Can We Give Florida Back to Spain?
Trayvon Martin and his father, Tracy Martin
Spain, come collect your land, please. Florida has got to go.
George Zimmerman got off scot-free for killing an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin, after suspecting him of being up to no good so much that Zimmerman called 911, pursued Trayvon (while carrying a loaded gun, which he wasn’t supposed to have on him in his capacity as Neighborhood watchman), ignored the dispatcher’s instruction for Zimmerman to stay in his car and let the police handle it, and then initiated a confrontation with Trayvon, who was scared of someone following him at 7:16p on February 26, 2012. This ended with an alleged fight that started on the sidewalk and ended on the grass with Zimmerman alleging that Trayvon beat him up enough to bloody Zimmerman’s face, yet Trayvon had none of Zimmerman’s DNA on him at the morgue and Zimmerman’s hands and jacket were clear of any substance. Oh, and since then, Zimmerman has not shown regret for killing a child. Even if it’s in self-defense, wouldn’t you show some remorse for taking the life of someone? People I know who have killed for self-defense do not enjoy talking about it. They still are a bit reflective of having to take someone’s life, even if it was justified. Zimmerman? Nothing. Just that it was “God’s will” that he was the one to kill Trayvon.
It took 3 weeks for the Sanford Police Department to arrest George Zimmerman for this case. They were going to let him go for Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” Law, which they said they wouldn’t apply in this case, but the jury went ahead and considered it in their deliberations anyway, for good measure. It took black people to make the media pay attention to what happened, and I ultimately think that this trial was a farce to placate the media and the Martin family and the prosecution had no intention of getting their verdict for a ridiculous Second-degree Murder charge.
For everyone saying that I can’t separate facts from emotion, I can. Facts showed that the prosecution didn’t care enough to close holes in the story or try hard enough to show Zimmerman’s background, which is done for every other black person on trial for anything from murder to stealing a pack of Certs from the bodega. Facts show that there are holes in Zimmerman’s story. Facts show that at least one juror was so confused (Juror B37) over the case and case law that she believed Zimmerman’s story from the beginning and never once considered Trayvon’s side of things – and even said Zimmerman “went too far,” which, ma’am, is manslaughter. She also said that she would trust Zimmerman to be the head of her own Neighborhood Watch now that “he’s learned his lesson.” She also signed a book deal yesterday to discuss the trial from her and her lawyer husband’s perspective that was rescinded by the publisher, thanks to the work of @MoreAndAgain’s (on Twitter) quick work making a Change.org petition to stop the book from being made. And all this was done before Anderson Cooper’s show aired for the second time in the same night. Good job, Twitter! (I now hear of a rumor that Juror B37’s husband actually knows Zimmerman defense attorney Mark O’Mara. Also, if you’re writing a book about the trial from the perspective of your time on the jury and your husband’s perspective…that’s just odd. You weren’t supposed to talk to him about it. You were sequestered. What relevant information could he add to your perspective from your time serving during the trial?)
Facts didn’t justify a Murder 2 conviction, but they did bolster a manslaughter charge or aggravated assault, which was shoehorned in at the end, instead of the beginning, by a prosecution team who did not do all it could to rightfully present a case for a boy who was murdered while trying to get back home to watch a basketball game. Even considering Zimmerman’s four versions of the same story, I can’t see how it happened his way. And I don’t apologize for that.
Considering the fact that Floridians elected Rick Scott, assume that all welfare recipients (perceived to be mostly minorities, which isn’t the case) must use drugs (the law was stopped), the long voting lines, and the cases of Marissa Alexander, George Zimmerman, and probably soon-to-be-scot-free-killer Michael Dunn (the case of Jordan B. Davis, who Dunn said defied his order and was at a loss over what to do when Jordan disobeyed his order, thus he had to kill him for playing “thug music”) , I just don’t have confidence that Florida cares about justice anymore. If you look at the laws, it’s a wonder that anyone can actually be charged with murder in the state…unless you’re a white man, then chances are good that you’ll get away with it. Spain, please come and get your colony any time you’re ready. We’re about done with it.
Race played a factor here in Zimmerman’s actions, and he can deny it all he wants. If he saw a blond white boy walking home in a hoodie, there would have been no altercation. YES, I CAN ASSUME THAT! Race played a factor here because blacks are perceived to be more violent than other racial groups in America, yet 84% of killings of white people happen by other white people. That’s a very high number, considering most people in America are white. It “looks” worse for blacks because we mostly live concentrated in urban areas while whites do not.
And people, I’m not saying YOU’RE racist or that I don’t like you just because I’m making an honest opinion about race. An unarmed teenage boy is dead at the hands of a man who had 4 different versions of events from that night who was on a personal vigilante mission of “justice”. And, for now, nothing is being done to right that wrong.
You like? Share!
Category: Politics
