I am saddened… Somehow, this doesn’t seem right.
photo from Wikipedia
While I did not watch the trial, or even know all the facts and what was allowed into evidence, my heart goes out to all who feel this is a travesty. Or perhaps the prosecutors should have included charges that were not necessarily “intentional” in nature, so some semblance of justice would be maintained, when the verdict came in. I think the real issue is that Mr Zimmerman even had/was carrying a gun. If he carried, he must have intended to use it, in some manner.
I’d wager, on this all women jury of six, there was not a single black woman. I could be wrong. Is that racial profiling, for me to think that?
I’m sorry if this offends anyone (NOT my intent).
Perhaps Treyvon was lucky to escape this life, where he faced a lifetime of racial profiling, bigotry, injustice.
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Wikipedia: The full story
HuffPost: Obama Reacts
The Moderate Voice: Just like the rape victims have been accused, Treyvon must have “asked for it”, by his attire and attitude! This I cannot grok!
Couldn’t agree with you more my friend…
Thanks for commenting, IzaakMac! Maybe we should all become armed and shoot the vigilantes…? I wouldn’t shoot to kill, unless necessary to save myself or someone else!
🙂
I followed accounts of the trial several days a week on the PBS news hour. In the end, I was reminded of the OJ trial. I personally am convinced of the perpetrator’s guilt, but I think the defense succeeded in establishing “reasonable doubt.”
The headlines today make clear that it was not just a single smart defense lawyer but a “defense team.” So one question the media is not likely to ask is how George Zimmerman came up with the money to hire an A-list “defense team.” We can all guess the kind of groups that must have anonymously bankrolled that effort. I’d be truly surprised if the NRA wasn’t involved.
What a sad loss of someone who was probably a fine young man, and what a lousy taste the current state of “American justice” leaves in my mouth!
Thanks for filling in some blanks, Morgan!
And your point is right on the $$$ (pun intended)!!
I remember that when the Zimmermans all had to go into hiding, before he was arrested, George created a website asking for donations. I agree with you, and we don’t even have laws that demand full disclosure RE donation sources, like we have for political candidates. Do we? We should!
🙂
When men start pounding each other, it never ends well. Tragedy no matter how it’s looked at.
So succinct and so eloquent! Thanks Mouse for weighing in!
And I agree!
🙂
I’ve been struck by the same question: Why was Mr. Zimmerman carrying a gun?
Such a simple question the answer to which could have changed the very core of this situation! Thanks, Tess, for speaking out!
🙂
Sadly it isn’t a race issue IMO, it is a poor job on the prosecutions part for two reasons. Both charges they placed deal with intent. That is hard to prove given the situation. Had they gone for aggravated assault, I think they could have won. The second part they screwed up is expecting to win on questioning Zimmerman which they never got the chance to do.
Absolutely RE the prosecutors… if they had been practical about charges from the start – this wouldn’t have happened… I guess they were arrogant and thought they could prove it. Though Mr Zimmerman did not take the stand, the prosecution was able to use the 911 taped call and a couple other statements Zimmerman had made, but certainly not the beyond a reasonable doubt they needed. I wonder what prompted them to think Mr Zimmerman would testify?!?!?
Because most people who are innocent tend to want to testify. They didn’t count on their case being such that the defense felt it better not to.
Don’t know if it was arrogance or public pressure
I’ve been thinking about the fight, and it has me puzzled. Visualize this: If Zimmerman had the gun in his pocket or his wasteband, and the kid was sitting on Zimmerman’s stomach, it would have been impossible for Zimmerman to reach his gun.
Not only would Zimmerman been using his hands and arms to defend himself from punches, but his access to his pockets would have been blocked by the kid’s butt and knees. No way, can someone pull out a gun, while lying on his back, with someone sitting on his stomach.
Futher, if Zimmerman had shot the kid during the fight, while the kid was on top of him, Zimmerman would have been covered with the kid’s blood — which apparently he wasn’t.
For both those reasons, Zimmerman must have been carrying the gun in his hand before the fight, or took it out after the fight.
If Zimmerman had been carrying the gun in his hand before the fight, and been trailing the kid, he not only violated open-carry laws, but we have a picture of a guy stalking a kid while carrying a loaded gun in his hand — clearly that makes him the aggressor.
If someone came at me with a loaded gun, I’d run like hell. But, if I felt we was wanted to kill me, and I couldn’t run away fast enough, I’d try to tackle him and get inside the gun hand.
Wouldn’t you?
If I was successful in tacking him, I’d wind up sitting on his chest, while he still held the gun. Hmmm . . . Sound familiar?
Alternatively, if Zimmerman took out the gun after the fight, he no longer had the excuse of “fearing for his life,” and simply murdered the kid out of anger.
Bottom line: There simply is no scenario in which Zimmerman, being beaten up by a kid sitting on his chest, was not originally the aggressor.
I was checking Adobe Social’s demo video to learn more about how to manage and facilitate social media strategies. But just seconds into the Adobe Social demo video, I’m zapped with a mind-jolting graphic reference to “HOODIE HYSTERIA”! I kid you not.
I paused the video—staring incredulously at the image. And the script for the video—in light of Trayvon Martin’s death and the circumstances around it—is incredulously BAD. “Hoodie Hysteria was announced this morning. Very cool.” #FAIL def not cool. And if things could get any WORSE—it does. Because the prominent person in this video is—you guessed it—a person of color.
Should Adobe Social rethink and revise their demo video?
I think the heart-felt but difficult moral discussions surrounding the Zimmerman non-guilty verdict and the death of Trayvon Martin have gone beyond just being “hoodie hysteria”.