We Are Not Trayvon Martin, White Social Web Chants

A new meme following the Zimmerman trial, “We Are Not Trayvon Martin,” has been gaining steam — taking a popular protest cry, “I Am Trayvon Martin,” and flipping it to state the obvious.

After Martin was gunned down at the age of barely 17, armed with just Skittles and a can of iced tea, the “We Are Not Trayvon Martin” movement didn’t exist. Protesters from all walks of life would chant “I Am Trayvon Martin” as they marched, sat in, demanded justice, and sought the arrest of George Zimmerman — who slept in his own bed the night Martin spent his first in the morgue, unidentified.

Outrage at the Zimmerman verdict has been multi-racial in the US, though the shooter’s supporters are almost overwhelmingly white and conservative, too. But now that a jury has freed Zimmerman and given him back the very gun that ended the life of Trayvon Martin before he could legally vote, buy beer, or smoke a cigarette, white people are using the phrase “We Are Not Trayvon Martin” to tell a different story.

At its core, the chant of “we are all Trayvon Martin” communicates a sense of togetherness, that everyone can relate to the loss of a minor in a needless confrontation.

But “We Are Not Trayvon Martin” is more nuanced, and shows that white supporters of justice for Trayvon Martin are aware that they are, in fact, not Trayvon Martin — even if the circumstances of their life leave them open to “trouble” or if they were “up to no good.”

One woman just a few years older than Martin when he was slain says:

I am not Trayvon Martin. I am a 22 year old upper class white female. I have red hair and a trust fund. I speed on the freeway, and have never been ticketed. When I walk on the street, men offer to drive me home. Police officers smile and wave. Everyday, people trust me with their children… They do not know that 2 years ago, I daily transported heroin across state lines. I could be in prison, just like any other junkie. I am not Trayvon Martin, but was the person he was suspected of being.

Others write:

“My medicine cabinet was full of legally acquired prescriptions that I could take whilst keeping my professional reputation in a smallish town. The pharmacy was my dealer. I didn’t want to have to go to the street to buy because I was afraid I would get hurt. By Hispanic men because they used ‘illegal, street’ drugs… No one looked twice at me at Starbucks this morning. Everyone was white.”

“I am not Trayvon Martin. I am a blend of privileged majority and model minority, born in physical, financial, and social security. When I wear a red bandana on my head, the looks I get are of curious amusement, rather than suspicion and fear; I’m a pirate or a hippie, not a gangste… Were I walking in Sanford, FL on that rainy night, hood up and Skittles in hand, George Zimmerman might have offered me a ride. Would that he had offered Trayvon Martin the same.”

“I am not Trayvon Martin. I’m a 43-year old white man. No one will ever presume my skin color, clothes or bearing brands me as a danger to others. No one will ever question me for standing my ground against a stranger who’s been stalking me. No one will ever accept that stranger’s justification that he had done so because I “looked “suspicious.” No one will ever be commenting on my death at the hands of a George Zimmerman because no George Zimmerman will ever be a danger to me … I am not Trayvon Martin: I’m alive.”

You can read the body of “We Are Not Trayvon Martin” entries here, and participate if you are a Tumblr user.