Spreading like a wildfire, outrage over the shooting death of unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has ignited an explosive national dialogue about the tumultuous and fractured status of race relations in the United States.
Rallies held across the country by prominent civil rights leaders, politicians, clergy, community organizers and celebrities such as Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Chaka Khan, Betty Wright and Alonzo Mourning, among others, have called for George Zimmerman's immediate arrest and dramatic social change in response to Martin's death. At its heart, this human tragedy is fueling what has been a long-simmering but essential outpouring of emotion and frustration concerning deep-seated divisions within American society.
Trayvon Martin is forcing a difficult but brutally candid reexamination of the institutional and legal structures that continue to perpetuate ingrained racial inequity in our nation decades after the civil rights movement. Although this case is now seared into the public consciousness, it remains unpredictable which direction the wheels of justice will actually turn. Many may not be satisfied with the ultimate outcome. Still, the protest cries that this story is generating must continue beyond its now uncertain journey through the legal system, even if Zimmerman is not found culpable.
Each day, new evidence and conflicting accounts emerge as to what transpired on that dark, rainy February evening in Sanford, Fla. Although full-scale state and federal investigations are currently underway, it could be months, if ever, before Martin's family, the public and the media get the answers they are so desperately seeking and deserve. Most recently, Martin's family has sought a Justice Department review of why state prosecutors overruled the recommendation of lead homicide investigator Chris Serino to press manslaughter charges against Zimmerman. Right now, there are many more distressing questions than satisfactory revelations, only serving to exacerbate the national despair.
George Zimmerman's infamous 911 call where he was told by a dispatcher not to pursue Martin, recent voice analysis of the emergency 911 call where a person is heard screaming for help, accounts told by eyewitnesses as well as Martin's girlfriend, and initial versions of the released Sanford police surveillance video paint a picture of Zimmerman as the initial aggressor. This evidence also looks to flatly refute his claims of self-defense.
Yet, now, newly enhanced versions of that same surveillance video released by ABC News, leaked police reports and recent statements made to the media by Zimmerman's brother, father and friend Joe Oliver seem to construe a different portrait of the man, his version of events and his credibility regarding claims of injury at the hands of Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman's family members and friend have also stated that he is not racist.
With Florida currently limiting the public release of records connected to the case as it proceeds with its criminal investigation, it has become even more challenging to evaluate what the truth really is. Greater details will likely emerge if it is determined that there is sufficient probable cause to arrest George Zimmerman and file criminal charges against him.
In a recent interview with HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell, special prosecutor Angela Corey suggested that the public will eventually have a clearer picture of what actually happened. She stated,
"Florida is a full discovery state. We want the nation and the world actually to know that. Everything that we get our hands on will be furnished in discovery and once it is furnished in discovery, I believe people will have a much better idea what this case is about."
As this divisive case is expected to go before a Seminole County grand jury this month, the painful realities of our society that Trayvon Martin now represents are finally being voiced. From Washington to Hollywood to Main Street, Martin's story has struck a cultural nerve that demands effective policy response. In death, Trayvon Martin stands in the eye of a tempestuous storm that is forcing us to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
At its most humanistic level, a mother and father are mourning the senseless loss of a child, questioning why this happened to their son. Through this lens, we are recognizing that racial profiling and stereotyping is an ugly, embedded part of our culture. We are challenging the efficacy of "Stand Your Ground" laws, analyzing whether they provide an unjustified license to kill and have a disparate impact on minority groups. We are questioning why too many young African American men are incarcerated and losing their lives daily to violence. We are acknowledging that institutionalized racism exists. We are finally seeing what Trayvon Martin means.
Whether or not George Zimmerman is arrested, charged criminally, brought to trial and found guilty or innocent, the open gashes on our skin will continue to bleed. They will only begin to heal when the knives causing these wounds are taken away from violent hands.
IN SESSION Anchor Christi Paul, IN SESSION Correspondent Jean Casarez and Attorney Matt Semino Discuss the Trayvon Martin Case on March 30, 2012
Who can say that the incident happened this way or that? No one yet, but Mr. Semino's bias about the veracity of Mr. Zimmerman's claims is obvious, for whose "violent hands" is he referring to in his final sentence? What about those who have made threats against Mr. Zimmerman?
The popular belief is that Mr. Zimmerman shot Mr. Martin BECAUSE he was black. If true, that alone is enough of a motive to claim hate crime status and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But until a thorough investigation is completed (and that can take time) no one's opinion should should be treated as a fact just waiting to be proven. That seems to be the incentive behind the calls for an arrest now and an investigation later. That's just plain backwards and is not the way it is done, despite mobs chanting for "justice".
Besides Bin Laden, anyone's death is a tragedy and skin color never changes that truth. If Mr. Martin and Mr. Zimmerman were of the same race does anyone honestly believe this story would have been given the attention it has received? I don't, but that's just MY opinion.
We can blame Zimmerman easy enough. We can blame the police who did no investigation due to Zimmermans claiming SYG. We can blame prosecutors for this as well. Those are the easy people to blame.
I am also blaming the people of Florida who allow this to happen and to continue to happen due to a senseless law.
The wild west is coming back in vogue due to the people of the U.S. and you wonder why the rest of the world thinks something is wrong with the people and leaders here. Kill first ask questions later seems to be the new American motto.
But the blatant lies of the media and the distortion by some news outlets (especially NBC in editing the 911 transcript) are outrageous and disgusting. Back off and let the people in charge do their jobs.
It’s misleading to call him the “aggressor,” because it wasn’t unlawful for Zimmerman to follow a person he deemed suspicious, and his contention that Trayvon attacked first hasn't been discredited.
Some people who start fights soon find themselves in so much peril, they're apt to scream.
If Martin had been a woman, lethal self-defence, calling 911 (though the cops can't get anywhere in time if you're being attacked right now, would have been the first thing on his mind. Stalking and preying on young men is rarer than stalking and preying on women, but not unheard of. I would have been far more terrified of Zimmerman myself, but I'm seeing this in the perspective of me being followed at night. Try following a dog you don't know and who doesn't know you.
Following Martin might not have been unlawful, but it was profoundly aggressive, matching the profile of Zimmerman's prior brushes with the law.
The fatal shot is heard during this call.
Merely listen to it.
Then draw your own conclusions.
No need for experts. No need for pundits. No need even for an open mind.
Just listen to the haunting call.
A transcript won’t do. It must be heard.
Here it is: http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11548279
Everyone feels for the Martin family. It is tragic to lose a son in such a matter. But we should also feel for the Zimmerman family.
The media has been entirely biased against Zimmerman. ABC, NBC and CNN have all doctored tapes and video. They are, along with the usual race-baiters, fanning the flames of hatred in the black community. Instead of dispassionately reporting the facts the media are cheerleading an outcome. Just like in the Duke Lacrosse Team fiasco. Just like in the Giffords shooting.
They have become so desperate to make this into a white-on-black crime they have labeled a man who considers himself a Hispanic a white Hispanic, using a term most people have never heard before. There is no evidence that the Hispanic in the case, Zimmerman, was a racist. That doesn't matter.
suibne
After that, we might as well make a clean sweep and put down those that tried to inflame this situation for crass financial gain.
I got news for you. If Zimmerman was a racist and following Trayvon for being black, he wouldn't have said unsuredly, "he looks black." He would've said, "He's black," or "He's definitely black," or "He's black of course." He would've been definitive. And if you listen to the audio, Zimmerman says "he looks black" with an inflection of not being sure. He can't be unsure and a racist bent on shooting a black man like a dog at the same time.
Secondly, the police report details grass on the subject's back, blood from Zimmermans nose and the back of his head, both backing up Zimmermans story.
While I still want Zimmerman to have to scream in a similar manner to be compared to the 911 tape, have it analyzed by someone other that a hack trying to get on MSNBC, and I want Trayvon's ME Report to get actual facks of injuries, if any, and lastly Zimmerman's medical records, as the case developed, Zimmerman in no way appears to be a racist.
The big questions is who through the first punch, and who was screaming on the ground. Barring answers to those, the rest is meaningless.
It is even harder for me to believe that Zimmerman a man who clearly stated on the 911 call they always get away would give up so easily on his hunt.
There are lots of holes in the story, which ever one you want to believe, that I do not understand.
Did Martin and Zimmerman fight? If they did, one of them had to approach the other. Who did? What started the fight if there was one? What were Zimmerman's motivations for starting a fight with Martin? What were Martin's motivations?
Both are pretty good sized people (It has been said that Martin was 6'3") while Zimmerman looked like he was stocky but in shape so if they did fight both of them could have been hurt. Were there any marks on Martin? Were there marks on Zimmerman? Where?
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How close was Martin to him when he shot him? Was Martin running or walking away from Zimmerman at the time he was shot? If he was then ZImmerman wouldn't have any justification for shooting Martin in my view. If Martin was in the process of hitting Zimmerman then Zimmerman could probably claim self defense. One of the police officer wanted to charge ZImmerman with manslaughter which points to Zimmerman shooting Martin while being attacked in some way. If the other officers thought that the attack was severe then they might see the shooting as self defense. Why was Martin hitting Zimmerman?
I would like to know where Zimmerman first saw Martin, where each went, where Martin was shot, where was Zimmerman when he shot Martin, where each of the witnesses were, where did Martin's father's girl friend live, which way was Martin and Zimmerman moving when they first saw one another, where did Martin get his candy, and where was Zimmerman's car parked.
If that is Martin screaming for help for most of the call, then Zimmerman had him in his gunsights for 30 seconds before pulling the trigger. 30 seconds is a long time to fear for your life and instinctively pull the trigger in self defense. It took me less than 30 seconds to type this reply.
But it is illegal to assault someone for following you. You cannot beat someone just because they follow you.
Zimmerman did not do anything wrong.
Martin, on the other hand, illegally assaulted Zimmerman and tried to beat his head into the concrete.
Zimmerman had a right to defend himself.
By the way it is legal for Trayvon to stand his ground in the state of Florida if he fear his life is being threaten by some strange man following him. in fact the law also said Trayvon did have to retreat.