I just can’t keep my mouth shut any more about the Trayvon Martin shooting case. I’ve been asked my opinion after what the media did to me, so here are my thoughts on:
President Obama: Saying if he had a son that, ‘…he’d probably look like Trayvon…’ That doesn’t seem to help the ‘all blacks look the same’ stereotype Mr. President, and it’s got nothing to do with the case, or guilt or innocence of the shooter.
The media: Why do you continue to show cute 14 year-old pictures of Trayvon Martin when he is now 17 and not the same kid he was then? If you go back far enough, you can find a cute picture of Hitler too. It’s all a matter of what you are trying to portray and it’s obvious the media in general is taking the side of Trayvon without even getting the facts. You continue to mention he was an A/B student as a sophomore. Well, guess what? He’s now a junior who was serving a two week school suspension, that a family ‘spokesperson’ has confirmed was for having a bag w/marijuana residue and was also suspended two other times for truancy and graffiti. And I can assure you from my personal experience with another juvenile that when a kid finally gets suspended, things have been going on for a very long time. Apparently kids change.
The ‘anti-gunners’ and the ‘gun-grabbers’: Nice job finding a high profile case you can exploit to further your anti-gun agenda. You keep mentioning he was ‘unarmed’. Doesn’t matter in a self defense shooting. A rapist, for example, doesn’t need to be ‘armed’ to get justifiably shot by the victim. For your information, ‘armed’ or ‘dangerous’ doesn’t need to be with a gun. And continuing to say he had Skittles in his pocket doesn’t have anything to do with what was going on at the ends of his fists. The question for justifiable self defense is made up of numerous things. One is a ‘disparity of force’ and it doesn’t require the perpetrator to have a gun. It means that you are at a disadvantage and could suffer bodily harm by the assailant. Don’t forget that Trayvon Martin was 6’ 3” and even if his weight of 140 lbs. is being correctly reported (I doubt it – that too is probably from when he was 14 like his picture), someone dressed in clothes that cover a frame of this height can surely appear menacing and threatening.
The Miami Heat basketball team: Are you kidding? You take a photo and write on your shoes to support someone you don’t know and have no idea about what happened? Speaking too loudly without knowing the facts is a good recipe for making yourselves look like idiots.
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson: Is there anything these guys can’t turn into a racial issue!? Perhaps they should remember what someone who they may know once said:
“The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” – Malcom X
The Black Panther Party: Putting a bounty on George Zimmerman – who may be innocent? Who’s racist?
The U.S. Attorney General getting involved: All because the media has slanted the story so far in Trayvon Martin’s favor that he thinks he ‘should’ get involved to appease the masses? This shows the mental firepower of both him and his boss.
Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton: Maybe we should listen to her when she says, “It’s not about black and white.” She’s also right when she says no one should be shot just because someone thinks they’re suspicious. That’s true. It’s also true that we don’t know just yet why Trayvon was shot.
Those saying George Zimmerman shouldn’t have followed Trayvon: George was a neighborhood watch captain. Had he not followed, and had a home been broken into, who do you think would be blamed for not doing his job?
Those who say George Zimmerman should not have been armed: Some people who have concealed carry permits like to carry 24/7 – it’s a habit. For those who do this every day, it’s just as comfortable as putting your wallet in your pocket. Why would someone remove their firearm to go outside – an arguably more dangerous place than in your own home? Maybe George Zimmerman would have been dead today had he not had his firearm.
Those who say George Zimmerman is racist: If you are basing it on the 911 phone call tapes, here's the truth: According to a recent investigation about the tapes, NBC severely edited the tapes to intentionally make Zimmerman appear racist. The report goes on to state: NBC's edited version stated: Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black. Actual 911 call unedited: Zimmerman: This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about. Dispatcher: OK, and this guy - is he white, black or Hispanic? Zimmerman: He looks black. This is a lot more than a simple "error on the production process." This is a purposed omission to batter ram their agenda on the American people. Also, mentioning someone’s color is one of the first things the police want to know so they can hone in on who to look for. What about when he said, “These **sholes, they always get away.”? He could have very well meant the kids doing the damage in the neighborhood. Making other assumptions or connections without additional facts can be dangerous.
The student walk-out protests: First, I hope the teachers were smart enough not to encourage or condone this activity. Teachers are supposed to teach based on facts and on what is. So hopefully they aren’t encouraging kids to make rash decisions prior to getting the facts. Second, if the kids missed any tests or assignments during the ‘walk-outs’, they should all get an ‘F’ with no opportunity to make it up. That would be teaching responsibility and accountability. You have the choice to do what you want, but once you make your choice, you can’t choose the consequence. They’d learn to be responsible if they show up to class like they’re supposed to.
The media disparaging George Zimmerman: Always using the worst photo possible and talking about things like him being arrested for ‘pushing a cop’ is purposely painting a bad picture and being arrested has no correlation for actually committing a crime. Cops make up charges all the time. Just ask the cops who arrested me.
Spike Lee: Tweeting the wrong address for George Zimmerman’s house!? Are you kidding? Now having the unrelated occupants living in fear of their life? Even if it was the right address, why would you want to have people know where a potentially innocent man is, especially when you know dang well you are putting his life in danger for doing so. If anything happens I would think at least a charge of 2nd degree homicide should fall squarely on the shoulders of anyone doing such an irresponsible thing.
The bottom line is that we know nothing at this point and can’t make any assumptions unless we want to look like idiots. Maybe the police didn’t arrest George Zimmerman because he appeared to be acting in self-defense. True, it doesn’t matter what one is wearing for clothing – the actions of both people are what matters. And until we know what happened, we should all be very careful of convicting someone without the facts.
I'm not saying one side or the other is right. I'm just pointing out some obvious overlooked information. At this point things have gotten so out of hand that I can't imagine George Zimmerman getting a fair trial anywhere in the U.S. thanks to the knee-jerk reactions of the media and the general population falling into the trap of believing everything they read and forming opinions based on half-truths. (see again, the quote above by Malcom X) Continuing to allow these actions and sentiments to become the accepted norm is walking a very slippery slope that will backfire on all of us – only after it’s too late to turn around.
