Is Being Black STILL A Crime in America?

We all know what tragic event took place in a neighborhood near Orlando, Florida on February 26, 2012. It was the night that a young, healthy and innocent black young man was murdered by an untrained Neighborhood Crime Watch “Captain”, George Zimmerman. Trayvon Martin was a high school student from Miami, Florida that was visiting his father who lived with his fiancée at Twin Lakes, a gated community near Orlando. That fateful night, Martin went to a nearby store to purchase a can of ice tea and some candy. While Martin was walking back home George Zimmerman, a self-proclaimed Captain and only member of the Neighborhood Crime Watch, spotted him. The fact that Martin was black was enough for Mr. Zimmerman to find him suspicious so he called 911. The funny thing is, that Zimmerman was always calling the cops for anything that he thought it was "suspicious" and many of his calls to the police during his evening rounds included a neighbor’s dog barking. I am sure that by now the police knew that Zimmerman was inclined to exaggerations. Nevertheless, the call was handled as what it seemed routine. One of the questions the police officer asked is a key question that goes to proof the racial profiling of both the police department in Sanford and that of Mr. Zimmerman. When Zimmerman called to report a suspicious individual in his neighborhood, the police officer asked if the individual was Hispanic or black. Why? Do the police in Sanford, Florida thinks that if it was a blonde and blue eyes man then he couldn’t be a criminal? Really? That alone disgusts me.

I have to admit that the police officer told Zimmerman not to follow Martin, that they were on their way and they would handle it. How much different would they have handled the situation, given that for them a Hispanic or a Black man is automatically ‘suspicious’ no one will ever know – I have my doubts. The fact is that Mr. Zimmerman disobeyed those orders and followed Martin anyway. Martin’s girlfriend, who during all this time was on the phone with Martin, can shine some light into it. According to her, Martin was scared of the man who was following him and even when she advised him to run, he decided not to but walked at a fast pace. At some point, Zimmerman got off the car and approached Martin. It is thought that most likely Zimmerman pushed Martin but this is only speculation since the call was suddenly disconnected. In any event, Zimmerman was armed and Martin wasn’t. Martin didn’t have a criminal record, actually no record whatsoever, and the same can’t be said for Zimmerman.

Zimmerman is a 28-year-old man, weighting about 100 pounds more than Martin. Zimmerman had a gun, Martin a can of ice tea. Zimmerman was in a car and Martin was on foot. But regardless of the oddities, the advantages that Zimmerman had over Martin in every way imaginable, Zimmerman claimed that he shot Martin in self-defense. When the police finally got there to find the Martin’s lifeless body they found Zimmerman, with blood running from the back of his head and grass stains on his shirt and pants. Zimmerman’s explanation of what happened can be summarized as follows: He stepped out of the car to confront the suspect and find out what he was doing in the neighborhood. As he was returning to the car (he didn’t explained why was he returning to the car) Martin hit him in the back of the head and they struggled on the grass and, in an act of self-defense, he shot Martin. Zimmerman claims that while he was being attacked by Martin he, Zimmerman, was screaming for help. That explanation was enough for the police, who allowed this murdered to walk free, no bail-bond, no time in jail.

Now, can anyone explain to me how or why would Martin, a 17 year-old kid weighting 100 pounds less than Zimmerman, attack this giant? How was it that Martin was able to hold Zimmerman on the ground, struggling and apparently overpowering Zimmerman to the point where Zimmerman was crying for help? And the police believed him? Please!

The whole country is crying foul and while we do, the story keeps spinning. Now Zimmerman is Hispanic, adopted by a Jewish family and guess what… Mr. Robert Zimmerman, George Zimmerman’s father, is claiming that George was an “altar boy” next thing they’ll claim is that a black priest molested him and that is the reason that he shot Martin!

I don’t care that George Zimmerman was a Neighborhood Crime Watch Captain. I don’t care that he had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. I couldn’t care less that the controversial 2005 law known as “Stand your Ground” allows a person to use lethal force against an attacker if they think their lives are in danger… I don’t care. Trayvon Martin didn’t follow George Zimmerman; actually he was walking away from him. George Zimmerman was told by a police officer not to pursue Martin but he ignored that order and gave pursue. George Zimmerman stepped out of his car and confronted Martin, not the other way around. If anyone felt their life was in danger and could have used the Stand Your Ground law was Martin, not Zimmerman, after all he is the one that paid the ultimate price for going to the store for candy and a tea.

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