As I sit down to the computer to write this morning, I’m turning over a dozen or so topics in my head. There’s a lot going on the world and in my family, and I always have too many opinions about things. But I don’t know how to NOT talk about the Zimmerman trial.

In many ways, it’s the worst possible topic for me. After all, I am a white, suburban woman. My life experiences are completely different from the major characters in this drama. I can’t tie events to personal stories in my life. I’ve never been harassed by cops. I’ve never been looked at with suspicion. At my worst moments, as a SAHM with a disabled child, I sometimes feel invisible, but that’s a different kind of horrible. I’ve also never walked around with a gun or felt the need to have a gun or worried about neighborhood break-ins. I probably should be better about remembering to lock my door, when I go to the store.

So, I should not write a post about the Zimmerman trial. But to ignore it, also seems wrong.

My twitterfeed and Facebook pages were billboards of grief yesterday. People were stunned by the not guilty verdict. I’m not sure why people were so surprised. Just my passing attention to the trial in the past few months made it obvious where things were going. Zimmerman’s defense did a very good job of establishing a reasonable doubt, the prosecution oversold the case in the beginning, and Florida laws need some serious attention. The outcome in the case was obvious a few weeks ago. Still, their grief is real and appropriate. A tragedy happened. A tragedy with no closure.

Some interesting commentary:  Jelani Cobb in the New Yorker talks about how this case ultimately found Trayvon guilty and the historic neglect of these crimes. Talk Left slams the media narrative. Zimmerman’s backstory in Reuters. TNC thinks that the jury got it right, but that there are bigger problems that must be addressed. Scott Lemieux wants the discussion to turn to gun control.

I agree with TNC. There are bigger problems that must be addressed. Larger issues that set events in motion. It’s a tragedy worthy of the Greeks. A guy who thinks he’s doing the “right” thing makes error after error that ends up with a boy dead on the sidewalk. We need to talk about problems and remedies, not because Trayvon or Zimmerman could be me or my kid. We need to talk about it, because it’s the right thing to do.