What is justice? A reponse to George Takei

I am a haphazard blogger at best. Just look through my posts and you will see that there have been huge gaps between posts. But every once in awhile something sparks my desire to post something, this is one of those times. 

George Takei, a guy that I respect and enjoy, has posted a blog entry on the Trayvon Martin killing on his blog at http://www.allegiancemusical.com/blog-entry/trayvon-martin-deserves-justice. In it he states what we all “know.” Trayvon was stalked, hunted down, and shot in cold blood by a hot headed white guy named George Zimmerman. That is what the media has reported over and over, and is the extent of what most people know because most people take the news at face value. 

Before I go further let me state unequivocally that I believe that Trayvon’s death is a tragedy. And if, after all the facts are weighed, it is determined that George Zimmerman broke the law then I hope justice is served. But, it is not up to the news media to try Zimmerman. And if, as I suspect will happen, there are riots, attacks, and other violence triggered because of this story I believe the media should be tried for their criminal negligence in how they have handled and reported this story. 

Let me explain.

As George Takei posted, we all “know” that this white guy hunted down Trayvon Martin, gun in hand, and hot him in cold blood. 

But we don’t really know that do we?

The reality is that all we know can be summed up in 7 words.

George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin.

What we don’t know is how it all went down. But more evidence has been coming out recently that casts some pretty big doubts on the version that George Takei states.

So let’s take a look at this. 

According to the media George Zimmerman is white. Well, now they have adjusted this to say that he is a White Hispanic. Does this mean that President Obama is a White African-American? Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic, and comes from a mixed race family that includes Hispanic, Black, and White. But the media wants you to concentrate on his Whiteness, because that makes it sensational, because that makes it a race issue. 

While the media does not come out and say that Zimmerman is a racist they sure are trying to imply it. On Zimmerman’s 911 call he clearly says, “These a-holes, they always get away.” According to some, like the oh so esteemed Reverend Jesse Jackson, this is proof of his racism. But considering the neighborhood where he lived had, in recent weeks, dealt with multiple burglaries, vandalism, and a shooting, isn’t it more likely he is referring to criminals in the neighborhood, and not any particular race? Some have said that Zimmerman uses a racial slur in his 911 call, but having listened to the whole thing I cannot find it. 

Oh, and the media has also discussed how Zimmerman was a repeated caller to 911. Like this somehow makes him crazy. He was the head of the neighborhood watch! In a neighborhood that was constantly having issues! Of course he called 911! And now it is coming to light that he had not called anywhere near as many times as was initially reported. You have to love accuracy in the news.

From here we get to how Zimmerman hunted down the teen. During his 911 call he states that the young man was coming closer to him and checking him out. Soon after the teen ran away, and Zimmerman got out of his car to follow at which point the dispatcher tells him that he does not need to do that. Most of the news that I have heard cuts the audio right there. But if you listen to the full tape you hear Zimmerman agree. He then states that he no longer sees the teen and has no clue where he went. He then spends a fair amount of time talking with the dispatcher about where to send the police when they get to the scene. You can tell, just by listening, that Zimmerman is no longer moving around as he was when he got out of his car, and his speaking and breathing are both normal. This is not someone chasing another person. And again, he had lost sight of Trayvon. 

Now we have to move forward a bit as we do not have any witnesses to what happened next.

According to Zimmerman he was attacked from behind, knocked to the ground, and then straddled and punched repeatedly while calling for help.

One 911 caller, who was inside her house at the time and could not see anything going on, stated she heard a struggle outside. On the tape you can hear someone calling for help. The media has stated that it is Trayvon. And I have had several Facebook friends post that tape talking about how horrible it is that you can hear Trayvon calling for help, and then the gunshot. But, an eyewitness that came on the scene has stated that Trayvon was straddling Zimmerman, as he lay on the ground, and was punching him repeatedly in the face. In addition, that witness has stated that it was Zimmerman that was calling for help. Also, Trayvon’s father stated, when asked by police, that the voice calling for help is NOT his son. 

The police report, and subsequent treatment at the ER, shows that Zimmerman took a blow to the back of the head causing a significant gash and also suffered blows to the face, including a broken nose. In addition his back was wet and covered in grass stains. This is consistent with both Zimmerman’s account as well as the eyewitness. 

At this point the eye witness is unclear as to what happened. Zimemrman states that his pistol was uncovered during the struggle on the ground and he and Trayvon both fought for it until Zimmerman was able to gain control. At this point he shot his attacker.

Is that exactly how it happened? I do not know. But the evidence I have seen outside of the media’s reporting shows a stark contrast to the reports we are getting from so-called “journalists.” They are trying this man in the court of public opinion, yet it appears that their evidence is about as factual as a Michael Moore documentary, just enough to give a semblance of truth, without giving the full picture. 

But I do know this, Zimmerman is in hiding. He has been the target of numerous death threats. The new Black Panther party has declared a bounty on his head. People that usually are staunchly against the death penalty are demanding he be executed. The President is lamenting this senseless murder. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? What happened to journalistic ethics? This story, even more than the biased political reporting by the media, shows just how far the news media has fallen. No longer content to report the news, now they must spin things in order to sensationalize it to their utmost ability. 

Guilty or not, Zimmerman is already a marked man. Even if his name is cleared by the investigators he is doomed. 

I don’t know what really happened. I don’t know what will happen. I don’t know for sure whether Zimmerman is guilty of something or not. And neither does anyone else. But what I know is that the media’s handling of it is criminally negligent, and if Zimmerman is found to be justified and is later attacked, or if there are retaliations against others, or if there are riots over all of this, they should be held accountable for their crimes.