Letter: Trayvon Martin had the right to self-defense against racist attack

The Corvallis Gazette-Times ^ | September 24, 2014 | Max Mania

[2ndDivisionVet]

I was stunned by the anger and sarcasm Harry J. Mallory directed toward a dead teenager, Trayvon Martin, in the Sept. 17 letters.

It was over the top and then some (“Cartoon comparing Putin to Zimmerman case went too far”).

His reasoning seems pretty easy to understand: Trayvon was black; blacks are thugs; so all George Zimmerman did was create a “dead thug.” Sadly, this sort of (racism) seems pretty common among the far right these days.

Here’s what I remember: Trayvon Martin was simply walking home. George Zimmerman targeted him because he was black. Zimmerman followed Trayvon, even after being told not to. Zimmerman engaged Trayvon, and escalated the situation.

Zimmerman was the adult. Zimmerman had a gun. He targeted Trayvon, not the other way around. So how is anything that happened Trayvon’s fault?

Once Zimmerman started a violent confrontation, wasn’t Trayvon allowed to defend himself? Or do right-wingers consider people of color defending themselves “uppity”?

Several domestic and road rage incidents involving George Zimmerman since he killed Trayvon support the notion that he has, to say the least, anger management problems.

This absolutely supports the view that Trayvon Martin was a victim of George Zimmerman.

So, yeah, I can see the dark humor in a Zimmerman-Putin comparison.

A bully overreacting to a false threat that they themselves created? Sounds like a match to me.

Finally, how bizarre is it that a right-winger would be so upset at mocking Vladimir Putin? That’s the bleakest, darkest joke of all. A joke, yes, but not at all funny.

Max Mania

Corvallis

[2ndDivisionVet]

Max, tell me about all of George Zimmerman's convictions.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Oh boy here we go again, another genius who has difficulty understanding the concept of ‘evidence’.

[Bullish]

I can clearly see now that we must fight ignorance with everything we have even if it kills them.

[Bronzy]

“Once Zimmerman started a violent confrontation”....Ah, I do not think Zimmerman started a violent confrontation. Duh, we had a trial with a judge and prosecutor foaming rabid to convict. It did not happen.

[Pox]

So many outright false statements, so little time to rebut.

I won’t bother.

Stupid people justify the stupid actions of other stupid people, and it seems to be a badge of honor for those who have decided to disregard reality in order to justify their own beliefs even if those beliefs are absurd.

[fireman15]

George Zimmerman yelled obscenities at himself, broke his own nose by hitting himself in the face. Then he collapsed on the sidewalk and was banging the back of his head over and over against the concrete. Good citizen Trayvon Martin came along and tried to keep Martin from hurting himself. Martin did this despite being impaired with a concoction known as “lean” that he was taking for a persistent cough.

[Bubba_Leroy]

He was not a thug because he was back. He was a thug because he was trying to beat Zimmerman to death for looking at him wrong.

[Celtic Conservative]

Dear max:

Dead thug, dead thug, dead thug. so there, nyaah!

I know that was childish, but some days I think half the country is living in some sort of alternative reality. Drives me nuts.

CC

[2ndDivisionVet]

Harumph, harumph...

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

“Zimmerman engaged Trayvon”

Quite true, Zimmermans face got in the way of Trayvons fist which tends to happen when one is ambushed/sucker-punched ala “The knockout game”. Funny how “Traydmark” had no marks on his face.

[jsanders2001]

No. Zimmerman knew there had been a rash of burglaries in the area and was on watch to prevent them and noticed a person matching the description of the type of thug that usually engages in that type of behavior and questioned Martin which made him angry enough to give the white looking man a beatdown. He just didn’t know he was armed. Guilty people sometimes get extremely angry when they are being suspected and about to get caught. Zimmerman should just have let Martin continue to burglarize the neighborhood to even the score with the white man.../s

[jsanders2001]

> George Zimmerman yelled obscenities at himself, broke his own nose by hitting himself in the face. Then he collapsed on the sidewalk and was banging the back of his head over and over against the concrete. Good citizen Trayvon Martin came along and tried to keep Martin from hurting himself. Martin did this despite being impaired with a concoction known as “lean” that he was taking for a persistent cough.

Why aren’t you the lead detective on the case? Makes perfect sense to me...lol

[Brother Cracker]

Max Mania – Writer Hopefully witty writer, amateur actor, and loathsome politician, Max Mania serves on the Board of the Port Angeles Arts Council, the Port Angeles Community Players, and is an elected member of the Port Angeles City Council. When not attending meetings, Max can be found reading, writing, cooking, or obsessively watching movies from the 1930s and 40s, often with his wife, Dr. Dale Holiday. Creative influences: The Ramones, Jack Benny, Robert Benchley, Damon Runyon, Godzilla and even more Ramones.

[House Atreides]

Why even respond to such ramblings. The writer is simply a “writer’s” equivalent to a troll.

[TigersEye]

Max is a trayvon. All of reality stands against him.

[Mark17]

I can clearly see now that we must fight ignorance with everything we have even if it kills them.

You are correct sir. It is going to happen, maybe sooner than a lot of people think. If it happens before the Obungler leaves office, he will order the Army to fire on Americans. If 80% refuse, the rest could cause some serious damage. Either way, it gets bloody.

[Robwin]

Please note the home of the writer: Corvallis, OR, home of OSU. Oregon is chock full of half-witted people like him and Corvallis is one of their favorite intellectual swamps.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Is it as bad as Coos Bay? We went up there around 1970 from Southern California to visit some former neighbors and I’ve never seen that many dirty, filthy hippies in my life and never hope to again.

[Mustangman]

Zimmerman created the situation. I agree with this.. However, when Martin double back to confront Zimmerman he then became the aggressor. Neither man is a hero in this situation, but from a legal standpoint, there was no reason to Zim in jail. He was defending himself....or so the evidence shows. Case closed.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Mr. Zimmerman, in his role as captain of the Neighborhood Watch and as a homeowner, resident, citizen and taxpayer, was well within his rights to observe and report on a suspicious person, especially with hundreds of break-ins, burglaries and other crimes committed within the past few years in his community.