How To Talk To A Zimmerman Apologist (by Matt Bors)

[Capt. Obvious]

"Remarkably, there are still those who insist “we don’t have all the facts” to make any sort of call here and this is a media-driven witch hunt – captured beautifully in this Mike Lester cartoon. (Dig that execution metaphor!)

As I said before, it really looks as if people are going great lengths not to identify with a black victim. Whenever an issue involving race comes up, there’s a certain contingent who will always rail about the involvement of Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson (not that I’m the biggest fan) as if it is the most outrageous aspect of what has transpired. I mean, an obscure rapper put an image of Zimmerman on a shirt along with the word “cracker” so that’s obviously where their outrage is directed. That would come in at approximately minute 7 of the skipped conversation in the comic."


http://mattbors.com/blog/2012/04/16/how-to-talk-to-a-zimmerman-apologist/?tw_p=twt

Sounds about right

[Blue_Tires]

1. Bors is once again brilliant

we've been trolled on DU with a whole lot of similar memes from that cartoon...

[Ecumenist]

6. Yes, indeed. I've noticed that alot.

[spooky3]

2. Actually, I think reasonable people can believe we DON'T have all the facts.

However, the outcry was over the fact that there was no way we would be able to GET the facts without an arrest. That's why it was important that the media kept on this story.

[chaska]

3. Yep, EVERYBODY needs to chill. All sides.

Change the law, yes. But as for the rest, let's find out what actually happened - as best we can - first.

[amandabeech]

7. To get the facts, you need competent investigators.

It is not necessary to arrest in order to investigate.

The Florida statute is a nightmare, because if the prosecutor arrests or charges the shooter, and the shooter wins at trial, or before trial in the hearing before a judge on the self-defense claim, then the police and prosecutor can expect to be the defendants in a wrongful prosecution complaint by the shooter.

That means that in Florida, decent prosecutors with a shooter claiming self defense will investigate and will be convinced that the prosecution will win at trial.

The way it looks to me is that the Sanford PD and Prosecutor let the ball drop on the investigation far too early, for reasons in which I think the US Justice Department will have considerable interest.

Nonetheless, I don't see that all the facts are available to the public. I, for one, would like to see the medical examiner's report and learn more about the reliability of these voice identification tests. I would also like to know if there really is an eyewitness to the whole dust-up who has remained out of the public eye.

I don't think things look good for Zimmerman, and I think that he is a complete dope for getting out of his vehicle that evening. He is not someone I'd like on my community watch, even if he was unarmed.

That said, I don't know if Zimmerman will be convicted of murder 2 or any lesser charges under this exceptionally bad Florida Law.

[spooky3]

12. The point is one of timing. They could have investigated fully immediately after the shooting

but did an inadequate investigation and in essence, closed the case. The public outcry since then (that the "conservative guy" in the comic seemed to be railing against) was to at least re-open the investigation or get an arrest to enable facts to be obtained and communicated at some point, not to convict anyone unfairly. My point was that as long as the case remained "closed", there was no chance that the rest of us would be given "all the facts" or even enough of the facts to make a reasonable judgment about whether Zimmerman was guilty of a crime.

[amandabeech]

15. I pointed out what seems to have been a very hasty end to the investigation by the Sanford PD

in the center of my post.

My point is that PDs don't have to arrest in order to investigate. In fact, even with the special prosecutor brought in, the investigation preceded the arrest.

[rhett o rick]

4. We dont have all the facts, however we do have clear evidence that the police

thought the law allowed Zimmerman to kill Martin. They determined at the scene that no law was broken. It took massive public outcry to get the authorities to act. The law is a horrible law. You can kill if you FEEL threatened. If a fist fight breaks out, either party can kill the other according to the law as the police see it.

[Common Sense Party]

5. Oh, so we DO have all the facts.

Good to know.

[gratuitous]

8. The cartoon is based solely on the fact of Zimmerman's arrest

Which is one of those things that often happens in the course of an investigation into what could be criminal wrongdoing. It's not too surprising, given the state of jurisprudence as practiced in the United States for the last 10-15 years, that folks don't grasp that an arrest is not a trial, not a conviction and not a sentence.

[unblock]

9. i thought foxnews was the white entertainment channel.

[RZM]

11. I would think that NPR is pretty close

It doesn't get much whiter than 'A Prairie Home Companion'.

[DonCoquixote]

10. We do not have ALL the facts

but 44 days ago, we had more than enough to arrest Zimmerman.

Facts: One dead unarmed person and one living armed person with a criminal record.
Facts: One man being told not to follow Martin
Facts: A neighborhood watch captain carrying a gun against policy.
Facts: A guy dumb enough to say "Fuc-ing C--ns" on tape (and even Nancy Grace can hear it is not "goons.&quot

All of these are FACTS, but that does not matter to the folks that insist on defending Zimmerman. Many of them love the idea that if the scary black boy comes near them, they can shoot them; it's what this country was founded on.

[LAGC]

13. Not to nitpick, but...

Various voice analysis experts have confirmed that what he actually said under his breath was "Fucking punks!" after they enhanced the audio and cleared it up. The Young Turks and others were apparently wrong to rush to judgment in that regard.

Zimmerman exhibited many detestable behaviors that night, but I don't believe racism was one of his motivating factors. I'd like to think the prosecutor would have charged him with a hate crime on top of the Murder 2 charge if they really thought that was the case.

Bottom line is: he wanted to be a hero that night and bust a "criminal," and he went out of his way to provoke a confrontation. That alone should be good enough for a Manslaughter conviction, at least, if it turns out true that Trayvon did attack him in self-defense.

[HappyMe]

14. k&r