We Should Have Known This Was Coming - And We Should Not Go Quietly In the Night

I thought Trayvon might avoid the kind of tornado of bullshit that tends to accompany the shooting deaths of unarmed African-American victims. I thought that only the cockroach blogs of white racists would stoop so low. But it is raining down now, brought on by the desperate defense attorneys Mark O'Mara and Donald West to do everything they can to make Trayvon look like he deserved to die, and championed by the cockroaches of the internet right wing, who hardly need convincing that a 17-year-old black kid was anything but a thug.

You can see it in the incompetent and widely-circulated "investigations" into Trayvon's social media presence and in what notorious race hustler Rene Stutzman is pimping headlines about "new evidence" and "marijuana and guns," accompanied by a photo of Trayvon, baby-faced, mugging for the camera, sparkling grill in his mouth. Tragedy hijacked by white supremists.
The "new evidence" that has emerged came from O'Mara and West in an attempt to hustle the jury pool, despite their legal knowledge that such will never see the light of day in a courtroom, and despite knowing that there is no way of authenticating that the photos and videos were actually taken by Trayvon and not merely photos or videos taken from the internet. Last month, their mission was to discredit Witness 8, with whom Trayvon was talking on the phone at the time George finally caught Trayvon.

It seems too obvious to even say, but smoking pot, skipping school, owning a screwdriver and writing on walls are not evidence of anything other than being in high school. They are certainly not capital crimes. And yet, O'Mara and West would have you believe that the content of Trayvon's cell phone are key facts — as more important, than, say, the fact that George had a gun, and Trayvon didn't, or the fact that George stalked Trayvon for at least 8 minutes, who was doing nothing wrong — by people who insist they're only interested in "truth."

If the conduct of O'Mara and West seems familiar, from the dozens of times America has attempted to exorcise its demons in the course of a single criminal case, so should the half-baked investigation and conspiracy theories undertaken by Mark Bradman's The Conservative Treehouse and widely disseminated by eager skeptics. The blog's conclusion — based on a photo of Trayvon's friend throwing a sign, a comment from a friend who "need[s] a plant," a reference to "[swinging] on a bus driver" — is that Trayvon was a drug dealer involved in gang life. The one thing you can say in favor of Bradman's investigation is that he confined himself to the life of the real Trayvon, unlike his earlier doxing of the wrong Witness 8.

That these right-wing cockroaches, caught up in the tornado of their own conspiracies, would be unable to distinguish between "being 17" and "being a criminal" isn't particularly shocking since to most of them, there is no distinction. Then there is the photograph of Trayvon flashing his grill where a commenter writes, "Gold front teeth signifies adherence to a gangsta lifestyle," There's a prevailing belief expressed both by semi-literate commenters and the cockroaches - that the media has failed to portray Trayvon as the dangerous young man he actually was. If people saw photos of Trayvon with his dental accessories, this theory goes, if they knew he smoked pot, they'd feel differently. If they knew he'd been suspended they'd understand why George had to murder him.

One problem is that to those of us outside the self-shaking bullshit snow globe, smoking weed and having tattoos aren't evidence of anything. Most of us look at all the charges marshaled against Trayvon and see a kid. Many of us see our sons, friends, or ourselves. There's a tragic irony to the fact that the only people Trayvon was really able to fool into thinking he was anything but a baby-faced high schooler were the same people who think he deserved to be shot.

But the other problem is the terms of the debate itself. Whether or not Trayvon was a good kid or a bad kid, an eagle scout or a thug, a normal teenager or a dangerous deviant, he had every right to walk in the streets of his soon-to-be-stepmother's neighborhood without fear of being shot. A criminal record, a manner of dress, or height - none of these make the shooting of an unarmed, law-abiding teenager justified. And yet here we are, forced to defend Trayvon's honor, as though if he had been a gangster there'd be nothing to say. As though the minute a black man is anything but a choir boy, it's okay to shoot him dead in the street.

Without any evidence, a right-wing columnist alleged that Trayvon assaulted a bus driver. Unlike George, Trayvon has no documented history of violence. This allegation continues to be advanced by a blogger on the Examiner even after the real reason was leaked to the police and confirmed by the family. [Miami Herald; Examiner] Even Mark Bradman's blog continues with this allegation, just as he continues that there are two Witness 8s, possibly three.

We should have known this was coming. We should have known that as defense attorneys, O'Mara and West would get to this sooner or later just as sure as we could have predicted FOX's Geraldo Rivera segment urging young men of color to stop wearing hoodies — so as not to get shot — the hilariously inept logic of which failed to mask its true intent: to shift the blame for Trayvon's death back on to Trayvon.

I am dumbfounded that people are citing "facts" from the "police report" which consist entirely of the story George fed the cops — like any murderer would be stupid not to — after committing his crime. For this story to be presented as what actually happened is shocking especially now, in light of the evidence and in light of the fact that George did not have one qualm about looking at Judge Lester straight in the eye as his wife and attorney lied.

So possession of possible stolen property and evidence of Trayvon smoking pot are enough to cause him to be killed? You are defending a guy that has already: 1) perjured himself to the court about his finances and his passport; 2) suborns perjury by his wife; 3) was arrested for assaulting a police officer (sorry Trayvon was never arrested for anything, including slapping anyone); 4) arrested for being drunk and disorderly; 5) had a domestic violence restraining order placed on him; and 6) was accused of sexually assaulting at least one family member and possibly another. This doesn't sound like the kind of guy you should take his word as golden, but it's a free country, you may send him all of your paycheck if you like.

I can't even fathom how some of these people who have commented ignore the facts. It sickens me to see people sympathizing with George, this murderer who took the life of another human regardless of that person's past, present or future. Murder is murder, he murdered after he provoked a fight with an unarmed CHILD. He murdered a CHILD. A grown man murdered an innocent child, and some people want to protect him? If this was a Caucasian child this would not be an issue, however, because ignorant citizens believe that all people of another race are automatically criminal, they believe that George had right to kill an unarmed child even after the dispatcher told him to stand down.

The oldest "race card" is the denial that racism exists. Despite the popular belief that the United States is post-racial, racism remains a substantial factor in American culture. Indeed, this case follows a disturbing racial pattern that was typical during Jim Crow and segregation. The police have discounted the value of the black victim. The police have accepted as factual the allegations of the white assailant -- however suspicious they sound. The police have failed to charge a white man who unlawfully killed an innocent black male. And the police have stated that the black victim was the aggressor. These traditional patterns of racism that exist in George's case were pervasive during Jim Crow.

These racist patterns also exist far beyond George's case. Social scientists continue to conduct studies that reveal implicit racial bias in the United States. Even people who consider themselves racial egalitarians often act upon stereotypical beliefs about persons of color.

In one study, researchers showed a series of images of individuals to test subjects. The participants were told to "shoot" at images that also included a gun. More often, test subjects incorrectly shot unarmed black subjects; they paused, however, before shooting white subjects, which limited the amount of incorrect outcomes. The researchers repeated this study with police officers and found frighteningly similar results: race impacted the subjects' conclusion that the image was armed. This same instinctive racial thinking could have impacted George.

Others studies demonstrate that whites are more sympathetic crime victims than blacks and Latinos. This pattern even impacts reports of crime in the media. Compare, for example, the extreme level of media attention to white female crime victims (in particular) with the reaction to black victims, including Trayvon. If Trayvon were killed in Aruba, like Natelee Holloway, he still would not receive the same volume of attention her death attracted from the media. Race and gender biases explain this differential treatment. And, to reiterate, these biases even affect the behavior of individuals who sincerely describe themselves as nonracist, which is how George's father recently portrayed his son.

Finally, George makes a big issue of the alleged attempt by the media to hide negative images of Trayvon from public view. He wants to know why everyone’s “hiding” photos of the kid giving the finger, dressed in gangsta-looking clothes, looking sullen. Well, here you go, in plain sight – and pretty easy to find with a simple Google search – is a photo of Trayvon. Being a 17-year-old. Giving the finger. Like kids on Twitter and Facebook do all the time. BFD. It doesn’t make him a killer. It doesn’t make him an aspiring murderer. It’s not a crime. And it doesn’t make it acceptable to compare him to a kid who shot a baby in the face.

It is worth reiterating that the pretrial hearing is designed to save innocent people the burden of a trial in cases where there is strong evidence that their actions were justified. If the prosecution has enough evidence to convict someone beyond a reasonable doubt, it necessarily follows that the defendant could not meet the lower preponderance-of-evidence standard for a dismissal, which means he must show it is more likely than not that his actions were justified.

I cannot go on without bringing up Mama Zimmerman, who states that she spoke from her heart when she puts in her two cents on the anniversary of George's arrest. First, let me say that is all her words are worth, two cents. It's been over a year since George murdered Trayvon. Mrs. Z, your son is a MURDERER! IT is not a travesty that he was arrested and awaiting trial, it is justice. You do the crime, you do the time. While you are lamenting the incarceration of your son, Ms. Fulton is still grieving the forever loss of hers. I realize now that the entire Zimmerman family is delusional. I hope and pray that your son gets exactly what he deserves, which is life in prison.

Junior is a despicable bottom feeder. One of his most despicable displays so far, Junior tweeted a picture of Trayvon and Elkins side by side, both teens flipping a middle finger to the camera, with the caption: “A picture speaks a thousand words…Any questions?” You’re supposed to assume that any young black teen who flips a bird is automatically guilty of murder, I guess.

The irony here is that Junior has implored the public to wait until all the facts are in before reaching a rash conclusion about his beloved brother, but he has already condemned Elkin on Twitter. Doesn’t Elkin deserve the right to a fair trial? Or does Junior believe that such things are only afforded to people like his brother, not young African-American boys who flip off cameras?

Junior did not stop with that one tweet though, he was grasping at straws throughout the day. Here’s an example of another tweet:

Teen to West: Do you want me to shoot your baby? #TrayvonMartion to #GeorgeGeorge: You’re gonna die tonight motherf**ker!

George then took it a step further, maligning all African-Americans as “risky”:

"Lib media shd ask if what these2 black teens did 2 a woman&baby is the reason ppl think blacks might b risky."

I don’t know anything about blacks being risky, but now I know a little something about Junior being racist. This series of tweets reveals, more than anything, what may have been going on in George’s head when he happened upon Trayvon that night. Junior has revealed that he holds a bias toward black people in general, and black youth more specifically.

Neither O'Mara and West, nor the cockroaches and conspiracy theorists mention that George stalked Trayvon by vehicle for at least 8 minutes before jumping out of his vehicle as he told the dispatcher, "Oh shit, he ran." These same people don't talk about how there are no injuries to Trayvon's hands from the punching and beating he allegedly gave George, nor is there any of George's DNA on Trayvon's hands. How does that happen? Invisible air punches maybe?

The defense's version of the events portrays Trayvon as the initial aggressor. In fact, O'Mara has been hitting the air waves exclaiming that he won't show the marijuana photos of Trayvon so long as the prosecution doesn't mention anything that occurred prior to the time Trayvon's supposedly punches George. Who was the aggressor is a very important conclusion from a legal perspective. The initial aggressor can only claim self-defense in limited scenarios. Also, an initial aggressor has a "duty to retreat" to safety (rather than standing his or her ground). So, of course, O'Mara and West do not want the jury to know about the 8 minutes or more of George stalking Trayvon as he meandered home while talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone.

The defense wants the jury to believe George was walking towards his car rather than beginning an altercation with Trayvon. Since he did not, they claim, George had the right to use deadly force to defend himself. They do not mention the witness who saw two people, one chasing another with a flash light in hand.

Whether lethal force was justifiable depends upon whether George reasonably feared death or serious bodily injury. O'Mara has made a huge deal over George's injured nose and a couple superficial cuts to his scalp. They do not mention that within ten minutes of George supposedly undergoing the fight of his life, his vitals as taken by the EMTs were within normal range. They do not mention that George repeatedly refused to be taken to the hospital for examination. Honestly, look at the photos of George taken at the police station - does he look injured sufficiently to warrant the taking of a life? Look at him, and then picture your blond haired, blue eyed son, and tell me that George looks like he has just undergone a beating worthy of inflicting death upon your child.

Yeah, we should have known it was coming to this when George stood before Judge Nelson and acknowledged under oath that he was waiving his right to a pretrial "Stand Your Ground" hearing. We should have known it was coming after spending more than a year scrutinizing the facts and evidence and realizing that yes, yes indeed, George was guilty of murder 2 - and in fact, could have been charged with murder 1. But here we sit, mouths agape and pissed as hell.

Mark O'Mara told the court that he is concerned about how the nation will react "once George is acquitted." I refuse to acknowledge such a possibility in light of the clear cut evidence against George. I do not believe an unbiased jury will acquit. But more importantly, I want to know why the nation is being so milk-toast quiet while these two attorneys purposely broadcast irrelevant and inadmissible information released for no other purpose than to taint the potential jury pool and dredge up the bottom-feeders who eat this kind of thing up, galvanize the people who are racist to take potshots at a dead kid? It is outrageous and we should be shouting such to the high heavens so that main stream media recognizes that we do not condone their publishing and entertaining O'Mara's and West's bullshit and trashing of the victim.

As always, Native...spot on

I guess MOM submits to the law of attraction...think positive and positive comes your way.

I cannot let my mind go to GZ being acquitted for I do believe the forensics will do his ass in..besides his many different versions of events...

I have faith that BDLR will put on a better case then the defense team will...

Jr, well he can

Same for his down trodden family...

I just luv ya LLL - you have such a wonderful way of wrapping it all up with that pretty little bow.