Senate The shooting of Trayvon Martin

Yes, really.

 

100% of all violent offenders drink water. Trayvon Martin drank water. I'm not saying they are related, I'm just saying, isn't it interesting.

 

You should give everyone a choice when they come to your door. Skittles or a snickers. Anyone that takes skittles, keep an eye on them, they are clearly up to something. If they are also carrying iced tea, shoot on sight.

 

No, Geraldo would add "If they're holding skittles, ice tea, and wearing a hoodie, shoot 'em on sight."

 

Crap...I just realized that I am wearing a hoody and eating skittles....for reals....

Excuse me while I go buy some kevlar.

 

I wear a hoodie and drink ice tea and occasionally enjoy a bag of skittles. Something wrong with me?

 

My son eats Skittles, wears a hoodie, and drinks iced tea. He's an operations manager for a major moving company.

 

Sounds like trouble to me.

 

Nope.

 

He's not a kid anymore.

 

He also has the $$ for a good lawyer.

 

You must be proud of him

 

Yes, I am. Oh, wait...

 

So the trial has started (jury of six women, four alternates), and this was what the Zimmerman defense team thought would be great to include in their opening statements:

 

Ah Florida, here we go again...Trayvon was not a hood rat. He was just a regular teenager. Kids will carry around a little weed just to feel cool. School records, FTW...I was a little $#/t in school. I bet George Zimmerman would have not paid any attention to my friend's teenage son walking down the street in his ROTC uniform and blonde hair, despite the fact he tried to stab his brother and was arrested for making napalm and ran away from juvi. He was racially profiled and it's sad.

 

I'm really uncomfortable with how this trial is being construed, as if the verdict is going to be some sort of reflection on how pervasive racism is in society. What was disconcerting and perhaps indicative of institutional racism was how blasé and perfunctory the initial response was. Whether or not there's a reasonable doubt regarding Zimmerman's culpability is entirely an empirical matter.

 

We all know the public reaction to the trial is not about race. Rather, it's about race mixed together with the longings of gun nuts for broad social permission to fire their guns at someone whenever a racially-charged situation makes them feel "really uncomfortable."

 

Given the facts of the case, I doubt they can prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt. Manslaughter, I think would be much more appropriate given the situation, and would have gotten a quicker conviction.

Murder 2 sounds more like the prosecution is doing a bit of grandstanding...and we all know what that kind results that gets.

EDIT -- oh my god, now that i look at it, that picture is much creepier than i expectd. brb. have to change my pants.

1. Calling the Trayvon Martin shooting a "racially charged situation" is to believe the fairy tale concocted by NBC when they edited Zimmerman's 911 call for broadcast.
2. I would argue that having one's nose broken and head beat against a concrete sidewalk hard enough to break the skin would more than fit the definition of "really uncomfortable".