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Who Cares About Trayvon Martin?

The answer seems to be: a lot of people, including the president.

I've been on an island recently (literally, in the Pacific) and haven't been following a lot of news, but two issues seem to be dominating American news and foreign conversation about America: health-care and Trayvon Martin. I had originally wondered if the prominence of a story about a single (undeniably tragic) murder wasn't a ploy by the media to divert attention from the health care case. The CDC reports that there are about 45 murders / day in the U.S., and the Martin case involves contested facts, unclear motives and a suspect of questionable mental capacity. It's likely neither the most egregious nor clearly race-based murder of that week. Nevertheless, Martin is today's Rodney King and has been anointed by the media as their story of the moment.

Since there is a potential race element to the case, all the usual race-hustlers have scrambled to the spotlight in order to bellow their usual litany of victimhood and division. Obama weighed in on the matter last week ("If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon Martin.") and has been widely criticized by conservatives for his seeming partisanship. I'm slightly sympathetic to Obama. He didn't make this a national story and probably wasn't overjoyed to be asked a question on the subject. He answered by expressing personal empathy to grieving parents. Of course, he didn't express sympathy for the man who might have been forced to shoot a delinquent child in self-defense - which could be interpreted as revealing which version of the facts the president believes. Given his record on racial issues, Obama knee-jerk sympathies certainly run toward Trayvon Martin. But he would have been criticized for silence or nearly anything else he was likely to say, so why not err on the side of his political base?

The problem is not that the president spoke, but that he was expected to speak by a majority of the nation. Other families of murder victims are now asking the president to speak out on behalf of their lost loved-ones. I don't think we need a daily litany of the newly departed from our chief executive. But the media has made this a story and daily stokes passions by granting a microphone to the likes of Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Mass demonstrations, race tensions and calls for violence have been artificially instigated by the media's sensational promotion of this incident. Again, while tragic, this story is neither unique nor objectively deserving of national attention - the media simply wanted to create a national debate on race and gun laws (recall the immediate focus on "stand-your-ground" laws). The media control the national conversation, for better or worse - usually the latter.
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Discussions - 17 Comments

"Of course, he didn't express sympathy for the man who might have been forced to shoot a delinquent child in self-defense."


From the 911 tapes:

Dispatcher: "Are you following him?"

Zimmerman: "Yeah."


Yes, yes indeed. He was FORCED to shoot him, just like he was forced to follow him through the neighborhood.

Pathetic.

(Oh, and I forgot to quote the police dispatcher's response after Zimmerman told him that he was following Martin.

Dispatcher: "We don't need you to do that.")

A half Jewis half Hispanic registered Democrat who tutored black children in his spare time (I believe the NYT referred to Zimmerman as a "White Hispanic" which begs the questions will the NYT refer to Obama as a "White African American?) shoots and kills a black teenager and it is all white republican's fault... pathetic.


Spike Lee, who sponsored a $35,000 a night fund raiser for the White African American President tweets what he believes is Zimmeran's address to thousand of people who follow Lee on Twitter. Why? What was the purpose of that? Pathetic.

Spike Lee twitters the wrong address of Zimmerman causing the elderly couple that live at the "wrong address" to flee their home in complete fear or being attacked or worse murdered - pathetic

The elderly couple hires an attorney and Spike Lee has to "pay" these people because he is stupid and you can't fix stupid. Pathetic.

Roseanne Bar the does the same stupid thing after Spike Lee agrees to settle with the elderly couple. You can't fix stupid - pathetic.

The Black Panthers put a $10,000 bounty on Zimmeran's head - Pathetic.

The Black Panthers, Spike Lee and Roaseanne Bar area all Liberals.

The White Africian American and The Most Intelligent President ever Obama speaks of Travyon Martin as what his son would look like and sympathizes with the family of Travyon Martin. Good. But Obama is loudly silent on any sympathy to the elderly couple that Spike Lee put in grave danger and silent on scolding the Black Panther Party - or better yet where is Holdner... Oh yeah right - if you are a member of the Black Panther Party you have the right to obstruct someone's ability to vote and can put bounties on people's heads. Pathetic.

Well Pumpkin - would you like me to continue on the pathetic actions of Liberals or have you had enough?

Zimmerman may well be guilty - I don't know - all the facts are not on the table. I will let the justice system handle that. But there is one thing I am 100% sure of - Zimmerman is no racist.


Liberalism is a... you finish the sentence.

The first mention I saw of the story was on Facebook, a post from young friend of the family now in college. The photo was the one of a cute, smiling and very young Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman was just a name. The story was of an overzealous, older, volunteer neighborhood watchman shooting a kid over a bag of Skittles. "Justice for Trayvon!" is what was asked for. Over and done; I could pass judgement.

Over the next several days, other details came out, from the photo of George Zimmerman, which complicated the racial matters, to the question over his having been attacked by Trayvon, who was not so small and young as shown in the original photo I saw. As the story has unfolded and all that cowgirl mentions up there has happened, the question has gone from, "Why didn't the police hold George Zimmerman for murder?" to "Why didn't they hide him and his family somewhere for their protection?"

Justice is blind and should be. Yet it is not blind to evidence, which it weighs honestly and the blindness is to appearances.

Has anyone seen a timeline of events, yet? How long from when the dispatcher told Zimmerman to back off to the moment when Martin jumped him, to the moment when Zimmerman shot? Did Zimmerman follow Martin for 30 minutes after being told to stop or for 3 minutes, say, in order to see where the boy would go in case he, Mr. Z, was questioned about it afterwards? It makes a difference. Was George Zimmerman likely to be in fear for his life because jumped on by a young black man who he feared? Then his shooting was in self-defense.

Justin is right. This Rodney King, again. Except this guy is dead and makes a more sure martyr. Mob justice is never justified.

As for the assertion that the President inserted himself in this story and now other grieving families want him to wade into their tragedies. Did you criticize George Bush Jr for intervening into the Terry Schiavo case?

Mike, perhaps if the president were intervening to protect a life, like Mr. Zimmerman's, say, instead of fanning the flames of the mob's desire to take said life, I would have more sympathy.

What principle is this president defending in this case?

Congressman Bobby Rush who represents the South part of Chicago (Obama's old district and where he supposedly did community organizing) donned a hoodie and attempted to give a speech in support of Travyon in the House. He was removed because there are rules (Liberals never pay attention to the rule of law) that prohibit the wearing of hats or in Rush's case costumes.

Sadly enough last night in span of six hours 13 people were shot leaving two dead in Rush's district. The worst shooting occurred around 6:00 p.m. when two men IN HOODED sweatshirts opened fired inside a convenience store in teh 1400 block of West 79th Street. One man killed and five others wounded. The victims range in age 16 to 24.

My bet - the shooters and victims were all African American boys and gang members.

Where is Spike Lee, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Barack Obama, Holdner, Louis Farakkaham, Roseane Bar, the cast members of CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and Bobby Rush.

Oh yes, it is all George Bush's fault.

It seemed to me that he said he did not insert himself.

'He didn't make this a national story and probably wasn't overjoyed to be asked a question on the subject. He answered by expressing personal empathy to grieving parents.'

Sounds to me like he doesn't blame Obama for talking about it.

The Reverend (I find his title absolutely hysterical) Al Sharpton, who is also a paid MSNBC broadcast journalist (that is also hysterical) is calling for civil obedience unless Zimmerman is arrested for the murder of Travyon Martin. Nice.

No word however from Al Sharpton, Jesse HiJackson, Barack Obama, Eric Holdner, Spike Lee or Roseanne Barr on the shootings that took place in south side Chicago last night.

I, too, find it shocking and reprehensible when anyone calls for civil obedience regarding such matters.

This isn't the first time Obama has poked his nose into local matters in order to agitate by playing the race-card; saying that "Cambridge police acted stupidly" was one for the books, and now he's claiming this to be "the son he never had."

Until every cop gets arrested when they shoot someone in self-defense, it's unfair to demand the same of a citizen on neighborhood watch-- but that's what the left wants, i.e. for citizens to be secondary to government.

Obama should just butt out and do his job-- but he hasn't started yet, so this is business as usual.

That never stopped the mob.

I'm sure Trayvon's supporters also follow a "no snitching" rule, thus rendering Zimmerman's phone-call "due provocation."

Were you born stupid, or did you just work at it really hard?

>>Dispatcher: "We don't need you to do that.")

Well that proves it was murder!
Dumbass.

Well since the shooters were African-American then of COURSE it's Bush's fault.

Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton imply that African-Americans have no responsibility for anything they do..

The Terry Schivavo case involved federal matters regarding the state's power to terminate a life.

Trayvon Martin is a local case involving an altercation between residents of the same city.

Slghtly different.

Hello there, Brad Anderson! I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance.

Based on your comment style I presume you're a student or graduate of the Cowgirl College of Diplomatic Relations at Glenn Beck University? Or the Ashbrook Scholars program? (Possibly both?)

Very nice to meet you. I do hope I get the chance to repeat such an edifying encounter.

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