Trayvon was not shot because he was
black
Kevin McCullough - Guest Columnist -
4/2/2012 11:15:00 AM
The
investigative process is still under way in the shooting death of Trayvon
Martin. Sanford police, county sheriffs, state and federal law enforcement are
all compiling evidence of what happened the night that Trayvon Martin was shot
to death.
As your humble correspondent was
returning to New York through Atlanta on Friday of this week, I did what I am
often want to do: I stopped for a bacon and jalapeño, cheesesteak grilled sub
sandwich at Charley's -- a popular Atlanta favorite. Over my left shoulder was
the airport feed from CNN, and as the six or seven ladies operated the grill,
called out the numbers, and delivered the delicacies none of them could take
their eyes off of the television feed.
At a particular point in the news
feed, CNN replayed a portion of the response of Robert Zimmerman, Jr.'s
appearance on Piers Morgan from Thursday evening. When Zimmerman
Jr. made the claim that medical records will prove his brother's claims that he
-- George Zimmerman, the shooter of Trayvon Martin -- had a scuffed back side of
his head, and a broken nose incurred from the scuffle preceding the shooting of
Trayvon, the seven ladies behind the counter openly mocked, ridiculed, and
heaped scorn at the television set. They muttered racial epithets under their
breath.
They also spoke
quietly, but loud enough for me to hear -- as a customer -- certain feelings
about white people in general.
In ways I have not seen in my 41 years on
this earth, this case -- or as it should be properly put: the out-of-context
reaction to this case -- has been perhaps the single most racially divisive
event of my lifetime. More than the O.J. Simpson verdict, more than the Rodney
King case, more than any other incident I can call to memory, the drummed-up
reaction -- as was on display by the sandwich ladies -- made multiple customers
in the Atlanta airport's Charley's cafe (in the B Terminal) physically
uneasy.
The larger question for me this week is not so much the question
of "why," because I can easily see how reinforcing racial divides helps a
political party, a sitting president, people who peddle hate -- not very
cleverly trying to disguise it as civil rights leadership -- and even actors
such as Sinbad and Spike Lee. No, the "why" of this matter seems easy to me. The
larger question to me is the "how."
Were I to query the ladies behind
that counter, I am reasonably sure -- based on answers they gave to questions
that were not asked -- that they genuinely felt that
George Zimmerman was a white man who had targeted a black youth, conducted an
act of violence on him because of his race, and was now being broadly protected
by a system of whites.
But none of that happens to be true.
George
Zimmerman has nearly the same amount of Caucasian blood in him as President
Obama does. This alone -- in the President's case -- is an argument against his
"whiteness"; yet in the majority of early reports, and now among those who talk
behind sandwich counters, the truth doesn't matter.
Zimmerman also has no
history of racial animus towards black people. One of his longtime friends, a
former anchor for CNN, who happens to be African-American, has been confirming
this across as many media outlets as is possible. Zimmerman and his wife -- it
is now being discovered -- have been tutoring and mentoring at risk
African-American youths for years, building into the lives of these at risk
children virtues and principles to live by.
Zimmerman didn't target
Martin because of race. As a community watch volunteer and as a licensed
conceal-carry gun owner, Zimmerman had been concerned for some time about the
amount of violent crime, break-ins, burglaries, and other felonies committed in
his community. In recent months, skinny tall guys in hoodies had been
terrorizing the homeowners in the area. Since the hoodie was pulled over
Martin's head, Zimmerman had no reasonable way to target merely an
African-American youth; but he did see a skinny, tall kid -- who he did not
recognize -- and felt if he saw something he should say
something.
According to 9-1-1 dispatch, Zimmerman was told that he did
not need to follow Martin any further than he had. (Not, as some have reported,
that he was actually instructednot to follow.) According
to Zimmerman, the police report, and as many as six witnesses: Zimmerman --
after getting off the phone -- retreated from his shadowing of Martin and
returned to his SUV. It is unclear as to why, but it is confirmed by multiple
people who observed that Martin then turned and stalked Zimmerman. Just when
Zimmerman had gotten back to his vehicle, it is reported by witnesses that
Martin violently assaulted Zimmerman. And according to Robert Zimmerman,
appearing on CNN on Thursday evening, Martin attempted to pull Zimmerman's gun.
Quickly the tussle turned serious. Both men in a fight for control of the
firearm, one of them was shot seconds later.
The police -- once on the
scene -- asked neighbors what they had seen and heard. As many as six witnesses
confirmed portions of Zimmerman's overall account. Even so, Zimmerman was
handcuffed, given medical treatment to clean up his wounds, taken to the police
station, questioned, and released because his account was -- according to those
who did the early investigating -- consistent with the evidence.
Now a
grand jury is looking into the matter, and four different governmental levels of
our nation's law enforcement are looking into it. Police reports are being
leaked to the press, and when every final bit of CSI material is catalogued, a
report will be made.
Robert Zimmerman wished to communicate to the Martin
family the grief and sorrow that they feel for them.
There are no such
wishes being communicated to the rest of America for the damage that continues
to be done in the violence that is the refusal to admit truth. Those who do so
would rather manipulate media and manufacture outrage all for political
opportunity, vain publicity, or financial prosperity.
Trayvon was not
shot because he was black, and not one shred of actual evidence gathered thus
far changes that fact.
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