Ever since the Trayvon Martin murder made national news, I've made it a point to make sure I keep up with the case as much as possible. My most recent finding has been that the newly appointed judge to the case, Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson, has allowed George Zimmerman's defense team to analyze Trayvon's social media posts and school records to determine if there was a pattern of violence in his behavior. This is mainly due to an eyewitness's testimony that they saw Trayvon on top of Zimmerman, punching him "MMA style" right before he was shot. Also, Trayvon's 10-day suspension from school for having an empty marijuana baggie on him has been called up in an effort to determine the type of person Trayvon was. An interesting sentiment was expressed in the opening portion of the article I read by Patrick Jonnson for MinnPost. There he says:
"In sparking a nationwide call for justice, Trayvon Martin’s parents painted the slain teenager as sweet, aspiring, and well-meaning — notions backed up by a baby-faced photo that led President Obama to suggest, "If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.""
Now, I'll be the first to admit that the first pictures we saw of Trayvon were indeed the baby face type that Mr. Jonnson speaks of. But it is the insinuation that the parents strategically tried to "paint" their son "as sweet, aspiring and well meaning" that bothers me. Now, I don't know Mr. Jonnson's personal views on this case but I do know that it is this line of thinking that has led many observers to believe that Trayvon Martin was not completely innocent in this situation and that George Zimmerman truly acted in self defense. It seems some have gone to great lengths to portray Trayvon as a troubled teen who had issues with authority. This would make it seem totally feasible that George Zimmerman had approached this young man as a authority figure, the leader of the neighborhood watch, and that Trayvon acted as the aggressor, forcing George Zimmerman to use deadly force in self defense. But it is the obvious facts that seem to get lost amongst those who want to take race completely out of the equation. As hard as the defense is digging into Trayvon's history trying to find a pattern of violent behavior, you don't have to dig to hard to reveal a pattern in George Zimmerman's behavior. There are numerous calls recorded of Zimmerman contacting the Sanford police department with concerns of "suspicious looking" Black males in his community. On the night of the murder, George Zimmerman refused to comply with the 911 operator's request for him not to follow Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman was ordered to stay in his vehicle until the police arrived. Zimmerman did not. He follow Trayvon, acting as the aggressor in this situation and the result of that encounter is now tragic history.
Not only does George Zimmerman have a documented past of profiling young Black men, there have been noted accounts in which it has been said that Mr. Zimmerman exhibited, at the very least, insensitivity towards minorities. A witness testified, amongst other serious allegations, that Zimmerman and his family were admitted racists and that they didn't like Black people "if they don't act like white people". During a time in human history where everything a person says or does is immediately dissected, it baffles me how some people can look at the details of this case and try to paint George Zimmerman as a valiant neighborhood watch leader who fell upon an aggressive teenager and, in a self proclaimed fight for his life, "stood his ground" and murdered the unarmed child.
As the case has gone on, a lot of interesting twists and turns have occurred. It was first reported that George Zimmerman was not immediately taken into custody by the police after the shooting. Later on, as the self defense claim was made, Zimmerman was said to have sustained head injuries, supposedly by the hands of Trayvon Martin slamming his pursuers head repeatedly into the ground. Early surveillance footage seemed to show an uninjured Zimmerman being escorted into the police station shortly after the shooting. Later on, photos of Zimmerman bleeding from his head were released but those cuts and bruises, did not corroborate with his and at least one other eyewitness's account of Zimmerman's head being slammed into the ground. Another thing that seems to get lost is the action of the Sanford police department. It seemed that the cover up was initiated almost immediately once the officers arrived on the scene. There is just no justification as to why a man who was not a police officer, who had just shot and killed an unarmed teenager, and who clearly disobeyed the repeated urgings of the police dispatcher to not puruse Martin was not immediately taken into custody. Because of the "Stand Your Ground" law? I think not. It probably had more to do with who Zimmerman's father is, a retired judge.
Unfortunately, all we have is the testimony of the man who pulled the trigger and ended the life of a child.Trayvon Martin is not here to tell us what really happened. But let's say, for arguments sake, that somehow the 17 year old Martin did get the upper hand on the 29 year old Zimmerman. Let's say Zimmerman approached Martin in an effort to find out if this Black kid belonged in the neighborhood. Let's say once Martin saw that Zimmerman, who did not identify himself as a neighborhood watchman, had a gun, he became fearful of his life and decided to defend himself, to "stand his ground". Let's say Martin did pummel Zimmerman "MMA style", in an attempt to prevent this unidentified man from using his gun on him. Was Trayvon Martin wrong? Was George Zimmerman a victim of his own stubbornness and stupidity, since he did not listen to the police and not pursue Martin? Didn't Zimmerman get what he deserved?
Let's also ask this question, which everyone knows the answer to. Are we even having this conversation if Trayvon Martin was a white teenager? Think about it. A lot has been made of George Zimmerman not being white, but being part Hispanic. If George Zimmerman acts in the exact same way, but ends up killing a white kid, then the tables are completely turned and the fallout totally different. But also ask yourself this. Take the same circumstances, the same actions, but change the result. Say Martin and Zimmerman ended up struggling and the gun goes off, killing Zimmerman. I seriously doubt that Trayvon Martin would have received as much benefit of the doubt that George Zimmerman has received up to this point. Zimmerman has showed he is not trustworthy in trying to hide his finances in an attempt to secure a more manageable bail amount, has shown he has no regard for the law in that regard and in not listening to the dispatch officer telling him not to pursue Martin. All of this to go with the fact that Trayvon Martin was killed on February 26, 1012 and this case, if it even goes to trail, is not set to do so until June 10, 2013. And remember, that is even if it goes to trial.
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