Justice for Trayvon Martin

On Thusday, I marched for justice in the Trayvon Martin case.

Justice. That's all I want.

In my opinion, George Zimmerman should be arrested and tried for his actions in Martin's death. What he should be charged with, I can't say. He may be guilty of manslaughter; he may even be guilty of a hate crime. And because of all his previous 911 calls for things that seem insane to me, I think his sanity should be evaluated by a state-appointed psychiatrist.

But, I don't have all the facts. No one does right now. And as much I have disgust for the man I heard using a racial slur on the 911 tape -- who by his own admission, followed and killed an unarmed teenager -- he should not be judged by public opinion, especially when there's still so many questions left unanswered.

That's the problem with how this case is being played out. Bits and pieces of evidence become public and people jump to judgements. A lot of the time, the "evidence" isn't evidence, at all. It's an anonymous witness or Zimmerman's father (who wasn't even there that night). It's a picture of Martin that turns out not to be Martin, as if how he once posed in a picture has any shred of relevance to his terrible death.

I read the comments to news stories. People comment on hearsay as if it's undisputed fact. People use the assault on Martin's reputation as justification for his death. People are cruel, ignorant and biased. And my gosh, our country is racist.

If and when this case actually goes to trial, I imagine the lawyers will have a hard time finding jurors who haven't formed opinions on Zimmerman's guilt or innocence. Most of those opinions will be based on inaccurate information.

As a journalist, I know that despite my obsessive following of this story and my knowledge of what information reported is fact, what is conjecture and what is just outright misinformation from unreliable sources, I still only have a small part of the whole story.

That's why I marched for Trayvon Martin. I want justice to be done -- justice that this case will go to trial and Zimmerman's guilt or innocence will be decided by the legal system, and the legal system alone.

Gathering for Trayvon Martin at William Land Park in Sacramento, California on March 29, 2012

 

Recommended reads: What is known, what isn't about Trayvon Martin's death via Miami Herald

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/01/4381721/marcos-breton-a-hoodie-didnt-kill.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Marcos Breton: A hoodie didn't kill Trayvon Martin; Zimmerman's gun did via Sacramento Bee

A Mad Men Kind of Birthday

I had given up on maintaining this blog, but Mad Men has brought me back. My Mad Men birthday party, that is.

I love themed parties. I love dressing up. Since I was a kid, I've felt like I was born in the wrong era. I drool over '50s and '60s cars. I have an addiction to vintage-style polka dot dresses. I know it's so trendy to embrace the vintage style, especially with the growing popularity of rockabilly, but I was pretty much born this way.

Planning this party was half the fun.

Wardrobe

Looking in my closet, two dresses jumped out at me. I ultimately decided against this sailor dress because it was more Peggy Olson at the office, and I was going more for Betty Draper hosting a cocktail party. Peggy has brains, but ice-queen Betty has style.

Menu

I would have loved to go all-out with the food, but we had a miniscule budget. We stuck with classic finger foods from the early '60s. Pigs in a blanket was the most hearty appetizer. Deviled eggs, chips and dip, veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, and jello rounded out the menu. I wanted to do fondu, using our awesome fondu set, but the menu was already stretching our budget.

Guests ate on our wedding china -- only the second time it's ever been used! And, of course, we drank from martini glasses and chain smoked. Well, OK, we drank generic 7-Up with maraschino cherries and pineapple chunks, and smoked candy cigarettes from Candy Heaven in Old Sacramento.

Memories

I smoked from my Gramma's rhinestone-encrusted cigarette holder, which was so very Breakfast at Tiffany's. I found the cigarette holder when I was packing up Gramma's apartment after she died. It was fitting because not only did Gramma smoke like a chimney during my childhood, but when she got her smokes and lottery tickets at the 7-11 down the street, she let me pick out candy, and I often picked out candy cigarettes.

Games

We played charades with clues relevant to the Mad Men era. In the excitement and laughter of the game, I forgot to take pictures. Everyone failed pretty miserably at this '60s Ad Slogans and Tagline quiz I adapted from Oprah.com, of all places.
 
Decorations

Speaking of ads, I decorated with print ads from the era, including some used on the show. I focused on Sterling & Cooper accounts, including Lucky Strike, Heineken, Belle Jolie and Kodak.

Much of the decor in my house already suited the era. I covered up anything that didn't with curtains and sheets. I littered the fireplace mantel with literature from the time and played '60s tunes on our record player.

Photo Booth

I used white lace polka dot curtains to turn our Ramones wall into a backdrop for photos.

By the end of the night, we had killed four packs of candy cigarettes and drank way too many mocktails in true Mad Men style.