Like a lot of people with brains, I have a bad feeling about the impending verdict in the Zimmerman murder trial. They are confiscating tampons and maxi-pads in a courthouse in Texas while allowing firearms. The world seems more insane by the minute.
There's a lot going on in this country and in the world but, if you watch the news right now, only the Zimmerman murder trial seems to be of importance. This causes consternation with a lot of people. Why isn't there constant coverage of the coup in Egypt? Young black men are murdering each other everyday in Chicago- why isn't that a bigger story than George Zimmerman murdering ONE black teenager? And how about the Benghazi and IRS scandals? The media hardly talks about those two any more, a clear indication that Barack Obama controls the media! Right?
No, Obama is the President Of The United States, not network programming. If you have a problem with what is or isn't news, consult your local network president. He will probably consult his corporate benefactors, i.e. advertisers.
Walter Cronkite is dead. The nightly news was buried with him, I guess. It's entertainment now. Entertainment is business. Up through the 70's the nightly network news was more of a programming obligation than a money-maker. Someone can correct me if i'm wrong (or troll me, right or wrong...) but, I think the news was an FCC mandate. Probably still is. The networks and affiliates were bound by the FCC to present one half hour of public service news programming every day. They finally figured out that, though they had to do it, they could make money at it. It takes money to make money so, they pumped money into sets and anchormen and went about looking for stories that would draw the most interest, in the most viewers. That is the programming of real life. There can't always be plane crashes and hurricanes but, in a big country and world like we have, there is always some entertaining shit going on.
So, a sorta white guy murdering an unarmed black teen he was following- for no good reason- is big news because, he'll probably get away with it. And it's big news because, at first, it was barely news at all. In fact, Zimmerman, the cops initially let Zimmerman go, probably with a pat on the back because of who he was and who he killed. He = reasonably white guy and captain of the Neighborhood Watch Program. Trayvon Martin = black teen. Need I say more?
Well, yes, I need...
Florida has a Stand Your Ground law that essentially says that gun owners don't have to run and hide if attacked. They can stand their ground and use deadly force. So, that night, in the opinion of investigating officers, based on the SYG law, Zimmerman was within the law. So, he was free to go.
So, why was this news, you ask? Well, opinions vary but, some people think that Trayvon's parents (also black) got all uppity and started whining to any black people who would listen (pretty much all of them) that their son had been murdered and nothing was being done about it. Despite a law saying it was OK for George Zimmerman to kill the kid, the kids parents were still bitching! Except for that, this wouldn't have ever gone to trial.
Long story short, they got some media attention and, here we are today, awaiting a verdict in a case that some people think should never have gone to trial.
Thank the media for that. Just don't thank them too much. They made this a story. It shouldn't have been a national story. When a life is taken there should be far, far more than a perfunctory investigation and look at some feel good law with a shrug of legal shoulders as if one is code enforcement and looking at a home being built with the minimum standards.
Ironic but, Stand Your Ground is a cowardly law. The cowardice is on the part of the candy-assed legislators who pass such unnecessary, feel-good legislation. I think Zimmerman is a coward too. He brought a gun to a fist fight and got whupped by a kid and murdered that kid. That's at best. At worst he murdered a kid he didn't know, just because he could.
SYG is on trial here whether the powers that be acknowledge it or not. If Zimmerman *wins* is this a test case for open season on black youth? If he loses, will Florida and other states revisit SYG laws?
They should. Ironic that- concerning guns- republicans and their military arm, The NRA, are always saying we don't need new laws, we should just ignore the laws already on the books. Well, that's what they mean. In every state in the Union, you are allowed to kill anybody who is trying to kill you. It's always been this way. It's only in the last 10- 20 years that it's been encouraged. What the fuck did anybody think concealed carry would mean? Clearly, in CCW states, you can use deadly force to defend your life. SYG just means little or no paperwork. There should be paperwork! There should be accountability! Maybe that smacks of the BIG GOVERNMENT that I and so many liberals love so much or, maybe it just means that taking a person's life is a very serious act and, should not be taken lightly. You take a man's last breath, you better have a good reason. There will be paperwork.
The media accidentally got this one right. They are definitely selling t-shirts and souvenir mugs at this point but, they got the public to the point where millions cared that Trayvon Benjamin Martin lived AND died. All his parents and loved one's wanted was that George Zimmerman be forced to answer for killing their boy. If you think about it, you would want that too. Wouldn't you?
17 comments:
Great post.
I think the cops are beefing up for a riot if Zimmerman is found not guilty.
Wouldn't be the first time.
Thank you, Maggie Jean!
Well, anonymous, the citizens will just have to stand their ground. The law will back them on that. I wonder which citizens will stand their ground though? The law doesn't specify...
Wonderful post, Ferrerman.
But I do hope your reference to the media is the broadcast journalists, who are a dime a dozen.
Old-school journalists and cub a reporters lucky enough to be supervised by that dying breed have a responsibility to report the news. "If it bleeds, it leads," is the rule, but it's because it is and always has been what the viewers and readers want.
The good thing is that an ethical journalist gets to have a hand in changing a law!
So, we may very well see some laws change pending the outcome of the trial. The stand your ground law is little more than a license to murder.
Oh yeah. He's going to get away with it. But maybe the next little gun-toting, neighborhood wienie captain won't.
Yep, the TV people.
byline: Deer Whisperer/Luke
Great essay again, Ferrerman!
I gotta nit-pick some here:
"Why isn't there constant coverage of the coup in Egypt?" Ever since the protests AGAINST the Morsi regime and the all that has come after, CBS news, PBS Newshour (the real fair and balanced source in U.S.), and BBC World News service have kept me up to speed.
Just learned on CBS news this evening that the jury has requested the judge to re-instruct pertaining to manslaughter. I am not surprised at this, once the judge's instruction in court included that charge; and will likely be a guilty of manslaughter verdict.
Yes, this is a trial deeper than Zimmerman shooting Martin and always has been: includes the history and (then) attitude, and practices of the Sanford Police Dept vis-a-vis minority community.and legal applicability of Stand Your Ground.
There is another case in Jacksonville, Florida (pending trial) which occurred late in 2012. The shooter tried to use Stand Your Ground too.
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-12-13/story/grand-jury-indicts-suspect-first-degree-murder-jacksonville-teens
I loved the show; but a "Marshall Dillon" syndrome in the non-police general populace just can't turn out well for us all.
These days, news is where you find it. PBS and the BBC are excellent, honest sources. When Fox gets called out, they explain that they are entertainment. All of cable news is, really.
"Why is this news?" is a common complaint. It seems to be in a tie with "Why isn't this news?" It's so hard to please everyone. Fox almost single-handedly tried to make Benghazi and the IRS into Watergate but, neither really took. That's not journalism or even very entertaining. It also cheapens the news. So does a fixation on each "Trial Of The Century"
I rarely watch local news anymore. The daily shootings here are well covered though as they are a devastating local issue. Some people, curiously, want it to be a national issue because they think Obama is President of Chicago and must make his city crime-free, like Florida. We're getting carry permits here so, as we join the 19th century, expect crime to be eliminated...
I grew up on Marshal Dillon too. A simpler, yet very fictional time. We can never get that level of fiction back in our society again. I'm not surprised that people try but it peeves me that they think they can legislate the fictional past into our present.
Well, IDK how to properly post a link in comments but, this one can be copied by anyone interested. That's so easy even a Ferrerman can do it!
http://billmoyers.com/2013/07/12/why-is-cable-news-so-obsessed-with-the-zimmerman-trial/
Well, we saw that coming. A victory for SYG and the scumbags who made it possible at ALEC.
Best line so far: "The danger of an acquittal is not more riots, it's more George Zimmermans."
~Jay Smooth
IDK who he is but, well said!
Yes, I heard about that woman- NO criminal record. With a plea, she could have gotten three years. That's justice? Unconfirmed but, I believe I heard the woman on this prosecution team prosecuted that woman. Says a lot, I think...
The right decision based on the evidence presented was likely made according to Florida law (which badly needs changing). Being found not guilty hardly changes the fact that even though he may have acted lawfully, he certainly acted recklessly and irresponsibly. Zimmerman could have prevented this shooting in the first place by not trying to take the law into his own hands.
He was like a grown man playing with boys...
An adult with a gun, picks a fight with a teenager, after another adult tells him to back off and let the other adults (cops) handle the situation.
Zimmerman did, indeed, make the whole scenario happen.
The SYG laws (co-authored by the NRA with ALEC) are unnecessary and INVITE this abuse. We've always had the right to defend ourselves using deadly force. What STG does is take away society's right to question what happened. People had to fight to get this to even go to trial. That's obscene in the so-called "greatest country in the world".
byline: Deer Whisperer/Luke
to Ferrerman:
"The SYG laws (co-authored by the NRA with ALEC) are unnecessary and INVITE this abuse."
ALEC: you can't 'give voice' to this bunch excessively: They are co-conspirators in much regressive state legislation around the country.
and this:
Moral of this story: young folk (and that includes minors and those of legal adult status) around MUST assume that some adult that's harassing you is packing. They MUST.
ALEC is behind the anti-women maneuvers as well as those aimed at the poor with social services. They are one of the major reasons why the GOP may never get back in the White House and may never need to!
Yes, even white children should realize they are expendable too.
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