When George Zimmerman arranged a pre-trial interview on Fox News in which he claimed that shooting Trayvon Martin was "God's plan," he pretty much damaged my ability to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The previous George Zimmerman thread was closed to commenting, so I am continuing here with a link to the "God's plan" story.

"George Zimmerman has no regrets about the night he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. "I feel it was all God's plan," he told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity in an interview..."

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2012/07/19/george-zimmerman-and-gods-plan-to-kill-trayvon-martin

I'm a court watcher. I am one of the observers that has listened to and read dozens of comments, testimony, etc. and is not convinced the prosecution proved their case. I kept waiting for evidence to sway the case, and didn't hear enough to counter the self-defense claim.
That's strictly from an observational standpoint, based on what was presented in an objective manner.

I am waiting for the defense to see what they present. I don't know if they have enough evidence to meet it's claim of self-defense.

But besides that....there is a war brewing!

The problems:
This trial has become so extremely polarizing. It's my fear that there will be some "bad behavior" from a lot of people if the trial doesn't go as they want.

In addition: very single word is scrutinized under a microscope until it's all out of proportion. The real intent is lost and the media, in my observation, is turning this trial into a fiasco. Too many commentators with personal opinions that are not evidence.

I'm concerned there is a lynch-mob mentality going on which is very scary and can lead to innocent people losing their lives in the aftermath. It reminds me of the mentality of gangs in prisons. The pressure cooker is cooking!

I have watched this trial and listened to hundreds of comments, testimony, and the consistent microscopic nit picking that is stirring up people into a frenzy that could explode into some huge disaster.

I leave it to the jury to figure this out, of course. I don't know how they will vote.

My concern is the consequences.

Your concerns are dead on. It's a reprise of the Rodney King fiasco. The racist whites and racist blacks are hunkering down. And it has very little to do with what happened, and everything to do with race. Can we honestly say there would be this much churn if he'd shot a white kid? Not only no, but hell no. I don't even think it would have made the national news.

Fact is, racism is alive and well in our country only this time, the pendulum has swung radically the other way. So much so that people are scared to death with what may happen in the aftermath of this trial. I really can't think of a more polarizing and incendiary thing. Even as I type this, Im extremely careful about my word selection knowing there are many who see racism in everything they read.

The morg's overt racism is one of my main grudges I still hold. That they tried to pound into my head that blacks are less somehow than whites.....and they had slavery coming (read BY's comments) is abhorrent to me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2013 02:59PM by GetTheLedZepOut.

And you best believe that *Southern Black Folks* don't accept that THEIR God would ever approve a "plan" to randomly kill their babies (who are doing nothing more sinister than walking around their own neighborhood eating skittles).

That was an incredibly inflammatory statement coming from George Zimmerman . . . and we will all see the sad results of his comment if the b@stard gets off.

@snb: I'm glad another thread opened. I wanted to reply to your queries about possible rioting. My local newspaper has comments on today's Trayvon Martin trial story that directly predict rioting if Zimmerman gets off. (You were looking for news references to my comments - Google Florida Times-Union). That's the buzz in this area of the nation. And, as I stated earlier, I have very close family ties to the local African-American community. I hear things that "outsiders" don't.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2013 10:55PM by shannon.

shannon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> @snb: I'm glad another thread opened. I wanted to
> reply to your queries about possible rioting. My
> local newspaper has comments on today's Travon
> Martin trial story that directly predict rioting
> if Zimmerman gets off. (You were looking to news
> references to my comments - Google Florida
> Times-Union). That's the buzz in this area of the
> nation. And, as I stated earlier, I have very
> close family ties to the local African-American
> community. I hear things that "outsiders" don't.

And that goes to my concern about how this has polarized a whole group of people, and there is a fiasco brewing - a war!

And, I'm of the opinion that the jury is aware of this kind of thinking even though they are sequestered, they live there and know how things work!

So, I predict that they will find GZ guilty. I'll be surprised if he is found innocent of the charges. I won't be surprised by the devastation that will likely follow.

Agree. I don't think it has anything to do with defense/prosecution case at all. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if some highly placed individuals in the court system have cautioned the jury with what the consequences will be either way.

And I honestly say that I really don't know very much about the real facts. Some present a case that Trayvon was a thug and seem to have proof of it. Zimm, they say, may have reacted overly violent but he was getting his head beat in, or afraid he would. Others pitch it as a black-hating Zimm who came up with an excuse to blow away a pesky neighborhood black.

Where is the truth? Doesn't matter because it has become a race issue of massive proportions. And that will drive the verdict more than anything else.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2013 03:10PM by GetTheLedZepOut.

Trayvon Martin wasn't a "thug." Jeezus. He was a regular teenager who got into minor school trouble and his mom shipped him off to his dad to straighten him out.

I've been sitting here for a while pondering the marijuana pictures of Trayvon floating around the trial news coverage.
Marijuana? Really?? That makes the kid a "thug?" Hell, weed is legalized in two states and decriminalized in more than a dozen others. Pot just doesn't happen to be legal in Florida yet.

So. What.

I've been sitting here wracking my brain . . . and I honestly cannot think of a single Florida teen that I know (myself included when I was young) who hasn't smoked pot. It is *THAT* pervasive in this beach culture.

So Trayvon deserved to DIE because he smoked a blunt?! wtf.

Seems that plenty of old crackers will never understand what racism is, and certainly will not see it in themselves. Although they make it perfectly clear in their posts.

right on Shannon. I totally agree with you. Why do all these fucking nutjobs keep getting set free or half ass sentences? I just have a feeling this is another guy who is going to walk away like OJ

these assholes, they always get away?

:)

If George Zimmerman does, it'll be because the white folks dowanna believe this shit still happens.

shannon, thanks for following up. That is frightening.

I'm going to start following Florida papers on this instead of national ones. Thanks for the heads up :)

Your welcome snb. I'm up on my soapbox today.

I have two little 9-year-old black kids watching cartoons in my living room right now. One is my adopted son and the other is his best friend from down the street. We live in a nice middle-class neighborhood. It makes me want to cry to think that those beautiful, smart, funny, talented little kids could be "profiled" by some asshole in the not-so-distant future and MURDERED while simply walking to the corner convenience store for skittles.

I have a dog in this fight.

I think we all have a dog in this fight too. Zimmerman's freedoms, as despicable as he might seem, are your freedoms and my freedoms. Maybe that means that we won't have the freedom to profile young black kids, which is an outcome I am in favor of. Or maybe it means that perceived racism is what puts people behind bars, which I am not fine with.

Maybe they'll find that this was a racially motivated killing and justice will be served.

I'm following this closely because of how important trials like this are for everybody involved.

Zimmerman had the freedom to murder an unarmed black boy ?
Would a black man have the same freedom to murder an unarmed white boy ?

Seems the medical witness thinks Zimmerman's head injuries were self inflicted.

"Seems the medical witness thinks Zimmerman's head injuries were self inflicted."

Why do you say this? Is there a quote you read or heard that gave you this impression? Any on-line link to it? I'd be interested to know.

Thanks.

"Zimmerman had the freedom to murder an unarmed black boy ?"

Huh? Not even close.

Where did you get that idea?

It wasn't my argument. It isn't on the same planet as my argument. My argument exists in a completely separate dimension.

It didn't come from me so it had to have come from you. Where else could it have come from?

It is also completely untrue. Zimmerman does not have the freedom to kill a boy.

That is why I wrote "Not even close."

Hope that clears things up.

He definitely killed someone, and he may soon be getting his freedom

It's a sad state of affairs all the way around.

The court case is difficult enough without adding god into the mix.

I love trials and I do think his "God's plan" statement was not necessary or helpful. But the state in my opinion has NOT proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted in Second Degree murder. It was overcharged for sure. The defense mentioned cases where which had the same result and there was no malice or spite. And the person who had the gun also did not know or have any dealings with the individual before.

I will listen to the entire defense because I enjoy courtrooms but at this point there is just too much against the prosecution to give them the result they wish.I so wish this was not a case about race....to me it isn't at all. It made no difference WHO was walking thru his neighborhood....he was interested in protecting his community. And if anyone can say he is racist, prove it. FLA law will stand and if they do not like the law then the people must change it.

Wow, the level of racism here is shocking...

What's interesting is that the posters that are the most egregious have no idea how racist their posts are.

For many people here, Zimmerman couldn't be guilty because the boy he stalked and murdered in cold blood was black.

Disgusting.

If it were a hispanic guy that killed a white boy, there would be shock and outrage and talk about "illegals" and deportation and how "Mexicans" hate white people and BLAH BLAH BLAH.

If George Zimmerman was just protecting his community, let's ask some reasonable questions.

Why didn't he stop following Trayvon when he was told to stop?

(Because he was angry over seven breakins and wanted "them" not to get away "like they always do.")

So the perps of the previous breakins got away; therefore; we don't know their race, do we?

No

But Zimmerman said "they" always get away. Who are "they"?

Zimmerman said he "looked" like he was up to no good. Why?

He was doing nothing but walking in the rain.

But he was walking in the rain while black and wearing a hoodie.

This is why I think Zimmerman was profiling him.

If he were white and walking wearing a hoodie, would this incident have happened?

I doubt it--he would not be considered part of "them" meaning burglars.

There was no aspect of Trayvon Martin's behavior which made him look like a criminal other than the color of his skin.

All the extraneous material, statements, evidence, speculation aside, George Zimmerman had no reasonable cause to suspect Trayvon Martin other than his own prejudice.

I believe it is reasonable to conclude he acted upon that prejudice, against the suggestion of the police, and at that moment took unauthorized vigilante action upon an innocent person.

And anyone raising black kids has a legitimate reason to be concerned. If they are in the wrong place at the wrong time, they can be a victim of profiling by a self-important frustrated citizen who OBVIOUSLY is a wannabe police officer using police jargon exercising unrighteous dominion (lol we all know what that means!)


Anagrammy

Bingo! Luv u Ana.

;o)

excellent summation, Anagrammy

However, I shudder to think of the message sent when you say a man can follow and frighten a young man and then shoot him and claim self defense. Zimmerman instigated the entire event -- which leads me to believe that self defense does not and should not apply. He had no business stalking after Trayvon.

You are absolutely right, Rebeckah.

;o)

For someone who claims he was the one screaming bloody murder on the 911 tape, he's never seemed upset or even bothered about having killed someone. I don't believe him, and I don't think the investigator Serino does, either. Unfortunately, the audio experts who say it was Trayvon Martin or not George Zimmerman screaming on the tape aren't allowed to testify. The trial so far has been a joke, and I'm afraid he'll be acquitted unless the defense totally screws up.

I think a lot of people here are missing the point. LegallyI think Zimmerman probably is innocent. Even racists have a right to protect their own lives. Once Martin knocked him down and began slamming his head against concrete, Zimmerman was fully justified in using deadly force to defend himself.

You mean if Martin did that right? Big if..