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RacerJim -> RE: Zimmerman III - Should the jury have a manslaughter option (7/10/2013 9:32:25 AM)
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ORIGINAL: Marc2b
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You're just making shit up. Zimmerman has black family members and good relationships with his black neighbors. In one case in particular, he went out of his way to help get justice for a black guy who was assaulted by a white cop.
My family is also multiracial. I have black relatives, not just by marriage but by blood. I love them dearly. Yet I confess that if I were walking down a street alone at night and I saw an unknown man coming toward me, I would be more nervous if he were black than if he were white. There is no real justification for this feeling... it is simply the result of having been raised in a racist society in which black people are often portrayed as naturally violent and criminal. It is a matter of intellectual will to overcome my inner racist and to keep walking and to nod and say hello as we pass by instead of crossing to the other side of the street... or calling the police and reporting a suspicious individual in the neighborhood.
If I were walking down a street alone at night and saw an unknown teenager/adult male coming towards me, the only reason I would be more nervous if he were black than if he were white is because violent crime statistics prove that blacks are many times over more prone to commit violent crimes than whites. Facts are facts.
While official racism has been banned in America, one needs only peruse the media and the internet to see that the inner racism I am talking a bout is still rampant and still affects the lives of minorities daily. I don't know George Zimmerman, I've never met him and can't read his mind... but based upon what I know about people, I suspect that if Trayvon was white, he would still be alive today.
While official racism has indeed been banned in America, one need only recall the words ("like a typical white person", "Crazy [racist] police") and actions (not prosecuting Black Panthers for voter intimidation) of the first black pResident of the United States of America to see that the inner reverse racism is still rampant and still affects the lives of all Americans, not just white Americans.
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As for setting "events in motion," when Zimmerman made clear his intent by asking Martin what he was doing there, Martin could have replied along the lines of, "I live here. What's your excuse?" instead of going gangsta on him.
Trayvon didn't owe him an explanation for anything. As a young black man he had probably been subject to such bullshit, insulting, inquiries for much of his life. So it wouldn't be surprising that he wouldn't be feeling polite toward some asshole who thinks he has a right to interrogate him. Google "Microaggressions."
Given the recent history of black teenagers having been arrested for numerous home invasions in the complex, even while the residents were home (talk about brazen gangstas), and the fact that Zimmerman didn't know who Martin was, Trayvon did indeed owe George a polite explanation.
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That was what set the "events in motion" that lead to Martin's death. Otherwise, you might as well blame Zimmerman's mother for ever getting pregnant with George in the first place, and nail the source of the problem on Adam and Eve.
Why stop at Adam and Eve? Why not go all the way back and blame the Big Bang? It is because wild extrapolation is not an argument. On the night in question Zimmerman saw a young black man and he had a choice. He could have ignored his inner racist and given Trayvon the benefit of the doubt (because a man walking down the street should not be considered suspicious, whatever his skin color) but Zimmerman chose otherwise, and thereby set into motion the events that ended a young man's life.
Why not go all the way back indeed. On the night in question, Zimmerman was sitting inside his parked truck when Martin walked past. Zimmerman chose to stay inside his truck and watch. Martin chose to turn around and stare at Zimmerman, walk back to Zimmerman's truck, walk all around Zimmerman's truck peering inside (at which point Zimmerman called 911), walk away then run away when he heard Zimmerman's truck door open (the door-chime?) -- that's a young black teenager acting suspiciously like the black teenagers recently arrested for home invasions. After turning South at the "T" and running out of Zimmerman's sight Martin could have run straight home, gone inside, locked the door, called 911 and stayed inside - obviously he chose not to. Zimmerman asking Martin "What are you doing here." was in fact giving Martin the benefit of the doubt, and Martin chose to go "gangsta" on Zimmerman.
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