What's in it for the Zimmerman defenders?

[apples and oranges]

I checked out some right wing sites and they are interested in the Trayvon Martin case, but their posts are all about defending Zimmerman and coming up with anything to prove Trayvon Martin was a violent thug. I don't get it. Why have they taken this route? Is it due to Obama speaking out about the case?

[rfranklin]

1. It is important because it is about racism and fearing young black men dressed in a certain style...

They are justifying their fear and paranoia. If Zimmerman is guilty of killing an innocent teenager, they are rebuked for their beliefs. For many that fear is why they want to be armed at all times, so that aspect becomes important to defend as well.

[CanonRay]

2. It keeps the "bad black guy" meme going

if Trayvon is bad, by extension, so is Obama, especially after Obama appeard to be "defending" Martin, at least in their beady little eyes.

[Horse with no Name]

3. It is because they are afraid that the spotlight on incidents like this

makes an argument for gun control.

It also is their wet dream to be able to just stop and shoot a black person without any type of punishment. And yeah, it REALLY is just that.

[Kalidurga]

4. I would think it was about Obama except...

they were doing this from day one. I think a lot of things are at play here. Racism, is the big one, not just George Zimmerman's. Ironically some of the racist defending him would be declaring him a thug if he had been shot by a real white man. Zimmerman's father was a judge, so in their minds how could he possibly have a murdering son? I guess that would be classism. Then the RW pundits did the pile on, so they really can't go against that and call Zimmerman a murdering thug. Oddly enough I have been to the Freeper playground and they don't have consensus on the issue, at least they didn't early on, it was pretty split a few brave souls said that Zimmerman should have been arrested.

[Doctor_J]

5. They're hoping to get on Fox "News"

and yes, the president commenting on the case made their colons clench.

[WI_DEM]

6. In what way did Obama speak out on the case? other than express condolences for the parents

and the tragicness of a young life being lost?

[bemildred]

7. High School Football theory of politics:

Root for your side no matter what.

[yardwork]

8. People who post on right wing sites agree with Zimmerman. They fantasize about doing the same thing.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

9. Good Question

My first thought would be fear of more gun control (i.e. repealing SYG laws) though the sequence of events seem to suggest that Zimmerman may not have acted in accordance with SYG. Whatever else comes out of an investigation of this matter, it seems that Zimmerman was intent on pursuing Martin for some reason and acted contrary to the advice provided by 911. I suspect that what right-wingers are really afraid of is that President Obama (and African-Americans in general) are looking for "payback" against whites and now, since President Obama was elected in 2008, they have the authority to exact it, whether that's in terms of repressing whites (using "government" to take away their "freedoms&quot and/or demanding reparations (i.e. taking their money and giving it to undeserving minorities). I think that, ultimately, defending Zimmerman and smearing Martin and trying to eliminate any sympathy for him is more tribal- defending whites against minorities whom they believe are out to "get them".

[datasuspect]

10. Zimmerman defenders hate black people

no matter what.

this country is rotted through to the core with racism.

[One of the 99]

11. It because if Liberals are for it

they are against it.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Robert Zimmerman, George's father, called the President's comments "hate".

[uponit7771]

13. Yeap, ZMans pops is a con

[NoGOPZone]

14. they don't want their imagined right to shoot young black men infringed nt

[hfojvt]

15. What is in it for Zimmerman attackers?

Why take any route? People look at an incident based on their experience and beliefs and values. People have an initial impression and then look for facts to bolster that impression. Zimmerman attackers have the impression that there is no excuse for what he did. Zimmerman defenders have the impression that he acted in self defense. Finding evidence that Trayvon was a violent thug certainly lends support to the idea that Zimmerman acted in self defense. Why is that hard to understand?

[shimonitanegi]

16. Now they are desperately trying to convince the public that

Zimmerman actually had the laceration on the back of his head, thus Zimmerman's claim of self-defense stands.
I don't know why they have to bother to defend Zimmerman's story of self-defense. Why do they realize that you can't claim self-defense if you instigate a fight. No one asked Zimmerman to follow, pursue and confront Martin. Don't say we don't know which one initiated the confrontation. Bill O'Reilly said that Zimmerman had every right to follow, approach and ask Martin a question since he was a neighborhood watch. What about Martin's right? How could Martin know that Zimmerman wasn't a psychopathic killer? As if they are saying that Martin didn't have any right to protect himself, only Zimmerman had the right to do whatever he wanted to. Zimmerman's defenders are basically saying Martin had no right to do anything. I call it racism.