Who knew that Trayvon Martin had morphed from this angelic picture of a 12-year-old into a 6’2″ 17-year-old body builder? Were there no up to date photographs of him to plaster the country with? No matter, he has been immortalised in his cherubic period.

Who knew that the Hispanic George Zimmerman was considerably ‘darker’ than this photograph taken under the harsh glare of forensic evidence gathering? Were there no smiling photographs of a relaxed George to plaster the country with? No matter, he has been immortalised in his evil almost-white racist period.

Every week since Trayvon Martin was shot, every week, over 100 young black teenagers have been shot dead in the US, 94% of them shot by another young black man.

We don’t hear of them. We don’t see smiling pictures of their innocent young faces. We don’t see grim mug shots of their murderers, man-slaughterers, aggravated assaulters, nor, final insult from a prosecution that seemed unable to make up its mind as to what they were prosecuting – ‘felony murderers in the course of child abuse’. Huh, ‘Terminal paedophilia with Prejudice’ .

There is only one reason why. Racism. The racism that dare not speak its name.

The racism that can live, if not cheerfully, at least uncomplainingly, with most of the 5,942 ‘children merely walking home with a packet of sweeties in their pocket’ who end up with a bullet through the head simply because someone ‘had a gun’ and ‘because they could’; because one of their black brethren thought they’d looked at his girl friend funny, or failed to drop to their knees in obeisance and ‘respect’ on passing them outside MacDonalds.   Occasionally there is a flurry of local outcry as when a stray bullet from all those ‘friendly encounters’ on street corners fatally lodged itself in 7-year-old Heaven Sutton in Chicago. But then she was female.

The racism that appeals to voters by saying ‘if I had a son he would look like Trayvon Martin’. 

The racism that allowed Rachel Jeantel to report to the court that Trayvon had told her that a ‘creepy-ass cracker’ was following him. The origins of the derogatory term ‘cracker’ are obscure; derived from a description of the whip-cracking drovers who herded livestock and later attributed to slave overseers.  There has been little comment on that piece of bigotry, yet the only other mention of race in the evidence was Zimmerman’s answer to the dispatcher who asked him whether the ‘suspicious person’ seen loitering outside homes was ‘white, black, or hispanic’. ‘He looks black’ said Zimmerman, to the later dismay of the racist commentariat who would have loved him to reply along the lines of ‘looks like a thieving black’…..

The racism that allows the US Justice Department to say that Zimmerman might be prosecuted again in a civil court for ‘civil rights infringements’.

The racism that allows ‘civil rights leader’ Al Sharpton to say the verdict was a ‘slap in the face for the American people’. He doesn’t mean all the American people.

The racism that allows a prosecutor to say that Zimmerman has ‘not been found innocent, but not guilty’.

The racism that allowed the Orlando police to make preparation for riots if Zimmerman was found not guilty – no apparent preparations were made to contain outrage on the part of the non-black population if Zimmerman had been found guilty – they were expected to calmly accept the verdict of a jury.

Does anybody even care about the finer details of who hit who first, which Mother was right to claim ownership of the cries for help from ‘her baby’. Whether Zimmerman, an American ‘Norris Cole’ by all accounts, was right to challenge the hooded figure he thought was acting suspiciously, or whether the ‘angelic Trayvon’ was right to beat him to the ground for showing disrespect by challenging him. Was Zimmerman right to shoot a man who was bashing his head on the pavement?

Does anybody care about anything other than the fact that Zimmerman was ‘almost white’ and Trayvon was honest to goodness ‘black’.

Racial bigotry has been whipped up by every news station and every newspaper. It is the new cold war. Politics is no longer the art of debate in the Senate or the House of Commons, but the art of using your chosen media organ to whip up emotive support for ‘your side’.

Tomorrow, in Britain, we will see the same process being applied to the NHS report. Not racism in this case, but class warfare.

Not a real person at
all July 21, 2013 at 03:43

Bill Whittle deconstructs media coverage with some inadmissible
evidence.

http://youtu.be/Ebu6Yvzs4Ls

Jonathan Mason
July 18, 2013 at 13:46

Interesting whether “creepy-ass cracker” could be interpreted as “creepy
ass-cracker”, but Jeantel has subsequently said that the word is “cracka” and
it means someone acting like a cop. I looked this up in the Urban Dictionary,
but that does not confirm her etymology. Of course slang and dialect usages
change quickly and she may have heard “cracka” used this way in her milieu, as
I doubt whether her homies often consult online dictionaries to clarify slang
terms.

I would not rely very much on Jeantel’s opinion as to how badly Martin
might have hurt Zimmerman. ANY type of head injury has the potential to be
lethal or to create permanent injury, people get killed in fights all the
time, and she has no experience of treating head injuries.

Frankly there is no part of her testimony that I can say I would absolutely
rely on. Even if she thinks she is telling the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth, the memory can play tricks. (Her account in court
places Martin at the back of the house where he was staying when he was
approached by Zimmerman, and yet Martin’s body was found 100 yards away from
the house.)

Alan July 18, 2013 at 13:16

Rachel Jeantel’s testimony and subsequent interviews have been eye opening.
She said in court she thought Zimmerman could be a gay rapist as if this
somehow justifies Martin returning to the area to attack Zimmerman. She has
more recently said she believes Martin threw the first punch. I have seen a
few comments on blogs claiming that creepy ass cracker is a gay slur but I
have no idea how true that is.

It looks to me like Zimmerman saw an unfamiliar person and believed them to
be acting suspiciously along the lines of casing homes to burglarise them
(several homes has been broken into in the weeks leading up to it). Martin in
return saw someone unfamiliar and acting suspiciously, chose to leave the area
and then returned to give Zimmerman the gay bashing ass whoopin Rachel Jeantel
seems to think he deserved.

Rachel Jeantel Says Martin Threw the First Punch

“The other interesting part of Jeantel’s interview is her claim, also made
on Piers Morgan Tuesday night, that Zimmerman should have taken his beating.
Hill pointed out “George Zimmerman’s defenders would say well, if he didn’t
pull out a gun, if Trayvon was whoopin’ his ass he could have killed George
Zimmerman.” Jeantel replies “No. Trust me. That’s not killing. You have a big
bruise, you don’t see inside your skin. You might have a little stitches.”
Jeantel adds “He [Trayvon] would have fight him and run.””

JuliaM July 18,
2013 at 07:36

You just know that if we’d sent a black man to the moon, Mewsical would be
whining it was because it was dangerous & we didn’t want to risk a white
man’s life….

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 20:53

Good one, rabbit!

rabbitaway July 17, 2013 at 20:50

A rat done bit my sister Nell
(with Whitey on the moon)
Her face and
arms began to swell
(and Whitey’s on the moon)
I can’t pay no doctor
bill
(but Whitey’s on the moon)
Ten years from now I’ll be payin’
still
(while Whitey’s on the moon)
The man jus’ upped my rent las’
night
(cause Whitey’s on the moon)
No hot water, no toilets, no
lights
(but Whitey’s on the moon)
I wonder why he’s uppi’ me?
(cause
Whitey’s on the moon?)
I wuz already payin’ ‘im fifty a week
(with
Whitey on the moon)
Taxes takin’ my whole damn check
Junkies making me a
nervous wreck
The price of food is goin’ up
An’ as if all that shit
wuzn’t enough:
A rat done bit my sister Nell
(with Whitey on the
moon)
Her face and arm began to swell
(but Whitey’s on the moon)
Was
all that money I made last year
(for Whitey on the moon?)
How come there
ain’t no money here?
(Hmm! Whitey’s on the moon)
Y’know I just ’bout had
my fill
(of Whitey on the moon)
I think I’ll sen’ these doctor
bills
Airmail special
(to Whitey on the moon)

Gil Scott- Heron – Whitey on the moon

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 20:50

So far, nobody has presented anything but their opinions. Do you think
anyone is amused or interested in your stupidity? If you can’t have a
reasonable discussion and want to continue a baseless little shouting match
you go right ahead. I SAID if this turns into Obama bashing, I’m not playing,
not that I was going to leave, because I have a right to express my opinions.
You are the only one bellowing and pawing the ground like some spoiled little
brat who isn’t getting his way. So far, you’re about the only one screeching
about Obama. I would have to say that you are an out-and-out racist, and I
would LOOOOOVE to see you standing in a crowd of African-Americans, talking
the garbage you’re talking. Let’s just say you wouldn’t be standing for too
damn long. Also, please learn how to correctly spell mem’sa’ab. That really
shows how ignorant you truly are.

The white supremacist
formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at
21:21

That did not take too long, I am officially a racist, courtesy of mem’
sa’ab mewsical. (mem’ sa’ab is basically phonetic so there is no correct
spelling miz mewsical)

I would be a racist that lived next door to a black family (and got along
very well with them) for twelve years, also lived next door to a moslem
family in London for two years, not typical racist behaviour one would have
thought. I think it unfortunate that you believe an African-American group
would necessarily be violent to me, are you perhaps type-casting these
people? That miz mewsical is racist.

And whether you like it or not you are playing the Obambi game, whether
you are aware of it is a different matter.

And you people out there, quit presenting your opinions, that ain’t
allowed. Miz mewsical calls the shots around this plantation.

Booooy!! hurry up with that damn iced tea, mem’ sa’ab is about to blow a
fuse.

Gotta go mewsical, tell me, how much for the rights to your material? I
would like to pitch it as a comedy skit to some people I know up here in
Hollywood North.

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 21:58

Phonetic spelling?? Really?? LOL! I knew you were stupid, but now
you’ve proven it. My family lived 36 years in India. It’s memsahib, dear.
The male equivalent is sahib.

You think because you lived next door to a black family for 12 years
and oooh, 2 years next to a Muslim family, that somehow makes you not a
racist? I lived for four years in East Nashville, which is a predominantly
black neighborhood. 85% of my neighbors were African-American. That was
the Neighborhood Association I was part of – elected, btw, serving on the
crime committee, for four years. Going to visit our black neighbors to
help them with the crime in the streets because they didn’t trust the
white police. Fortunately, they trusted good ol’ racist Sally and all her
good ol’ racist friends on the association, and things got better all
around in East Nashville. The crack dealers moved on – too many people
watching them. But not using guns, confronting them, or anything of the
sort.

The white
supremacist formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at 22:09

See how the racist tag works?-both ways. Were the crack dealers
black? Did you discriminate against blacks? Should I tell Holder? Obambi
was a small-time dope dealer, would you have run him out of Hawai’i?

Sally
Stevens July 17, 2013 at 22:12

I thought you were going. Please do, you’re boring as well as
stupid.

The white
supremacist formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at 22:17

Ladies first, I use the term loosely miz mewsical.

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 20:05

I am not interested in the color of the skin or ancestry of either of the
parties involved. And yes, wtf is a ‘white Hispanic,’ and why was it even
necessary to introduce that term into the proceedings anyway? His mother is
from Peru, which doesn’t get mentioned much, so I presume that most people
might think he is Mexican or Cuban. Either way, it has no bearing on what
happened. What I don’t like is that this was a KID. Black, white, hispanic,
Asian, whatever. And Zimmerman acknowledged that to dispatch. “Late teens.”
Please don’t lecture me on legal proceedings here in the U.S. I’m well aware
of them. You don’t know anything about me at all, and sit in judgment because
I happen to be disgusted with the laws in the state of Florida, which
permitted this action.

The white supremacist
formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at
20:40

Please don’t confuse sally with facts, it irritates her. We don’t want
her threatening to leave, like she did previously some two days ago.

BOOOOOY……….git miz mewsical some Arizona iced tea and some Skittles,
double quick now y’hear, mem’sa’ab is getting overheated.

sackcloth and
ashes July 18, 2013 at 11:27

‘And yes, wtf is a ‘white Hispanic,’ and why was it even necessary to
introduce that term into the proceedings anyway?’

Journos who were interested in demonising Zimmerman as a racist murderer
before the case even began, so that people like you would be prejudiced in
advance.

‘What I don’t like is that this was a KID. Black, white, hispanic, Asian,
whatever’.

I don’t like it either. I don’t like the idea of people being shot
full-stop, adults or kids, and I say that has someone who has soldiered, and
has had on at least two occasions to make the hard decision on whether to
shoot to project myself or my comrades (I didn’t on either, as it happens).
But the bottom line is that no one could disprove Zimmerman’s story that he
was suddenly accosted and attacked by a brawny assailant (even if he did
happen to be 17), beaten to the ground, and that he shot him because he was
scared that he’d be killed. You have no right to prejudge his actions,
particularly as you have never been in an analogous situation yourself.

And as I’ve pointed out yet again – ‘late teens’ can cover a young adult.
I don’t know how to make this clearer to you without drawing it with a
crayon.

As for you ‘sitting in judgement’ because of your ‘disgust’ with Florida
law, well boo-hoo. State law does not get handed down from Mount Sinai by a
white God, it evolves over decades of practice, and given that in your
country you vote for your judges (and often your DAs), the citizens of
Florida have a say in it as well. If you don’t like that, perhaps you’d
ponder on the alternative of ochlocracy, which (around 100 years) ago
actually meant lynch law.

You keep complaining that people are just offering ‘opinions’ here. Fine.
The onus on you now is to tell us all – on the basis of your untrammeled
expertise in legal matters – to tell us where the trial fell down on basic
and established principles of legality, and why the verdict was flawed.

Jonathan Mason
July 17, 2013 at 17:27

I have read many articles about the Zimmerman trial, but this is easily the
best.

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2013/07/20.html

The white supremacist
previously known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at
12:29

I am not usually a particular fan of Slate, and I do not entirely agree
with guys conclusions, nor do I expect mewsical to understand what is posted
here, but this seems like an informed piece.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2013/07/trayvon_martin_verdict_racism_hate_crimes_prosecution_and_other_overreactions.html

Just for mewsical -at NO time did the dispatcher tell Zimmerman to stay in
his car.

Anna
Raccoon July 17, 2013 at 12:45

An excellent article from Slate – but I am slightly non-plussed by the
closing statement – “don’t blame every gun death on guns” – what else should
we blame them on – broom handles?

Moor Larkin July 17, 2013 at 13:04

Some of this controversy is reminiscent of car accidents, when the
driver is arguably somewhere between careless, reckless and dangerous
depending on your outlook. If he wraps the car around a lamp-post, we
shrug and say, “Serves him right – hope he gets better”; but if he kills a
child, we want him to somehow pay grievously for what was actually the
same offence in objective law as when he hit the lamp-post. Cars don’t
kill people, people do?

I’m not sure how you resolve the issue of the consequences of simply
making bad decisions or even if it is possible to do so, without everyone
one of us sooner or later ending up being prosecuted for what “might have
happened”……

solarman July 18, 2013 at 09:23

You are spot on. This was a foolish act by a man with poor judgement.
I would have thought that manslaughter would have been a better charge
that might have got a conviction.

The white
supremacist formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at 17:24

I suppose only the author knows.

As I said, I do not entirely agree with all his conclusions. I can only
assume he is using the logic that a gun in itself is an inert object, for
a death to occur the gun needs an operator, lethal ammunition and the
intent to use it, and further projecting that thought, that the operator
does not always operate logically particularly when under stress of
attack.

As a white supremacist, I do not think that Zimmerman (who after all is
white too, just as Obambi is also white) operated particularly illogically
by blasting the thug Trayvon into eternity. Too bad that was necessary,
but it had to happen eventually given the crime trajectory Saint Trayvon
was on.

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 18:28

I work from home. No riots here. The request for funding was a social
experiment, so to speak. I was extremely gratified to my friends who
contributed small amounts to help me reach my goal. Tell me something, my
dear, why are you so fascinated with me? A crush perhaps?

One of the lawyers I work with was here this morning – he’s been
practicing criminal law for over 30 years, and his father was a well-known
detective with the LAPD. He dismissed the opinion that the settlement on the
part of the homeowners association was meaningless. It was not. It is
significant. If one of our clients had accomplished that, and we were going
to continue on with our case, it would be extremely helpful.

The white
supremacist formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at 19:10

“A crush perhaps”…………Mmmmmmm nope, you flatter yourself. I was
seriously considering serving you for libel, so I would need your correct
name and address. That old saw “sticks and stones will break your bones”
echoed around my head, reality intervened and quite honestly the more I
learned of you, I felt sorry for you.

“experiment, so to speak” huh, is that what they call panhandling in
California, any contributions from the committee to re-elect Obambi
perchance?

I quote ” The recession hit at the same time, work was almost
non-existent until the end of 2009, and things are still slow. I am
getting by with a little help from my benefits, and now I hope I
can get to be a citizen with a little help from my friends. ” Goal $800,
thats quite a social experiment, and you get to vote too, hmmmm.

Glad to hear you have no riots so far, perhaps Obambi, Holder, Jackson
and Sharpton will have to work harder to achieve their aims, have you sent
an invitation to Al?

And now I see the slaves are slacking off in the cotton fields, I will
have to go and whip a few, damned inconsiderate, I will raise a
sweat.Thank you for my new moniker I am embracing it.

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 18:29

They said, when asked if Zimmerpig was following Trayvon, “We don’t need
you to do that.”

However, oopsie, here’s this about your boy:

“One thing troubles me about his testimony at the bail hearing. At that
hearing, Zimmerman said he did not realize how young Trayvon was and he said
the thought Trayvon was only a little bit younger than he was. Zimmerman is
28 and his point was that he thought he was confronted by a grown man, not a
minor.

But on the 911 call Zimmerman says Trayvon looks like a teenager:

Dispatcher: How old would you say he looks?

Zimmerman: He’s got button on his shirt, late teens.

Obviously, Zimmerman said one thing on the 911 call and something
completely different at the bail hearing, and the distinction between his
belief he was confronted by a minor versus a grown man is a significant one.
The prosecutor should have hammered Zimmerman on this point, but instead,
the prosecutor delved into nonsense and lame arguments

sackcloth and
ashes July 17, 2013 at 18:50

‘But on the 911 call Zimmerman says Trayvon looks like a teenager’

The words were ‘late teens’, which can also cover anyone who is 18 or
19 years old (so your ‘minro versus a grown man’ claim is, to use your own
terminology, a ‘lame argument’).

‘Zimmerman said he did not realize how young Trayvon was and he said
the thought Trayvon was only a little bit younger than he was’.

How much is ‘a little bit’. Two years? Five? Ten?

This is your smoking gun to convict ‘Zimmerpig’ of murder?

Again, thank God for trial by jury rather than mob prejudice.

Sally
Stevens July 17, 2013 at 19:06

Oh come on! Still trying to be right here? I thought that
manslaughter was the appropriate charge, btw. A ‘little bit’ – two
years, not more than three. He said ‘late teens.’ 17, 18, 19. He lied at
the bail hearing, and while we’re at it, Zimmerpig had already been in
court for domestic violence, and also alcohol abuse. And he’s a grown
man. I am also getting annoyed with this portrayal of Z as a ‘working
class’ man. Not really. Father was a judge, which puts him fairly
squarely in the middle-classes at the very least. This relationship, to
my mind, was the reason they failed to charge him for six weeks. They
hoped this was going to go away, they were not prepared to go to trial,
but the public outcry was too deafening.

I see that the working class guy’s father has also written a book. At
least we’ll be spared the juror’s version, and I am happy that the other
five women drew away from her as if from a very bad smell.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/george-zimmerman-father-african-americans-racist_n_3447025.html

sackcloth and
ashes July 17, 2013 at 19:43

Right, some remedial education in basic principles of trial by jury
is required here.

In a murder trial it is the job of the prosecution to prove that
the defendant is guilty – beyond all reasonable doubt – of the
pre-meditated slaying of another human being. In a manslaughter trial
it is the job of the prosecution to prove that the defendant is guilty
– beyond all reasonable doubt – of the unjustified slaying of another
human being (i.e. the legal right of any citizen to self-defence did
not apply).

It is not the defence’s job to prove that their client is
innocent.

Jurors can only consider evidence that is presented to them in
court. They cannot speculate about any matters they are not briefed
on, and which are not raised by either the prosecution or the defence.
The jurors deliberated over the evidence at hand for 16 hours before
coming to their verdict. End of story.

You are using selective evidence from the prosecution to prove that
Zimmerman was a violent thug (he was not convicted of domestic
violence, and the restraining order his ex took out on him was matched
by one he took out on her). You are therefore no different from those
who tried to present Martin as a prototype gangster. And in any case,
this is irrelevant to the trial itself.

You are also desperately picking at anomalies of language to prove
that Zimmerman ‘lied’ in his testimony. What makes you in any way
different from the NBC types who edited the tape to imply that
Zimmerman had racially profiled Martin verbally before going out to
confront him?

I’m so sorry you’re upset that this case was settled in a court of
law according to established legal precedents rather than the cries of
the mob. I’m also sorry that Martin is dead, but to convict Zimmerman
of murder (or even manslaughter) on such weak evidence would have been
a travesty of justice. And if the roles had been reversed, and Martin
‘white Hispanic’ (whatever the hell that is) and Zimmerman
African-American, I’d be thinking the same way. I suspect you would
not.

The white
supremacist formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at 19:16

“my boy”…oh my, and was Trayvon your “boy”.

You sound almost like, what is the term? It is on the tip of my
tongue-why yes, a white supremacist! Well if not that, then at least a
RACIST. Should I report you to Holder?

Too bad you were not on the prosecution team, they could have done with
another clown.

JK July 17, 2013 at 08:22

I don’t comment here much (being from Arkansas) but there seems to be a lot
of nonsense afoot.

Most of it seeming to be somewhere along the lines of, “Justice for
Trayvon” – which on the face of it seem ridiculous. Mewsical’s ramblings
aside.

http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2013/07/the-zimmerman-verdict-and-the-planetary-difference-between-left-and-right.html

Moor
Larkin July 16, 2013 at 23:26

Listening to a discussion on the World Service, the racial angle to all of
this seemed to not be that a “white man” shot a “black man”, but rather that a
“black man” was shot and nobody in the law-keeping fraternity seemed to give a
damn. The basic objection raised seemed to be that if a “white man” had been
shot in the same circumstances then there would have been a different reaction
by the “authorities”.

This incident in LA seems to involve another Neighbourhood Watch
initiative, but the guy was white:
http://www.realfarmacy.com/man-shot-dead-by-police-while-watering-neighbors-lawn/
This
is an example of the citizen spy culture taking root in the United States with
the “If you see something, say something” program encouraged by The Department
of Homeland Security. Apparently, a neighbor made a 911 call after he
mistakenly interpreted a man simply sitting on a porch as a “drunk with a
gun.” Officers arrived, ready for battle, and the man just sitting on the
porch was shot dead.

rabbitaway
July 16, 2013 at 23:50

Just watched that video Moor – dear me, this guy was just sitting on some
steps and one of the neighbour’s who didn’t know him told the cops he had a
gun in his hands. It was actually a hose head that actually does LOOK LIKE a
gun. The point is that the cops did not shout any kind of warning and shot
him with a shotgun. It’s quite upsetting to hear his sister’s reaction to
that bit of the press conference. Very sad, the police were way out of line
here by the sounds of it.

rabbitaway July 16, 2013 at 20:31

Here’s an article on the matter from Spiked today

http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/trayvon_martin/#.UeWeIW2anSg

Anna
Raccoon July 16, 2013 at 21:07

Good article that rabbitaway with some excellent links to US commentary –
the author has his own blog at http://americansituation.com/ I shall be keeping an eye on
it – I haven’t noticed previous articles at Spiked by him.

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 19:27

Not true in this country, Julia, at least in a case of a private
organization, not some deep-pocket state agency. What this does is establish
that wrongdoing occurred and it was acknowledged by the parties who were sued,
i.e. the ‘employers’ of Zimmerman. A million dollars isn’t chump change by any
means. I would surmise that their insurance company paid up and their monthly
premium has skyrocketed accordingly. Therefore, with this in hand, it makes
the next civil suit, against Zimmerman, that much easier to prosecute.

I don’t know what the Feds intend to do yet. The AG is meeting with the
NAACP today. Rather doubt it’ll be a go, but we’ll see.

therealguyfaux
July 18, 2013 at 00:13

Don’t make me laugh! You supposedly know the law? Then you know
settlements aren’t evidence of anything.

Settlements are usually reached for the purposes of there being no
previous adjudication on the subject, the result of which is either
conclusive in a further proceeding, or at the very least, evidence which can
be introduced at a further proceeding to bar certain claims or denials by
one party or the other. It’s a legal doctrine called “collateral estoppel.”
Settlements made for the purpose of no admission of liability are used to
obviate this.

As well, insurance (or the lack thereof) is never admissible absent a
denial of claims of ownership of property made by defendants– i.e., “If you
didn’t own it [or have some other insurable interest in it] then why were
you paying the insurance premiums on it?”

Insurance companies are notorious, because of what are called
duty-to-defend clauses in policies, for selling their clients out, by paying
out on a claim where to vigorously defend it will cost more than the policy
limit; by offering a generous settlement under the circumstances, hopefully
for the insurers well below policy limits, insurers put plaintiffs in a
bind, under the American legal system. If you go to trial and the jury
awards you less than the offer, you are on the hook for the costs of the
defence incurred after the offer. Most plaintiff lawyers, looking to get a
sure 33.33% right then and there, tell their clients to settle, as the best
possible solution in the situation. In this instance, a homeowners’ assn.
insured for maybe like three to five mill, tells the Martins, “One mill–
take it or leave it.” The Martins’ lawyers say, “If we take it, nothing bad
about Trayvon comes out at a civil trial that hasn’t already done, your
boy’s memory won’t be dragged through the mud, and you’ll be well-rid of
Zimmo’s ugly face; go to trial, you might possibly win and be awarded one
dollar, and you owe a shitload to the insurers– your choice.”

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 17:11

Unfortunately, Cascadian, I am not penniless, and I work in law. You come
on ahead, dear.

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 18:54

Btw, I wanted to repost this because everyone seems to be blithely
ignoring it. Justice comes in stages, as this report notes. The Homeowners’
Association have settled with the Martin family for their wrongful death
suit. The amount is believed to be at least $1 million. This happened in
April. Comments, anyone? And I believe that there will be a wrongful death
suit against Zimmerman personally. That didn’t work out so well for OJ,
doubt its going to work out for Zim either. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/trayvon-martin-death-civil-case-housing-complex-settled-1-million-article-1.1308943

JuliaM July
16, 2013 at 19:16

No-one’s ignoring it, Mewsical. Organisations settle all the time,
because it’s usually cheaper than defending a claim and so feeding the
bottom-feeders of the legal system. Why, just yesterday over here, the
police settled with a bunch of scummy students who were told to disperse
and didn’t, and so got a set of police Alsatian jaws wrapped round their
generative organs.

One commends the doggy’s efforts to ensure Darwin Award contender
status to the miscreants. Probably too late, but still…

The white supremacist
previously known as cascadian July 17, 2013
at 12:05

Ahhhhh, mewsical “works in law”, bless. Good for you mewsical, you must
be very busy, if you spend all day on the internet, does your employer know?
But, somehow that information does not fit. Was it not you who was begging
for a couple of hundred bucks on the internet last year? Big successful
legal minds don’t do that do they?

Here’s the thing mewsical it would be pointless and expensive to sue a
welfare queen, so gloat if you wish, the Obambi economy is certainly working
for you.

As to you calling me a white supremacist, I have had time to re-evaluate
that moniker and have decided to adopt it. It seems to me they used to call
Ian Smith in Rhodesia the same, we all know how that turned out. Ian Smith
was right, the blacks were demonstrably unready to run an economy, but fools
such as yourself can never contemplate the truth when it involves black
politicians.Of course that position exposes me to charges of racism and I
will have to accept that kind of nonsense, any serious reading of my
comments shows I am an equal opportunity critic of white politicians too,
though I doubt that will penetrate the skulls of many of the deluded.

Too bad you missed the entire point of Anna’s post about racial bigotry,
it does not speak too well for your legal abilities, but you are in good
company with the race hustlers Obambi, Sharpton, Holder and Jackson. I
predict a fine future for you in social justice, making up shit as you go
along.

And so it only remains for me to wish you what you seek, I hope you get
your race riots in Studio City and the place ends up looking like Watts or
Detroit, sometimes reality is the only cure for dreamers.

Moor Larkin July 17, 2013 at 12:19

We always had a soft spot for Ian Smith in Britain, because he was a
Spitfire pilot in WW2.

Apropos the white supremacists; I’ve only just become aware that the
jury was all-female, and they only have six of them Whatever happened to
12 good men and true?…

“This verdict is a crystal-clear illustration of the way white
supremacy operates in America. Throughout the trial, the media repeatedly
referred to an “all-woman jury” in that Seminole County courtroom, adding
that most of them were mothers. That is true—but so is that five of the
six jurors were white, and that is profoundly significant for cases like
this one.”
http://www.thenation.com/blog/175260/white-supremacy-acquits-george-zimmerman#

The white
supremacist formerly known as cascadian July 17, 2013 at 17:49

Just more of the grievance-industrial complex Moor, the article is
execrable nonsense.

One assumes that in the normal tradition of law that each member of
the jury was selected after both the defence and prosecuting teams had
interviewed them and acceded to each members selection.If there was a
problem with jury composition it would be as much a failing of the
prosecuting team. By extension, we should be including them as white
supremacists, which is getting to be a very large club.(I thought when I
joined it their would be some form of exclusivity, just us WOG*s getting
together in exclusive bars, smoking cigars and discussing the terrible
cost and general poor quality of slaves). It has been quite a
disappointment thus far. WOG* white old guy

As to why a 6 person jury? I have no idea, one assumes that Florida
thinks this adequate to get the done.

sackcloth and
ashes July 16, 2013 at 16:31

This is quite interesting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/16/george-zimmerman-jurors-trayvon-martin

Notice the subheading – ‘Juror says Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted over
Trayvon Martin’s death after they studied law more closely’.

Fancy that?

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 17:16

How about this though sackcloth – the hed, not the sub-hed. “George
Zimmerman: half of jurors ‘initially favoured conviction.” The juror
interviewed says also that three of the jury felt Zimmerman was guilty. They
had to go with the law as written, whatever their personal feelings
were.

sackcloth and
ashes July 17, 2013 at 15:50

OK, let’s make it nice and simple for you.

(1) Before they started their deliberations, half the jury wanted to
convict because of their gut instincts.
(2) Then they all sat down to
deliberate, and spent 16 hours in doing so.
(3) The jurors reviewed the
evidence presented to them, and also made sure that they were fully up to
speed with the letter of the law.
(4) After a prolonged discussion
based on (3) they decided to acquit.

Maybe you would have preferred them to avoid steps 2-4. But, you know
something, the USA (like the UK) has this wonderful system called trial by
jury, and on the principle that the prosecution has to prove the
defendant’s guilt beyond all reasonable doubt. Maybe you’d prefer show
trials, or snap decisions made on the basis of the defendant and victim’s
ethnicity. Pardon me if I don’t.

Sally
Stevens July 17, 2013 at 18:17

This one is good too, Jonathan. http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_End_Of_The_Daily_Trayvon

This morning five of the sitting jurors formally distanced themselves
from the opinion of juror B37, who made an unpleasant example of herself
and then signed a book deal. The book deal offer has now been withdrawn.

White Supremacist, you need to stop stalking me. People will say
we’re in love!

John July 16, 2013 at 16:29

There is ample evidence here of the extreme polarity of opinion in America
which has sadly escalated so much in recent years.

John July 16, 2013 at 16:28

Ample evidence here of the extreme polarity of opinion in America which has
sadly escalated so much in recent years.

Tom July 16, 2013
at 09:40

I really haven’t got my head around this case at all. The media reporting
has been more about the racial angle than about the information presented in
court. I would have thought that with all the technology we now know the NSA
has got that they might have taken the trouble to record the conversation with
Rachel Jeantel. They could then have demonstrated the power of surveillance on
their citizens to confirm/refute the witness claims!

Anna, I don’t know why you are surprised (or call it racism) when
newspapers choose to ignore 99% of the crimes that go on and pick up on the 1%
that have controversial elements to them That is the nature of the media. They
don’t report what is going on in the world – just what they think will grab a
headline. They could report a different murder every hour of the day if they
felt like it. It just doesn’t sell newspapers.

Jonathan
Mpwason July 16, 2013 at 13:09

Yes, there also seemed to be a lack of detailed technical information.
For example how many seconds elapsed between when Rachel Jeantel heard “Why
are you following me?” and then her phone went dead, and the shot ringing
out. This information should have been available from cross-comparing phone
records and 911 recordings.

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 15:47

She reported that she was able to hear the first statement from Zim,
then shoving and then apparently Trayvon’s earpiece fell out and the phone
went dead. She did not hear the shot as far as I know, the phone was no
longer transmitting. At this point, a neighbor heard the screaming and
called 911. She presumably heard the shot as well. It makes no difference
either way. The bottom line here is that Zimmerman directly caused this
kid’s death by leaving his car unnecessarily like the stupid yahoo that he
is. I agree with the police officer at the blog link above. This
individual was a wanna-be cop, but wasn’t bright enough to pass the psych
exam to actually join the police department or the sheriff, despite that
fact that his daddy is a retired judge. Also, the State did a shitty job
of things. They overcharged Zimmerman and staged a less than adequate
prosecution. I was listening to the SA on the radio yesterday. Pathetic. I
guess the juror who was seeking to enrich herself by writing a book about
the trial has now changed her mind. Ya think?? Oh, and to make things even
better, they’re giving Zim back his gun, the very one he used to kill
Trayvon. What’s next? Back on patrol at Twin Lakes???

JuliaM July
16, 2013 at 16:28

Why shouldn’t they give him back his property? Thanks to race-baiting
idiots frothing about a trial verdict that didn’t go the way they
expected, he’s going to need it more than ever…

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 17:04

Indeed he will. If we ever see him again, which is very
unlikely.

Furor Teutonicus
July 16, 2013 at 08:56

XX ‘creepy-ass cracker’ The origins of the derogatory term ‘cracker’ are
obscure; derived from a description of the whip-cracking drovers who herded
livestock and later attributed to slave overseers. XX

Bollox!

A couple of mates of mine from LAPD, NYPD, Seattle P.D, and NYFD
(Para-medic) use the phrase all the time to describe assholes up to thir ears
on CRACK.

You MAY have heard of “Crack”?

Jonathan
Mpwason July 16, 2013 at 13:04

Maybe they do, but that is not how the word “cracker” is usually used in
Florida. Trust me, I lived there for 20 years.

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 15:49

This sort of statement is how crazy this has all become, Jonathan. In
fact, the expression is ‘crack head’ not ‘cracker.’

Jonathan
Mason July 16, 2013 at 17:27

I know that, but he is reporting a newer usage that he has heard.

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 18:05

Him and nobody else. Can’t find any reference to that term anywhere
regarding crack heads.

Elena ‘andcart
July 16, 2013 at 08:47

I thought the whole point of Free Speech was that we don’t have to
agree.

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 18:25

There’s free speech and there’s rudeness for the sake of it. Too much of
that going on in the country these days.

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 00:25

I wanted to respond to Frankie, who noted that I sometimes comment on
matters that are not strictly American. Not wishing to cause any offense,
because Frankie seems like a reasonable sort, but I only do that if it is a
situation in the UK that directly impacted me, i.e. Jimmy Savile and Duncroft.
Otherwise, unless I know what I’m on about, I stay out of it. If this had
happened in England, I wouldn’t have much interest, to be quite honest. I
haven’t lived there since 1969, and only visited a few times in the 90s, while
my father was still alive. Anna is a prolific blogger and covers many subjects
in her travels, some of which I find go over my head a bit in terms of my
personal knowledge. She was way ahead of the curve with the Gosnell story,
because the media here pretty much stayed away from it until the trial was
nearly over and then gave it a couple of days, so that the public was aware of
what had happened, as opposed to what was happening.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 23:59

Zin told the police he would meet them at the guardhouse. Why the hell
didn’t he just DO that???

Bob July 15, 2013 at 23:32

Sadly this blog has now gone down considerably in my estimation. Shame
really.

charlotte July 15, 2013 at 23:55

Here, here. I’m sorry about the way this discussion has deteriorated, I
don’t want to join in.

Moor
Larkin July 16, 2013 at 09:32

@Bob
The blog?
Or the commentators?

charlotte
July 16, 2013 at 21:02

the commentators!!!

Anna
Raccoon July 16, 2013 at
21:08

Bless you Charlotte!

john malpas July 15, 2013 at 23:29

yes but multiculturism really works dont it.

rabbitaway July 15, 2013 at 23:20

I will – not wishing to make light, but here’s a link to a trailer for a
Spanish film called La Zona from 2007 -set in a gated community. It was on
telly here a while back and was quite well done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tkcx6R7DRc

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 23:10

The police officer who comments at the link I just put up conjectures that
Zim more than likely has applied for a job as a police officer and didn’t make
the cut. It’s well worth the effort of clicking on the link, to read this
former police officer’s insights.

Lancastrian Oik
July 16, 2013 at 16:48

“The police officer who comments at the link I just put up conjectures
that Zim more than likely has applied for a job as a police officer and
didn’t make the cut. It’s well worth the effort of clicking on the link, to
read this former police officer’s insights”.

Then again, Zimmerman may have done no such thing.

Yet more non-fact-based stereotyping from a soi-disant liberal.

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 17:51

I didn’t notice that the police officer was a soi disant liberal, so
far I have not self-proclaimed myself to be a liberal, and that’s what soi
disant means, btw. You’re the one proclaiming, not I.

rabbitaway July 15, 2013 at 22:59

The more I read about this the more I agree with Mewsical. He should not
have been playing police officer. He should have stuck to calling 911, and he
should have done as he was told. His attitude on the phone was not that of a
man in fear of his life. He had a choice, he made the wrong one, he should
suffer some penalty. I’m not surprised that so many people are on the streets
protesting tonight. I hope other innocents will not suffer as a result.

JuliaM July 16,
2013 at 05:24

“He had a choice, he made the wrong one, he should suffer some
penalty.”

You think he hasn’t? The process is the punishment, remember?

rabbitaway
July 16, 2013 at 10:08

@Julia – ‘the process is the punishment’ , well no, I don’t remember
that one must have passed me by. Are you saying that the waiting to be
tried and then attending a hearing that will decide guilt or otherwise is
‘punishment’ either way. Not good for the innocent to be so ‘punished’.
Zimmerman is responsible for the death of that boy and he should be
punished accordingly. I did not sit through the trial so I don’t know if
he really needed to use his gun, but, at the very least this was
manslaughter.

Moor Larkin July 16, 2013 at 10:22

@rabbitaway
I think the defence was one of self-defence.
Zimmerman’s use of the gun was defensible on the basis of Florida’s
“stand your ground” law, so whereas our Tony Martin was adjudged to have
used excessive force by using his gun, in Zimmerman’s case it was deemed
appropriate. I was watching some clips of news coverage last night from
Sanford and the interviewer on the street said that most folks she spoke
to regretted the whole thing had happened, but that the decision of the
jury should be respected.

rabbitaway July
16, 2013 at 10:56

@Moor – I get it about the ‘stand your ground’ thing. I also get
that the jury had no other choice but to find the man not guilt.
Apparently, it all hinges on the moment immediately preceeeding the
pulling of the trigger. The jury accepted the defense’s claim that Z
was indeed fighting for his life at this point, but as Mewsical kept
repeating last night, had HE not got out of that car …… ! To be fair,
you would have to hear all the evidence as this woman did. I think a
change in the law is called for !

BTW Moor I know that the case with the other Martin was different
but the public reaction was/is semi similar – some people thought Tony
Martin was a hero for gunning down that boy !

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10181509/George-Zimmerman-trial-juror-defends-not-guilty-verdict.html

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 18:10

The Florida State Attorney erred badly when she decided to overcharge
Zimmerman with second-degree murder. The whole thing was a cock-up from
start to finish. Either way, Zim is now a pariah, who will never draw a
peaceful breath again and will likely have to leave America forever for
his own protection. It would have been better if he could have received
some time, even a token sentence, so that there was a perception of
justice for the death of this kid. I have a feeling, if asked, that Zim
himself would agree with that. Now, his future is bleak at best.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 22:58

I would also like to remind people that Mr. Zimmerman’s father is a retired
judge. Probably explains why Zim wasn’t arrested for 6 weeks.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 22:47

This is a very insightful blog post from a police officer regarding this
situation, especially as it pertains to the George Zimmermans of their world.
Cops aren’t big fans, but endure them on a daily basis. This particular police
officer is from Atlanta. There are already nearly 500 comments. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/14/1223459/-A-Cop-s-take-on-the-Verdict?detail=email#

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 21:08

Btw, we don’t see those two photographs featured here. Saw the Zimmerman
one after his arrest and then not again. The popular photo of Trayvon is not
that one either.

pils July 15, 2013 at 20:41

Wow Anna! Not seen a lamer troll like that since that Liverpool thingy. But
now you’ve all fed it enough…

BTW not happy about liverpool being auto capped.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 20:32

Here are some names that are apparently acceptable these days – especially
as they are used commonly on the television, i.e. the Beverly Hillbillies,
Jeff Foxworthy’s You Might Be A Redneck franchise, don’t know if you’re
enduring Honey Boo-Boo and her godawful family – succinctly described as set
in tiny McIntyre, Ga., the show continues to plunder Southern and rural
stereotypes, Hillbilly Blood and Hillbilly Handfishin’ are also very
popular.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 20:18

I don’t get Piers Morgan either. But we have to stop defending Zimmerman’s
because he made the decision to get out of his SUV when he was told not to. At
that point, he wrote his own ticket. There’s really nothing more to it than
that. Stay in your car, live. Get out of your car, someone dies, someone gets
their head bashed in, and now the country is in chaos once more. Lovely.

JuliaM July 16,
2013 at 05:22

“…and now the country is in chaos once more.”

*looks at fairly normal level of violence for any given day of the week
in certain US cities and scratches head*

It is..?

Niall July 15, 2013 at 19:58

Hi Anna,

See the att’d interview with George Zimmerman’s brother and (insufferable
Brit) Piers Morgan.
Robert mops the floor with Piers

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/piers-your-mora.html#comments

YT

Niall from Winnipeg, Canada

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 19:57

I have no idea what that comment even means.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 19:23

What legal premise would suing the President of the United States for
speaking his mind come under exactly? How did that statement affect anything
at all? We have freedom of speech here. This was the tragic loss of a young
man and Zimmerman’s life is also ruined as a consequence. As attorney O’Mara
rightly said, “There are no winners here.”

Elena ‘andcart
July 15, 2013 at 19:57

I sometimes wonder why you have Trials. I already know all about The
Freedom of Speech But Only For Me Brigade.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 19:20

The trouble was already stirred up, nothing Obama said or didn’t say would
have made the slightest difference. Obama is likely right, that if he had a
son, he might have looked a bit like Trayvon. Apparently, Trayvon’s parents
did not take exception to this statement and I don’t either. I wish you guys
would move here and try and see it from an American perspective. Better Obama
than that sock-puppet Cameron, is all I have to say.

Jonathan
Mpwason July 15, 2013 at 19:49

It would depend on who the mother was.

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 19:57

Michelle presumably!

cascadian July 15, 2013 at 20:43

Mewsical (for once) is right. If Obama had a son he would look like the
thug Trayvon, he would also be consorting with rapping riff-raff (invited to
the White House by his Obamaness), assaulting people and stealing their
jewelry, owning break-in tools, smoking dope and making a thorough nuisance
of himself everywhere he went. He would be a no-limit-nigga.

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 20:49

How is Trayvon a thug? Because he defended himself, as is allowed under
the law in Florida, by bashing silly George’s head into the sidewalk when
silly George could be getting on with his life if he had simply stayed in
the car? Lookit, go off and have a beer with your white supremacist
friends, and leave this be. You’re making yourself look more and more
ignorant by the minute. Zimmerman’s wife was arrested for perjury, btw,
and they both lied about the amount of money they had to avoid a higher
bail.

So, who do you like for President in 2016? Jindal? Rubio? More men with
the wrong color skin for little Cascadian.

cascadian
July 15, 2013 at 21:13

Oh my, mewsical is losing another arguement and resorts to
name-calling.

Perhaps you would like to name my white supremacist friends, or
perhaps retract that comment, because you know-libel can be very
expensive.

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 21:18

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck,
Cascadian. I’m not retracting anything. This is a free country and I
can call you a white supremacist if I wish. You are certainly
comporting yourself like one, using well-defined hate speech, and
making very dangerous remarks about the President by inference.

cascadian
July 15, 2013 at 23:48

to mewsical July 15, 21:18

Your knowledge of the first amendment (freedom of speech) is equal
to your knowledge of the second amendment (right to bear
arms)-appalling.
My comments are based on information in the public
domain and are political in nature and thus protected, yours are
defamatory and libellous, and therefore not protected.

It took me a while to respond because I was doing a little
research, would you reply to the following:
Your name is Sally
Stevens, you live in Los Angeles, quite probably North Hollywood, you
are the owner and author of the blog “My life in a day”
My reason
for wishing to know, is to test your assertion that you can call me a
white supremacist without legal ramifications.

This may be difficult, because this http://www.gofundme.com/jrguo leads me to believe you
are penniless, and may explain your extreme bravado, as well as your
love of all things Obama

Thank you.

Elena ‘andcart
July 15, 2013 at 19:16

It was Obama who said that if he had a son he would have looked like
Trayvon. And if that isn’t stirring up trouble then I don’t know what is.
Stupid man.

Ancient + Tattered
Airman July 15, 2013 at 19:14

The original comment by President Obama may have been misconstrued by many
but if I was Zimmernan’s lawyer I’d play it to the full, including taking
legal action against the President.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 19:09

The Homeowners’ Association that permitted Zimmerman to drive around armed
has settled with the Martin family. And I should think so.

Mewsical July 16, 2013 at 00:17

Apparently they paid out over a million dollars.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 19:03

For those still interested in this – this is a good timeline developed by
CNN. It stresses that Zimmerman was asked by the dispatch to not follow
Trayvon and certainly not to confront him. http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/05/us/trayvon-martin-shooting-fast-facts

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 18:58

What on earth does that mean? That Zimmerman was getting out of his car to
welcome Trayvon to the community?? And if you’d actually read any of my posts
thoroughly, you’d know that I was an elected official of a Neighborhood
Association, so that sort of makes hay of your specious little argument that I
have no sense of community. So answer the question, please and stop bobbing
and weaving. Why did Zimmerman exit his vehicle when he had been asked not to
do that?

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 18:37

That’s not what I said. At no time did I state that Zimmerman got out of
his car with the deliberate intention to kill this teenager. He took a
calculated risk when he did, and it still needs to be explained why he exited
the vehicle. He got exactly what he asked for, to have his head bashed in, and
if it had gone the other way around, i.e. that he was unable to get to his gun
and Trayvon had killed him by repeatedly bashing his head into the pavement,
then Trayvon would have been released on the same theory that Zimmerman was.
Please have the respect to at least spell Trayvon’s name correctly. And, still
the question goes unanswered – why did Zimmerman feel it was necessary to exit
his vehicle? Hm? It wasn’t, is the answer. The police were on the way,
neighbors also called 911 if you remember. He caused this by his precipitate
action and for that, he is entirely to blame. The 911 operator said that they
would rather he didn’t even follow Trayvon, let alone get out of the car,
confront him and cause this mess. So, why did he get out of the car? Why?

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 18:48

You really do have no concept of community do you?

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 18:10

Okay, then why did he exit his vehicle? He has a gun. He knows it. Do you
think he would have exited the vehicle if he wasn’t armed and knew he could
defend himself against a 17 year old armed with ice tea and Skittles? Try and
apply some logic and stop insisting on being right.

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 18:23

“Okay, then why did he exit his vehicle? He has a gun. He knows it.”

Its not in dispute that he knew he had a gun, but once again your
changing your argument. What you actually said was “ Zimmerman would not
have exited his vehicle if he didn’t know he could legally shoot Trayvon and
then claim self-defense.” I pick you up on your claim that Zimmerman exited
his vehicle with the intention to shoot this youth and legally get away with
it. You realize that I am right and there is no way that you or I could know
what was going through Zimmermans head, and suddenly your now making your
argument that Zimmerman knew he had a gun…seriously? Your argument is weak
as hell and you change it from one moment to the next.

“Do you think he would have exited the vehicle if he wasn’t armed and
knew he could defend himself against a 17 year old armed with ice tea and
Skittles?”

How the hell did Zimmerman know what weapons this guy had on him? He
could not possibly have known. And besides even if he was armed only with
his fists those are still weapons.

Yet the facts are that it was Treyvon that attacked Zimmerman. Zimmerman
was underneath Treyvon when he fired in selfdefence. This has been proven in
court. What are you trying to say?…. that Zimmerman should simply have let
himself get beaten, possibly beaten to death. Or are you one of these people
that don’t realise that you don’t need a gun to kill someone, that actually
it is perfectly possible to kill someone with your fists?

Jonathan
Mpwason July 15, 2013 at 19:47

Yeah, I agree with Mewsical. Exiting his SUV vehicle on a dark rainy
night with the comforting feel of his holster on his hip will have made
wanna-be cop Zimmerman feel reassuringly official and powerful–almost like a
cop.

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 19:53

Unfortunate that he made this decision, and didn’t listen to the
instructions of the dispatcher. Lives would have been saved, Trayvon would
be on his way to college, and George could ostensibly continue his efforts
to protect the community whilst being a responsible member of society, not
some self-appointed hero with a firearm who cannot listen to official
instructions because he knows best, and who is now one of the most-hated
people in America.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 17:51

True, rabbit. Zimmerman would not have exited his vehicle if he didn’t know
he could legally shoot Trayvon and then claim self-defense. How about stay in
your car, Mr. Zimmerman, the police are on their way? That’s the responsible
and sensible thing to do. Trayvon didn’t walk up to the car and try to open
the door, did he? All he was doing was eating Skittles and talking to his
friend Rachel on the phone as he headed home. Shouldn’t have been a) wearing a
hoodie and, b) black.

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 17:59

“Zimmerman would not have exited his vehicle if he didn’t know he could
legally shoot”

How could you possibly know that? Did Zimmerman call you and tell you
this, or are you just making up the facts again?

JuliaM July
16, 2013 at 05:19

Well, Mewsical seems to have a good idea how the ‘Hispanics’ feel.

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 17:01

I live in Los Angeles. More Hispanics – Mexicans mostly – here than
anywhere else except Texas. California is a border state. Btw, Mr.
Zimmerman is part Peruvian through his mother. Not Mexican.

rabbitaway July 15, 2013 at 17:47

This reminds me of the Tony Martin story – the guy who shot a young burglar
IN THE BACK after he and his chums had broken into his home. The story divided
opinion at the time with some folk delighted that someone had at last stood up
for themselves. Martin went to jail because he shot 2 people, one fatally, in
the back trying to run away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2322457/Farmer-Tony-Martin-jailed-shooting-teenage-burglar-confronts-thieves-second-time.html

Had Mr Martin not had that gun, the outcome would have been quite
different, as I’m sure it would have been in The Zimmerman case too !

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 17:47

I also thought it odd that Zimmerman was on a neighborhood watch in a
‘gated community.’ To whom did he report when he was on his rounds, who told
him it was okay to behave this way, and who is ultimately accountable? If he
was a member of a real Neighborhood Association, such as the one I belonged
to, elected to my position, then he would have been on a roster, and would
have reported to us if there was any trouble, as well as calling our assigned
police officer. And this was in the days before cellphones. East Nashville was
not a ‘gated community’ and most cab drivers could not be persuaded to drive
over there after 9pm. We managed to change all that around, with the whole
community – black and white – working together. The black community
traditionally did not trust the police of course, so us crackers got that
organized for them, so they felt more comfortable reporting the local crack
house.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 17:07

Thanks, Jonathan. You must also be a useful idiot, then. Cracker is not
particularly pejorative – simply indicates a white Southerner in a lazy sort
of way. There’s that big restaurant chain in the south, Cracker Barrel, so
obviously not a slur! President Carter was a Georgia cracker, didn’t care much
for the term but endured it! As far as it having any association with slavery
and whips, unlikely as the cracker would not have the wherewithal to own
slaves, though some were likely employed by slave-owners. Either way, it’s
about as disturbing as being called a limey to me.

Florida has been a significant nuisance in recent years, if you factor in
the throwing of the election in favor of Dubya. Here they go again. You have,
of course, to eliminate Dade, Broward and the Palm coast from the rest of it.
It’s very red-neck in some areas. I am a bit surprised that the defense didn’t
move to change venues, but they knew that they were solid when it came to the
law, so why bother? Florida needs to immediately repeal this law.

Moor
Larkin July 15, 2013 at 17:49

@Mewsical
Going back top the initial theme of Anna’s post, I do wonder
if rather than being called Zimmerman, Zimmerman had been called Lopez,
whether this “black/white” thing would ever have raised its head, and
instead the case would simply be a reflection upon badly trained, armed
security guards. From an American perspective, Zimmerman’s ethnic diversity
does seem moot. Hispanics are supposed to be the coming thing over there I
have read, and certainly in my time in Florida I heard as much Spanish being
spoken as I ever did American-English.

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 17:56

Moor, you must have been in Dade County to hear a lot of Spanish!
That’s where most of the Cubanos have settled for the moment. Of course,
when Castro kicks the bucket, I suspect a lot of them may return home.
Yes, we don’t care about Zimmerman’s ancestry, and if he’d been called
Lopez, the consequences would have been the same. We have many, many
people of Hispanic origins here – whites are actually in the minority
these days. It was the actions Zimmerman took, and the law that allowed
him to do so which are the issue here.

Jonathan
Mason July 15, 2013 at 19:44

You hear a lot of Spanish in central Florida, anywhere in the citrus
growing areas or in other crop growing areas such as Immokalee in the
south west of Florida. This is Mexican Spanish, not Cuban. The northern
part of the state and the Panhandle is much less Hispanic.

Moor Larkin July 15, 2013 at 22:08

@ Moor, you must have been in Dade County to hear a lot of Spanish!
@

No, it was the British section around Orlando……….
Most
of the hired help at the resort seemed to be speaking “Spanish” to one
another, and English to me, which was fine; I have enjoyed many holidays
in both Spain, where much the same happens. I did have an interesting
conversation with an American who had driven down from someplace north….
maybe Chicago, I forget, but we had an interesting conversation over
dinner about the changing face of [his] America and as we were similar
ages, he was talking of how he felt his country had changed since the
Sixties, just as I might, about Britain….

@ we don’t care about Zimmerman’s ancestry, and if he’d been called
Lopez, the consequences would have been the same. @

Ann’s article seems concerned that this controversy is being
presented as a “black/white” thing (like Rodney King), but seeing as the
guy was Hispanic it doesn’t quite fit, which I guess is how we got
started. Zimmerman seems to have been perceived as being treated as a
fellow brother of the law, and it seems to be that sense of “privilege”
that might lie behind some of the discontent.

We had riots over here in 2010 when a young black guy was shot in his
car by police, but it took a couple of days from the initial event
before stuff started happening, and it seemed largely prompted by the
family of the dead youth getting no acceptable feedback from the police
about the events, and perhaps more importantly, no political interest
from their MP, and so gradually a street campaign started up, which then
seemed to go viral across the whole country. The Police Inquiry into
that is now a year overdue! At least you guys get your cases to a court,
even if some don’t like the decisions made.

“The IPCC was expected to release its report on the killing in summer
of 2012. Because no report had been issued by January 2013, a planned
inquest into the killing has been delayed until September.[86] The IPCC
announced in March 2013 that it would issue a report in April, for
delivery to the inquest in May.[58]”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Mark_Duggan

It’s July now and nowt much more has happened….. and the reverse
media process was evident here, witht he black guy being portrayed as
more wicked than maybe he actually was.

“Duggan’s death quickly became a major media story. Mainstream
outlets were criticized for portraying Duggan as a gangster with a
criminal record even though he had none. They were also faulted for
uncritically reporting the police’s story that Duggan had shot
first—also shown false.[71]“

JuliaM July 16, 2013 at 04:59

“….and so gradually a street campaign started up, which then
seemed to go viral across the whole country.”

Eh..? Are you referring to the Retail Riots? That was a campaign of
senseless destruction and theivery. Nothing ‘political’ about it…

Moor Larkin July 16, 2013 at 09:25

@JuliaM
Yes, the Retail Riots. I agree there was no “cause”
behind the individuals later involved but it seemed to mushroom on the
pretext that somehow they had justification in taking because they
were somehow deprived, but pragmatically, it seemed to rely mostly on
the fact that the police response was almost nil, since all the
coppers presumably were all attending seminars – maybe on the subject
of Institutional Racism or Satanic Abuse – who can know?…….
….. I have no doubt the top brass welcomed the diversion from having
to explain why and who shot Duggan in the first place. Three years
later we still wait to be told.

Jeremy
Poynton July 16, 2013 at
12:38

Quite so, Julia. And that despite the fact that the BBC insisted on
calling the riots “protests” for 48 hours. Now, why would they do
that?

Jonathan
Mpwason July 15, 2013 at 19:59

I agree that it is unlikely that the word “cracker” has anything to do
with slavery. The word was in use in the 1760′s and meant “braggarts” and
was used to describe hillbillies of Scotch Irish descent. Oops, I guess
hillbillies is another racial slur. The word cracker is probably also
associated with the verb “crack” as in “to crack a joke”. Of course words
change their meaning over time.

Cracker Barrel is a slightly different sense of the word. Apparently
crackers originally came in large crates or barrels and the cracker barrel
in country general stores was a place where people would gather to gossip,
hence “cracker-barrel philosophy”.

However I doubt whether the corporation would use that word in the name
of its restaurants if the word Cracker was thought to have offensive
connotations.

Having said that, I often eat in Cracker Barrel restaurants when in
Florida as the food is not too bad if you know what to pick from the menu,
for example their beef stew with mashed potatoes is tasty, and the
sugar-free apple pie with ice cream, though their coffee is execrable–weak
and bitter as Americans like it. The clientele is primarily older and
whiter, and I don’t remember seeing many black families eating there, so it
might be that blacks find the name off-putting.

Anna
Raccoon July 15, 2013 at 20:06

The origin of cracker is murky. Some sources suggest it came from
overseers who commanded slaves. Others say it derives from a Scottish word
for boasting. At The Center for the Study of the American South at the
University of North Carolina, Bill Ferris says it emerged in the 1700s as
a descriptive term for drovers who used small whips to move their
livestock through the pine barrens along the Gulf of Mexico. “They were
basically poor people. White people. A class of people who were
landless.”

Initially, cracker was not a pejorative term, but Ferris says it has
become one, the equivalent of redneck. Its meaning and intensity as an
insult depends on who is saying it and who is listening. For example, a
white who might not object to being called a cracker by another white
might consider Martin’s use of the phrase offensive and evidence of ill
intent.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/01/us/zimmerman-trial-cracker

Jeremy
Poynton July 16, 2013 at
12:40

Mewsical – if you are not a “Cracker” or a “Redneck”, how do you know
such folk do NOT find the terminology offensive?

Mewsical
July 16, 2013 at 16:59

Jeff Foxworthy has been working his “You Might Be A Redneck”
routine for over 20 years I believe. Plenty of time for those who wish
to be so silly to be offended. Apparently not.

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 22:36

Blacks in the south tend to steer clear of Denny’s as well! Also,
during my time in the south, I observed that though whites and blacks
intermingle at work, they don’t worship in the same churches, nor do they
eat at the same restaurants, nor do they socialize very much. The older
generation of southerners still remember the days of segregation,
unfortunately, and they are prone to saying things like “Martin Luther
King was a troublemaker,” to your face. They would LOVE for it all to go
back to the way it was. The way it is now just confuses them and they
aren’t sure how to behave about it. Once that lot has died out, it will
get better.

As far as George Zimmerman and his ancestry, I don’t see a lot of
Hispanics marching in the streets defending George. They are likely as
disgusted as everyone else with what happened.

JuliaM July
16, 2013 at 05:18

“Once that lot has died out, it will get better.”

Ah, the Left. Always looking to replace the populace with one that
conforms better to their desires. Will give you credit, though, for
being prepared to wait for nature to take its course. Most of your ilk
are more….active….than that.

Moor Larkin July 16, 2013 at 09:27

@Jonathan Mpwason
With a name like that, nobody will accuse you of
being a Cracker…………….

belinus July 15,
2013 at 17:06

Mmm….
Or the other side to that coin comes as a consequence of
neighbourhood watch groups, Hitler did not set them forth without
reason.
If you want to upset the community spirit of any area, give power
to the rat bags found on every street that love nothing better than to peak by
the curtains.
They soon takeover as the supreme grass on all other
residents, and of course like you do, the majority start to placate the all
powerful busy body by offering up information.

Well not sure what part of rural England you lived the best part of your
life Anna, but it is a natural instinct to worry if a big black man is playing
around your garden, and unfortunately today, the same is building with the
sight of Muslims.

Perhaps you have sunk today in the corporate script that is ‘forced
multiculturalism’ at the expense of the natives and forgotten your good
self….

Anna
Raccoon July 15, 2013 at 17:36

“Well not sure what part of rural England you lived the best part of your
life Anna”

Er, Liverpool and then that deeply rural shire of, er, Brixton……

rabbitaway
July 15, 2013 at 17:52

As Mr Larkin might say – you lost !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

belinus July
15, 2013 at 18:06

nonsense dear girlies, them feelings come for all but you…

rabbitaway
July 15, 2013 at 17:53

@Belinus – you lost !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law

belinus July
15, 2013 at 21:48

din’t know it was a comp…will put it down to your alzheimers…

Johnnydub July 15, 2013 at 16:59

Mewsical:

So you think that Trayvon had the right to attack GZ and had the right to
bang his head repeatedly into the concrete, and GZ had no right to defend
himself?

….

I’m glad you’re not the one deciding what rights we have, you Nazi
ass….

Jonathan Mason
July 15, 2013 at 16:59

I lived in Florida for 20 years and have followed this case carefully.
Really, under existing Florida laws, there is little doubt that the jury
reached the correct verdict, but whether those laws are good laws is another
question.

The Florida legislature has a tendency to shoot from the hip and enact laws
without thinking through the consequences at all. I can think of several
examples, for example legislation over the Terry Schiavo case, over the use of
the outside lane on the motorways (interstate highways), over the timing of
presidential primary elections, and so on. Now there is a law that employees
may keep guns in their cars in employee parking lots, regardless of the wishes
of the employer.

Although the “stand your ground” law was not invoked here, there is little
doubt in my mind that the existence of such a law makes it more likely that
daft fools like Zimmerman would go out armed and get into confrontations they
cannot manage.

“Cracker” is a term used to refer to working class descendants of early
white settlers in Florida and is a very mild term of abuse, when used as
abuse. In fact some people proudly proclaim themselves to be Crackers and one
sees advertisements for “Cracker homes” for sale. It hardly has any more
pejorative meaning than Scouser, Geordie, or Tyke. Martin was wrong in
identifying Zimmerman as a cracker.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 17:13

If Mr. Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle and waited for the police to
come, as he was instructed to do by the 911 operator, he would not have had
his head bashed into anything at all, now would he? Why did he need to leave
his car? Right – he didn’t. He just thought he could somehow control Trayvon
with what means, exactly? Yes, that’s right. A gun. He was actually lucky
that Trayvon wasn’t armed himself, except for his bag of Skittles and his
ice tea. Of course he had the right to defend himself – he had no idea what
was going on except he was being stalked by some cracker in a car.

Hysteria
July 16, 2013 at 12:47

but it wasn’t “iced tea” at all was it ?

Moor
Larkin July 15, 2013 at 17:24

@ under existing Florida laws, there is little doubt that the jury
reached the correct verdict @

From the perspective of Anna’s jaundiced view of the media, there is a
thoughtful analysis here of the Rodney King incident back in the 90′s, and
the notion that the media raised expectations in the mind of the public,
that were unlikely to ever be met by the Law, and in that sense might be
adjudged to have partly provoked the mob violence.

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lapd/lapdaccount.html
“George
Holliday thought his video camera had captured something important. On March
4, Holliday took his film to Los Angeles television station KTLA. News
producers at KTLA found the tape shocking and played it on the evening news.
CNN picked up the tape the next day and soon it was everywhere. CNN Vice
President Ed Turner said “television used the tape like wallpaper.” Most
viewers who saw the tape–which ran without the first fuzzy seconds showing
King’s charge at Powell–as revealing the brutal and senseless beating of a
helpless drunk. A poll taken in Los Angeles after the tape had been running
showed that 92% of those polled believed that excessive force was used
against Rodney King. Those feelings seemed to extend even to many within the
LAPD itself. Police Chief Daryl Gates called the use of force “very, very
extreme”: “For the LAPD, considered by many the finest, most professional
police department in the world, it was more than extreme. It was
impossible.”……….. The media underappreciated the importance of the
composition of the jury. Perhaps placing too much confidence in the ability
of the videotape to secure a conviction, the media failed to adequately
prepare the public for the verdict that would come weeks later……………….
“Within hours of the jury’s verdict, Los Angeles erupted in riots. When it
was over, fifty-four people had lost their lives, over 7,000 people had been
arrested, and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property had been
destroyed.”

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 17:27

Yes, it was tons of fun living here during the riots. I had some
personal dealings with Sgt. Stacey Koon when he failed and refused to deal
with a stalker. That he was involved in this came as no surprise to me.
Those cops were rogues.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 16:41

Why do they do what? And if this is going to turn into an Obama-bashing
forum you kids enjoy yourselves. I’m not playing. Come to America one of these
days and live here as long as I have. Then I’ll listen to you.

JuliaM July 15,
2013 at 16:52

Why do they play the race card, and create divisions, of course.

They do it because there’s enough people like you, Mewsical, in the world
to make it worth their while. Everyone worries these days about the ‘low
information voter’. What they should really worry about are the useful
idiots.

JuliaM July 15,
2013 at 16:34

/applause

Why do they do it? Because it works.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 16:32

Obviously, one has to live in America to comment. We don’t see what the
British media says, and really who cares? The verdict was legally correct and
the jurors hands were tied by law. Doesn’t mean it was morally correct, or
that it’s over by a long shot.

As I said, there was very little discussion of Mr. Zimmerman’s racial
make-up here. Most of America is half this, a quarter that, an eighth, and so
on. It makes no difference to the outcome if Zimmerman was part Thai, or part
anything else.

Obama is not responsible for the way some people think here. He is not a
self-proclaimed anything at all. He is, however, the elected President. Dr.
King would be delighted that a person of African descent has attained such a
position of power in such a short time. But, if you think it’s going to take
this one positive and important societal change to correct the wrongs of
slavery and oppression, you are sadly misinformed.

My friend Lester Chambers – of the Chambers Brothers – who is now 73 and in
not wonderful health, was attacked by a redneck drunk woman on stage last
night because he dedicated a song to Trayvon. Was he supposed to not do that,
because it might offend racist trailer trash?

JuliaM July 15,
2013 at 16:37

“Dr. King would be delighted that a person of African descent has
attained such a position of power in such a short time. “

Really? Surely not the Dr King who believed that everyone should be
judged on the content of their character, rather than the colour of their
skin. For that’s the opposite of Obama’s beliefs.

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 17:16

“Obviously, one has to live in America to comment”
Why is that
obvious? This sounds like an absolute classic case of a leftie trying to
refute the person rather than attempting to dispute the argument itself. The
Lefties in the UK call this ‘checking your privileges’. Basically if you
can’t win an argument, you simply declare that the person making it is
invalid to make it.

“As I said, there was very little discussion of Mr. Zimmerman’s racial
make-up here.”
Rather obviously untrue. We have access to US media here
and Zimmerman was repeatedly described as a “White Hispanic” yet I bet those
same people would never described President Obama as white anything, despite
his white mother.

“Most of America is half this, a quarter that, an eighth, and so on. It
makes no difference to the outcome if Zimmerman was part Thai, or part
anything else”
Are you seriously attempting to convince us that there is
no racial tension in the US??? Do you think you are speaking to a group of
born yesterday morons?
“But, if you think it’s going to take this one
positive and important societal change to correct the wrongs of slavery and
oppression, you are sadly misinformed.”
I wonder how long that excuse is
going to last. Your Republican party abolished slavery 150 years ago,
despite ferocious opposition from the majority of the Democratic party. My
people suffered terribly at the hands of the Scandinavian raiders if you go
back far enough, yet we don’t constantly demand special considerations over
Scandinavians to compensate. Furthermore the Jewish people suffered far
worse much more recently, but none of my Jewish colleagues and friends
constantly seek to use the holocaust as an excuse for all and sundry. How
long do you expect Slavery to be used as something that requires special
treatment for those that might have descendants who long ago
suffered?
“My friend Lester Chambers – of the Chambers Brothers – who is
now 73 and in not wonderful health, was attacked by a redneck drunk woman on
stage last night because he dedicated a song to Trayvon. Was he supposed to
not do that, because it might offend racist trailer trash?”
Did you
notice yourself using the derogatory slur ‘redneck’ you clearly have your
prejudices. But anyway, no, of course that woman should not have attacked
your friend, obviously not. But what are you trying to say here exactly?
That because someone you know was disgracefully attacked by someone after he
expressed support for Trayvon that mean Zimmermand must be guilty?? What
point are you trying to make?

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 17:25

Redneck is not a derogatory slur, btw. But you knew that because you
live here. Of course there’s racial problems here, which is the whole
point of this trial and its outcome. The whole country agrees that legally
the jury had no alternative but to find Zimmerman not guilty, but this is
not just an issue of law. Also, I don’t read newspapers here – and the
television coverage has not dwelt on Mr. Zimmerman’s racial profile, to
their credit I have to say. Mr. Zimmerman’s ancestry has no bearing on his
behavior – he took advantage of a law that needs to be off the books in
Florida – I think only two other states have this law, Arizona and Texas.

As far as Lester, he is out of the hospital now, thanks for asking.
Nothing more satisfying than attacking a 73 year old black man while he is
on stage I guess. Sounds like some of you would have liked to have cheered
this waste of space on. Even better if she’d attacked Obama, right?
Ugh.

Kingbingo
July 15, 2013 at 17:56

“Redneck is not a derogatory slur, btw.”
Why because some people
in southern states have decided to embrace the term and take it for
themselves? I often here Black people call one another ‘nigger’ having
also decided to reclaim the term, does that mean its not a slur and we
can all use it whenever we like? The problem is that you are blind to
your own prejudices, laughably you probably think you don’t have any.
But what you must understand is that even if a group start using the
term for themselves it does not wash that term clean anymore then I as a
white person should start calling black people niggers, just because I
have heard them call one another by that term. The way you used it was
meant to be derogatory.

“As far as Lester, he is out of the hospital now, thanks for
asking”
You never mentioned he was in hospital.
“Nothing more
satisfying than attacking a 73 year old black man while he is on stage I
guess. Sounds like some of you would have liked to have cheered this
waste of space on.”
Actually if you had bothered to read what I read
you would see that I described the attack on your friend as disgraceful.
And here you are desperately trying to insist that I approve of an
elderly black man being assaulted. Yet I very clearly condemned
it.
You have inadvertently made my case for me in the most brilliant
way. Here I am saying that the left does not really care what the facts
are, they only want to presuppose the motive, set the narrative and
attack regardless, and in a microcosm is EXACTLY what you have just
done. I condemned the attack on your friend but you had already decided
that the narrative was ‘Nasty white racists cheers attack on black man’
and even though the facts are evidently 100% country to your narrative
you ploughed on regardless. Thanks for winning my argument for me with
your blinkered prejudice. (your probably still convinced you don’t have
any prejudice!)

“Also, I don’t read”
Well selectively at best.

cascadian
July 15, 2013 at 19:21

Oh the joys of a mewsical rant. Luckily I qualify under
mewsical-imposed rules that only Americans can comment.

We now know that a juried trial is “not just an issue of law” also
“the jurors hands were tied by law”. Oh the horrors of modern USA. The
all-woman jury obviously did not know that the statute book is to be
thrown out and feelings trump any facts in Obambi’s post-American, third
world administration.

We also have “redneck is not a degoratory slur”. Why of course not my
dear, neither is wet-back, cracker, kike or nigger, all popular in the
non-cursive reader idiom. The mental gymnastics required to think of
these things must exhaust poor mewsical.

Having recently been totally and thoroughly wrong about Dr.
Gosnell-black child killer extra-ordinaire, and Obambi’s pitiful
attempts at gun control in contravention of the constitution and
bill-of-rights she goes for a hat-trick of futility.

Thank you Kingbingo and JuliaM for your astute comments, one wonders
iuf mewsical will understand the points made..

And since I have slighted the Zero here twice, I do hope Mewsical
makes good on her threat to go away and play with herself

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 19:41

You’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren’t you? As you
seem to live here, then perhaps you’d like to contact Jeff Foxworthy
and get on his case about the term redneck. He’s been making a good
living out of poking gentle fun at them for years. No, not wrong about
Gosnell, I don’t believe. He’s pond-scum. I simply pointed out that it
was not a big story here, which it wasn’t. I made exactly two
comments, both of which were condemning of him.

My, Anna, I had no idea you were fostering the tea party over
here.

Frankie
July 15, 2013 at 23:38

Mewsical. I really do not wish to cross swords with you but… I
think you really did not make your case in this instance, whereas
Kingbingo and others most certainly did.

I really wonder at someone dismissing another’s point of view
merely because one of the parties does not reside in the country in
question… If we adopted that maxim you would rarely have an
opportunity to post any comment at all, which would be a shame, as I
value your comments in the normal course – they provide an insight
from a different perspective and place.

I was not at the scene of the shooting and it is evident to me that
both sides lost that night and it is also evident that Zimmerman is
not out of the woods yet – a civil case will, most assuredly follow. I
do not think he acted wisely but he is, rightly or wrongly, absolutely
entitled to adopt the defence provided to him by law.

Merely wishing it were not so does not change this fact.

It is also a sad fact that Anna is right in her observations – that
the majority of young black men killed in violent confrontations in
the USA are murdered by someone from the same generic ethnic group an
often for the most apparently absurd reasons. There are a multitude of
reasons for this – poverty, poor education, peer pressure, desire to
belong – but it saddens me to see that the Zimmerman event is being
paraded, where so many ‘ordinary’ gangland style shootings fail to
gather any public outcry on the same scale. Why on earth aren’t those
large crowds of protestors making waves about senseless murders by one
disaffected black youth on another?

This situation is, undeniably, a tragedy too..

carol42 July 15, 2013 at 16:06

The media coverage was a disgrace, I especially liked the tv guy who said
Zimmerman was a ‘self proclained’ hispanic, if so Obama is a self proclaimed
black since both are half white, Shame I though Obama might bring an end to
racial division like Dr. King wanted, instead, in my opinion, he has made
things far worse.

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 15:59

I think the transition to a society where we abdicate all responsibility
for the welfare of our community and neighbours to the state, and I afraid to
play any part in the security of the area we live in is well underway. You say
that Zimmerman was stupid for taking it upon himself, perhaps so in this day
and age. Yet only a few decades ago it would have been absolutely expected of
him.

Perhaps there is a bright future ahead of us and our society when
individuals have no responsibilities at all, with every conceivable matter of
welfare, security and safety having been ceded to an all-powerful state that
knows best. Although I wonder what do you call people in a society that have
no responsibilities left; ‘irresponsible’ perhaps?

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 16:20

The above comment was meant to be a reply to ‘Mewsical’ rather than a new
comment.

Mewsical July 15, 2013 at 15:34

Zimmerman has a history of profiling young black men, according to the 911
dispatchers in Sanford. He will more than likely be prosecuted by the
Department of Justice under a Federal hate crimes statute, which came into
being after the senseless murder of Matthew Shepherd, whose only offense was
being gay. Sanford itself is a deeply racist town, having the dubious honor of
running Jackie Robinson out of town when he first joined the baseball leagues.
At no time has Zimmerman’s racial background been mentioned, btw.

He had no reason to leave his car, and when he made that decision, he
sealed his fate. Trayvon lay in a mortuary as a “John Doe” for three days, and
Zimmerman was not arrested for six weeks.

I was on the Crime Committee of a large neighborhood association in East
Nashville, an area predominantly black, infested with crack dealers and other
undesirables. None of the members who voluntarily kept an eye on things
carried a gun, and everyone was advised to contact the police if they saw
anything untoward, and not to go for self-help. If Mr. Zimmerman was the
responsible watchman that he pretended to be, he would know that Mr. Martin
had a teenage son who visited with him from time to time – that’s what a
neighborhood is. We know who’s who. Mr. Zimmerman was a vigilante with a gun,
a wanna-be cop, whose stupid actions and disregard for the instruction of the
911 operator, caused this problem and needlessly killed a 17 year old boy.
What did he think was going to happen when he left his car and went to
confront Trayvon? That Trayvon would bow down and kiss his ass?? Zimmerman is
an arrogant idiot, and he’ll pay the price, no doubt about it.

Ken Alexander
July 15, 2013 at 19:37

Trayvon also had choices, like stop sitting on Zimmerman’s chest, beating
him with his fists and smashing his head against the ground.
He could
have walked away at any time , and if Zimmerman had shot him in the back,
the verdict would have been different.
Instead Trayvon chose to give this
“creepy-assed Cracker” a lesson and it cost him his life.
Zimmerman
wasn’t fighting with the angelic 14 year old as seen in the only “official”
photographs of Trayvon allowed .
He was a fit 17 year old, over 6 ft and
into body building .
What would you do ?
-lie back and accept a
beating ?
– beg for mercy and hope he got tired?
-defend yourself by
the only means now available to you ?

Mewsical
July 15, 2013 at 21:40

I would have stayed in my car. As instructed.

The Illuminaunty July 16, 2013 at 13:29

As Instructed?

By ze Zupervizor.

Dioclese July 15,
2013 at 15:34

Cracking play on words, Anna.

Nice to see the ‘spics’ and ‘coons’ accusing each other instead of just
picking on the ‘honkies’…

Kingbingo July 15, 2013 at 14:28

I moved to a more expensive area of London now, but for much of my early
career I lived in areas of London that suffered high crime and violence,
although that was compensated for by some wonderful ethnic diversity.

If read the local papers for that area and ventured back a few pages one
could find reports, not uncommonly of stabbings, violence even murder. Race
was not always given, but usually one can infer this from the names of the
aggressor and the victim, or the ‘social victim’ and ‘now health challenged’
if your politics prefers.

If one does this often enough one can infer a pattern. What I picked up on
was the high amount of black on black violence, black on brown violence
(surprisingly common) and black on white violence (less common). Indeed, to
this day I am fascinated to know why the frequent acts of violence committed
against those from the South Asian continent by those from the African
continent receive so little national media attention.

However I don’t recall a single occurrence of white on black, or brown on
black violence. Not to say it did not happen, I just never recall reading
about it.

Yet I’m very well aware that 20 years ago at least one white on black
murder occurred. Because I hear about that awful case often. In 1993 a chap by
the name of Stephen Lawrence, was murdered by some despicable excuses for
human beings. Indeed since then countless thousands of column inches have been
written and countless airtime minutes spent racking over that murder of two
decades ago.

But why I wonder do I not know the name of that white man I read about
years ago, who was set upon and beaten to death for sport by several black
men? I clearly remember reading the story and being shocked, but I have long
since forgotten his name and no one in the media have seen fit to remind me
since. Indeed, I only know about it from reading the locals. His two small
children are probably old enough to give passable TV interviews by now.

I also remember the story about the Indian grandfather wandering down a
street with his very young granddaughter when two black youths kicked him to
the ground, for absolutely no discernible reason whatsoever, stomped on his
head for several seconds then ran off laughing. He died, I even watched the
heart-breaking CCTV images on liveleak of his tiny granddaughter stood over
the body uncomprehendingly. I don’t remember his name either, nor funny enough
have the national media sought to remind me.

But yet I know not only the name Stephen Lawrence, but the name of his
mother Doreen and his brother Stuart as well.

What could I conclude from this? Is violence and murder initiated by black
people against white or brown people not particularly serious? Or what about
violence of black people against black people. Of which I read so many
examples of in the locals that they have all rather merged into one in my
memory. Is this type of violence and murder not something we should concern
ourselves with, is it something to hush up, pretend it does not occur?

This is clearly very different to white against black violence, oh no, that
is the worst sort of violence imaginable, every single incident of that
requires a national media outcry, at least one riot and a public inquiry
provided by the taxpayer.

If anyone can explain to me why I would be very grateful.

As for Zimmerman it seems the US media has very similar priorities. Mr
Zimmerman must be cursing his bad luck for not being a few shades darker, or
his assailant a few shades lighter. If that were the case I suspect no one
outside of the families of the two men and few locals who turned to page 4 of
their local paper would ever had heard of the incident.

ivan July 15, 2013 at 16:28

I think you may find that 99% of this is political with the president and
his advisers seeing this as a way to try and get past the constitution and
bring in the removal of guns from the public just as Dunblane was used here
to remove guns from lawful public holding. After all when you have an
unarmed population ONLY the criminals have guns and I include the
‘protectors’ in that.

Ted Treen
July 16, 2013 at 13:48

You mean there’s 1% that ISN’T political..?

rabbitaway July 15, 2013 at 13:55

Trial by media …… How disgusting is this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZpsCc8IRHY

ZeroTolerance
July 16, 2013 at 07:06

Yowza !

USA – KILL first, question later, fo’ mult-eye meeeja trial by BIG Bucks
deebased debates !!

While also in fucked-up Florida, a no-previous-crime woman got 20 YEARS
for just firing in the air to warn off her husband !

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/19/woman-gets-20-years-firing-warning-shot/

JuliaM July
16, 2013 at 07:27

Courtesy of Peter Risdon on Twitter the other day, this link may help
you:

http://t.co/0g4JfKvvX5

Not as ‘crazy’ a verdict now, eh?

Sally Stevens
July 17, 2013 at 19:31

You needed to point out that this woman was black. It’s important that
people know that.

rabbitaway July 15, 2013 at 13:42

So much appears to have hung on the two words that Zimmerman says under his
breath as he’s following the lad whilst talking to the 911 dispatcher
……
Below are the tape of the 911 call followed by the video enhancement
attempts. I note that the FIRST thing the dispatcher asks is …… is the
(intruder) guy black or hispanic !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL72w4xiTVU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOt1wEDy0SI

Chris
Barratt July 15, 2013 at 11:53

I haven’t paid much attention to the coverage of this story, but the one
impression it gives me is “what a vile place the USA is”.

The one thing I did notice was our “friend” Paul Gambaccini choosing to
condemn the whole of the southern US states on Twatter – or “The Confederacy”
as he put it. Notw like a dose of good old prejudice is there? (well, as long
as it’s ‘right-on’ lefty prejudice)

Moor
Larkin July 15, 2013 at 12:26

Possibly an “implied racist” comment too….
……
What
a complete knob the Professor has become……..

“Compared with 2000, the percentage of the black alone-or-in-combination
population increased in the South, stayed about the same in the West, and
decreased in the Northeast and the Midwest. Of all respondents who reported
black in 2010, 55 percent lived in the South, 18 percent in the Midwest, 17
percent in the Northeast and 10 percent in the West.”
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb11-cn185.html

JuliaM July
15, 2013 at 16:48

“I haven’t paid much attention to the coverage of this story, but
the one impression it gives me is “what a vile place the USA is”.”

It really isn’t. Would you judge the UK on the outputs of the ‘Daily
Mail’ and ‘Guardian’..?

Chris
Barratt July 15, 2013 at
17:02

Living in 2013-style UK I would say that the unfortunate reality is
that these odious publications now do, sadly, give a somewhat realistic
view of life here. I worked recently with a lots of younger “ordinary
people”, and also spent 4 years prior to that working on a full-time law
degree and I found the experience quite shocking – people are more
ill-informed and reactionary than ever before, albeit with an ADHD
carbonated and syrup-coated layer of idiocy slapped over the top (a bit
like the ‘individual’ tattoos, fake tan and Coco-The-Clown make-up they
plaster themselves with)
I can’t wait to escape this lunatic asylum
to shores more cultures and civilised (and no, that’s not the U.S.A)

Chris Barratt July 15, 2013 at 17:06

*cultureD* (obviously)

Edna Fletcher
July 15, 2013 at 10:57

Robert Zimmerman may still be alive, but there are few now who like him
‘told the story’ of real occurances, without too much ‘analysis’ or expecting
to change anything.

Why? because discrimination, racism, class warfare or any other things are
another way to describe an old way of behaving when feeling threatened by
‘unfamiliar peoples ‘ – it is called tribalism.

Although there is a veneer of spohistication in society as a whole- base
begaviours are very much boiling underneath a surface ready to spill — barely
differing from the witches on the heath uttering over the boiling couldron in
Macbeth. Somehow all our education makes the majority fail to recognise
themselves in the mirror of the person they condemn.

Moor
Larkin July 15, 2013 at 13:15

@Edna Fletcher
An interesting slant (I thought) on all this viz-a-vis
Zimmerman’s being a “Neighbourhood Watch” volunteer:

“These big events are morality plays, and they unconsciously send
signals………….. And I think that one of the lessons that will be taken away
from this is to mind your own business. ………… Of course, this speaks to a
larger societal trend. Community bonds have frayed over time. People used to
get together to play cards, join fraternal orders and civic associations,
and socialize with the neighbors. This was good and bad. It also meant nosy
neighbors, less privacy, and more gossip. But if something happened in the
neighborhood, somebody would step in. If some kids were playing loud music,
some old guy would tell them to shut the hell up.”
http://theweek.com/bullpen/column/246848/will-the-george-zimmerman-case-teach-americans-to-mind-their-own-business

Ted Treen July 16, 2013 at 13:40

“… – it is called tribalism…”

Spot on. Most Britons (I don’t presume to speak for other nations of
which I have no experience) are not racially prejudiced – and much so-called
racism is little more than the inevitable (and harmless) soubriquet of
“Taffy” for a Welshman, “Jock” for a Scotsman, “Carrots” for a
redhead/ginger-haired person or “Chalky” for a black person. These nicknames
are almost universally meant affectionately and humorously, and only the
professional outrages of the PC brigade could ever find them offensive.

What the vast majority of people are unhappy with however, is having an
alien culture foisted upon them – especially when we are instructed to amend
our own culture to accommodate incomers who “might find our cultural views
incompatible with their own and hence offensive”.

Since years of lefties have realised that repeating a lie often enough
changes it into fact, and by using this as a Newspeak-type tool in their
armoury, they can achieve their aims of social engineering simply by verbal
conditioning/neuro-linguistic programming or whatever fancy title it is
given today.

Just as Orwell foresaw, Newspeak removes the possibility/opportunity of
“Thoughtcrime”.

Moor
Larkin July 15, 2013 at 10:30

Now hear this Robert Zimmerman
Though I don’t suppose we’ll meet
Ask
your good friend Dylan
If he’d gaze a while
down the old street
Tell
him we’ve lost his poems
So they’re writing on the walls
Give us back
our unity
Give us back our family
You’re every nation’s refugee
Don’t
leave us with their sanity

ZeroTolerance
July 15, 2013 at 10:18

Anna, the word that the world waits to erase is, “Discrimination”.

On ANY basis.