Are we living under Ottoman Law or American law?

“Ottoman law and custom relegated infidels (gaour) to second-class status in the empire. Christians did not enjoy equal standing with Muslims in the judicial system; the tax system openly discrimination against them; they were not allowed to serve in the higher ranks of the government or the military; and they were forced to pay a hefty tax for their exemptions from military service.” (Pg19). The Ottomans used the law to hold people form their nation down and discriminate against them, we can see how American law is used to discriminate its citizens, but in America this is done covertly. There have been several instances that the media has pointed out recently that show how our law is interpreted differently depending on race, class, or gender. 

For instance Marissa Alexander an African-American woman from Florida was sentenced to 20 years in jail, after she fired a warning shot when she felt threatened by her husband.  In an article I read about the case said, “blacks more often are incarcerated for long periods because of overzealous prosecutors and judges bound by the wrong-headed statute.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/19/marissa-alexander-gets-20_n_1530035.html) Had she been a white women she would have been able to use Florida’s “stand your ground law”. Had she been a white male like George Zimmerman she would have been able to use the law to her advantage but because she is a black women the law was used against her. She was sentenced to 20 years and now she is trying to get her sentencing overturned.

There was also a similar case to the Zimmerman case, but in this case the boy that was shot and killed was white and the man that killed him was black. In this case John White was convicted of manslaughter for killing the teenager who he believed was going to attack his son and himself. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/george-zimmerman-john-white_n_3604068.html). Our law is supposed to ensure that we all get equal protection and treatment but some members of our society are seen as outsiders or infidels in the Ottomans case and that leads to discrimination. There is a thin line between inequality and relative tolerance according to Neimark, when the delicate balance is disrupted there is a decline in the nation. (Pg20) This decline or loss of balance lead the Ottomans to institutionalize more laws and reforms to discriminate the Christians.

This point of losing the balance hasn’t been seen in America yet. But cases like the Zimmerman one have lead to mass protests and minority Americans to become more aware of the law and the inequalities in the law. It has put a bigger focus on the race problem in America and how our laws have covertly has made this problem worse. John whites lawyer, Frederick K. Brewington said, "Our country oftentimes deals with race and deals with the issues of maltreatment on such a superficial level when it requires some in-depth and deep talk on how and why we end up in such situations.” It’s a shame that such tragic cases have happened recently but they have shed a light on an issue that as a nation we need to discuss in-depth like Brewington stated. We can’t wait until we are facing Ottoman like discrimination to speak up and act.