The Trayvon Martin Shooting

Trayvon Martin

I heard about this story the other day, about 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on February 26th, after being followed and confronted by Zimmerman for walking through a Sanford, Florida neighborhood. Zimmerman is claiming the shooting was in self-defense, while many believe the shooting was race related because you have a young black man shot to death by a white man for being in a neighborhood where the older man felt the younger man didn't belong. If the race reason wasn't enough, the fact that Zimmerman has yet to be arrested is further fueling the fire.
According to what's been reported so far, Trayvon was staying with his father and step-mom in the Sanford area and had stepped out that night to get some candy and a drink from the store. At some point, Zimmerman began following Trayvon and Trayvon must have felt threatened or weirded out because he called a friend to tell her about it. The girl on the phone told Trayvon to run and later heard part of the confrontation between Trayvon and Zimmerman and then the line went dead. Witnesses also reported hearing a scuffle, a cry for help and then a gun shot at the time. When police arrived at the scene, they found Zimmerman standing over Trayvon's body, armed with a handgun, his nose bloodied and a wound on the back of his head. So Zimmerman claims self-defense and police officers take him at his word, letting him go on his merry way, despite the fact that the only weapons found on Trayvon are a pack of Skittles and an iced tea.
And then the 911 tape of the call placed by Zimmerman that night, before he confronted Trayvon, and even more shit hits the fan. In the call, Zimmerman explains that there have been break ins in the neighborhood and then goes on to say, "This guy looks like he's up to no good or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around looking about." The dispatcher then asks if the person is white, black or hispanic, to which Zimmerman answers that he looks black. This entire time Zimmerman is following Trayvon and apparently Trayvon has noticed this, or so it seems from what Zimmerman is saying to the dispatcher. He tells the dispatcher, "Now he's just staring at me." I wonder why? A stranger is fucking following him around. Zimmerman also tells the dispatcher it looks like Trayvon is reaching for his waistband, likely planting the seeds for his self defense claim. He tells the dispatcher Trayvon has something in his hands and is coming to "check" him out. As this call goes on, the dispatcher asks if Zimmerman is following Trayvon and when Zimmerman says yes, the dispatcher tells him they don't need him to do that.

George Zimmerman, trigger happy idiot.

Instead of heeding the dispatcher's advice, Zimmerman continues to follow Trayvon, basically stalking him. Zimmerman then complains that they "always get away", referring I guess to either the people he stalks or alleged "criminals" he pursues after being told not to. At some point Trayvon starts to run because Zimmerman tells the dispatcher he's running away and of course, Zimmerman continues to follow. We all now know how this ended, a young man dead and the man responsible free to go about his business.
Now, we don't know all the specifics, but we do know that Zimmerman was not arrested after he killed Trayvon and is now claiming self-defense. Had Zimmerman not followed and confronted Trayvon, a young man would still be alive and Zimmerman wouldn't be considered a racist murderer with an outraged mob calling for his arrest and some for his death. We don't know if Trayvon attacked Zimmerman or what exactly happened in this "scuffle", but even if he did attack Zimmerman, how can you blame him? He's being followed around by some strange man on his way home and then when he makes a break for it, the stranger comes after him. So when this stranger confronts him he has nowhere to go and it comes down to fight or flee and he can't flee. Maybe Zimmerman, who claimed to be part of a Neighborhood Watch which was then proven not to be true, got more than he bargained for, not expecting this kid to fight back, or maybe he always had an itchy trigger finger and thought he was Dirty Harry.
No matter what the scenario, the end result of what happened that night was caused by George Zimmerman's actions. He followed and then confronted this kid who was trying to get away from him, he was carrying a gun, he is the one that cut this kid's life short all because he wanted to play bad ass. I don't think his self-defense claim is going to float because everything that happened was the direct result of his own actions. Trayvon wouldn't have gotten into a scuffle with him had Zimmerman done what he was told and not continued following him, but then he takes it even further and runs after the kid and confronts him. Zimmerman must be an invincible moron or an idiot with a death wish. He supposedly thought this kid had something in his waistband, a weapon possibly, but he then decides to give chase and find out for himself? Whether this was a case of a racist cock with a gun or just an moron with one, Zimmerman should be behind bars and charged. He stole Trayvon's life with his idiotic decisions, the least he can do is give the kid justice and take his punishment like a man.