One of the best posts ever.
Posted on 05/21/2012 9:47:52 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Three months ago, George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
Handcuffed, taken in and interrogated, Zimmerman told police Trayvon had been acting suspiciously that dark and rainy night, that he had followed Trayvon, been knocked down and battered on the ground, and, fearing for his life, pulled a concealed handgun and shot him.
Sanford police and prosecutors concluded that Zimmerman acted in self-defense and had not committed a provable felony. They let him go.
A racial firestorm followed. "Blacks are under attack," railed Jesse Jackson. "Killing us is big business." Arriving in Sanford, the reverend dialed it up. Trayvon was "shot down in cold blood by a vigilante ... murdered and martyred."
Rep. Maxine Waters' charge of "hate crime" was echoed by radio talker Joe Madison. Rep. Hank Johnson said Trayvon had been "executed." The Grio compared his killing to the lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955.
The New Black Panther Party put Zimmerman's face on a "Wanted Dead or Alive" poster, called for 5,000 black men to run him down and said Trayvon had been "murdered in cold blood."
Spike Lee twittered Zimmerman's home address.
Zimmerman and his family have been in hiding for months in fear for their lives after the death threats.
President Obama expressed his empathy with the parents.
"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And I think (the parents) are right to expect that all of us as Americans are gonna take this with the seriousness it deserves and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."
Obama said not a word to cool the lynch-mob atmosphere created by some of his major allies in a nation where he is the chief law enforcement officer. And so the campaign to convict Zimmerman of racist murder in the public mind, before he ever got to trial, proceeded on.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky called Trayvon's killing a "modern-day lynching." CNN claimed to have picked up the phrase "(bleeping) coons" on the tape of Zimmerman's call to police, but had to retract when an enhanced version of the tape revealed no such slur.
Three times NBC used a version of Zimmerman's call to the police edited to make it appear he racially profiled Trayvon.
The actual version:
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."
The transcript was spliced to have Zimmerman say: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."
CNN media critic Howard Kurtz called it "blatant distortion."
Caught and called out, three NBC employees were cashiered.
With this wind at her back, Florida State Attorney Angela Corey charged Zimmerman with second-degree murder. Translation: Zimmerman murdered Trayvon in a "depraved" state of mind.
If convicted, he could get life.
Last week came a more ominous report. Federal investigators are looking into hate crime charges that could bring the death penalty. The feds would have to prove Zimmerman stalked and murdered Trayvon because he was black.
Yet, last week also, evidence from the investigation spilled out into the national media and seemed to contradict and swamp the prosecution's case.
A medical report the day after the shooting revealed that Zimmerman had suffered a broken nose, two black eyes and lacerations on the back of his head. Photographs from the night of the shooting confirmed it.
A police report that same night said Zimmerman's sweatshirt had "grass stains and was wet on the back," consistent with his being flat on his back.
The lead investigator on the scene, Officer Christopher Serino, wrote that Zimmerman could be heard "yelling for help as he was being battered by Trayvon Martin." One witness said he heard 14 separate cries for help. Trayvon's father initially told police the cries were not those of his son, then recanted.
One responder at the scene said he saw wounds on the knuckles of one of Trayvon's hands, suggesting he had connected with a punch. The coroner found both the knuckle wounds and traces of the drug found in marijuana in Trayvon's blood and urine.
Trayvon's hoodie had powder stains indicating he was shot in the chest from 1 to 18 inches away, consistent again with what Zimmerman said.
Another eyewitness said the guy in the hoodie was on top beating the guy on the bottom "MMA style" -- mixed martial arts style.
With this evidence, how can a jury convict Zimmerman of murder?
Yet the public mind has been so poisoned that an acquittal of George Zimmerman could ignite a reaction similar to that, 20 years ago, when the Simi Valley jury acquitted the LAPD cops in the Rodney King beating case.
Should that happen, those who fanned the flames, and those who did nothing to douse them, should themselves go on trial in the public arena.
Have sentencing 2 days before welfare payday. Offices being closed on welfare payday stopped the la riots.
I’m in agreement with Pat Buchanan. These are strange days.
Should that happen, those who fanned the flames, and those who did nothing to douse them, should themselves go on trial in the public arena.
It looks more and more like he should go free. If the facts bear that out, then the law says he walks. If a bunch of thugs want to act differently, then perhaps it's time for local, perhaps even federal, police to arrest and prosecute to the fullest extent possible anyone who riots or otherwise breaks the law. Too many times I've seen situations like this degenerate into a crime spree that has nothing to do with the actual cause. From Rodney King to the aftermath of Katrina, it's an excuse to plunder. How 'bout authorities start planning right now for how they are going to do their jobs of protecting the owners and their property rights.
You did see the news back in 2008 about a radical Marxist Chicago racialist named Barack Hussein Obama being elected president, didn't you? It was in all the papers. He has since named another racialist as US Attorney General.
“The murder rate is so high in black neighborhoods, no skin head needs to lift a finger.”
All too true, but I was not thinking of skinheads. I was thinking of property owners, store owners, etc. All are arming up and I suspect they know which stores survived the LA riots.
And why.
BLOAT
I don’t think there will be riots at this juncture. Too much time has past and cooler heads are prevailing. There has also been too much evidence that has come forth showing Martin isn’t the sweet angel that he was presumed to be.
When George Zimmerman’s case is either dismissed or he is found not guilty, either situation being highly probable at this point, I think it will be pretty quiet all around.
yeah. Come here and retire with the us in the Philippines. Friendly folks, good climate, and lots of places that welcome American ex pats so you have company. (although most of us have family here, which makes it better).
Of course, you’d face earthquakes, typhoons, floods, landslides, car accidents, and Dengue fever, but heck, no place is perfect.
;-)
“He had been out of his truck for quite some time and headed back to it when advised by the 911 dispatcher “We don’t need you to do that.”
And what does “we don’t need you to do that” even mean? It’s very ambiguous language, with no clear meaning — at a time when clear, unambiguous language is necessary. Taken literally, the dispatcher just told Zimmerman what “we” (the police) don’t need. There was no command there (not that the dispatcher had the authority to issue a command), there wasn’t even an advisory.
If this is at all representative of the way police dispatchers communicate; then they need a course in communication skills.
This poor guy’s life is ruined. If he goes free, he’ll get lynched(for lack of a better word). If he goes to prison, he’ll be eaten alive. No matter what happens with his trial, I hope he sues whatever news organization that distorted his words on that recording into oblivion. That carefully edited tape greatly increased the level of danger he and his family are in.
And the term "hate crime " is just stupid. As opposed to what, a "love crime"? Why is white even brought up? (Yeah, I know, they needed a story with an evil white guy). Now it looks like black on Hispanic crime.
But, all rioting must be towards whites, dontcha know.
He wasn’t even talking to a police trained dispatcher. They’re 911 operators that can read cards on how to do CPR and some are pretty stupid. Not all. They sit around and answer emergency phone calls, no real world experience.
Plus, Mr. Zimmerman is either 1/8th or 1/4th black, muddying the waters even more. And his father is Protestant, not Jewish, as if that somehow matters.
It's like the Bull's championships back in the 90s. The running joke was to start taking orders for flat screen TVs early. Travon would be an outstanding excuse to riot and loot.
What are the laws there concerning firearms ownership for non-citizen residents?
Worst case is a hung jury with the vote divided on racial lines. The media and race batters will create a frenzy.. Holder and the DOJ will jump in with both feet. There won’t be a news report about the economy for months.
Why does Pat use Zimmerman’s last name and Martin’s first name?
This being liberal FL, didn’t Terri Schiavo pave the way for the ultimate execution of Zimmerman? Who could have much faith in the “justice” system of FL?
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