Zimmerman Claims Martin attacked him. But there's there's no evidence of that either. There is only evidence of a Struggle, not of an actual fight and no evidence that Martin attacked Zimmerman.
Of course, There may be Evidence that has not been leaked to the Media, Like the fact that the angle of the bullet shows that Martin was on the ground and Zimmerman was actually standing over him when he shot him.
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Perspective/perception make a huge difference. Let’s say you walk up to somebody and slap him in the face and he turns around and decides to try to use deadly force against you. Because you provoked that situation, under the law you don’t have a right to stand your ground, but under preexisting law, if you get backed into a corner, where you cannot retreat anymore, you still have a right to defend yourself, and use deadly force doing it. That issue – whether Zimmerman acted in self-defense – will be heard at a “stand your ground” mini-trial. If Nelson rules for Zimmerman at that hearing, charges would be dropped, and Zimmerman would be immune from a civil lawsuit. As with the previous judge, Nelson will be under pressure to rule against “stand your ground” immunity and instead send the case to a jury. Some community leaders have raised concerns about social unrest should Zimmerman be deemed not guilty.
But even with that in mind, some realities seem unavoidable if people are really honest on the issue.
Seriously, so much of the outrage surrounding Martin’s shooting has to do with his age. He was 17, shot on the way home from buying a bag of Skittles and an iced tea from a corner store. The imagery is striking — this young, skinny kid, far away from home, shot dead by a vigilante while returning from buying candy for his little brother. It tugs the heart strings, and it gets attention from even those “tired of talking about race.” A boy died, and there appears to be ample reason to believe that he got shot for, literally, trying to mind his own business.
It’s the rare case where race is an unavoidable variable, probably the catalyst for everything bad that happened, and there is no polarizing effect. That’s what happens when kids get shot..and no one wants to be the one to condone a child being stalked like prey. It’s an easy case to get behind. But if our victim wasn’t so pristine, are we having this discussion? George Zimmerman tracked Trayvon down because he was unfamiliar...and it seemed to him that he needed to know who this odd black person was. In fact, based on the 911 calls, he needed to know who
every unfamiliar black man was.
Others have often noted that when you’re black and male, you’ve always got a purpose. No one wants you just hanging around. It’s called “loitering,” in their view...and no matter what, it would behoove a black man to have a good explanation for why he is doing whatever he’s doing. Because, if you wait long enough, someone is going to ask. If you don’t answer quickly enough, the cops will probably be called. And, if you don’t answer quickly enough, you might wish someone had called the cops, cuz they may have been your only hope for walking away unscathed.
For further example, let’s say that Trayvon’s body was found with a gun nearby. This happened in a town another went to school in many years ago, where Irvin Landrum, Jr.,
the victim of a police shooting, was found with a gun nearby. Cops claimed the young man drew down on them. The gun was once registered to a deceased former cop. The district attorney found no evidence the gun was planted, though. For a moment, forget whether or not the gun was planted. The real question is whether simply having the gun made it OK for cops to shoot this man. By that token, any cop riding in Sanford would have open season on George Zimmerman. He had a gun, after all. But we all know simply having a gun doesn’t mean you deserve to get shot. They wouldn’t license them if that were the case, correcy?
Had Trayvon Martin had a gun on him, would it have been OK to shoot him? Not had he pulled it. Just if he had it. Would that have been enough? Those are the trickier questions when things like this come up. The biggest reason people feel so comfortable fighting on behalf of Martin and his family is there are no issues like those. He is a perfectly clean victim, the opposite of Rodney King. Thing is, it’s not cool to shoot dirty victims for no reason, either. Had Martin been packing with a quarter-ounce of weed in his pocket, George Zimmerman
still shouldn’t have followed and shot him. If Martin had a rap sheet long as my arm, there
still would have been no reason to end his life. Ultimately, “looking suspicious,” is not probable cause, especially not for some dude who just lives in the neighborhood.
And yet sadly, so many black men "look suspicious." The elephant in the room in this case is how mainstream the belief is that black men look “suspicious
In example
, as another wisely noted:
Supposing a black man named Harold Smith, who was previously charged with assaulting a police officer, stalks a white teenager who is carrying a Snicker's bar in one hand and a can of Pepsi in the other. Supposing Smith calls 911 and is told not to follow the white teenager and Smith says, "These [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]s always get away." Supposing Smith hunts down the white teenager who is ambling over to his girlfriend's house and the next thing you know the white teenager is dead: a black man with a gun shoots an unarmed white teenager eating a candy bar.
Is there anyone that is going to argue that Smith would not be in jail under indictment? Is there anyone who is going to argue that the police officer at the scene would not have immediately arrested Smith and taken drug and alcohol tests? Is there anyone who is going to argue that FOX News and Limbaugh wouldn't be all over the airwaves denouncing black men with guns who kill innocent white teens? Newt Gingrich might even try to revive his moribund presidential bid by calling the murder a "symbol of the nation's declining moral standards and coddling of minorities."
BuzzFlash at Truthout can argue about allegations that the Sanford, Florida -- where Trayvon Martin was killed -- police department has shown evidence of being a discriminatory law enforcement agency. We can point out that the Sanford area is so gun crazy that a truck dealer offered an AK-47 assault weapon for every vehicle purchased a couple of years back.
But the simple reality is this: if Zimmerman were black and named Harold Smith and had shot and killed a white teenager athlete from the local high school named Joey Brewster - given the Martin homicide circumstances - Smith's ass wouldn't be going anywhere.
It would be parked in jail, which is where Zimmerman belongs.