(Akiit.com) Many years ago, I was privileged enough to go on a safari in Africa with a small group of friends. I remember it like it was yesterday. This safari was to just observe the animals in their natural habitat and to take pictures. As we were speeding to the area where most of the animals like to congregate, I started to notice hundred of signs that said, “No Hunting or Poaching of Any Animals”. I guessed that the area we were going to was only for picture-taking.
When we arrived to the site, you could feel the excitement inside of the jeep with the four of my friends. These large beautiful creatures were there grazing and taking advantage of the land that God has given them.
The tour guide was telling us about what particular species of animal we were going to be observing; then it happened… another jeep came out of nowhere, fired a shot, and wounded one of these huge, beautiful animals. We were all shocked to see this huge creature laying there gasping for air, and barely clinging on to life. Then the hunter walked up and put another shot into it. As you probably know, all of the other animals scattered from the sound of the gunshot, and because of us rushing over to the scene. The hunter got to this poor animal first and then, the people from our jeep.
I asked the hunters (from London), “Did you guys see the signs posted everywhere that hunting these animal are illegal?” One of the hunters said, “I know it is illegal, but nothing will happen to me. So, who cares?” I looked at our tour guide, and he said, “He is correct. The law will do nothing.” These guys hunted and stalked that animal. Even though they broke the law, the law will not do anything about it. We convinced our tour guide to call it in to the authorities. This is when the story became more complex, complicated and convoluted. The authorities said that they would not get involved because when people come here for the animals they bring a lot of tourist money. The authorities do not want to stop that flow of money coming into their area.
Let me see if I understand this: The killing of these animals is illegal, but, if they can make money from it then it’s okay? That’s in Africa. Here in America the same thing happens, not with animals, but with people. Travon Martin was hunted, stalked, and killed; and the authorities did nothing. He laid there on the ground like an animal while the people, who knew this was wrong, looked the other way.
Thousands of years ago, Moses gave us the Ten Commandments that we should live by. One of the commandments was “Thou shalt not kill.” There were no signs posted that told Mr. Zimmerman “No Hunting or Poaching”. He killed that young boy because he was after his prize trophy catch. Mr. Zimmerman’s trophy came at a high cost. He shined a light on the proverbial white elephant in the room. He showed us that it is okay to hunt black men in this country year-round, and you do not need a license.
I’m sure the head of that animal that was shot in Africa is worth quite a large sum of money. Is Travon Martin’s killing worth millions? Yes. When this happened all of the major networks carried this as their top story for weeks. Newspapers and magazines are making millions from this story. And yes, do not fool yourself; the blood of a black man is still very valuable in America. Especially if he’s shot and killed by Tarzan…
Written by Christopher Jack