The Martin/Zimmerman Case – A Verdict With No Winners

Concerning the Martin/Zimmerman case…..the “not guilty” verdict is a no-win for both parties. Trayvon Martin is dead and his parents lost a son while although George Zimmerman is alive, his life has irrevocably been changed for the worse. Mr. Zimmerman must now live in the “shadows of life” otherwise he will certainly face the anguish and vocal torrents of those who wanted to see him guilty and imprisoned.

Of course all this could have been avoided if one or the other had taken a different path that rainy night last year. If Trayvon Martin, once he realized he was being followed, had decided instead to go quickly and directly to his friend’s home instead of later lingering in the area and finally participating in the confrontation which resulted in his death, the event could have been avoided.  On the other hand, if George Zimmerman, once he called in his report to the police of a suspicious person in his housing complex, had made the decision to stay in his car instead of getting out, lingering in the area, and later participating in the confrontation with Martin, the event could have been avoided. What a tragic shame that neither used good judgment; however, this event may not have been avoided given the nature of both of these men. There were 8 burglaries in the previous 15 months in this housing complex and Zimmerman, living in the complex and a member of the neighborhood watch group, was upset and disappointed that no one had been arrested for these robberies. He was in no mood  that evening to feel empathy or give the benefit of the doubt to any unknown stranger walking through the complex and…. of course he felt confident and unafraid being in possession of a legal gun. Martin on the other hand, a stranger in the complex, was a healthy, strong and confident person and well-versed in street smarts and fighting. Backing down from any confrontation was not in his nature. These two men with their individual issues came together that evening and produced a lethal combination which resulted in Martin’s death.

It is interesting to note that the only thing we are now hearing about in this case concerns the wish by many in the black community and liberal commentators that Zimmerman is a racist and should now be charged with a federal crime. This despite the shooting of Martin had nothing to do with racism as acknowledged by both the defense and prosecution lawyers. Even one juror who participated in the verdict as well as an alternate juror, who recently spoke out, noted that racism wasn’t even discussed among them during their deliberation. Also no evidence was ever presented during the trial that racism was involved or that Zimmerman exhibited any racial inclinations during his testimony to police or in subsequent discussions with others or with the press. In fact, the information which came out outside the trial was that Zimmerman had previously dated a black woman and took her dancing and that he was actively mentoring young black students, hardly signs of a racist. As part of the state’s preparation for this trial, the FBI had interviewed over 35 people known to Zimmerman to determine if he had any racial prejudices and they came to the conclusion there was none found.

Now we have the typical self-serving and race baiters in Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as well as the main street liberal press pushing this falsehood of racism to fulfill their original premise that this was a racial incident instead of what it turned out to be…….simply a series of bad decisions made by two people that resulted in the death of one of them.