As Halloween approaches, it seems as though some costumes go from scary to offensive. A post on Facebook of two white men portraying Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has sparked more racial controversy.
Last Friday, Caitlin Cimeno posted a photo with the caption “Happy Halloween from Zimmerman & Trayvon,” followed by a smiley-faced emotion to her Facebook page, which is now deleted. William Filene, portrayed Martin by wearing a grey hoodie with a bullet wound in the middle of it. As if that was not enough to cross the line, he painted his face black imitating the racially offensive blackface.
Greg Cimeno, was dressed in a black T-shirt with the words “neighborhoo watch” written on it. Yes, the “d” is really missing. In the photo, Cimeno is seen adjusting his hands to make a gun pointing it towards “Martin’s” head.
Before Caitlin Cimeno deleted her Facebook account, Greg Cimeno responded to a comment of a person who thought the photo was anything but funny by saying “Not too funny. It’s (obscenity)hilarious!!!”
While they may have thought this would be a good joke and a funny costume, they probably did not consider that it would offend many people in the process. This was something that cannot be seen as child’s play, and at the very least, funny. The two men involved obviously forgot the fact that this was a life of a 17-year-old boy, or maybe they flat out did not care, but it was very disrespectful to the grieving Martin family.
Ironically, both men are from Florida, which is the same state that the now infamous case took place. This makes the situation even worse. As an African-American, I can say that it was offensive, but I will not let this minor act of ignorance get me upset. It just goes to show that some people have not matured mentally.
One positive thing I can say about these two men is that they had a lot of nerve to pull something like this off. Not only are they imitating blackface but they are also giving people another reason to make race the topic of discussion. It is hard enough that African-Americans have to prove themselves day in and day out, but there are people like these two gentlemen who attempt to make it harder to do so.
Honestly, this entire stunt is juvenile and senseless. I truly cannot understand how and why the two men thought this would be funny. Whatever these men’s intentions were, it still baffles me. The only thing that people can do is hope that they can grow up mentally and do better for themselves.
After seeing these photos, I hope some people can stop saying racism does not exist. Not only does this picture prove it, but also the deaths of other African-Americans such as Jonathan Ferrell and Jordan Davis. I am not mad, upset or hurt, but I am aware.