I have no idea why MSNBC decided to follow so thoroughly the
Zimmerman trial. It is so slow and mostly boring (like most such trials) that I
cannot believe most of their viewers can be following it equally in as much detail
or with as much interest. Perhaps the editorial board thinks it is really more
important than the scandalous behavior of the “To-Big-to-Fail” Banks that
continually escape any punishment for their crimes, other than minor fines. And
maybe they think it is less important than the fact that we are being
constantly monitored and spied upon by our own government. Then, again, perhaps
they don’t want to mention the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinians
and their complete disregard for international laws. It appears to me that
“Bibi” has now established himself as the ruler of the planet as he simply
ignores the demands of the international community, with the support of the
U.S., of course, and does whatever he wants (and continues to get away with it,
just like the Banks). I guess if I were a news agency in the U.S. I might well
be too ashamed to mention such things. Of course our relations with Russia,
China, South America, and Africa are all going so splendidly there is no reason
to spend time there. We do have the Zimmerman fiasco to keep us entertained.
And speaking of the trial, I said earlier I could not have
been a juror because I already believe Zimmerman is guilty. I have not
(actually cannot) watch the trial for more than a few minutes at a time, but I
confess to having seen and heard nothing so far to make me believe he might be innocent. You might recall there
might not have been a trial at all if the Police Chief and the Prosecuting
Attorney had had their way as they chose not to prosecute Zimmerman at all.
This was a most interesting decision. Here was a case where a volunteer Night
Watchman who was told not to follow the boy did so anyway, armed with a handgun
he was not supposed to have been carrying according to the rules of the Night Watchmanship,
who then shot and killed an unarmed Black teen-ager on his way home with tea
and skittles, argued that he was merely “standing his ground,” according to a
ridiculous superfluous Florida law that need not have been passed in the first
place as self defense has always been a prerogative, and the Chief of Police
and Prosecuting Attorney felt the death was so inconsequential as to require no
further action. Whew!
Anyway, after considerable pressure was brought to bear
charges were finally filed (second degree murder) and we are now being
entertained by what seem to me to be mostly a waste of time. I say a waste of
time because Zimmerman’s account strikes me as totally far-fetched which I
believe will inevitably be exposed by the evidence. To believe Zimmerman you
have to believe that a 17 year-old boy who was demonstrably afraid enough of
being followed to consider running away, actually turned and pursued a larger
man he did not know and attacked him. For all Trayvon Martin could have known
the man was not only larger and threatening, but could even have been armed (which
he was) or might even have been a policeman. Zimmerman’s claim of having been
the victim strikes me as preposterous on the face of it.
The fact that Zimmerman had injuries consistent with
fighting and having his head banged on the cement walkway indicates to me that
Trayvon put up a substantial fight against a strange man intent upon either
capturing him or at least punishing him, thus it was Trayvon who was “standing
his ground,” not Zimmerman. Zimmer man’s account is full of inconsistencies and
has changed over time. He has Trayvon
jumping out of bushes (there were no bushes), with his hand in his
waistband (where were the tea and skittles), Trayvon threatening him with dying
that night and other things (which so far, at least, no witness has said they
heard), and others as well. And do not forget the animosity with which
Zimmerman approached Trayvon, referring to him as an “fucking punk,” an
“asshole,” and complaining that “these guys always get away.” Zimmerman also
referred to Trayvon as a “suspect.” You are not considered a suspect unless
there has been a crime, what crime did Trayvon commit (or was presumably going
to commit)? it seems pretty clear to me that Zimmerman, in his zeal to capture
“one of them” tried to subdue Trayvon, failed to do so, and was then forced to
shoot and kill him, and now wants to be exonerated using a ridiculous defense
that should never have been allowed in the first place. Of course I could be
wrong. On the other hand I don’t know what all the fuss is about, unarmed Black
teen-agers are shot and killed quite often in the U.S. I suspect that might
have been the motivation for the Stand Your Ground law in the first place.
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