Martin-Zimmerman: A meeting made in Hell
Read Time:3 Minute, 58 Second
On February 26th, 2012, two people met. One was a 17-year old teenager, walking in the rain, on his way back to his father’s house from a convenience store. The other was a 28-year old man, armed with a handgun, on his way back from an errand. The teenager was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea.
Trayvon Martin was not a perfect teenager. There is no such thing as a perfect teenager. If he was anything like most 17-year old boys, he was unaware of his own mortality, a little cocky, with a devil may care attitude. According to his family, Trayvon was a good kid, a nice person with friends and a healthy relationship with his family.
George Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch captain for a gated community in Sanford, Florida. George was born in 1983, in Manassas, Virginia. His father, Robert Zimmerman, Sr., was a judge. George Zimmerman’s mother was of Peruvian descent, and George Zimmerman considered himself Hispanic.
What happened the evening of February 26th, 2012 is somewhat of a mystery. There are conflicting witness statements, questionable police work and one dead 17-year old African American teenager. Medical reports state that George Zimmerman had a broken nose the night he was taken to the Sanford, Florida police station and released. From the booking photo and video of Zimmerman walking into the station, it does not look, at least to this writer who broke her nose at the age of 14, that George Zimmerman had a broken nose. His face is not swollen, his nose is not red or puffy and he has no facial abrasions at all. As I said, it didn’t look it to me.
What if Trayvon, a brash, 17-year old teenager, did in fact confront George Zimmerman? At 6’3”, weighing between 150-160 lbs, Martin was tall and skinny. My husband is 6’1” and weighs 225 lbs. Trayvon was thin. George Zimmerman was shorter, at 5’8”, but outweighed Trayvon Martin by 25 pounds. Plus he had a gun. What were Zimmerman’s other options?
He could have followed the advice of the 9-1-1 operator who told him not to pursue Trayvon, and according to Zimmerman, he did in fact stop stalking Trayvon and began walking back to his own truck. No one knows if that’s true, but for argument’s sake, we will say that is what happened. We will support Zimmerman’s claim that Trayvon attacked him, broke his nose, slammed his head into the concrete and Zimmerman shot an unarmed teenager in self defense.
Why didn’t Zimmerman simply shove Trayvon Martin off him, and shout “Stop! I have a gun!,” or punch Trayvon, rendering him unconscious? Why did George Zimmerman, with options other than firing his weapon at a teenager, choose to take Trayvon Martin’s life?
Because he knew he could. Florida is one of less than 20 states with Stand Your Ground, a law that makes it much easier to kill someone and claim self defense. Stand Your Ground is typically used to defend one’s property, but the Florida version of the law extends to vehicles and public places. Stand Your Ground is seen by many, especially leaders of the African American community, as a racist law. Marissa Alexander, an African American woman, was just sentenced to 20 years in Florida state prison for firing into the ceiling of her house to frighten away her abusive husband. A Georgia man, John McNeil, also African American, shot and killed a white man on his own property after the man threatened McNeil’s son with a utility knife. Georgia has their own version of Stand Your Ground law, yet McNeil is serving a life sentence.
George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin never should have met. It was chaos at its most diabolical, and the result was a dead teenager and two families in ruins. Who knows what the end result of this will be, if George Zimmerman will be charged by the federal government or whether Florida’s peculiar justice system will fail everyone once again. Should George Zimmerman go to prison? Is he guilty of second degree murder, manslaughter or violation of federal hate crime laws? Did Zimmerman act in self defense? Did he profile Trayvon Martin? Very few people know the answers to these questions. George Zimmerman knows exactly what happened that evening, but one has to wonder if he will ever give the whole story.
Thanks to Wikipedia for details relating to the events of February 26th, 2012 and Huffington Post for information on Marissa Alexander.
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From the booking photo and video of Zimmerman walking into the station, it does not look, at least to this writer who broke her nose at the age of 14, that George Zimmerman had a broken nose. His face is not swollen, his nose is not red or puffy and he has no facial abrasions at all. As I said, it didn’t look it to me.
Did Zimmerman act in self defense? Did he profile Trayvon Martin? Very few people know the answers to these questions. George Zimmerman knows exactly what happened that evening, but one has to wonder if he will ever give the whole story.
Because he knew he could. Florida is one of less than 20 states with Stand Your Ground, a law that makes it much easier to kill someone and claim self defense. Stand Your Ground is typically used to defend one’s property, but the Florida version of the law extends to vehicles and public places. Stand Your Ground is seen by many, especially leaders of the African American community, as a racist law. Marissa Alexander, an African American woman, was just sentenced to 20 years in Florida state prison for firing into the ceiling of her house to frighten away her abusive husband. A Georgia man, John McNeil, also African American, shot and killed a white man on his own property after the man threatened McNeil’s son with a utility knife. Georgia has their own version of Stand Your Ground law, yet McNeil is serving a life sentence.
Please don’t call me “girl.” Along with my editor, the people who have read this article liked it, one person, also a writer, called it “excellent.”
Erin, while I also am vehemently opposed to the “stand your ground” law the issues in the Zimmerman – Martin case will be decided in the courts thanks to the efforts of the parents of Martin and the Black community. Based on reports yesterday there may have been more of a fight than we actually know about. I have not seen the medical reports, but it was being reported that Zimmerman did have a gash in the top of his head, a broken nose, and two black eyes. I am quite sure the prosecutor will verify the veracity of the report.
Regardless of that, however, the primary issue will still come down to the stupid issue of who was actually standing their ground. Zimmerman will have problems explaining why, after being told not to do so by police, he continued to follow Martin.
Why do I have to read this swill over here? Why can’t you write objectively instead of pretending to be doctors, lawyers and God knows what else? I’m a liberal, and I have a great deal of compassion for the family but you won’t see me ignoring evidence in favor of a mind picture I’ve created of a sad faced little boy taking a bullet while eating his Skittles.
Trayvon Martin was a grown man girl, and looks nothing like the media pictures of him taken 5 years ago. You say Zimmerman outweighed him by 25 pounds well I dare you to give me a reliable reference to that little tidbit. As to the bloody nose, are you some kind of doctor, or even a nurse? Are you making the claim that the medical examiner, their staff, the police, and everyone else is lying when they say Martin had a broken nose; falsifying reports just to get the black kid? C’mon girl. You judge based on your heart not your head where your brain is. Normally I love all your stuff but stuff like this diminishes you girl.
Again I hate reading this crap over here and I might just unlike this place. I come here for new and refreshing news and stories not retreading the same old one-sided crap. Let the court do its thing based on real evidence not speculation and innuendo.