jury who decides if the person is guilty or not guilty; but if every member of the jury is prematurely biased against the defendant, then their final collective decision could be unfair and result in an unjust verdict.  Thus, I believe that even if innocent, you can fear the judicial system, especially if you are a social minority that is not fully accepted by the community.
A very good example of this situation is the Scottsboro Boys Case. Being the minority and socially ostracized group, the jury was biased from the start, leading to a truly unfair result. Although the prosecutor had no sustainable evidence that could be taken seriously, all the answers to the questions presented by the defense to Price’s friend and only witness were “I don’t know”, and that none of the evidence matched up with Price’s statements, the 9 black boys were condemned to death just because of their race.
Fearing the American judicial system isn’t a hard thing to do, even less during the time of segregation, where the color of your skin could be the difference of walking out on bail or receiving death penalty for the same crime.