A bloated George Zimmerman, on trial at last for the killing of Trayvon Martin, placidly observed opening proceedings this week, at one point even appearing to doze off in the middle of them.
His astonishing weight gain and copacetic composure aside, Zimmerman still looked as belligerent as ever. Not flinching in the slightest when his lawyer ludicrously argued that he'd shot the defenseless teenager because the boy had suddenly armed himself with a deadly weapon: the sidewalk.
That pathetic premise, coupled with lame knock-knock jokes and a startling string of obscenities presented in both the defense and prosecution's opening arguments respectively, is already making this one of the most bizarre legal contests of the year -- at least.
The former neighborhood watchman slash vigilante has been charged with second-degree homicide for menacing and then slaying Martin as the teen was innocently walking home from a convenient store where he'd just purchased a soft drink and candy.
Zimmerman deliberately chose to stalk Martin on that day despite a 911 operator instructing him not to. He then physically confronted the unarmed teenager with a firearm, mortally wounding him in the inevitable tussle that ensued.
From the start, longtime wannabe-enforcer Zimmerman has sought to hide behind stand your ground protections for the crime, a controversial state statute which allows people to resort to lethal force whenever they believe their lives are threatened by an attacker.
But that bogus self defense claim only further enraged victim advocates and Martin supporters, since it's more than clear that the only individual who posed a serious threat the day Trayvon Martin lost his life was defiant George Zimmerman himself.
Zimmerman's penchant for half truths and outright lying was exposed in the earliest stages of his arrest and arraignment. In fact, the defendant even had bail revoked and was returned to jail for *fibbing* in sworn affidavits about his finances.
Although his trial is now finally underway, it's still too soon to say whether this remorseless murderer will ultimately prevail.
But somehow I think not.
Are you aware that Zimmerman's neighborhood had a rash of burglaries and the suspects matched Travon Martin's description which is young & black? Now that is sad,but true. Neighbor's got together and discussed the problem. Zimmerman offered to patrol because the police weren't able to help and the robberies kept happening. On the night in question,it seems that Zimmerman rightly thought another robbery was taking place. T.Martin reacted like a thug. Had he not acted like the thug he is,he'd still be alive. I don't blame Zimmerman for his actions.
ReplyDeleteThis is MY OPINION ONLY. I'm sure Ill get bashed for it but,hey,this is still the land of the free right? Free speech and all that? Lol
I am aware of that -- yes -- but Zimmerman had called in his suspicions and was properly advised then to back off since the police would be arriving shortly to investigate. His flagrant refusal to do what the authorities instructed him to do was unlawful.
ReplyDeleteI am aware too that some folks (like Zimmy) just adamantly believe that others are or aren't *good* people base solely on skin pigment -- e.g. pink, tan, brown, beige.
And that's just plain stupid.
Invariably such moronic thinking leads to criminality, because it impairs good judgment, particularly as pertains to distinguishing right from wrong.
Zimmerman was wrong to pack a gun in his capacity as a neighborhood watchman -- not sure if he can read or not but if so then the guy should've consulted his handbook first.
As well, Zimmerman was wrong to pursue a child for any reason -- in this sad era children of all ages are on guard for perverts who want to prey on them. It's clear that *even* a youngster who has skin containing tannish brown pigment can be victimized by such creeps. So Trayvon had good reason to fear a man shadowing him in his neighborhood and was therefore well within his legal rights to employ any array of STAND YOUR GROUND defensive techniques when the weirdo actually attacked him.
Period.
Wrong, it is not unlawful to not follow the recommendation of a 911 call center rep. You're the one employing racial division here, much like the race shamless baiters of our day.
DeleteRespectfully,I wont debate this anymore. I cannot change your opinion,you cannot change mine. It seems the general opinion is split 50/50. You may know plenty of people who agree with you,but I know plenty who agree with me. Doesn't matter anyhow. That's what juries are for. At least the truth about the burglaries will come out at trial and the jurors,imo,will understand it was just a bad set of circumstances. How could Travon know he fit the description of the men who committed these burglaries? And for Zimmerman,he thought another burglary was taking place so he followed him. Trayvon acted like a stereotypical thug. Trayvon was not an innocent child by any means. We've all seen the tapes of him street fighting. He liked fighting.
ReplyDeleteYou are very wrong and your use of the phrase 'stereotypical thug' to describe a slain juvenile who had committed no crime, who was where he was supposed to be, and who was forced to defend himself for dear life, hardly veils skin-pigment bias.
DeleteFYI: As a 'matter of law and fact' 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was most certainly an innocent child when he was menaced and murdered by a nutty neighbor suffering from a 'heroic complex' and serious delusions of grandeur.
As to writing off this child's killing as the result of "just a bad set of circumstances" -- all homicides, whether premeditated or spontaneous, are due to a bad set of circumstances: Namely, the combination of a murderous thug and an unwitting victim.
I will make no bones about this last point: Boys of every hue and age and class will fight; that's a fact which everyone on the planet is aware of. So that Trayvon "liked fighting" is neither here nor there. But when I first heard about this heinous case I saluted the youngster for his outstanding courage in the face of certain death, and for pummeling the snot out of his armed and wacky attacker, and for trying to seize the coward's gun before dying.
That's exactly what I, you, or anybody else with the will to live would've attempted to do under the same "set of circumstances."
Well, so much for your version of the truth.
DeleteThe best evidence of any wrong doing is the facts Zimmerman pursued Trayvon and his own words-"they always get way" The burden of proof should be on Zimmerman if we expect to be able to say we are living in a free country. people should be able to expect to go down the street without someone chasing them,otherwise it is one more step toward a police state.
ReplyDelete