Trayvon Martin Case

Shocker...

We don't know enough about this. What we do know is the media will show us what they want.

Zimmerman's good friend from childhood was on the local news station and he, as a black man, is appalled at the way the black community is handling this. If a black man had shot Trayvon, there would be no attention on this at all. Sad that because it is a race issue Obama jumped all over it and has the DOJ involved. Where is he for the white boy in Seattle that was beat within an inch of his life by two black men who blamed him for slavery?

I think the story needs to come out about what really happened before any judgements can be made. That's why we have a justice system, sometimes a broken O., but O. regardless.

It's a sad story for both families.

Just to respond to those who want to know why this case is a "big deal"... It's because the police did not follow proper protocol. If they had it would be just another sad and crazy news story. It has generated so much attention because the police did not collect any evidence from Zimmerman including his gun. It seems that they just took his word for it that he was defending himself and did not really investigate. Then, for about a month, the police would not release the 911 recordings. Very strange.

Going off what can be heard on the calls Zimmerman was in his vehicle and was told by the 911 dispatcher to stop following the boy. The dispatcher tried, unsuccessfully, to get Zimmerman to go the the mail boxes to meet the officers. Too bad he didn't listen. Now a 17 year old boy is dead and Zimmerman and his family are in hiding for safety reasons.

I'm not concerned about the respective races of these two people nor am I concerned about anything either of them did prior to the night of this incident. What I am concerned about is people being able to shoot/harm others and get CLEARED BY THE POLICE without the proper process...

I don't think we've heard the whole story yet.

I can't believe no O. has asked this question, yet. I do think the guy should have stopped following him, that is a give in. The kid should NOT have ended up dead. Another give in. The rest, I just don't know. I do HATE that the media is sending around a years old picture of a cutie little tween. This was a 17 year old, 6 foot 3 football player. Not a little baby faced little cutie. A suspended teenager from school. A teenager that sent out wildly inappropriate and offensive posts and tweets. Am I saying he deserved to die? Absolutely not! Am I saying it wasn't racially motivated. No, because I don't know! What I'm trying to say, is the media is projecting the victim as a perfect, meek, small little tween. He wasn't. It bothers me, because that harms the victim!! That casts a shadow over him, like what are they trying to hide. (Probably nothing, but what I'm saying, is it makes it APPEAR that way.) I don't know the facts, I just know the media is making it impossible to get at the truth. A kid is dead. He shouldn't be. That's all I know. What happened in the in between we may never know. The media is doing no O. any favors, they are impeding justice.

ETA: Oh my goodness!! I forgot to put the "not" when I said "the kid should have ended up dead." Holy geez, I do NOT think he should have ended up dead. Wow, awful typo!! I'm adding it now, for those that thought I was saying I thought he should have been shot...I'm sorry for that typo!!

Zimmerman also pursued Martin for no reason, and according to witness phone conversation, Martin was terrified and ran from him. If some man pursued me and followed me around, you better believe I would fight him back if he came at me with a weapon. I also believe he put the hood up because it was raining. Sounds legit to me. And while Martin may have been suspended, so we are looking at character here, Zimmerman also has aggressive marks on his character as well.

Hoodies = dangerous thugs just as mini skirts = prostitutes.

*However, the media is portraying a small, cherubic faced 14 year old Trayvon, not the older, more 'thuggish' version of him. So I have to agree with others, we have not heard the whole story.

thank God here in DC - we're not getting this case in our face all the time.

The media has turned this into a "mob mentality" thing - creating drama, divide and tension. Instead of saying "a man shot a youth" they said "A white man shot a black youth" - instantly making it about race.

See how much has changed in the last week? Details have been released that support Martin attacked Zimmerman....

Should a neighborhood watch patrol be carrying a gun? Concealed carry - okay. But really? Why? What was going on in that neighborhood that Zimmerman felt compelled to carry? Am I going to say NO he can't carry? Nope. Only people that shouldn't carry are mentally unstable people and convicted felons. I'm not a doctor so I cannot state to Zimmerman's mental stability or competence.

No. Hoodies are not a sign or symbol of menace...that's just ludicrous - that's passing the mob mentality that the media has hyped up.
However the media started it out with making it about race....

Again - the media presented its "Facts" to create drama, mob mentality (the petitions to have Zimmerman arrested, the Hoodie March, etc.)

Zimmeran is Hispanic/Latino - NOT white.
The picture the media puts out is of a 12 year old boy not a 17 year old young man. To invoke sympathy and concern for a CHILD. Did they neglect his past? Yes. Does it pertain to this situation? I don't know. Unless he had a violent past.

NONE of us were there.
NONE of us were eyewitnesses to what happened. So all we are doing is speculating and becoming judge and jury in something we know nothing about - none of us have the facts (the media doesn't ALWAYS report facts...they spin to make sales!!!) and NONE of us were eyewitnesses to the crime.

The media has put their spin on it, so Zimmerman has been tried, judged and convicted in the court of public opinion.

Should Zimmerman been arrested that night? Yes. Pending an investigation. It wasn't done.

Should the U.S. JUSTICE Department be involved in this? No.

Should Obama had kept his mouth shut? Yes. There are too many senseless killings in the U.S. every DAY - yet he speaks out on this O.? Sorry - there was another young man killed that week too. He didn't speak out on that O.. There was a white boy doused with fuel and set afire by two black boys - was that NATIONAL news? nope. Why? Where are Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson on THESE cases? Why aren't they speaking out on THESE cases? Why ONLY O.?

As i've stated - thanks to the media and mob mentality - not to mention the bounty the Black Panthers have on Zimmerman's head - Zimmerman has been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion and now needs to be executed.

The more the media plays up the hype and mob mentality (is a lynching mob ever right?), the harder it's going to be to get a fair trial anywhere in the country.
Neither O. of them were angels.
The whole thing plays out like a junior high guy fight except O. of them was armed.
It's a gang territory fight with no gangs involved.
When stupid meets stupid about the only thing you CAN count on happening is a tragedy.
In the mean time, the media is in a self induced feeding frenzy.
The victim's family is looking to trademark 'I am Trayvon' and 'Justice for Trayvon'.
(I'm sorry but who thinks of making a profit over a loved ones death?)
Little or no notice was given to a report/study which examined the survivability of a nuclear attack on the nations capital (turns out it's highly survivable and life would go on).
This is why I follow the BBC news.
American news media too often resembles a badly written Jerry Springer script.

oh dear. It's too late in the day to stir up this type of conversation.

My thought: Zimmerman was wrong to continue to persue this "suspicious" guy. But why did Trayvon beat up Zimmerman? Witness says that Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman punching him. Well so Trayvon was defending himself. Zimmerman was defending himself. The whole thing could have been avoided if Zimmerman would have backed off. Can't you imagine how Treyvon felt having some crazy guy following him? I do not agree with the Black Panthers having a bounty on Zimmerman's head. Not that Zimmerman was right in his persuing Trayvon. But seriously, this is a tragedy. Why is this story getting so much hype, but not the 40 people killed in a 50 hour period in Chicago, O. victim being a very young girl?

I was just talking about this today. I do (kinda) see both sides. I guess the O. thing that keeps nagging at my brain is that the 911 dispatchers told Zimmerman he did NOT need to follow Martin.

I found out just today, and have not researched on my own, that Zimmerman had called 911, almost chronically about potential criminal issues.

Hell, I wear a hoodie walking my dogs in rural Kansas. Am I a menace?

Gosh, I hope hoodies aren't a sign of menace! I wear my hooded sweat shirt every single morning to walk my daughter to the bus stop with my hood up. Sometimes I wear my hood around the house. Sometimes I garden with my hood. I like wearing my hood and it's something I've been doing since I was a kid.

I guess I better stop wearing it before some trigger happy wanna be cop shoots me down dead because I'm carrying a pick ax trying to find a spot to plant my gladiolus.

EDIT: I also do not think it's right that this case is so sensational. I mean, this happens all the time. What about the mother whose son died in under the same circumstances? What about people who have been put to death then presumed innocent? I hate the media. I really do.

I really don't know what to think about the case. I mean the media is going to report what gets people going.

I hadn't heard about the attack part.

I think hoodies are a sign you are hiding something. Really every bank robber they have had on the news the past month had a hoodie on hiding his face. My kids wear hoodies but they don't pull up the hat bit unless it is freaking cold.

The whole case is strange, not sure if I helped by posting this rambling.

Well, for once, I completely agree with Cheryl.

If Zimmerman had been arrested that night pending an investigation, IMO, much of this could have been avoided. He killed a person, whether justified or not. By not following this protocol, Sanford police opened up this can of worms that is not going to be easily contained. Here in Florida it is all we are seeing. Once again, the media is seeking to divide us, and we are going along for the ride.

Ahhh....I was waiting for you to go here, Denise! =) Here is a great article on this entitled "Why lots of people think the media is wrong about the Trayvon Martin case" : http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-03-26/politics/3...

People who are spouting off about this before the facts are in should be ashamed of themselves. The way this has been handled by the media, members of Congress, and even our president is shockingly inappropriate. Forget that there IS no real integrity in journalism anymore why does our president keep commenting on these things (Boston police, this)? It's not even remotely appropriate for him to spout off when all of the facts are not in. It has greatly compromised this man's chance at justice.

The media is manipulating things like crazy. These are things I learned since the story broke:

1. TM was suspended from school on drug charges earlier that week. (Do kids do dumb things sometimes? Yes. Do they deserve to die? No - my only point is that the cause for suspicion of him being under the influence may be valid)

2. The community was a gated community that had been subjected to several break-ins

3. GZ was not told not to follow the boy. The non-emergency "security" for the plan said he "didn't have to do that". He was not ordered to stand down by police.

4. GZ volunteers his time helping tutor poor African-American kids in his neighborhood. He is not considered a racist.

The Stand Your Ground law would not authorize someone following a suspicious person and then shooting them. Your life must be in imminent danger. Was Trayvon shot in the back? No, he wasn't. He was shot in mid-struggle. According to an eye-witness, he was on top of Zimmerman beating him. The screams on the 911 call are Z's.

The media is shaming itself up and down. WTH is a "white hispanic"? Something that never existed before this case, that's for sure. Give me a break. Posting a photo that's 4years old? What would the outcry have been if this photo had been the O. on the news?

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4f7099ea69beddf2...

(For example only as there is speculation about it being from his FB page)

The media is capitalizing on the reality that when people see TM's angelic face they couldn't possibly picture him any other way - very smart.

Where is the story about the 2 African American girls in Chicago that were just gunned down on their front steps this past week? If it's a 'black on black' crime it's a negligible concern? PLEASE - that's horrible and incredibly disrespectful! Sharpton and Jackson are all over this stuff and yet remain silent about the violence against blacks by their own people. They are sell-out opportunists who gladly keep their own people down for their own chance at notoriety. It's the worst kind of hypocrisy.

By labeling certain crimes (or implying that they are) "hate crimes", you are placing a higher value on that victim than the victims of other crimes. ALL crime is rooted in hate - even if it's not toward the victim, per se - and all deaths are tragic. When "hate crimes" are elevated to the national news scene, given a special label, treatment and consequence, the system devalues the lives of other victims.

I'm a teacher in a diverse district. We have kiddos of every color here. You can ALWAYS tell if someone (black, white or otherwise) is up to something shady - even if it's a small thing. Body language, non-verbal communication, defensiveness...all goes a long way toward confirming (and sometimes disproving) initial instincts about a situation. If I suspect something, I'm going to ask the kid about it. Does he then have the right to attack me bc he/she feels like I'm profiling them? No!

Can we give people some credit here? We have a right to find out what's going on in our neighborhoods, esp when crime has been an issue. We have a right to defend ourselves. We also have the right to walk around dressed in whatever we want to wear. I'm not willing to say that either party is guiltless in this case and I'm also not willing to lay blame squarely on O. person when all of the facts have yet to be determined. This case is a tragedy all around.

ETA: Someone posted about the parents profiting from this. Good point - what the heck?

Zimmerman needs to be arrested period. He claims he felt threatened.. ..ok, so..why did he get out of his car then? Didnt the 911 dispatcher told him to stop following the boy? Had he kept driving and stopped following him, Treyvonne would still be alive. But he got out of his car and approached him. We dk what happened after that. But we do know that Treyvonne fought back and Zimmerman shot and killed an unarmed person. So why have they not arrested him yet? Why are they bringing up all of the bad things Treyvonne have done? What do that have to do with anything? Just do what's right and arrest Zimmerman.

I agree with Abbie H. we have not heard enough of the story and I will refrain from judgement until more has come to light - there are too many questions and not enough, by my perception, real answers to "choose sides" yet. It will all come forward - this is just a big onion with many many layers. This is why when the "Facebook" page in regards to this case came up I took the side of allowing the law to do its job first.

i think it's a tragic misfire of justice, that zimmerman is a bully and a schmuck, and that we lost yet another young black man for being young and black.
i hate that the inevitable pushback is now trying to blame martin for being young and black and <gasp> wearing a hoodie. not to mention for apparently defending himself against a man with a gun who was menacing him.
had a young white man been shot by a black man, while walking home with skittles and soda for his family, the shooter would have been arrested and probably beaten on the spot.
that being said, i'm sickened by how politicized this tragedy has become. so many people using it to further their own agendas.
can't find much of a silver lining to it anywhere.
:P khairete
S.

No, hoodies aren't a symbol of menace..it's ridiculous. It's a sad case all around. I don't think anyone knows the exact whole story and account of what really happened. So, I don't really turn to the media for answers.