I wonder how many of you have seen the attached website, which this post does not do justice because copying the page only brings the text, and not the patriotic American flag backdrop. You can see the site by clicking on the link below (far below). Of course, George Zimmerman has now been charged and is in custody, but he created this website before that happened.
I don't doubt that this is a traumatic time for Zimmerman, and it is impossible not to have a certain level of sympathy for someone whose life was so dramatically changed in the way his has been....even if by his own decisions, it needs to be remembered, the first of which was to have a gun with him on that night.
I don't doubt that this is a traumatic time for Zimmerman, and it is impossible not to have a certain level of sympathy for someone whose life was so dramatically changed in the way his has been....even if by his own decisions, it needs to be remembered, the first of which was to have a gun with him on that night.
But, still, I really am curious what it means to "support" George Zimmerman. Nobody but George Zimmerman knows what happened that night. The only other witness is dead. So does "support" for Zimmerman mean one supports the right to kill unarmed black kids? Or maybe just unarmed black kids wearing hoodies? Or, is race not a factor, and it means support for the right to kill any kid or anybody? It's now a moot point, but at the time Zimmerman's website was created, did it mean you thought there should not be any investigation and that we should all just quit fixating on this case? What exactly did and does it mean?
I know there were people who thought that Zimmerman was being unfairly tried in the press and in the streets, but people were clamoring for an arrest and and criminal charges because a teenager armed with skittles was killed. That seems a pretty reasonable demand, given the circumstances. And Zimmerman himself was using the press in such a way that caused his first two defense attorneys to resign. I believe the creation of this website was also a factor in his attorney's decision.
Clearly, were it not for Florida's absurd Stand Your Ground law, Zimmerman would have been in custody from the very beginning. One interpretation is that support for George Zimmerman is unconditional support for that particular Florida law.
But that law is not absolute, as is proven by the very fact that charges have now been filed. Since the law is not absolute and nobody but Zimmerman knows with a certainty what happened, supporting him would seem to indicate a willingness to accept his version of events without question. And that just raises another question, of why would anyone who doesn't know what happened prefer to stop the investigation and accept one version without further question? It is hard not to conclude the answer is racism. What else can it mean to "support" George Zimmerman by accepting his version of events without question?
I know there were people who thought that Zimmerman was being unfairly tried in the press and in the streets, but people were clamoring for an arrest and and criminal charges because a teenager armed with skittles was killed. That seems a pretty reasonable demand, given the circumstances. And Zimmerman himself was using the press in such a way that caused his first two defense attorneys to resign. I believe the creation of this website was also a factor in his attorney's decision.
Clearly, were it not for Florida's absurd Stand Your Ground law, Zimmerman would have been in custody from the very beginning. One interpretation is that support for George Zimmerman is unconditional support for that particular Florida law.
But that law is not absolute, as is proven by the very fact that charges have now been filed. Since the law is not absolute and nobody but Zimmerman knows with a certainty what happened, supporting him would seem to indicate a willingness to accept his version of events without question. And that just raises another question, of why would anyone who doesn't know what happened prefer to stop the investigation and accept one version without further question? It is hard not to conclude the answer is racism. What else can it mean to "support" George Zimmerman by accepting his version of events without question?
Zimmerman's website solicits money from his supporters. Without a doubt, the fact of a criminal charge can ruin a family's financial situation, even if the accused is free on bail. In this case he is in custody and has no income. Millions of people in similar financial straits are processed through our judicial system every year with the assistance of public defenders. Where are their supporters? Why would Zimmerman's financial straits move someone to contribute to his defense or his family's finances, and not to any of the other millions? Again, I think the answer is racism.
Any other theories?
I am the real George Zimmerman,
On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website's sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.
George Zimmerman
On Sunday February 26th, I was involved in a life altering event which led me to become the subject of intense media coverage. As a result of the incident and subsequent media coverage, I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life. This website's sole purpose is to ensure my supporters they are receiving my full attention without any intermediaries.
It has
come to my attention that some persons and/or entities have been
collecting funds, thinly veiled as my “Defense Fund” or "Legal Fund". I
cannot attest to the validity of these other websites as I have not
received any funds collected, intended to support my family and I
through this trying, tragic time.
I have
created a Paypal account solely linked on this website as I would like
to provide an avenue to thank my supporters personally and ensure that
any funds provided are used only for living expenses and legal defense,
in lieu of my forced inability to maintain employment. I will also
personally, maintain accountability of all funds received. I reassure
you, every donation is appreciated.
Sincerely,George Zimmerman
Update as of 1:30pm EST on Tuesday, April 10th
I am attempting to respond to each and everyone of my supporters personally. The support has been overwhelming in volume and strength. I thank you all and ask that you permit me the time to respond to each one of you personally. Once again thank you.
Sincerely,
George Zimmerman
I am attempting to respond to each and everyone of my supporters personally. The support has been overwhelming in volume and strength. I thank you all and ask that you permit me the time to respond to each one of you personally. Once again thank you.
Sincerely,
George Zimmerman
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing. - Edmund Burke.
6 comments:
The conclusion you have drawn, along with experts like Al Sharpton and Eric Holder is that the young man was a victim of racism.
We have some reason to raise an eyebrow to Rev Sharpton as he appears sometimes to be involved as much with self-promotion as anything, and then we remember the Tawana Brawley situation.
Most people do not endorse an action that results in the death of an unarmed person, irrespective of their race. As I have mentioned before, there are too many of those in Kansas City--unsolved, violent homicides.
Most people do not endorse arriving at the conclusion as to someone's motives or the facts of the case simply by listening to Rev Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and, by extension, the press.
I have tried to avoid a lot of the coverage of the demonstrations and the posturing, but this is going to be a really difficult one--were there actually injuries to Zimmerman? What actually happened? Is there going to be "reasonable doubt" in the case? Too bad that Johnnie Cochran isn't around when we need someone to put the police on trial.
I think it will be very difficult to maintain that this guy will get a "fair" trial after all the publicity. There are probably a lot of people out there who agree with Mike Tyson, an astute observer of the scene.
Bob - Read what I wrote again, and you will not see a word that implies a motive for Mr. Zimmerman's actions. The question I am asking is what is the basis for someone, anyone, to say they "support" George Zimmerman? I am asking what that word "support" can possibly mean?
My conclusion is that there is no basis for "supporting" Zimmerman except racism.
Your questions as to injuries to Zimmerman and reasonable doubt are questions that will come out at a trial, which now finally, at last we there will be.
Media attention is nothing new. In this case, the only reason media attention developed is because the police handling of the situation was so fucked up. Also media attention certainly doesn't preclude exoneration at trial...witness, OJ Simpson, Robert Blake and Casey Whatever in Florida.
If it were not for the demonstrations you decry and the media attention, I seriously doubt charges would ever have been filed.
You are correct, Gerry. The statement about "racism" only refers to the reason that anyone would support Zimmerman. It does not state that racism had anything to do with the fatal incident.
My bad.
I should examine closely the signs and the rhetoric of Sharpton and Jackson and I will see that none of their statements imply racism, either. But I probably won't go to that effort.
I haven't heard that the police made errors, just that they weren't fast enough to arrest him. I am sure that will come out at the trial, also.
I'm not saying this is your position, but when I asked the question in my post of what it can possibly mean for someone to say they support Mr. Zimmerman, in a situation where it is his word against a dead kid's, it did seem to me that many people were implicitly saying "I support Zimmerman because Al Sharpton is a self promoter" or "...because I hate all these damn protests."
I too shall not investigate any statement made by Al Sharpton, Mike Tyson or anyone else to determine if they implicitly or overtly accused Zimmerman of racism. I have not seen a single television news story about this event, nor have I read anything by any of the people you name.
To the extent that I have read accusations of racism, they were directed against the system that allowed this case to progress along the track it took. And those seem legitimate to me.
I think this story is the perfect example of how, without pointing fingers at Person A, B or Z, who were involved at any point in this process, and accusing him or her of racism, it is perfectly reasonable to say the system functioned in a way that reasonable people can call racist.
It seems perfectly reasonable to believe that, without the media attention and involvement of the public, including Al Sharpton, whose motives I also will not question, there would never have been any charges filed. It's a moot point, but not unreasonable, I think.
I have just watched a video of AG Eric Holder's comments, and there is not a hint of a conclusion that Martin was a victim of racism. Personally, I am delighted to once again have an AG who remembers that there is a Civil Rights Division in his department, and that there are Federal Civil Rights laws that he is sworn to uphold.
When I say the police department fucked up, I mean simply the time it took them to file charges, and the fact that I believe they released Zimmerman's statement about the events unchallenged.
Oh, I forgot. Another reader, in an email rather than a comment, was particularly offended by the Edmund Burke quotation at the bottom of the Zimmerman website. I agree.
I read your first post again, and it is difficult to parse the sentence "It is hard not to conclude the answer is racism," without thinking there is an accusation of racism. Also, comments like "...is race not a factor..." led me to the error.
One of the problems, of course, is that Zimmerman is not white. He could be a racist, however.
Is Burke's quote for special use now?
I would think that you would applaud the fact that the case was examined and the arrest was made deliberately, rather than saying that the police erred in not rushing to arrest immediately.
As you know, I was fairly upset when the police did not move more quickly in our breakin, but they did get a search warrant, did the things they had to do and recovered some stuff. Besides, there were arrests made that may be less likely to be overturned by the technicalities that we both think are ridiculous, whether in releasing the guilty or not bringing facts up that could exonerate.
I would imagine that the following comments could be called "irrelevant," but I wanted to mention that I hope that some of the fervor directed at Zimmerman be directed at the perpetrators of the many homicides that involve black victims. The black community has disproportionate victimization, especially by crimes involving a gun. According to the 2007 Justice department study reported by the Washington Post, half the murder victims in the US are black and nine out of ten were killed by other blacks. Three out of four of those murders are with a gun. The black population is 13% of the total US population.
Certainly, the justice system has to deal with Zimmerman in an appropriate way, but there is a bigger problem that the Reverends might look at. And Mike Tyson, too.
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