Tuesday Reads: My Objections to Mainstream Media Reporting on the Trayvon Martin Case
Posted: May 22, 2012 Filed under: morning reads | Tags: "Dee Dee", Bernie de la Ronda, bigotry, bullying, Florida, George Zimmerman, inconsistencies, mainstream media, Racism, stand your ground law, Trayvon Martin 67 Comments
Good Morning!
I’ll warn you up front: I’m going to subject you to another rant about the Trayvon Martin case. If you’re not interested, you can stop reading now and just head for the comments. I promise not to take offense. BTW, it was either this or a rant about Cory Booker and Harold Ford.
I’m still following the Trayvon Martin story very closely, and I’ve been really shocked at the way the mainstream media has covered it. There has been a surprising willingness of reporters and “experts” to accept George Zimmerman’s multiple and conflicting versions of what happened on the night of February 26, 2012, when he shot and killed an unarmed minor child, for example, see here. I can’t help but wonder if some kind of institutionalized racism isn’t involved. Here are a few of the obvious inconsistencies in Zimmerman’s accounts just off the top of my head.
We’ve been told that Martin walked in circles around Zimmerman’s truck, and that Zimmerman was terrified. Yet Zimmerman was on the phone with a police dispatcher at the time and never mentioned this threatening activity.
We also know that Martin was on the phone with a friend at that time. Does it make sense that he would repeatedly circle Zimmerman’s truck while at the same time telling his friend he was frightened because a “crazy and creepy” man was watching and following him? And why would Zimmerman then get out of his truck and begin following Martin (while still on the phone with the dispatcher) if he was so frightened of the boy? We know that he did get out of his car and follow Martin, because Zimmerman told the police dispatcher so, and you can hear him huffing and puffing on the call as he either ran or walked quickly after Martin.
We’ve also been told that after Zimmerman got out of his car, he lost sight of Martin and turned back toward his truck. Then suddenly Martin attacked from behind, knocking Zimmerman to the sidewalk. Then supposedly Martin climbed on top of Zimmerman and banged his head on the pavement again and again and again. Where’s the evidence for that?
We now know that Zimmerman had a superficial cut on the back of his head and a couple of other cuts on his face as well as a bloody nose. We’ve been told that he had two black eyes and a closed fracture of his nose, but no photos of these injuries have been released. There was no sign of black eyes in the videos of Zimmerman at the police station after the shooting.
Certainly getting your head banged on cement should lead to serious damage–including brain damage or internal bleeding–not just a one-inch long cut! Here is an article about a man in Florida who fell and hit his head on the pavement and died from his injuries. Perhaps you could hit your head on pavement and survive, but pounded violently and repeatedly into the pavement? Surely that would turn the back of your head to hamburger.
Furthermore, if the fight took place on the sidewalk, how did Martin’s body end up in the middle of a grassy area? Police also reported that the back of Zimmerman’s jacket was wet and covered with grass stains. Witnesses describe a fight that moved over a distance and was witness successively by neighbors along the way.
Zimmerman also told police that Martin held his hand over his (Zimmerman’s mouth) as they fought, but at the same time that Zimmerman was screaming for help at the top of his lungs.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, even police did not believe the story about the hand over the mouth, because Zimmerman wouldn’t have been able to scream out words if his mouth were covered.
Police also had problems with some of the melodramatic quotes Zimmerman attributed to Martin, such as the claim (through Zimmerman’s father) that Martin reached for Zimmerman’s gun and announced “you’re going to die tonight.” You have to wonder how many arms Martin had to be punching Zimmerman, holding his hand over Zimmerman’s mouth, pounding his head on the pavement, and also reaching for the gun. Of course we now know that none of Martin’s DNA was found on any part of the gun, yet Zimmerman told police the two struggled over it.
In Zimmerman’s account, Martin was sitting on top of him, punching him and suddenly Martin saw the gun and reached for it and the two struggled over it. How would Martin have seen the gun if it was in the holster on Zimmerman’s waist. Wouldn’t he have been sitting at or above the waist in order to punch Zimmerman’s face? And how would Zimmerman have pulled his gun out in this position? Another problem with this story is that the autopsy showed that the trajectory bullet went front to back in a straight line. How would Zimmerman have been able to do this with Martin sitting on top of him like this?
How would the man on the bottom manage a straight, front-to-back shot from that angle? Wouldn’t it make more sense if they had been standing at the time of the gunshot?
Zimmerman also told police that after he shot Martin, the boy said the words “Okay you got it” or “you got me.” But from the autopsy results we now know that Martin was shot straight through the left ventricle of the heart with a hollow-point bullet. His lungs collapsed immediately as the bullet split into pieces. How would he have been able to speak? I think he probably died instantly.
So there are all kinds of problems with Zimmerman’s account(s) of the shooting and the events leading up to it. Yet, most mainstream media sources that I’ve read are reporting that Zimmerman’s account(S) are corroborated by the evidence. The assumption is that Martin attacked Zimmerman and therefore somehow deserved to die. I just don’t get it.
Since the release of part of the prosecution evidence, media outlets have focused on the finding that Trayvon Martin had trace levels of THC in his blood and urine at the time of his death, but have paid almost no attention to the much more powerful and dangerous medications that George Zimmerman was taking–Adderall (two forms of amphetamine) and Restoril (a sedative-hypnotic in the benzodiazepine family). Both of these are addictive drugs that are commonly abused, yet media reports have tended to minimize their mood-altering effects.
It seems to me that if Zimmerman’s attorney opts for a hearing on a stand-your-ground claim that all these inconsistencies will be brought up. That will be problematic for Zimmerman, because he will have to take the stand in order to state his case and back it up. He will have to describe the events of the night and explain any discrepancies with his previous statements. He made five different statements to police and participated in a taped recreation of events at the scene.
At Zimmerman’s bond hearing, prosecutor Bernie de la Ronda suggested that there were inconsistencies in Zimmerman’s statements (de la Ronda was referred to as “unidentified male” in the CNN transcript).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE [Prosecutor de la Ronda]: But before you committed this crime on February 26th, you were arrested — I’m sorry, not arrested. You were questioned that day, right, February 26th?
ZIMMERMAN: That evening into the 27th.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then the following morning. Is that correct?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the following evening, too. ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. Would it be fair to say you were questioned about four or five times?
ZIMMERMAN: I remember giving three statements, yes sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And isn’t it true that in some of those statement when you were confronted about your inconsistencies, you started “I don’t remember”?
O’MARA [Zimmerman’s attorney]: Outside the scope of direct examination. I will object your honor.
JUDGE LESTER: We’ll give you a little bit of leeway. Not a whole lot but a little bit here, ok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn’t it true that when you were questioned about the contradictions in your statements that the police didn’t believe it, that you would say “I don’t remember”?
JUDGE LESTER: I’m going to grant his motion at this time.
O’MARA: Thank you, your honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you agree you changed your story as it went along?
ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely not.
Prosecutor de la Ronda also alluded to some e-mails and text messages that were found on Zimmerman’s cell phone after his arrest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. Now, sir, you had a phone at some point and you agreed to turn over that phone to the police so they could make a copy of what was in there, right?
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And in that phone did you receive or send text messages sir.
ZIMMERMAN: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever make any reference to a reverend?
O’MARA: Objection, your honor. Outside the scope.
JUDGE LESTER: Sustained.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever make any reference to Mr. Martin, the father of the victim?
JUDGE LESTER: Sustained. You’re getting a little bit far away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I apologize your honor. My question is he was asked in terms of apology to the family and I’d like to be able to address that if I could. JUDGE LESTER: I think you can classify that whether or not he asked the apology. I don’t want to get into other areas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
JUDGE LESTER: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My question is, Mr. Zimmerman, do you recall sending a message to someone, an e-mail, about referring to the victim’s father?
ZIMMERMAN: No, sir. I don’t.
The statements that Zimmerman gave to police and the e-mails and text messages from his cell phone have not been released yet. But we have learned from one witness’s statement that Zimmerman has shown himself to be a bully and a bigot toward a Middle Eastern co-worker. I suspect that the comments found on Zimmerman’s cell phone were derogatory and racist references to Trayvon Martin’s family and/or their supporters. The “reverend” might be Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.
Zimmerman will also have to deal with the testimony of Trayvon Martin’s friend (referred to in the media as “Dee Dee,” who was talking to Martin during the time leading up to the confrontation and the shooting. In the full interview that she gave to the prosecutor, “Dee Dee” describes hearing a confrontation between Martin and Zimmerman. Martin says “Why are you following me for?” and Zimmerman responds by saying “What are you doing around here?” She then hears a bumping sound and Martin’s headphones fall off. But she can still hear him say, “Get off. Get off.” The whole interview is posted at The New York Times (scroll down to sidebar).
One of the biggest questions is who was screaming on one of the 911 tapes called in by a witness. Yesterday, the WaPo had an article about two voice experts, one of whom concluded that the voice is Trayvon Martin’s and that he can be heard saying “I’m begging you,” “Help me,” and “Stop!” right before the gunshot silenced him. A second expert pooh poohs these findings, but give it a read. I found the article quite compelling.
I know I’m largely preaching to the choir here at Sky Dancing, but I wanted to try to pull some of these inconsistencies together to show that–despite the media seeming to favor Zimmerman’s side–he is going to have a lot to answer for, particularly if he and his attorney decide to go the “stand-your-ground” route. In a trial, Zimmerman will have a choice about whether to take the stand; but at a pre-trial hearing to determine whether he is immune from prosecution because he was defending himself, Zimmerman would have to testify and his credibility will be on the line.
I’d love to get your reactions to what I’ve written. I’d especially like to know your opinions about why the mainstream media in general has been giving George Zimmerman the benefit of the doubt and demonizing Trayvon Martin.
For example, why the obsessive focus on traces of THC and little attention to the heavy duty prescription drugs Zimmerman was taking? Why was Martin described for so long as very tall, towering over Zimmerman, when he actually was 5’11” and Zimmerman is only a couple of inches shorter. Why has the media portrayed Zimmerman’s injuries as horrifying when they are actually quite superficial? Why have they exaggerated a tiny cut on one of Martin’s fingers into “scraped knuckles?” And so on. Am I wrong to suspect underlying racism as at least part of the explanation for these media attitudes?
As always, please feel free to post your own links in the comments.
peej
Carissa
ecocatwoman
mablue2
peggysue22
quixote
skydancingguestblogger
Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)
Sky Dancing 
Whatever the actual “truth” contained within this event it seems to me that it all rests in a large part with the “stand your ground law” that makes it possible for any gun toting person to carry out his/her version of events without having to face the scrutiny. Just make a claim of “self defense” and it is covered by the law and its interpretation.
If Zimmerman had not been carrying a gun would any of this have happened? The answer is most probably not since he would have stayed within the confines of the truck and waited for law enforcment to arrive. Carrying a weapon gave him the advantage.
But armed with a weapon, and knowing this law guranteed him sufficient cause, he proceeded to pursue.
What happened after that is open to interpretation: did he actually act in self defense or did he carry out the action because he was safely armed? My thinking is the gun itself gave him the justification he needed to aim and shoot.
Didn’t Trayvon Martin have the right to defend himself when he felt threatened? The answer to that is simple: he did have that right. The difference being is that he was at the mercy of an armed man with the law as written on his side.
Had there been an abscence of a weapon there would never have been a tragedy to begin with.
An overeager vigilante and a law that made it possible is at the crux of this matter.
This case needs to be heard by a jury in order to sort out the facts with the ultimate judgment to erase this stupid law from its books.
Wow, you did an excellent job here BB.
In terms of your thoughts on racism in the media, I will bring up a point I made on Sunday. Look at the difference in the reporting and responses to two different young men wearing the same type of hoodies, Trayvon Martin and Mark Zuckerberg.
To me, IMHO, Zimmerman should have been charged with negligent manslaughter from the very beginning. Now that Corey has brought on the 2nd degree murder charge I wonder if the same thing that happened to Casey Anthony will happen to George Zimmerman. That being the state presses for the higher offense and ends up with a not guilty charge.
And as far as the “stand your ground” defense, Zimmerman lost that excuse when he stepped out of the truck and began stalking Martin.
I guess we have to wait and see what happens, the thing that I see from all this is that anything and everything is being drawn into a partisan issue….Us and Them….where as Pat said today on her post:
BTW Pat, you had a knock out post over at Widdershins today, WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY « The Widdershins
I saw something interesting this morning: Today’s GOP: Worst Political Party Since the Civil War | | AlterNet
Take a look at it…
The commentary goes on:
It is all just too disheartening to see what is happening here.
Oh and speaking of which, remember the post Dak did on Jindal and the shit he is doing regarding Louisiana education system? Well, take a look here: Is Texas Waging War on History? | | AlterNet
Here is my answer to what Pat suggested at the end of her post, I don’t know if “I” have the resolve to bring them back…
Thanks, mink.
This stuff is wearing me down to be honest.
How much more outrage is left to express day after day?
I’m with you there too Pat…
I find it stunning, frankly. I think there are just a group of people in this country that aren’t going to be happy unless we install some form of christofascism.
Pat that was a great post. We’re all suffering from outrage fatigue.
“I think there are just a group of people in this country that aren’t going to be happy unless we install some form of christofascism.”
I think the RCC lawsuit against the Obama Admin yesterday concerning the ACA, clearly demonstrates a cooperation and coordination between the christos and the GOP/TP.
Instead of focusing on the real problems and the potential fallout aimed at the middle class & poor if the Paul Ryan budget gets through the U.S. Senate, they’d rather focus on PRETEND LIKE pressure on the RCC to pay for contraception and silly Corey Booker, The Poster child for the poor abused vulture capitalists. It’s a new day but it’s the same old smoke and mirrors
The Texas State Board of Education (a misnomer for sure) has been trying to defile textbooks with their ridiculous BS ever since the Taliban wing of the GOP took over. It’s a real shame.
JJ, this bit in the quote:
Why do the smartest people buy into Republican frames? They don’t give a used tissue about debt. Benen says so himself in the next breath. They wanted Democrats to cut money to Democratic constituents. Cutting money to your constituents makes you unpopular. The Republicans are trying to make the Dems unpopular. That’s it. That’s all. So tell it like it is, Benen!
“…for a hefty ransom — in this case, impoverishing their voters.”
There. Fixed it for him.
BB, look at this: Trayvon Martin case: Has the media prematurely declared George Zimmerman’s innocence?
Yes, but that’s an African American website, not the MSM. Thanks for the link, though!
Here’s one of the worst of the lawyer media pundits with a right wing agenda now.. What an ass this man turned out to be:
Alan Dershowiz:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/04/12/alan_dershowitz_zimmerman_arrest_affidavit_irresponsible_and_unethical.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/new-forensic-evidence-is-_b_1527972.html
Dershowitz had been an absolute dingbat ever since he went all in defending torture.
Yeah, Dershowitz have been really pushing the drop the charges meme. Geraldo too.
Great recap BB. After reading the evidence I think there is enough incriminating evidence against Zimmerman to convict and most of comes in the form of his story not matching the evidence. We haven’t seen the video from the clubhouse, nor have we seen all of the ME evidence. But the bullet trajectory, the story concerning the struggle for the gun, the screams, the positioning of Martin when he was shot, none of it favors Zimmerman’s version.
As far as the media is concerned, I think MSNBC & CNN were scared away from this story when the rightwingers, including rightwing talk radio and Fox, began accusing them of causing racial unrest. I think this will remain a much lower profile story than when it began.
It isn’t low profile. It’s being covered everywhere. Unfortunately, the right wingers are winning the media battle and framing this as a black thug who beat up poor George Zimmerman and forced him to shoot. Even though Zimmerman’s injuries were minor.
How it comes out will depend on one judge who will decide if Zimmerman has to go to trial or has immunity according the the stand your ground law. This shouldn’t be a stand your ground case, because Zimmerman clearly initiated the contact by leaving his car and following Martin. But the judge seems to like Zimmerman’s attorney, so I’m a little worried he won’t even have to go to trial.
Taylor Marsh on how two African American blue dogs effectively destroyed Obama’s economic message. Good going Booker and Ford. You’ve now made the case for Romney for President.
http://taylormarsh.com/blog/2012/05/2-democrats-2-days-obamas-bain-argument-blown-to-smithereens/
We are so screwed.
Cory Booker was on Maddow last night and I thought he did as good a job as possible of explaining himself. It was a huge mistake though.
Obama in his Chicago press conference was frankly convincing as hell that Bain was a valid part of the campaign. I don’t it’ll have lasting consequences. At least I hope not!
I thought Obama did a good job yesterday. Booker’s appearance on Maddow won’t be seen by so many people though.
It appears to me that the media, ABC in particular, are going to push whoever they believe will have the biggest advertising budget. That’s gonna be Romney and his allies this time.
I agree Ralphb. I think Obama did a good job rehabilitating his position concerning Bain Capital and MItt Romney’s claim to be a job creator. I don’t think Obama will have a bit of trouble delivering that message in the fall.
Harold Ford, Jr, has been a total sellout for years. He ran for Senator in TN and ran so far to the right he ran off thousands of lifelong Democrats with his blatant pandering to the right on choice, g/l rights and his embrace of the polices of GWB and GWB personally. He was President of the DLC after he lost his Senate bid. The DLC was created to move the DNC away from the left and closer to the right on economic and social issues. The DLC went belly-up in 2011. I think Ford holds a grudge against Obama because he thinks his 10 years in the Congress made him a better POTUS candidate.
I don’t know much about Booker, other than Bain contributed over 500k to his campaign, but I can tell you Harold Ford, Jr, is NOT A politically loyal person to anyone except HFJr
I’ve been hearing the same about Booker. Let’s hope the Obama campaign strikes him from surrogates list. I doubt if Ford is on it. He’s pretty much a Republican.
I tell you these two are working hard, and they sure as hell didn’t hold back. They themselves are like the republicans, looking down, while seeing themselves above Obama.
What goes around comes around.
Course, Obama has a way of not being with us all, he’s shoved a few under, know what I mean.
(I put this in the old thread, but it probably belongs here. A repeat:)
David Dayen has an interesting piece about Booker, Obama, and Wall St. money. His usual sharp pen:
So, yeah, Fannie….
Grrr. I had a nice long comment on how well-argued BB’s post was. Then our wireless went out for a few minutes, of course right after I clicked “post,” and I lost it all.
I agreed that the trivial amount of damage — the linear cut marks on the back of Zimmerman’s head are inconsistent with being “bashed against the pavement.” I’d wonder more after self-infliction. He’s got clean nostrils in that photo — no evidence of nosebleed. The day later a physician diagnosed him with a closed fracture of the nose, which without an x-r or other scan, does not actually prove a fracture.
The 1/4″ cut on Trayvon’s finger has been turned into bruises and bashed knuckles and evidence of aggression. But no way can you punch someone up without more obvious damage to your hands than a 1/4″ scratch. And the THC level was miniscule, and would medically have no physiological effect.
The gunshot angle is consistent with Zimmerman & Trayvon both standing. Small mercy in this tragic horror that the young victim died immediately.
Yet Zimmerman’s use of not only one, but two controlled substances goes without much questioning. No blood was drawn from him on the night in question, which was a huge omission. His inconsistencies will lead to a field day (soon, I hope) for any competent lawyer. “But, Mr. Zimmerman, on [date] you stated the exact opposite. Let me read you just what you said then:… How do you explain that?”
Regardless of the parties’ skin color or background, this is a case with horrendously incompetent police investigative practice. Most MSM seems to interpret the evidence in defiance of logic. It’s mind-boggling.
I’m more afraid of the police these days than I am of the local thugs frankly. Local Thugs seem to have a more developed sense of who requires justice and who doesn’t. The police appear to be mostly in it because they are the police and they protect each other and do what they want. The incompetence amazes me. They just enter the force and it’s “Us” against “Them”. I don’t think the really define “Them” well at all.
“Zimmerman’s multiple and conflicting versions of what happened on the night of February 26, 2012, when he shot and killed an unarmed minor child, for example,”
ok martin was not a child no 17 year old is .
i really did had not comment or take a side in on this case because i wanted to see more facts before i took side. and i still have not .
but a picture tells a thousand words .
i think to many people on both sides of this story took sides without knowing any facts at all
17 year olds are not completely developed emotionally, mentally or physically. They are not allowed the same rights as adults for very good reasons. Some may look like adults but they are not adults. They are not like 6 year olds either. Teens still have lots of developing to do in every category possible.
Dk now matter how want to spin it hes was not a child
Boogie, developmentally speaking, yes, teens are children. Their brains are not adult brains. Any one with a background in child development will tell you this. Ask a doctor or a developmental psychologist.
and this whole thing never should have never been about racism but that what the MSM turned it into.
How can you say that? That police department completely muddled this case based on that!
Plus, nearly every argument I hear supporting George Zimmerman is dripping with racism. You can’t remove the racism from this at all.
Yes, he was a child. He was a minor and still in high school. He didn’t have the life experience or the upper body strength of a 28-year-old George Zimmerman. When I was 19, I had a roommate who was 26, and she seemed old to me. I was legally an adult, but was still very innocent about life.
Medically and legally, a 17-y.o. is a minor. For example, in Washington State the only things I can treat an under-18 y.o. for without their parent’s permission or without informing them, unless it’s an emergency, are reproductive-health concerns or conditions. Our state is fortunately on the sensible side in that respect.
Thanks for your great discussion of the issues, NW Luna. Obviously I value your expert opinion.
I think Zimmerman’s many versions of events and outright lies will come back to haunt him. They may even be able to get in the past episode where he stalked an terrified a driver who did something George didn’t like. His ADHD would suggest that he has a problem with impulse control, so that may come in also.
Sorry about the connection problem. I was having trouble with WordPress earlier myself.
The connection problem was probably on my end. Every other week it’ll just drop, and I have to unplug and replug the modem, or the AirBase, or both.
Zimmerman’s medical conditions may have a great bearing on this case. While I can think of a number of conditions for which patients legitimately may need both Adderal and temazepam, they are conditions such as MS fatigue, cancer-related fatigue, even post TBI (tramatic brain injury) fatigue. Adderall & its cousins work to stimulate areas of concentration and focus in the brain when used in those with ADD or ADHD. But adding a benzo-family drug is way down at the bottom of my list of sleep drugs. Not so much for the addictive qualities, which probably aren’t that strong, but because continued use often causes or aggravates memory problems.
An ethical prescriber needs to follow up on patients and see how they are functioning on these drugs. If your patient is acting paranoid or obsessive, re-assess the meds. Or get him to a specialist fast, which is unfortunately hard to do these days.
All we can do is speculate since we don’t have all the facts.
I was addicted to Valium, and it’s no picnic. The withdrawal is hell and can lead to psychotic breaks. If any of the benzos are non-addictive, I’d be very surprised. I had the same withdrawal symptoms when I had to take Xanax for a short time.
I would be concerned that the combination of the two drugs could lead to irritation, rage reactions, and aggressive behavior. Benzos sometimes can lead to paradoxical reactions.
Valium (benzodiazepam) has about a 90-hour half life, so it has obvious problems from that! Xanax, a shorter-acting (4-6 hrs usually) seems to have more addictive potential than others from the reports of patients, and what BB said fits right in. And increased anger, irritability, emotional lability are often reported if the drugs are stopped suddenly.
From rortybomb we have a good critique of private equity firms and Bain in particular.
A Question on Private Equity, or Bain Capital Purchases a Stick
I read that. It was great. I love venture capitalists. They play an important role in getting new things to the market. They deserve huge returns on the IPOs for the risks they take and the management services they provide.
Bain Capital is not “creative” destruction. It is not in the same vein as a venture capitalist. They are looters. They drain the last bit of life from corpses and create new corpses. Corporate raiders are not positive things.
I’ve detested corporate raiders for about 30 years now. The less regulation on them, the worse they get.
Both parties have tolerated them for way too long because of their political donations. I want to write a post about this but right now, RL is just in my face!
Blast RL!
BB, wow! you should be working for Court TV!
Thank you so much for this recap of the Martin/Zimmerman case. I have found all the concern for poor, victimized George Zimmerman to be crazy-making to say the least. All the angst about him receiving “Due Process” minimizes the fact that there is a dead teenager who will never get his say.
I understand the need to uphold Due Process as well as the next person. What I don’t get is “the right to Bear Arms” superseding the rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Skittles (or whatever other innocuous form happiness takes for each of us).
On the subject of racism as the motivator, I just don’t know. It seems to me that diverting the discussion to a reading of GZ’s mind deflects from the bare bones facts of the case. Every person should be free to walk home from a convenience store after making a minor purchase without fear of being stalked and confronted by someone with a loaded weapon who feels called to “protect” his neighborhood.
jackyt,
Thanks so much for your reactions. Maybe the MSM just has short-term memory loss?
You’re too kind (to the MSM) or maybe I’m too cynical. I think it jumps out in front of a parade and calls itself the leader.
Bwahahahahahaha
More on George Tierney, Jr. of Greenville, South Carolina
What? George Tierney, Jr., of Greenville, South Carolina, is no longer spewing vile bile –I mean jokes — over the Tweetertubes? How thin-skinned!
Not bad news for a change.
Some extremely minor news that you should probably ignore, because it’s a “distraction”
It bipartisan opposition, the states are:
Ralph, you might be interested in this organization that is fighting against Citizens United:
freespeechforpeople.org
I am using someone else’s computer and can’t seem to do the link thing. I’ll try once more:
http://www.freespeechforpeople.org/
Beats the heck out of the corporate stooges in American Traditions Partnership which is fighting the have Citizens United upheld. Looks like a good group.
This is an amzing post. Thanks for laying it all out there like this. I think you’re dead-on. I have a hard time seeing how the coverage and the reactions aren’t based on racism to whatever degree. I’ll accept that there may be other factors at play, but I need a rational explaination of what. For example, the hoopla about the photos. I’m sorry, but the relevance of news photos of a murder victim is what, exactly? It seems like, and people aren’t shy about being explicit about it, he’s not supposed to look “innocent.” The photos are supposed to show us an adolescent black male, who, sure, may have been walking along unarmed minding his business, but look at him, doesn’t he just look like a thug? Give George a medal because if he’s not commiting a crime today, he’ll commit one tomorrow, lock up your house and daughters.
It’s very similar to the reactions to a rape case or to a domestic murder case, trying to blame the victim for her own death and excuse the murderer because he was provoked and was defending himself. There’s a definite pattern there and you can see it here as well. Bringing out every 5th grade shoplifting conviction, as if that’s relevant to anything. Spinning all kinds of bizarre unsubstantiated theories about the victim is not the obligation of the media. Yeah, it may be the obligation of the defense attorney to throw mud but that doesn’t mean the media has to report it as fact or the public has to swallow it–do we have PROOF that Trayvon was at 7-11, anyway? Huh? How can we just accept the word of the dead “accused” or his parents? Why don’t we just assume they’re lying or up to no good? That’s not reporting. But god forbid anyone should examine the murderer’s record or history with anger and boundaries because that would be prejudicial–we’re not in a court of law. The absolute need of some people to blame the victim no matter how much reality has to be turned on its head really seems to go beyond keeping an open mind or playing devil’s advocate. It’s the media standing in stilts to check the titles in the Palm Beach rape victim’s bookcase all over again.
The blame the victim ploy by Zimmerman should be so obvious — but hey it seems to be working.
Zimmerman is a stone cold lying killer. Just like another old Florida case where the rapist got away with rape and other physical crimes because the victim wasn’t wearing underwear. The victim was viciously beaten, raped and then thrown for the car. She lived and the jury apparently held that against her.
Who is speaking for the dead victim?
The case is being tried in the media and by the talking head media shores.
Kindle does it again — censors my words — w h o r e s — media w h o r e s.
BB is correct — a 17 year old is still in many ways a child. Biologically a 17 year old’s body is still growing. Watch BONES — the TV series — there is a lot of good information — made easy to understand on Bones.
Yeah or all the cases where the gang rapes of unconscious girls are filmed and they get off because she moved her hand a little bit once so she was obviously undrugged, conscious, and consenting.
Absolutely, a 17 year old is a child. Imagine being in high school and some weirdo is stalking you in a car and chasing you around. Normally nobody would think it’s okay for an adult to try and approach or follow a high school kid under any circumstances, really. That’s the kind of thing that gets reported to the police because it creates a scary, threatening situation for kids that they don’t have the life experience to deal with and is totally inappropriate. Even unmarked cop cars freak adults out because they don’t know what they’re dealing with.
exactly … a few months earlier and he could’ve been a victim of statutory rape and depending on the laws and florida he might’ve still well been if the perp was way older …
All Zimmerman had to do was explain who he was and why he was acting so strange.
Creeps like Zimmerman can use their gun but not their mouth???
A stranger in a gated community — drive up to the kid ask who he is visiting. But no Zimmerman was the judge and jury. And in Florida — well they have their only system of laws.
BB — keep asking questions and pointing out the inconsistencies.
A couple of things to note. One is that Zimmerman didn’t say Martin had A hand over his mouth, he told police Martin had BOTH hands over his mouth and nose (in an alleged attempt to suffocate him). We don’t know how Martin could have been punching Zimmerman or bashing his head into the sidewalk with both his hands on Zimmerman’s face, or how Zimmerman could have been screaming with his mouth covered. There was NO blood on the sidewalk – none. And no Zimmerman DNA under Martin’s fingernails.
Officer Smith arrived on the scene TWENTY SECONDS after the gunshot – that’s how close the police were, and Zimmerman knew they were on the way. I read that since the spate of burglaries, Sanford PD had a response time of about 2 minutes. One minute and 37 seconds passed between George Zimmerman exiting his truck and shooting Martin. The exact timelines (published by Sanford PD today) are testimony to the question: “Why didn’t he wait for the police?”. From witness statements, arguing preceded a scuffle, leaving only seconds for the alleged “sustained attack”.
I agree. I hate to say this, but I suspect he shot Trayvon because he realized he had made a huge mistake and would end up getting in trouble for it. I saw a timeline yesterday that showed that there was only about 1 min. 50 secs. between when Trayvon’s phone call ended until the shooting. If it was really that short a time from his leaving the truck, no wonder the police didn’t buy his stories.
And that isn’t even considering the superficial injuries Zimmerman had, which didn’t match up with his description of what happened.
Several of the eyewitnesses who were initially supporting Zimmerman’s account have changed their stories.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-05-22/news/os-george-zimmerman-key-witnesses-20120522_1_witnesses-change-shooting-fdle-agent
http://newsone.com/2016878/george-zimmerman-witness/