Musings On Trayvon Martin

I haven’t posted on the spectacle that is the Trayvon Martin case to this point.  Partly because I’m conflicted and partly – mostly – because I think that most of the commentators that I’ve seen to date are dealing in things emotional and not in things rationally.

  1. The violent death of anyone is a time of sadness and loss.  The younger, all the more tragic.  Trayvon was a young man with a full life in front of him.  Having that life cut short is devastating.
  2. I have an imbedded distrust of “cop wanna be’s”.  These are the guys that get a hard on for carryin’ a gun and wearin’ a badge that let’s ’em use it. I love cops who’re cops because they’re afraid of what the world would be like if they weren’t there.  I have a deep seated fear of cops who wanna be cops for any other reason than that.
  3. Sanford, FL is a dangerous place.  It’s safer than 3% of the rest of America.
  4. I agree that we are given the right to carry guns.  I don’t.  Perhaps out of naivete, I stay away from situations that might require me to have a gun.
  5. Hoodies, anywhere but in a boxing gym, make a person look like a thug and a hoodlum.  There is no valid argument to this truth.  You could put a hoodie on Mother Theresa and she would look suspicious.
  6. I think that Zimmerman profiled Trayvon.  I think Zimmerman saw a young man wearing a hoodie at night in a gated community walking where people don’t normally walk.
  7. Zimmerman called 9-1-1.  He reported the situation.  When told he didn’t need to follow the individual, he said, “okay.”  It sounds like he quit following Trayvon.
  8. I think that a young black man in Sanford, FL would be reasonably alarmed to see a man following him.  If I were him, I would think that the man, Zimmerman, did not have my best interests at heart.
  9. Zimmerman is as white as President Obama.  Neither claims to be white.  Both self identify as a minority; Obama as black and Zimmerman as Hispanic.
  10. It’s reasonable that an arrest is made.  A boy is dead and the circumstances surrounding the shooting aren’t clear.
  11. Jackson and Sharpton are douchebags.  The race baiters present in this case are as viscious and immoral as the one in the Duke Lacrosse case.  I have not heard one single apology from any of the “outraged minority” for the damage they inflicted on those buys.
  12. Hiring strippers is a bad idea.
  13. The evidence seems to be pointing to the fact that Zimmerman “broke contact” with Trayvon and then was later assaulted by Trayvon.  At the heart of this will be Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.

In the end, there’s death and murder all over these great United States.  All of it tragic.  Zimmerman is either guilty or he’s not.  What really matters to me, however, is the absolute RAGE that people have in this case.  I mean nationally.  I get the family and friends.  The neighbors and associates.  But the nation?  The racism?

I don’t see it.

4 responses to “Musings On Trayvon Martin

  1. You omitted the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
    The Media.
    The wonder of our modern, technologically current media, that singlehandedly doctored the audio and video of Zimmerman for what end? Stir the pot? Incite the NAACP?
    “He looks black”……. well done.
    More than one crime was committed here.

    • You omitted the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
      The Media.

      More than one crime was committed here.

      I think I agree with ya. On the other hand, I keep trying to remember what I would want the media to do if there really WERE racial issues at play.

      I would like to think that we’re free of prejudice, but I know the reality.

  2. This is one case I have absolutely no interest in, therefore I have not informed myself about it and will not give an opinion. There’s a lot of important stuff going on in the world. However I will take issue with number 5. I would not see a hoodie as inherently suspicious to me it would just be urban chic.

    • This is one case I have absolutely no interest in, therefore I have not informed myself about it and will not give an opinion.

      Right.

      I can’t let myself get worked up for every tragic death/murder in America.

      I’m more interested in the reaction than the specific. And the reaction is horrible.

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