The verdict is in and today on Hard In The Paint we take a look from multiple vantage points at George Zimmerman. Leggo.
Today is Monday. Two days after the Not Guilty verdict came down for George Zimmerman. God has blessed me with time off to follow this trial on a daily basis. I saw Rachel Jeantel on the Witness Stand and I silently shook my head because I wondered why she hadn’t been properly prepared by Prosecution. I’m black so I understand her mannerisms but like I said…I’m black. Her verbiage, her tone, her attitude was not going to play well with mainstream American Society. I knew this…why didn’t anyone else. And predictably she got blasted by the media (some are even now blaming her for Zimmerman’s acquittal), George Zimmerman supporters and her own race/culture of people. That last part surprised some people. It didn’t surprise me not one bit. There’s an old saying and it’s been said since before I was born (1968) that black people are like crabs in a bucket. In essence we’re always fighting to get to the top and we don’t mind dragging one another down to do so. Here was this 19 year old young lady (she speaks 3 different languages by the way) and her very persona was/is being torn down because in spite of everything that happens, “SHE DOESN’T SPEAK WELL,” which has always been code for a black person being uneducated.
Nevertheless, she wasn’t the only Prosecution witness who didn’t fare well on the Witness Stand. Associate Medical Examiner Shiping Bao said repeatedly he knew nothing. Even going so far as to say…, “Absolutely nothing.” What???? You performed the autopsy, why don’t you know anything? And why are you reading from your notes? Americans want to know what’s wrong with our judicial system? You just got a small taste of it on live television. Defense tore down witness after witness and all I could do was shake my head. Defense stated over and over that Trayvon threw the first punch. No one and I mean no one ever introduced the notion that Zimmerman could have thrown the first punch. Absolutely no one. Prosecution kept telling the jury to draw their own conclusion while defense kept telling the jury that, “Trayvon confronted and threw the first punch at George Zimmerman.” Outstanding job by the Defense Team. One could almost feel sorry for George and question the evidence on the table if not for Mr. Frank Taaffe. That being said, guess what…the jury did draw their own conclusion; that beyond a reasonable doubt, George Zimmerman was innocent of all charges.
Allow me to say this. George Zimmerman’s best friend is a man by the name of Mark Osterman. Mr. Osterman for the most part has kept out of the public eye. Not Frank Taaffe. Taaffe is George’s neighbor…not his best friend but his neighbor. This guy is a literal PR nightmare and if you know nothing of George Zimmerman…if you listen to Taaffe enough…you’re not going to care too much for Zimmerman. What’s that old saying, “Guilty by association?” Taaffe has made just about all the talk show rounds (please see Nancy Grace and Dr. Drew) and on each one he comes across as loud, obnoxious, buffoonish, grand standish, filibusterish and so on and so forth. When it comes to Taaffe, it does not matter how many experts you’ve spoken to, his experts know more than your’s do. He’s also passive aggressive. When dealing with those of the African American persuasion and or females, he is very condescending. If you’re at a bar, this is the guy you leave home because, he’s more than likely going to take a misunderstanding and turn it into something else. While I admire his passion and loyalty to George Zimmerman, he has become a polarizing force and very insensitive to the death of Trayvon Martin. Now let me pause here for a minute or two.
No one knows what happened on that faithful night save Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. I repeat, forget what you’re being told, even if George is the one telling you. No one knows. As they say, there’s 3 sides to every story…my side, your side and in the middle lies the truth. With that being said, the problem that I have and the problem that everyone should have whether you support George or not, Trayvon wasn’t doing anything wrong that night. I say again, he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was on his way from the store where he had purchased an Iced Tea and a bag of Skittles. He had $40.00 in his pockets. He was on the cell phone with Ms. Jeantel. He was going to his father’s house. It was raining outside. He had on a hoodie. Because of all of this…he looked suspicious? Yes George said he was looking around and he had his hands in his pocket but I gotta ask myself, “Damn Theo, have you done that on the way home?” Have any of us ever done it? Are we all subject to looking suspicious for doing so? This could have been Frank Taaffe. This could have been Mark O’Mara. This could have been Tracy Martin. This could have been Mark Osterman. I say again…it could have been anyone of us.
Please understand when I say…I’m 45 and that could have easily been me. That could have easily been anyone of us regardless of our race, regardless of our age, regardless of our gender. It could have easily been anyone of us. Unfortunately it was one of us and because this prevailing thought was allowed to fester…a young teenager lies dead, his killer not looking the least bit remorseful. When asked if he would’ve done something different, his take on it is that he believes it was God’s will. Huh? Say what? See, even I who served 6 years in the Marine Corps if faced with taking a life would be remorseful for doing so because the agonizing question that would keep repeating itself in my mind is, “What more could I have done” especially, especially if I could’ve prevented such a needless death by doing something different. Make no mistake, Trayvon’s death was needless and senseless. And this is what makes George look so bad to so many, Trayvon did not die because he threw the first punch, he died because he “looked” suspicious.
As a result, mothers and fathers are telling their sons and daughters even as we speak to no longer wear hoodies. Some are pledging to take their children back and forth to wherever they need to go. Some are even saying that should their child meet such a fate, they will take the law into their own hands. This is the road we are unfortunately headed down. I can’t say which road I will travel. I don’t want to have to ever deal with it. I have two daughters, one 18 and one 12. I’m not particular about telling my daughters what clothing they shouldn’t wear because someone might profile them as being a suspicious character and I say again, make no mistake, it is this assumption that lead to the eventual death of Trayvon Martin. While Zimmerman most definitely has been found not guilty, he should still be held responsible for his reprehensible conduct by both his supporters and non supporters. Profiling is completely and utterly wrong. In this great country of ours, we cannot afford to judge one another like this. Why you ask? Because we’re all so very different and that’s not to be feared…that’s to be appreciated. I’m out.
HARD IN THE PAINT 