Moms Talk: Why Trayvon Martin is Everyone’s Son

Everyone is weighing in on the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin, and I am no exception.

The myriad emotions I have felt regarding this tragedy are too numerous to mention, but they include outrage, sadness and mostly fear.

I definitely want to dedicate a post to Trayvon Martin. Because Trayvon could be my son. And yours, too, regardless of what race you may be.

The way I see it, you have a young man who was walking home from the store when he was approached by a grown man—who had been told not to follow or approach Trayvon.

From the sounds of it, he did what we all tell our children to do when they are approached by a stranger. Get out of there. Run. Yell for help. Fight back. Do anything you need to do to get away from them.

I’m sure Trayvon had no idea why this man was bothering him because he wasn’t doing anything wrong. And because of whatever "threat" accused gunman George Zimmerman was feeling, he fatally shot this young man.

Because he did what we tell our kids to do all the time. Get away from the stranger.

Trayvon was not doing anything out of the ordinary. Walking home from the store, talking on his cell phone, minding his own business.

This could be any of our kids. Imagine sending your child down the street in the early evening to Rite Aid to get some snacks and they never come back because someone decides they look suspicious.

This person calls 911 and that dispatcher doesn’t seem to think there’s a problem because they tell you to stay in your car and it’s not necessary to approach them. The absurdity of it all is inconceivable.

People have made it a race issue, a gun issue, and Geraldo Rivera has made it a hoodie issue. But it’s a human issue. Because as long as people think it’s okay to make snap judgments about our kids because of their prejudices, none of them are safe.