It's Watch!... Neighborhood Watch. Not shoot.

The entire ordeal is absolutely vomit-inducing, and I am about as angry with the American public as I have been in a very, very long time. Within five seconds last spring, people chose sides based upon the racial dynamics at play, and that was that. The left demonized George Zimmerman. The right demonized Trayvon Martin - and is essentially now retroactively spiking the football over his violent death. Nothing that actually happened mattered. I was pretty young when the O.J. Simpson verdict came out, and even younger for Rodney King. But the way people have aligned themselves over this trial has to go in the modern pantheon, with those events, of America at its most shameful.

 

Dick, Stand Your Ground never came up in this trial. The phrase was never uttered in Court, and defense never claimed it.

They employed a standard self defense claim that would be available to a defendant in all 50 states.

As for white Hispanic, as applied, it doesn't require one parent to not be Hispanic. Hispanic is not a race. You can be Hispanic and white, or Hispanic and black.

Being Hispanic is about ethnic heritage, language, and culture. And, Zimmerman self identified as Hispanic, just as Bill RIchardson and Geraldo Rivera do, and just as Barack Obama self identifies as African-American.

It's not a term that the media had previously applied in such a matter, and was clearly used to advance a media favored narrative of the crime as racially motivated. And, since Hispanics and African-Americans are both minority groups -- i.e. victims in the eyes of the media -- and not normally in conflict, a Hispanic perpetrator would not be optimal for the narrative. It would also require the media to admit their initial reports were wrong.

So, George Zimmerman became the first White Hispanis ever accused of a crime.

As for Rush, and talking points:

Rush hasn't been on the air since Friday afternoon, well before the verdict was announced. He's not driving the anyone talking points.

But, more than that, you really should actually listen to the show if you want to give your take on what happens on the show.

I issued this challenge to you several years ago. I also listened to NPR in return. I'm now a big fan of many of their programs.

You should give him a listen. I think you'd be very surprised by what you hear.

 

From what I understand, it's a very balanced, respectful, and nuanced examination of the news of the day.

 

Newspapers run corrections and they run clarifications.

"White Hispanic" was a clarification.

P.S. I can't believe I'm in a position, because of the widespread, delayed reaction giddiness over Travon Martin's death, that I feel like I have to defend the largely abhorrent 24-hour news networks.

 

It was in the instructions to the jury. Page 12: http://www.scribd.com/doc/153431863/George-Zimmerman-Jury-Instructions

 

Something I've been thinking about: Was this case really about age discrimination, perhaps even more than race discrimination? I'm not sure that George Zimmerman decided that Trayvon Martin was a threat because he was black. But I'm pretty sure that George Zimmerman decided that Trayvon Martin was a threat because he was a kid.

 

Dick, the left, the African-American community, and the "civil rights" community chose to make this case a test, a show trial.

A conviction would show that America places some value on the life of a young black man, an acquittal would prove we are still a racist society, that places no value on the life of a young black man.

The facts didn't matter. Folks wanted a pound of flesh. It was never about George Zimmerman or Trayvon Martin for these people. It was a litmus test, pure and simple.

I don't think there is anything wrong with people being happy/relived that the case was judged on its merits.

There was never any evidence presented in court -- or out of it -- that George Zimmerman is racist. This case was not about race -- at least for Zimmerman.

It is a good thing that the jury decided the case based on the facts presented in court. That's what we're all supposed to want. It's what makes our judicial system. And, it's all Trayvon's "supporters" originally claimed they wanted.

They just wanted "their day in court". They wanted a jury to fairly evaluate all the evidence.

They did that, and they found George Zimmerman was justified in using deadly force. He was not guilty of murder or manslaughter.

The system worked. It worked in the face of community and political pressure.

So, why are you upset?

 

Because there are plenty of people who are thrilled that, for once, Those People didn't pull one over on the rest of us.

Because there are plenty of people who are thrilled that, for once, their beloved stereotypes of young black men were granted formal support.

 

My apologies.

It was never uttered by his defense team.

It's usage in the jury instructions looks to be standard, but not applicable here, since the defense did not claim it.

 

Again: It took a weapon away from the prosecution, which in those other states could have forced the duty to retreat issue, had it chosen to.

It also affected the way that the police initially investigated the incident and which leads they did and did not pursue.

 

For the record, I've never loved the duty to retreat. I think that it is very difficult for people to make a snap judgment, in the moment, about whether they can get away from an aggressor or not.

 

But, the "People" did try to "pull one over on the rest of us."

And, they made it into a test case, and are now upset that it blew up in there face. Trayvon Martin wasn't an angel, and he wasn't a terrible kid either. He was a kid.

But, by turning his case into a test case, his supporters guaranteed that his character would be called into question. They should have know that.

They demanded the case be given a second look. They demanded charges be filed. They demanded a trial.

Did they think George Zimmerman and his lawyers would just play into this, and accept defeat to please the mob?

This case was catnip for racists, and the catnip was served up by Martin's supporters.