I'm usually one to defend the race card, but I just don't get it with this event. And I can't believe how much I'm on the same page as the ol' CD right wingers on this one...lol
I often ignore the media for months at a time, so I didn't hear about this case until a few months ago. Thus, I didn't get any biased media on it. I just read the comprehensive wikipedia article.
From that, it sounds completely like self defense, not racially motivated at all.
And Zimmerman was not being paranoid. It was a bad neighborhood:
"From January 1, 2011 through February 26, 2012, police were called to The Retreat at Twin Lakes 402 times.
[67] During the 18 months preceding the February 26 shooting, Zimmerman called the non-emergency police line seven times. On five of those calls, Zimmerman reported suspicious looking men in the area, but never offered the men's race without first being asked by the dispatcher.
[81][82][83] Crimes committed at The Retreat in the year prior to Martin's death included eight burglaries, nine thefts, and one shooting.
[84] Twin Lakes residents said there were dozens of reports of attempted break-ins, which had created an atmosphere of fear in their neighborhood.
[2]"
"On February 6, workers witnessed two young black men lingering in the yard of a Twin Lakes resident around the same time her home was burglarized. A new laptop and some gold jewelry were stolen. The next day police discovered the stolen laptop in the backpack of a young black man, which led to his arrest. "
Most of the witnesses said that there was a black man beating a white or Hispanic man, and the white man was in the red shirt on the ground screaming for help (Zimmerman). How it got to that point is not certain, but Martin had no wounds other than the bullet wound, so it doesn't appear like Zimmerman threw the first punch.
Martin called Zimmerman a "creepy ass cracker" on a phone conversation just before the shooting.
And Zimmerman has black and Hispanic ancestry.
Just sayin.
It's tragic that Martin died. He may have just thought some dude was about to jump him and did it first. But I don't see malicious or racist intent on Zimmerman's part at all.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
