I would have put my money on Trayvon, since he was believed to be experienced with hand to hand fighting, was taller, and being a young adult probably far more fit than Zimmerman is.

But I agree, he probably would have been sent straight to prison if things had been reversed.



Maybe part of the reason why this story has ballooned into such a big one is because it gives a relatively uncommon look at white on black violent crime [that's how it's being portrayed by the press anyhow: Zimmerman is half white just as President Obama is] which is actually pretty rare. Most homicides are perpetuated by people of the same race as the victim, regardless whether we're talking about whites, blacks, hispanics, etc. Probably because of how personal murder tends to be [the victim & offender usually knowing each other somehow, if not being related].

The amount of blacks who fall victims to violent crime is an untold tragedy, and part of why the media never seems to go into it might be because the criminals involved statistically tend to be others in the same demographic. According to official statistics of there were 2,867 black people murdered in 2009 [the latest year this data is available AFAIK] 2,604: that's 91 per-cent of them, were killed by black offenders.

But what makes that 2,867 number so high isn't just that we're talking about nearly three thousand people. Blacks make up only 13 per-cent of the population in this country. The white catagory, which also includes hispanics [because the feds don't know where else to put them or how to break their population down] only has 651 more murders, despite representing a combined 80 per-cent of the population [15% hispanic, 65% european-american]. Assuming only 15 per-cent of that 3,518 figure were hispanic victims [of this I highly doubt] that means that european-americans, a group five times as large as the black population: has the practically the same amount of murders per year [2,990 in 2009]

So why are blacks five times as likely to be murdered, knowing that most of these murders are being perpetuated by other blacks? And is this disproportionate amount of violence part of why authority figures are so biased against them?

^^Because according to the 2010 Census, 80% of the black population lives in poverty, typically in the inner city. This is due to the fact that for the longest in history (until about 50-60 years ago) african-americans were treated as second-class citizens and pretty much forced to live in "lesser" areas. If black people did have enough money to move to nicer areas, the other residents (or the KKK) would threaten them until they moved.

It is well known that, regardless of the country, areas where there is less money (poorer areas), there will be more crime. This is because, when you are starving, your survival instinct kicks in. Many times this results in people stealing for their families or themselves. Soon, people start stealing money (money lasts longer than food), and through stealing comes violence. Also, if someone is desperate enough for money for food and shelter, they won't deny themselves something that will give them money and shelter (prostitution, pimping, stripping, which are notoriously violent lifestyles). And because of all this mess, people join gangs to feel protected, which only adds fuel to the fire.

That is why black people are far more likely to get murdered; because we generally live in poorer areas, and poorer areas are more susceptible to violence in general.

That may explain some of it, but then why do hispanics [a group larger than the country's black population and also more likely than european-americans to be impoverished] don't have the same problem with homicides?

Presumably figures on hispanics are only counting citizens, not the alien paperless migrant workers in rural areas.

If it were strictly about urban poverty, then the "white" homicide figures should be much higher than they are considering that this group encompasses both hispanics and european-americans.

Also if it were entirely about being second-class citizens then we'd be expecting to see an even higher murder rate here. I think while the past oppression of the minority and the current poverty of the environments does play a major factor the American cultural glorification of violence is probably more to blame. I can't seem to find any reliable figures, since the one site I found that mentioned Ireland put the murder rate per-capita at 5.5 per 100k pop, and made reference to the 8000 Americans killed by suicide bombers on 9/11 while specifically claiming that the 3000-ish killed in the towers were not counted in that. Yeah..... my sources suck here.

My assumption would be that the number for homicide among hispanics is lower because they are lumped into the same category as white people. Perhaps if they were counted separately the numbers would be higher. All I can really do is speculate, as I have no access to numbers. But the poverty and cultural aspect seems to make the most sense to me.

Arquinsiel: Glorification might be a slice, but I don't think it's the whole pie. (haha, ignore my corny, not-very-funny joke). I really do think that the poverty thing plays the biggest role, but the glorification of violence definitely adds to it.

EDIT: I only say the poverty thing because I live in the suburbs, and violent crimes from black people (homicides in general) happen A LOT less there than they do in the inner city. But as far as my family that lives on the east Side of Detroit (bad, bad part of Detroit) and Cleveland, they have to deal with violence everyday.

That's just because America is all new and un-gentrified. Here the suburbs are gangland and the satellite villages are the safe havens. Unless the IRA run them... *cough*.

So apparently our wonderful mainstream press helped manipulate this story to make it a bigger race division than it already was. According to NBC news they admitted yesterday to intentionally editting the portion of the 911 tape they aired early on in this whole debacle.

They aired a manipulated cut of the 911 tape that said this:



The problem, however, is that this is not how the 911 call went. Here is what is actually on the 911 tape:



Now this doesn't mean Zimmerman is innocent, or that what he did is justified. But if NBC is flat out lying like this, what else have they been lying to us about? How much else of this story has been fabricated by the press to make the situation worse?

We know, for example, that some mainstream media outlets ran a picture said to show Martin's current appearance [the pictures the press had been running of Martin up until this point were several years old] but it ends up it was not Martin at all, but some random picture of a black young adult pulled off of a neo-nazi site. You can guess how the fake picture was making Martin out to look like.

Clearly, it is as if the press is trying to fluff up the anger & hostility on both "sides" of this issue. What NBC did is inexcusable, and the names of everyone involved in the decision to edit that 911 call & air it should be publicly given to shame them, followed by firing all of them and their superiors. WTH were they thinking!?

Speaking of "WTH were they thinking," Spike Lee has finally settled with the old couple whose house was besieged by a mob of angry people after Lee re-tweeted its address while claiming that Zimmerman's family lived there and that the public should "Reach out & touch" Zimmerman there. I can understand why Lee is angry over this story. Everyone should be angry over this story. But there's a not so subtle line between being angry & speaking out against a situation, and criminally baiting the mob to go hurt someone. I believe it is also illegal for an organization [in this case the Black Panthers] to put a bounty on the head of someone who is not wanted by law enforcement [yet].

^^The link I posted (from CNN) played the whole 911 call from Zimmerman. I've never heard the edited NBC version, and I still think it was racist.

From listening to the calls, it struck me that Zimmerman was a nervous guy at the least. I found it odd how his voice quavers, and wonder if there's a deeper issue with this man that people are missing.

Whether or not this really is profiling, or Zimmerman is simply a nutter, is unclear. The media's muddying of the water has forever ruined the chance for truth to be clear.

The thing I have been wondering since the beginning of this whole thing is this:
Since when does getting your ass beat mean you can kill someone? First, Trayvon did not have a weapon. Second, this was not even a severe ass beating, as ass beatings go. In the biker bars I used to sometimes frequent in my youth, routine fights far more bloody and violent. At the end, the participants limped, crawled, or were carried away and that was the end of it. Even if Trayvon had managed to wrestle Zimmerman's gun away, and there has been no indication that he was, I doubt if he would have killed Zimmerman unless Zimmerman did something really stupid. (Which, admittedly, would not be beyond the realm of probability.) In short, the real problem was that Zimmerman needed to man up. And someone who is such a wimp certainly had no business instigating a confrontation. I'll wager that to him, his gun gave him courage he did not otherwise possess, and this is a good example of why it is not wise for many people to carry.

Like I said above, the way the man speaks makes me suspect there is an elephant in the room that people are too blinded by race to see.

^^Hm, I would agree with that. Mental problems, perhaps?

Zimmerman reminds me of the old SA bully squads more than any Neighborhood Watch.

Talk about gall...

George Zimmerman has set up a website, where he states: "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."

One can only wonder whether Zimmerman ever considers how his actions have forced Trayvon Martin literally to leave his own "entire life."

Not only this, but Zimmerman has set up a PayPal link to solicit donations to pay for his living expenses and legal defense.

One might also wonder what Zimmerman was thinking when he chose to proudly exhibit on his website a picture of a vandalized Black cultural center (at Ohio State University) with spray-painted graffiti saying: "Long Live Zimmerman."

Enough of this nonsense. George Zimmerman needs to be hauled into a court of law, and he can defend himself and tell his story there, as should be expected of anyone who shoots someone else to death with a gun.

-- Nephele

EDIT: link to news article removed because Yahoo switched the link to a different news story.

^^

Really? Wow. I guess some people will say whatever they can think of to keep themselves out of jail. Not really surprised, but still...