Sanford or Chicago: Zero Tolerance for Violence

Living in East Rogers Park in a "gated" condo, I know that a few blocks
away gang members still exert their power.   And yet our community refused to yield to the violence and killings.  Instead they came out in full force walking through gang-infested streets to protect all of us (black, white, Latino) -- peace-loving people taking back their streets.  

Unlike Sanford, Florida, our community has no concealed weapons.  No one drives around stalking those they feel suspicious.  No one plays police roles but rather work with law enforcement to rid our streets of crime and protect our children from gun violence.

If I were to visit  a gated community in Sanford, an older woman in a black hoodie, and venture out on a rainy night in February where vigilante George Zimmerman "lay in waiting," I would do so relying on the pepper spray in my pocket and the whiteness of my skin to protect me.   Trayvon Martin had neither.