Just one of the many times George Zimmerman has found himself in the news in the past year. (Orange County Jail, Florida. Wikimedia Commons.)

After it was announced yesterday that George Zimmerman had set up a “celebrity” boxing match with DMX, the Internet exploded with people eager to watch the rapper live up to his Rough Ryder days and knock Zimmerman out. 

On the off chance you’ve been living under a rock, George Zimmerman is famous for killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin two years ago. While he was acquitted of all charges, there is no doubt that we wouldn’t know who George Zimmerman is if he hadn’t shot Trayvon Martin that February night. There is no doubt that George Zimmerman would be entirely unqualified for the word “celebrity” if he hadn’t killed another human being. 

Most recently (before the boxing match was announced that is) Zimmerman was in the news for selling one of his paintings for over $100,000. To repeat: a man with no artistic training or noticeable skill just sold a painting for over $100,000. If the painting isn’t actually particularly good… why did it sell for so much? 

I really can’t believe we’re having this conversation.

The sale of that painting and the creation of this boxing match make one fact incredibly clear; George Zimmerman is becoming rich and famous because he killed someone. 

Here’s the thing though, I don’t blame him for making money. I blame us for giving it to him. 

I’d ask if we really want to become a culture that rewards a man for killing (killing, not murdering) another person. But after finding out how much his painting sold for, I’m scared of the answer. So I’ll give it myself. The idea of being a nation that sees shooting someone as a gateway to fame and fortune should make your skin crawl. 

George Zimmerman should not be a “celebrity” worthy of airtime because he shot Trayvon Martin. He should be treated as any other man who has been acquitted of a crime. Instead, we use our money to put him on a pedestal. People may say they want to watch Zimmerman get obliterated in his fight with DMX and they may say they’re buying his painting to burn it. What you say really doesn’t matter though; it’s what you do that counts.

What we’re doing as an American public is voting with our dollars. What we’re doing with our money in relation to George Zimmerman so far outweighs what we say about him it’s absurd. Don’t we realize that George Zimmerman doesn’t care what we do with his paintings? We could use them to wipe our shoes and he wouldn’t care. All that matters is the $100,000 in his pocket. 

Sure he may want to win, but that’s not the most important thing about this fight for Zimmerman. For every one of us that tunes in he makes more money. For all the time we spend talking about his fight we increase how much money he can make the next time he sells a terrible painting. 

So I come to you with a request. A request to help redeem a faith in who we are as a nation. 

No matter whom George Zimmerman ends up fighting in March, don’t watch it. Don’t read about the result. Don’t even talk about knowing it exists. Lets make this the last time we ever talk about him. 

Lets stand up as a nation and tell Zimmerman we won’t watch someone become rich and famous because they killed someone. Lets tell him that this isn’t about whether or not we think he was actually guilty of murdering Trayvon Martin. This is about having the character and common decency to not give our money to this man who has declared himself a celebrity. It is about being a group of people who won’t stand to watch a man enter that realm because he pulled a trigger. 

We get to choose our own celebrities. We get to choose the people who hold places of cultural significance in our country. Don’t make George Zimmerman one of them. Don’t tell the rest of the world that his are the actions we want to hold high above society. 

So don’t watch George Zimmerman’s “celebrity” boxing match. Don’t vote this way with your time and money. Don’t promote a man who would use someone else’s death to further his life. 

Stand your ground. 

Reach Calum Hayes here, follow him here.