This was written by me back at the time the verdict of the George Zimmerman trial was announced:
I'm about to state an opinion based on facts I've been looking
over for a while. Please, listen to everything I've said and try not to
fly off the handle. I tried. We'll see how well it worked.
As I handed out
newspapers at the retirement village I provide security for, I caught the Sun
Times headline about Glee star Cory Monteith. Becca is a big Glee fan,
and we had a frank discussion about how Finn is not coming back to Glee.
It was a sobering discussion for a Sunday drive back to Daddy's. A local
Herald News showed a guy about to auction a banner from when the Blackhawks won
the Stanley Cup back in the sixties. Cool. But the headline which
angered me was the Chicago Tribune: Verdict Sparks Outrage.
I'm glad to see the
follow up line included the president saying "We are a nation of laws and
a jury has spoken." True. Let's follow the facts from the
trial in Florida which now every state seems to care about. Here's what I have found out, and forgive me if my research hasn't been
perfect: George Zimmerman was a young man involved in a neighborhood watch
program, and was patrolling a part of his community that had recently been a
target of burglars. Trayvon Martin was another young man who was
wandering around this part of the town in the evening hours. Zimmerman
began following Martin, who reportedly told a friend on the phone that a
"crazy-ass cracker" was following him. There was no evidence
Zimmerman ever approached Martin, however the girlfriend said she heard him,
whereas Zimmerman said Martin jumped him.
So, it appears Zimmerman approached Martin to determine why he was
there. However the confrontation began, they struggled. Zimmerman's
head was beaten against the concrete, his nose was bloodied and broken, and he
drew a gun (a legally carried, concealed gun, which is allowed in Florida with
proper permits). He stated Martin tried to take the gun from him, but the
DNA evidence was compromised, so we'll never know for sure. We'll also
never know for certain why Martin was beating Zimmerman.
Regardless, the gun
was fired in self defense, and miraculously, it hit Martin instead of Zimmerman
accidentally shooting his own leg. Martin was killed.
Yes, I called both of
them young men. Zimmerman was 29. Martin was 17 and of about equal
or greater height, and most certainly would've been tried for the assault as an
adult if he'd survived the gunshot. So, enough of the "a little
black boy has been killed" routine (yeah, one paper actually quoted
someone as saying that). And when did Hispanics become crackers?
Did I miss a memo? Or could it be that maybe it was too dark for someone
to tell what race another person was at that distance? What a concept...
Yes, this is a
tragedy, but so is every murder in Chicago of a 17 year old of similar size,
upbringing and time of day. Even when killed by a 29 year old who was
protecting his neighborhood and family. And in Chicago? I got news
for you. It happens every single day.
In the late nineties, Matthew
McConaughey played a lawyer in the deep south, prosecuting 2 or 3 white men for
the crime of torturing and then killing a three year old black girl. In
his closing statements, he invited the jury to close their eyes. He then
proceeded to describe the terror the girl felt as she was running away from
them. Imagine her getting to the river (I think) and finding she had no
where to go, he says. Imagine how she felt being tied to the back of
their car and dragged... he continues this way until he describes her death,
and then finishes with "Now, imagine that this little girl was
white." The men are found guilty.
Why was the victim on trial for shooting his assailant?
Yes, I dared to call Martin an assailant. Have you seen pictures of Zimmerman's broken nose and bloody face?
Go ahead, close your eyes. Imagine the terror. Imagine George, and imagine Trayvon fighting.
Now imagine they are white.
Why was the victim on trial for shooting his assailant?
Yes, I dared to call Martin an assailant. Have you seen pictures of Zimmerman's broken nose and bloody face?
Go ahead, close your eyes. Imagine the terror. Imagine George, and imagine Trayvon fighting.
Now imagine they are white.
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