Now that the George Zimmerman Trial is over, one thinks about the future of this man who used very poor judgment in pursuing an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.
Certainly, the possibility of a United States Department of Justice Civil Rights lawsuit is a legitimate avenue of action!
Additionally, civil law suits for financial damages can be pursued, and should be considered!
But beyond that, it should be made clear that under NO circumstances should ANYONE work to make the life of George Zimmerman or his family a nightmare in any form!
Neither he nor his family members should have to live under the threat of violence now, or at any point, for the rest of their lives!
Pursuing such threats or violence would undermine the whole point of why the trial was pursued, as it would sully the memory of this young man who was doing nothing wrong, and was profiled because he was black!
Everyone should leave George Zimmerman and his family alone permanently, other than available legal alternatives, and realize one thing that is clear.
The life of George Zimmerman will, even if left at peace, hopefully, will never be the same, as he will be recognized; will have his obituary with the first paragraph and heading mentioning his involvement in this tragedy; and in his heart of heats, his conscience, he will always have some guilt for his actions which took a human life unnecessarily!
But please, everyone who reads this entry on this blog, leave George Zimmerman and his family alone, and leave it to the courts for any further resolution, and if those further legal motions fail to gain a desired result, accept the reality and pursue the memory of Trayvon Martin in commitment to the further promotion of civil rights in a peaceful, orderly manner!
Hello Professor,
I just heard that there is talk of filing charges in Federal Court plus there is still the Civil Charges that can be brought forth.
Another excellent post Professor!
“… took a human life unnecessarily”? Really? If you were having your head bashed against the concrete, you wouldn’t find it necessary to protect yourself?
What was unnecessary was Martin’s physical assault on Zimmerman. Zimmerman had every right to keep Martin from murdering him. Martin had plenty of time to evade Zimmerman, yet he chose confrontation and violence instead. His death is unfortunate, but so would have been Zimmerman’s. The verdict is just. The responses to it are not.
@Common Sense
Zimmerman was the one who started the confrontation by getting out of his car. If he had let the boy go, then none of this would have happened.
The president, the sorry dept of injustice and main stream media bare the most responsibility for making this about race. Mr. Zimmerman should never have been charged with any crime. The police chief, his dept. and prosecutors believed it as well. The chief was fired for doing the right thing, the prosecutor demoted. Our crooked Department of Injustice and race baiting reverends along with the media instigators bare the true blame. Meanwhile thousands of murders are going almost unnoticed in cities where guns are illegal, this murder mayhem by the way is directly attributed to progressive policies that have destroyed the black family in America along with another progressive favorite that has taken the life of over 50 million innocents, easy ABORTION, progressives love this one” protecting women’s rights” if you believe in a just God, may he take mercy on you for that godless decision.
@Princess Leia
Following Martin was not a confrontation and was not illegal. The confrontation occurred when Martin punched Zimmerman in the nose, which is illegal.
It’s unfortunate that Martin was killed, but if he hadn’t been, Zimmerman would be dead by Martin’s hand. I’m sure that’s more acceptable to those offended by this verdict, which is sad indeed.
@Common Sense
Excellent article about this case: http://www.winningprogressive.org/killing-black-men-is-just-another-sport
@Common Sense
What Zimmermann was doing was racially profiling the kid.
@Common Sense
In my opinion, Zimmermann racially profiling the kid is what is illegal. The kid was just trying to defend himself. I’m of the belief that it’s the kid’s cries for help on the 911 tape because of the youthful tenor of the voice.
I find it interesting that ‘common sense’ would believe the story promulgated by Zimmerman and the defense team. Common sense would suggest that a white, wannabe punk carrying heart who profiles and pursues a black teen, is NOT the aggressor. Apparently ‘common sense’ has none.
My thoughts exactly Mud rake.
Mud: Had Zimmerman “hispanized” his name and adopted his Peruvian mother’s last name, he would be Jorge Meza,which is really more in accordance with his looks and olive skin color, and there would have been no trial because as the police that investigated the crime scene correctly concluded, this was a clear case of legitimate self defense. Only in America is a Hispanic Obama voter converted into a poster boy for “white supremacy and racism”, just for the advancement of a political agenda.
Our daily lulz from Guano!
Looks like Guano needs to read this too: http://www.winningprogressive.org/killing-black-men-is-just-another-sport
J.D. Peron writes, “Only in America is a Hispanic Obama voter converted into a poster boy for “white supremacy and racismâ€, just for the advancement of a political agenda.”
Hmm. How does one dissect that statement? Does any ‘regular’ here understand the intent and meaning of this statement? Perhaps Mr. Peron could explain this for me.
Your entire argument is predicated on Zimmerman profiling Martin, which is pure conjecture on your part. To convict a man of murder or manslaughter on such a flimsy prosecution is outrageous. The case for self defense, however, is evident. Thank goodness the jury saw it that way.
Hello Muddy,
You are trying to put logic and sanity to a statement that has no base of either. Welcome to the world that is Guano’s delusions. A sad specimen indeed. I shoud note that he has even tried to pass himself off as a lawyer. LOL!! Lacy would love to get a hold of this one.
Anyone who says the killing was not about race is in serious denial.
Well Leia, without anything to back up that glaring conjecture, there is no intelligent discussion here – but I don’t think you’re interested in discussion. You’re posting to contribute to an online lynch mob mentality, nothing more. Professor Feinman must be so glad to have you onboard his blog!
@Common Sense
This article, which I posted earlier in the discussion, backs up the “conjecture”: http://www.winningprogressive.org/killing-black-men-is-just-another-sport
@Mud
Guano’s droppings never make any sense.
@Common Sense
Top story of the evening news last night was about people protesting throughout the country about the verdict, so it’s not just online mob mentality.
@Common Sense
First, I’ve been posting on this blog for months.
Second, the Professor is certainly glad to have me and other liberals and progressives help in the fight against right-wing lies.
So, because of the points made in the article, Zimmerman should have simply submitted to the beating that Martin was raining down on him, right? As a matter of justice for the history of injustices done upon the black race which, by the way, is ALWAYS on the receiving end of racism.
Yes? Zimmerman should have sacrificed himself as a gesture toward setting everything straight. Is that your assertion? If I’m to understand you (and Mud), Martin had every right to brutally inflict bodily injury because Zimmerman was “profiling” him, but Zimmerman is a racist for doing what was necessary to keep himself from being seriously injured or worse. You’re saying that because of the history of racial injustice, Martin had NO duty to use the AMPLE time at his disposal to evade Martin.
You, and the article that you’ve provided the link to three times, have YET to address the topic of whether Zimmerman was justified in defending himself from Martin’s assault. THAT is the crux of this trial, with or without racism as a factor. If it was your head Martin was slamming into the pavement, I wager your righteousness would wilt in a heartbeat.
@Common Sense
The clear difference between standing your ground when confronted, versus standing your ground after being the stalker and instigator of a fight, was lost on this jury and on the fools in Florida and has obviously been lost on you too.
What’s lost on you is a person’s right to self defense when having the living daylights beaten out of him/her.
Answer this question once and for all: would you have defended yourself against Martin’s attack, or would you have just lain there and hope that he would stop before killing you?
@Common Sense
It’s very obvious to us, who truly have common sense, that the only reason Zimmerman was following the kid was because he was black and wearing and hoodie.
@Common Sense
The crux of this trial is that a self-appointed vigilante killed an unarmed black kid just trying to go home.
It’s a simple question, Leia. If you can’t give it a yes or no answer, then it is you who is in denial of the real issue.
I suspect you won’t answer it directly because to do so would require you to jump off your righteous soapbox. We all know that each of us would exercise self defense when in fear for our lives or of great bodily harm. It has NOTHING to do with race. Thankfully the jury could part this out, even if some can’t.
Check your facts; the trial hinges on justifiable self defense. You must be running out of argument, Leia, because you’re getting increasingly insulting and appear to seek safety in numbers.
Having said that, I still would like a direct response from you: would you have defended yourself against Martin’s attack, or would you have just lain there and hope that he would stop before killing you?
@Common Sense
George Zimmerman lied about the details of the fight. The phone records showed Martin was on the phone with Rachel Jeantel. Which makes Zimmermans story about Martin jumping out of bushes hogwash. It also disproves Zimmerman’s claim that Martin threw the first punch. Martin was talking on the phone. Talking on the phone and starting fights are mutually exclusive activities. Whatever Zimmerman says about any alleged attack, whatever he says about being punched in the nose, whatever he says about the “danger” he was in, whatever he says to make out his self-defense claim, George Zimmerman is a liar. Beyond a reasonable doubt. You, like the jury, obviously fell for his lies.
Jeantel testified to hearing wet grass noises. Hmmmm, like the phone had been dropped… much easier to throw a punch then.
There is nothing to substantiate your claim Zimmerman lied about the fight, and he has the injuries to prove that he was the one getting beaten up.
I still would like a direct response from you: would you have defended yourself against Martin’s attack, or would you have just lain there and hope that he would stop before killing you?
I don’t buy Zimmerman’s lies, so I’m not going to answer your question.
Just as I thought: no direct answer to a simple question. It’s clear that the facts are simply too inconvenient for your liberal agenda. That doesn’t mean, though, that justice wasn’t served in the clear case of self defense.
Take care.
@Common Sense
It’s not just the phone records that proves he’s a liar. Ever since Zimmerman’s arrest, we learned that there was serious skepticism of his version of events. Zimmerman claims to have had his head slammed into the sidewalk several times. Yet, his own medical report, conducted the day after the shooting because he needed it and a police report to return to work, described his head injuries as “normocephalic, atraumatic.†That’s doc speak for “normal.â€
@Common Sense
Liberal agenda? Lulz! You’re as nutty as Guano!
WHAT?! The phone record provides NO proof that he lied.
WHAT?! There was blood; it IS normal to have your head bleed when bashed against a sidewalk. Criminy.
And are you taking exception to my assertion that you have a liberal agenda? WHAT?! Your words copy and pasted from above: “Second, the Professor is certainly glad to have me and other liberals and progressives help in the fight against right-wing lies.”
Your calling yourself a liberal, and then calling me crazy for agreeing you’re liberal makes YOU the crazy one.
I can’t take your irrationality any more. Take care.
The right-wingers are the ones with the agenda – lie to the commoners and support the rich.
Ah. You’re going back into the woodwork you came out of. Good riddance to you.
Spoken like someone who’s angry over not being able to get her argument to hold water. *Sniffle*
You seem to fixate on lying — why don’t you go after Rachel Jeantel? She’s a proven liar, even admits to it… yet the liberals seem to love her. Go figure.
Common sense seems to be the voice of reason in this discussion. Leia seems to be an extremist fanatic.
Ah. I see you have come out of the woodwork again. You should have stayed in there, hun.
Zimmerman created this situation. He followed Martin, with announced aggressive intentions, cursing that he was going to “get away.” He ignored the police dispatcher who told him to desist. If Martin did attack Zimmerman at that point, shouldn’t it have been Martin who was protected by Stand Your Ground? MARTIN was acting in self-defense, not the raving thug who was following him. Zimmerman creates the confrontation, and then gets off on self-defense for shooting the person he targeted, followed and menaced? That is absolutely insane! No matter what the jury believed about the actual fight, Zimmerman was the initial aggressor. Without his actions, there’s no confrontation, and Martin could not possibly have posed a threat to him. It’s as simple as that.
Now, I’m off to sign the NAACP petition. http://www.naacp.org/
Don’t bump into any walls, hun!
Wow Leia seems to be very angry.
That was soooo funny I forgot to laugh. >:-(
@Gus
That’s because nutty right-wingers make me so. I’m fed up with their nonsense.
If you’re so fed up then pry your mind open so that you can enter into a RATIONAL discussion of the FACTS with INTELLIGENCE. You won’t even answer a simple question when put to you three times. Why? Because it would be YES — you WOULD defend yourself against Martin’s physical onslaught — and that would put you on par with Zimmerman’s predicament.
You’re so sick of nonsense? You’re the one dishing it. Rational people are sick of these weak-as-water protests that are based on pure conjecture and can’t be backed up with any fact. Lynch mob mentality… the poor man was just trying to LIVE — that trumps “just trying to get home” any day. Being “profiled” does not justify physical violence. Had Martin not attacked Zimmerman, he’d be “home” right now. Had Zimmerman not had the gun, he’d be DEAD.
@Common Sense
I have provided facts. You just don’t believe them.
Also, it’s rational people who are doing the protesting. And a million of them have signed the petition so far: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/16/naacp-petition-gets-one-million-signatures-for-zimmerman-charges/comment-page-1/
Leia, it has never been proven that Zimmerman was profiling. It is NOT a fact. Your entire argument is based on his profiling Martin.
You continue to evade the issue over whether Zimmerman had the right to protect himself from Martin’s brutal beating. Self defense is the issue in this case, not racism.
There have been a lot of comments on blogs, news sites, etc. since Saturday night. Some hateful, some analytical, and some consumed with “what’s going on in Chicago” rather than face the fact that a child was, once again, murdered. Those who say “Get Over It” are cold hearted. Those who say “poor George” obviously heard none of the testimony,
and, those who say Zimmerman should be held accountable are the ones I agree with.
But, very few have expressed compassion, sympathy, or any understanding of the pain that will be felt for a lifetime by Trayvon Martin’s parents, family, and friends. I don’t have one iota of sympathy for George Zimmerman, and if its true that he is “fearful” for his life,
I say – good.
The facts of Zimmerman racially profiling were in the testimony.
Criminy, what trial did you watch? Racial profiling has not been established… that’s why the justice dept hasn’t been able to levy any federal charges against him. IT HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT ZIMMERMAN FOLLOWED OR KILLED MARTIN OUT OF RACIAL MALICE. Rational people don’t make stuff up Leia.
I reassure you that they are not making it up. Various political activists, all sorts of commentators, academics and others have all said that Zimmerman was racially profiling the kid.
—————————–
From this article: http://www.examiner.com/article/george-zimmerman-trial-do-911-calls-prove-racial-profiling
During the 911 call Zimmerman placed on Feb. 26, 2012, he referred to Martin as a f——punk and remarked that “these a——- always get away.†The prosecutor pointed out that Zimmerman used hate filled words to describe someone he had never met. According to the prosecution, Zimmerman’s own words in the 911 call show that he had racially profiled Martin. He also pointed out that Zimmerman was carrying a Kel-Tec 9mm pistol and was ready to shoot. On June 25, 2013, the jury in the George Zimmerman trial saw the weapon displayed in the courtroom.
Though the prosecution has been prohibited from using the words “racial profiling,†they are seeking to have previous 911 calls made by Zimmerman entered into evidence. In each call, Zimmerman reports seeing suspicious black males.
Another article confirming that the trial is about race: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/zimmerman-trial-is-all-about-race-94233.html
Looking into windows IS suspicious behavior. Zimmerman only identified Martin as black when the 911 operator ASKED for a description of the person. “Punk” is not a racial slur, it’s a slur against people who engage in seemingly criminal behavior, LIKE LOOKING INTO WINDOWS, as if one were casing the joint. A half a dozen break-ins had occurred in as many months. OF COURSE the neighborhood needed to be on guard for additional criminal behavior; it had been repeatedly victimized by – yes – PUNKS who all “got away”. What, are the residents supposed to passively allow themselves to be sitting ducks? You make self-protection an issue of racism… IT’S NOT. People have the right to protect their lives and property; it’s the American way. And as for the gun? He carried it LEGALLY and a weapons expert explains that the proper way to carry that particular weapon is to carry it loaded, safety on, of course. We still have the right to bear arms in this country, Leia.
And as for the political activists and others your referenced? Please don’t tell me you’re citing that kook Al Sharpton. He, as with others, apparently subscribe to your form of justice: Zimmerman should have submitted to Martin’s beating to settle a racial score centuries in the making. Zimmerman should not be made a scapegoat for this country’s past shames.
He’s not a kook.
So you say, unsurprisingly.
You can defend “poor George” all you want but I still stand firm to my rational belief.
Law enforcement expert Dennis Root, July 10 testimony:
“My first instinct as the aggressor is NOT going to be to scream to help,” Root said. “It’s to go for the weapon that’s going to help me continue my aggressions.”
From this (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57593088-504083/george-zimmerman-trial-zimmerman-was-in-worse-physical-shape-than-trayvon-martin-expert-testifies/) article: “He said that carrying a gun with a round in the chamber – as Zimmerman had been the night of the fatal struggle – was the ‘best way to carry a firearm.'”
And I stand firm in my rational belief that your righteousness would melt away if Martin were beating you senseless. You’d be screaming “self-defense”, as would I.
It’s human nature, instinctive.
Your obstinance in wake of so much evidence is what’s irrational.
Lulz! Take care and enjoy your right-wing media kool-aid then!
And you enjoy your “kook”-aid, Leia! Whoops! Too late!
I’m sorry: I shouldn’t have said that. I respect your right to feel the way you do, regardless of how strongly I disagree with you.
rolls eyes at No Common Sense’s stupid reply then exits discussion
also agrees to disagree with No Common Sense about topic
Right on: we finally found some common ground!
“Lei’d one”! wink
If Zimmerman were following me, I’d punch him in the nose too.
73 year old legend, Lester Chambers, was viciously attacked on stage at the California Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival on Saturday a few hours before the Trayvon Martin Murder trial verdict was announced by a 43 year old crazed gun freak conservative white power Skank, Dinalynn Andrews Potter who assaulted him using martial arts move to stop his performance of the Curtis Mayfield classic, People Get Ready. He had dedicated it to Trayvon Martin. Potter bruised his ribs, kicked him in the kidneys and caused nerve damage to suppress his free speech and express her hate. Is this the violence that FOX NEWS was predicting over the Trayvon Martin verdict?Â
Ronald writes, “Now that the George Zimmerman Trial is over, one thinks about the future of this man who used very poor judgment in pursuing an unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin.”
I don’t believe I wrote anything about this, here at TheProgressiveProfessor.com, before now.…
I believe that George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin. It was racial motivation, from Zimmerman, along with his conduct of Martin being prey to Zimmerman. That there was a hunter sense to Zimmerman’s mentality; not some purported desire to protect a neighborhood.
I also hold accountable the police, who were negligent and allowed the case to become cold to an extent that it crippled the chances of conviction. Florida’s state law enabled that.
This is tragic. But there is a sliver lining: It is revealing of people from where they are truly coming. Those without regard for Trayvon Martin have no appreciation for life—contradictory to any of their claims otherwise. That has been apparent with the ones who found this story appealing enough to exploit. Like vultures. Like Juror B37.
Engineer, this news of Lester Chambers is shocking, but I fear we can expect more, and it will come from the RiGHT more than the LEFT, easily so, as they feel they have open season now on black youth, or blacks and latinos in general.
D, I am glad to see you see the truth about the Zimmerman trial, and it is ironic that those who profess belief in life, as in fetuses, have no regard for people once they are born, if they are minorities, or poor, as well as the issue of the rights of women.
And Juror B37 comes across as exploiting the issue, and no decent publisher should allow her a venue to make money off this tragedy, and it is interesting how four of the other five jurors repudiated what she said. NO juror legally should ever be allowed to make money off their service, as it is totally sensationalistic, and disgusting!
And those jurors make one think that the whole jury system is not working, as how could a jury of five white women, and one unidentified woman, be considered a fair jury? The whole situation disgusts me as there is no justice much too often, as even with the Marrissa Alexander case that I wrote about yesterday!
@Gus
Common Sense was the extremist in this discussion, not me.
Excellent article for this topic: http://www.winningprogressive.org/racial-profiling-is-a-present-day-reality-that-we-must-end
Serious denial… so much for intelligent discussion of the facts.