Social Media Turning Up the Heat

The recent story of the young man who was shot in Florida by a Neighborhood Watch guy has spread like wild fire due to social media like Twitter & Facebook.  Each time people's extra opinions & "facts" have turned up the heat on the story.  It is to the point where I don't know what is fact & what is fiction.  A young 17 year old african american man is dead at the hands of a 28 year old hispanic -american man.   This is a fact.  Since the story broke the following "things"  have been added to the story.  The young man had just come from a convenient store where he bought skittles & an ice tea.  The neighborhood watch man had made a 911 call to the police, something he had done many times before, & had been told to drop the surveillance on the young man.  Both men involved had a police record.  The young man was unarmed while the shooter had a registered hand gun.  The young man was wearing a hoodie which now has made it a case of profiling by the neighborhood watch man.  I guess there was an eye witness who reports to have seen the young man on top of the neighborhood watch man beating him  before he was shot & killed, making it possibly a case of "self defense".

So why did this happen?  Why didn't the neighborhood watch man back off when told by the Police to?  What caused the young man to attack the neighborhood watch man?  In the end, a young man is dead.  That's all that should matter.  A life is lost & another life is ruined.

But the Bigger story may be how the Social media has taken an awful story & made it a national story & may have caused an uprising.  Some are making it a story about racial profiling.  Some are asking for the head of the neighborhood watch man.  Some are using this unfortunate story & loss of life for their own cause. Do we all really need to know what & why this happened?   If we do, why can't we wait untill ALL the facts are known?  Let's not make it something it isn't to further someone's cause. Let's remember a young man's life was lost.   Nothing will bring him back .  I hope to live in a world where we can all respect each other for who we are & not what we are. A world where we aren't judged by the clothes we wear, by the way we chose to live our lives, or the color of our skin but by the way we treat others. So wear that smile more often & let people ...all people, know you care.
And....think before you Post, Twitter, or join any cause.