Trayvon’s Tragedy Revisited - A tale of political opportunity
I ordinarily don’t “go public” and outside my circle of political junkies to speak out on controversial subjects. But because of my abiding convictions in support of the concept of individual responsibility, and of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, several months ago I broke with that routine to write my thoughts about the tragic death of a Florida teen involving the discharge of a firearm. This commentary has been revised to reflect new information obtained since the trial of George Zimmerman for the alleged murder of Trayvon Martin.
I didn’t view what happened as a “racial” issue. Nor did I see it in terms of “gun control”. Both are political concepts that are emotionally charged, misunderstood by the general public, and for that reason frequently exploited to advance a political agenda or ideology.
At the very outset of this story, all the so called “facts” that we heard from every media outlet of every political leaning reported as follows:
1. An unarmed black teen, with emphasis on the black part, was shot.
2. The shooter was a white man.
3. The 911 call by the shooter contained a racial epithet or slur.
4. The only statement disclosed made by the teen was that he was “being followed.”
5. The grief stricken parents of the teen described their dead child as a kind and loving saint.
6. The white guy continued to pursue the teen even after being told to break his pursuit off.
7. The police failed to charge the shooter, or even to relieve him of his weapon.
8. The shooter claimed self defense under Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
When I first heard the reporting of this incident I had the same visceral reaction of disgust and sorrow as many of you probably had as well. Then my rational brain started working. The first thing I thought was that it was rather strange to me that the police had neither charged the shooter, nor had they taken his gun away from him. If these facts were true, and that the shooter had pursued his victim, the “stand your ground” law wouldn’t even apply. Having practiced law for over 30 years, and leading a gun education group for seniors, I have more than a passing knowledge of the “stand your ground laws” and police protocols. Nothing seemed to fit. If I were to believe the reported description of what had happened, I couldn’t understand why the shooter hadn’t been arrested or at the very least why he hadn’t been relieved of his gun. I turned to my wife and I said “Something isn’t right here. There has got to be a lot more to this story.”
And now, with most of the facts of this tragedy having become known, we have learned things were quite different.
Playing the “race” card
Mr. Zimmerman is neither entirely “white”, nor is he Jewish. He is of hispanic and white heritage, just like Trayvon who is of black and white heritage. However, because race means everything to the Left, and the lame stream media, we learned of a new racial description never heard before. Say hello to the “white-hispanic”.
Then there is the matter of the 9-1-1 call. I heard the 9-1-1 call. I didn’t hear anything even approaching a racial slur. I heard a clear conversation between Zimmerman and the 911 operator. The “N” word was never used. Zimmerman responded directly to questions the operator asked. But the audio file that MSNBC played was purposefully doctored to make it appear George Zimmerman was racially profiling Trayvon Martin.
“He was just a child”
There is no grief greater than that experience by a mother who has lost her child. Propagandists are most successful when they can attach that powerful emotional element to their message. And so, the media portrayed Trayvon as a defenseless and innocent child who was murdered while holding some Skittles and ice tea. The picture the media displayed of Trayvon was taken several years earlier and showed a sweet, baby-faced boy. You didn’t see the picture of the strapping 6’2” tall football player. You didn’t see the pictures on Trayvon’s cellphone of him throwin’ out some gang signs while smoking a joint. You weren’t told that a drug cocktail popular with teens was tea, skittles, cough medicine and whatever sundry prescription drugs could be thrown into the mix. All of this brings us to my final observation on the matter.
All the news (we deem) unfit to print.
Perhaps most revealing however was the media blackout until the trial, of the existence of a witness who had come forward describing a far different picture and one that supports the conduct of the police. The unnamed witness described Trayvon on top of Zimmerman and beating him. Zimmermans’ shirt had grass stains on the back, and his face was bloodied. Even more startling was the testimony of the witness that Zimmerman had broken off his pursuit, and was returning to his SUV when he was attacked by Trayvon. This was a very different version of events that if revealed would have cast doubt on the claim that a “hate crime” had been committed.
Lessons to be learned
First of all, it is obvious that we should not to jump to conclusions until all the facts are known. That’s why we have a judicial system and due process guaranteed by the Constitution.
The second point to note is that persons with an ideological agenda will seize upon certain situations, politically exploit them, distort them, and agitate for their view of the world. Someone please remind President Obama of this so that next time he won’t go out and say something stupid and inflammatory like “If I had a son he’d look like Trayvon.”
The bottom line is that we need to start acting as rational, civil citizens of our country and carefully evaluate all that we hear and see, especially when our information is coming from someone or some organization with an axe to grind.
