Guilty by Association

You know - we aren't all Trayvon.

...and what's that poster even really supposed to mean?

People who are carrying these signs and posting them have great intentions, but little insight - my opinion, of course.

We all have the potential to be Trayvon Martin - assuming it's the one portrayed by the media of a kid with Skittles and iced tea.  No one wants to discuss the image of him as a student getting busted for drugs and truancy.  We don't want to be that.

We also have the potential to be George Zimmerman - the one portrayed by the media as guilty before he was even charged.

Nancy Grace and any number of talk shows were "great" about trying Zimmerman months before a jury even got an opportunity to do so.

If you haven't watched Newsroom, there is a scene from last season that so scarily breaks this down, it's almost mind-numbing on its probable accuracy.  My favourite part is at the 2:45 to 3:00 mark.



And "Don" is right - you can't imply that the viewer doesn't already know everything.

I guess that explains the dozens of emails per day I get saying to give Trayvon the justice he deserves.  I guess that explains the hundreds of blog trolls who speak with such authority that they clearly must have been at the crime scene, at the investigation, at the trial and in the jury room when they say how horrid a man George Zimmerman is and what he did and how he did it.

The man didn't invoke Stand Your Ground during his trial. They didn't even bring up race - prosecution or defense. This post isn't about race either.

 If people have issues on what is considered reasonable doubt for giving jury instructions, that's another issue, but one for which Zimmerman can't be blamed.  The state judicial system can possibly be blamed and then changed.

More troubling is the possibility of the Feds getting involved after a jury reached a verdict to consider additional charges. Ones they most likely would have never considered had Zimmerman been convicted.

Yes, you're outraged he was acquitted. I get that. I'm betting you wouldn't be so outraged if you or a family member were the one acquitted.  I bet you would be outraged if you were acquitted and now they want to consider hate crime charges where there were none before, basically nullifying your verdict without compromising Double Jeopardy.....only by squeaking by the letter of the law.

So now they are saying, a trial of your peers means nothing if "we" don't like the verdict.  That is a fucking scary and slippery slope to go down.

If we are all Trayvons, then we are all Georges. too.

Those civil liberties on spying and tracking that everyone is cawing over with Edward Snowdon?  I don't see anyone making a ruckus over the thoughts that a judge and jury trial could mean nothing to your actual physical freedom.  Yes, Zimmerman is a recognizable target for this, but someday it could be you.  Sure you pooh-pooh it now, but why wouldn't it be?  Why couldn't it be?

And we are not all Trayvons. We can't be.  I'm not saying he was bad.  I'm not saying he was guilty of doing anything. Yes he was unarmed, but no one knew that during the time, only after the fact.

I didn't know if the people who broke into my house when I was home were armed.  I didn't know if the people I confronted on our deck on vacation last week were armed.

I am a lot more aware of my surroundings with instances like that.  I notice people walking and driving slowly in the neighborhood who aren't neighbors. I know my neighbors.

Yes, I notice the guys sitting on the park benches in the neighborhood gardens  - the ones police say have been look-outs for robbers in folks' houses alerting them to people coming home.  I notice the cars that park on the streets for hours on end.

Yes, Trayvon was a stranger in a neighborhood with a patrol. Yes, Zimmerman should have left it up to the police. All great in hindsight.

If you look at the rest of that Newsroom episode, you'll get a glimpse into how some cases like Anthony and Martin get to that media level while thousands per year go unnoticed, unreported, unsolved.  ....and actually, that should be your outrage.



Song by:  Joe Henry