Jan and Dean and George and Trayvon

I've got a cotton/blend jacket and they call it a hoodie
It's not very scary, it's an oldie but goodie

It's got a kangaroo pocket where my Skittles might go

Please don't shoot me!
I'm NOT A NEGRO!
(with apologies to Jan And Dean)

I'm used to cherry-picking and hyperbolic extrapolation on Topix and in the real media but, the Zimmerman v. Martin drama has become an ordeal. Like practically everything else these days, opinions are slashed down party lines.

Republicans support Zimmerman because he used his Second Amendment rights to protect himself and his entire community (well, the white citizens) from a suspicious person who could have been a dangerous burglar because there had been multiple burglaries at the time and though unsolved, surely could have been committed by Blacks. And Trayvon was Black. They hold the 2A above all other rights amended and otherwise because, well, "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!"

That sounds like that other axiom that states: "Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out!"

Conversely, most democrats feel the Trayvon Martin killing was tragedy and, quite possibly, murder.
If there was ever a case where a simple phone call to the Police could be handled in minutes, it's one where 'there's a suspicious guy walking in my neighborhood' is the dilemma. How often does this happen in your community? You probably don't know because 99.99% of the time, no one gets shot as a result of the call. The police come, check out the 'suspect' and determine who he is and what he's up to.  Wants, warrants, a TV set he can't account for and/or burglary tools means a trip to jail. A bag of Skittles, an ice tea and "I'm staying at my pops" means, 'OK, young man, have a good evening.' It IS as simple as that.

Zimmerman made this happen. He far and away over-stepped the very limited 'authority' he had as a member of the Neighborhood Watch. His duties are to observe and call the police. He's not militia and he's not Paul Kersey. Even Paul Kersey ("Death Wish") drew the line at shooting suspicious persons at will and never stalked anyone to provoke an 'attack' . Zimmerman was a frequent caller of 911, known to call to report neighbors who left their garage doors open, inviting theft. I wonder if warning shots wouldn't have nipped that infraction in the bud. Maybe Zimmerman did too?

Think of anything you ever did wrong in your life. You probably realized you did it wrong and then you explained why you thought you were right. That's why they are called mistakes. It certainly seemed like the right thing to do at the time but, of course, it turns out it was not. Explaining that you thought you were right doesn't change things.

Nor does other people speaking on your behalf, extrapolating what could have been your victims intentions that night. It's obscenely fucking stupid to state you know Trayvon Martin was casing houses for burglary that night or to know that he attacked Zimmerman. How could you possibly know that? The only person who knew what Trayvon was doing died that night. Zimmerman didn't really know and none of the assholes on Topix know.

A horrible mistake was made that night. A boy died. There is no justifying that, no qualifying. And no bringing the child back. I wish these assholes would shut the fuck up.