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

This kid may not be an angel, but you got to give him credit for getting the drop on a bigger, armed dude and being willing to pound away at him when a gun must be clearly visible for the victim to get access to it to save his life.

 

Looking at more than that.

 

Like what?

 

Yeah, I saw the recent(er) photos on FB yesterday, and it does kind of rub me the wrong way.

 

I'm not sure if it's even him, but the kid's Twitter account sure makes a good case that it would be his picture.

 

The person who found that photo, Dan Riehl, is now saying it "does not appear to be the same Trayvon Martin." http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2012/03/is-this-the-same-trayvon-martin.html

 

All true. And, I think this case did deserve a second/closer look, and even federal attention.

But, just as smearing the dead kid doesn't do us any good, the rush to brand Zimmerman a murderer didn't do any good either.

We didn't know all the facts when people here decided Zimmerman was a murderer, and should fry. And, while the cops may not have done a good job, neither did the media. And, as journalists, folks here should have know that more details would come out.

The fact that this kid is dead is a real tragedy. Zimmerman sounds like a real pain in the ass. But, if his version checks out, he's probably not a murderer.

 

The Twitter and Facebook stuff (if they're even him, which they don't appear to be) is such bullshit misdirection. Even if the kid did swear on Twitter and give the finger in photos, why should that make him a target for someone to follow and then shoot?

 

If Zimmerman's version checks out, he's a person who should not be walking around with a gun. But this is America and everyone should have one to keep bad guys, terrorists and rapists at bay, I guess.

 

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/trayvon-martin/cracker-tshirt-759832

This makes things even better...

 

It all comes down to what happened that night.

It doesn't really matter if Trayvon liked to smoke a little weed, or if Zimmerman liked to call 911 a lot.

 

It doesn't. But it shows that he's not some baby-faced kid who was singing hymns on his way back to his house. It shows why he might have looked "suspicious." And if someone has been in trouble, it's less of a leap to picture them getting into a confrontation in a situation like that.