It Wasn't About Race

The story about our justice system that The PC promised in last night's post will have to wait until tomorrow night.

Like that's never happened before.

Tonight, The Blog would like to share a comment that was posted on his Facebook link to last night's post, as well as The Blog's response.

The comment was posted, not surprisingly, by one of my conservative friends.

Here we go...

"Did the jury do the right thing in the O.J. trials? Black on white is MUCH more acceptable than White on Black, or even same race violence. Just last week we had 5 murders in this city...only a blip on the news about it. Sad the media got envolved [sic]."

My response...

"I reject your premise that "black on white, etc." is more acceptable. Murders of all sorts happen all of the time. Most pass unnoticed by the media. But while race certainly factored into the Zimmerman case, it was not the central issue.

The real issue was this...

An unarmed minor, walking home from the 7-Eleven, with a reasonable expectation of safety, was pursued, confronted and, ultimately, shot to death, by an armed adult who has, in the past, demonstrated a certain degree of paranoia and vigilanteism. Race does figure in in-as-much as Zimmerman has shown in past 911 calls that he seems to have a problem with young black men.

Zimmerman played cop, judge, jury and executioner, that night. That is a fact and nothing else should have mattered. Not even if, at some point, Zimmerman "feared for his life." Where was Trayvon's right to protect himself? Where was his right to "stand his ground?"

That the media and the defense painted Trayvon as a "thug" should have been irrelevant. And, I would hazard to say that if Trayvon had been "lily white," the same pundits who have portrayed him as a thug would instead have focused on Zimmerman's ethnicity and the narrative would have been very different.

Full disclosure... I got to know Trayvon's family this past spring. Decent, middle-class people who did not raise a "thug." I also met Zimmerman's best friend. And, while I commend his loyalty to his friend, I found him arrogant, entitled and lacking any empathy for the Martin family's loss.

Did the jury do the right thing in the O.J. trial? Just as with the Zimmerman trial, right and wrong were abandoned in favor of the outcome depending entirely on the competence and showmanship (or lack thereof) of the defense and prosecution.

So, if by "the right thing," you mean finding a verdict based solely on the performance in the courtroom, then yes. The jury did the right thing.

In both cases.

But that doesn't make either thing right.

And that is what is truly sad."

Which, by happy coincidence, bridges nicely to the story that I will tell you, tomorrow night.

One more thought.

The PC can't quite figure out why so many conservatives, especially those who really are not racists, are performing such mental acrobatics to defend Zimmerman.

The best I can come up with is this...

It's not really about race.

Not even to them.

It's about guns.

Had Zimmerman been convicted, it would have called into doubt the legitimacy of the gun issue in general and the "Stand Your Ground" law, specifically.

*NOTE*

Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch about the graphic depicting watermelon juice perpetuating a racial stereotype, that is, in fact, the Arizona Tea flavor that Trayvon was carrying that night.

Score one point for racial stereotypes.

But wait!!!

Watermelon juice also happens to be a popular flavor of "agua fresca," a drink served at barbecues and feasts in the Latino community.

In other words, something that the Latino George Zimmerman might be inclined to drink.

So there!