On the Zimmerman Trial Verdict

Though I have been following the George Zimmerman trial, I was not in the courtroom and I am not a legal expert, and I cannot say with certainty that he should have been convicted of murder or manslaughter.

What I CAN say with certainty is that this entire case has been contemptible from the beginning. The mishandling of the evidence. The police testing the dead teenager’s body for drugs but NOT drug testing the man who killed him. The complete lack of followup until there was a national outcry. The number of “serious” news outlets that devoted time to discussing whether or not Martin should have been wearing a hoodie. (If you’re a woman and you’re raped, it’s because of the skin you reveal – if you’re a black man and you’re killed, it’s because of the skin you conceal.) The criticism for his marijuana use. (White stoners are funny, but black stoners are dangerous.) Zimmerman SELLING HIS AUTOGRAPH to racists to raise money for his defense. The smearing of Martin’s friend who testified at the trial. The fact that the defense opened with a JOKE. The insistence up and down, all over, that this isn’t about race, because nothing is ever about race, racism is over, we have a black president, etc. etc. etc.

Legally? I don’t know enough to pass judgment. Morally? He’s a terrible human being. And if it disturbs you to see me pass moral judgment in this way, please be advised that the extent to which I do not care is epic.

“Not about race.” What a joke, except it’s not at all funny. There will be more George Zimmermans and more Trayvon Martins as long as the lives of black men are viewed as expendable.

Final thought: Let us not forget that if Zimmerman had stayed in his car and not followed Martin, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

Final thought #2: I wonder if the (mostly white) people totes ok with the Zimmerman verdict because a “jury of his peers decided he was not guilty and that’s how the system works” had the same unwavering faith in the justice system back when O.J. Simpson was acquitted…