Trayvon Martin versus George Zimmerman. A young African-American teen versus a grown man who happens to be Hispanic.
An African-American teen wearing a hoodie versus a guy who was a member of a neighborhood watch group in Sanford, Florida.
Honestly, this to me seems like the perfect storm, the coming together of the wrong people, the wrong place and the wrong time. From what I have read, the circumstances surrounding both people made it a recipe for disaster, a situation that had only one outcome – bad.
But now the questions are these: was Trayvon profiled? Was Zimmerman an overzealous neighborhood watch maniac determined to be an unofficial cop on the streets? Does it matter that Trayvon dabbled in pot smoking and had some issues at school?
Will there ever be a way to determine what really happened? Because at the end of the day there is a young man who’s dead and a Hispanic guy claiming it was self-defense. Can this whole thing simply be determined to be just a horrific turn of events that again, had no other possible outcome?
I suppose I will just have to join the rest of the nation in offering my thoughts on the incident without really any evidence to back it up – basically, just offering up my opinion.
I don’t know Martin or Zimmerman. But it seems to me that neither one is really at fault here. If I am to believe what I’m hearing and reading, neither one had the intention of coming together in a life-or-death confrontation.
Martin – and the makers of Skittles candy are certainly enjoying the notoriety of it all – had reportedly left a convenience store with the candy and some iced tea. The 17-year-old was shot to death by Zimmerman as he walked back to his father’s fiancee’s house.
Zimmerman claims he killed Martin in self-defense saying the teen attacked him. The neighborhood watch member supposedly called police to report a suspicious person. He followed the teen even though the police dispatcher said he didn’t have to. At some point there is a confrontation and we all know the rest.
Police have questioned Zimmerman but he hasn’t been charged with a crime. The reasons include but aren’t limited to the fact that Florida has laws that permit the use of deadly force in certain situations and that there are not facts or eyewitnesses or anything else to contradict what Zimmerman has told investigators.
There are claims that police aren’t doing their jobs because Martin was black and that minorities are always left with the short stick. However, Zimmerman is Hispanic so does that argument really hold true?
And of course those who need a cause of the day incite citizens to hold rallies where they wear hoodies – I suppose to support those who were hoodies. Really? I’m sure those who are hoodie wearers feel a whole lot better today knowing that groups of citizens across the nation have shown their support for that particular item of clothing. What’s next? Should we all wear our Uggs to combat the anti-Uggs sentiment sweeping places like Pottstown where a school district banned them?
I get the hoodie reference. However, young African-American teens aren’t the only ones wearing hoodies. Please folks, find another cause. Or perhaps get over yourself and contribute something meaningful to society.
This entire incident raises a number of issues including whether or not there is value to those participating in neighborhood watch programs and their working relationships to local police. If a dispatcher told Zimmerman to back off, he should have done so.
And while Zimmerman was licensed to carry a 9 mm semiautomatic, is that really what he should have been doing? He isn’t a cop and thus should not have acted like one. Combine an overreacting neighborhood watch volunteer packing a 9 mm with a young teen he finds suspicious and how could anyone expect any different outcome?
It seems to me that this kid did nothing wrong other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn’t after midnight and he was unarmed. And there can’t be the argument that he shouldn’t be walking where he was walking? That’s just Florida’s gated-community paranoia.
In the end it seems to me that while Martin was no angel and had some off-the-field issues, he didn’t deserve a bullet to the chest. All of the other details are known only to Zimmerman and Martin. And one of them is dead.
— Andy Hachadorian
From the editor's chair 
Martin was walking back to his Father’s house,which was a few doors away from where he was murdered. He was doing nothing worng just enjoying the freedoms associated with a free country. Zimmerman was not on duty that night as part of the citizen’s watch group.
Zimmerman outweighed Martin by 110 lbs. If I were martin and a strange person started stalking me and then got out of his car, I would have feared for my life as probably Martin did. If Martin had killed Zimmerman he would have been able to invoke the Stand Your Ground law, but not Zimmerman since he was doing the stalking.
The law is flawed. It allows people to use their imaginations as to whether or not they fear for their life. I believe we shoudl do away with the law because it virtuallu allows someone to murder another person, then punch themselves in the face several times to make it look like a fight and then claim they feared for their life. Bad law created by Florida Republicans with the blessing of Jeb Bush.
“It seems to me that this kid did nothing wrong other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
…and possibly punch a guy and smash his head on the concrete. If that’s true, I’d consider that “something wrong”.
You’re all incompetents posting “punched guy (in face per reports),” “concrete smashed head” and editor’s “bullet to the chest ” after seeing the new video out which shows no evidence on Zimmerman of ANY of that. Seeing is believing. Preliminary pontificating is stupid. And the editor’s implication he was just stating his humble opinion sounded much more like preaching: “Get over yourself and contribute something meaningful to society.” What a disgusting, thoughtless comment to your community and readers.
Finally, some common sense. 300 unjustified killings in Philly and the locals grab onto an incident 1000 miles away. Come on people??? Any public display of self righteousness is hollow. If you have to look that far to say, “Look, racism does occurs!”, then you’re an idiot and you ain’t convincing me of your cause. Open up your window and check out your backyard.
Will you people stop ignoring the fact that this kid was no g*dd*mned good…
I understand that this is an opinion page, but I take exception to the misleading manner in which it was presented. There are many more facts than what was reported in the opinion above, and those facts would be helpful for others to come to their own conclusions.
1. Zimmerman claimed and was backed up by witnesses to have been returning to his car when attacked.
2. Zimmerman claimed and was backed up by witnesses and the police report that he had been punched and was in fear for his life as his head was being bounced off the concrete.
And the misleading language is becoming disgusting. “Outweighed”…so what, he was and overweight man being attacked by a young man in the prime of his physical life. Or, as you said “young teen”…17 is a “young teen’? Since when? the teen years span from 13 to 19, 17 is much closer to the end of that span than the beginning.
And finally, is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the meme has changed from ‘innocent child gunned down in cold blood’ to ‘hoodies are not bad’? Could that be because the facts don’t fit the desired narrative and the media, the race-huslters, and the publicity seeking congress-people needed a diversion?
I appreciate your response. However, today it was revealed that there is a police video that shows Zimmerman without any visible signs of injuries as he is led into a police car following the incident. While there is definitely more to this story than what has been reported so far, I believe you are not correct when you state there are witnesses. In fact, that seems to be the major issue at this point — there are no true witnesses to what took place. I’m not sure what you mean concerning the man’s weight. That was not the focus or point of any of my blog post. The teen versus late teen reference seems to be a minor point to be honest with you. And in terms of the hoodies, I stated that the hoodie really is irrelevant to the situation and is nothing more than someone having a focal point to seize upon. The hoodie means something? Not to me. Just about every teen owns and wears one, white, black or otherwise.
Every time I see a YouTube video of a gun hold up of a convenience store it’s a young black male in a hoodie; profiling exists for a reason. Black males age 16-30 make up 3% of the population and commit 80% of the violent crime in this country. Statistically, Zimmerman had every right to be fearful.
Perhaps it is the Stand Your Ground law which is to blame. After all, if someone wants to kill someone in Florida, all he has to do is shoot him where there are no wtnesses and claim self defense. No need to run or try to cover it up. He won’t be arrested. No need to bury the body or dump it in a river. The authorities will simply remove it.