Comments | handworn: The Zimmerman Telegrams

handworn

The Zimmerman Telegrams

Apr 12, 2012 20:24

It's been hard to avoid encountering updates about the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman encounter, and now, of course, with the no-doubt-politically-unmotivated arrest and charging of Zimmerman with second-degree murder, it's even harder ( Read more... )

guns, race, politics

Comments 4

sartorias April 13 2012, 01:05:37 UTC

None of us were there. The only evidence seems to be that 911 call; if it can be established who was calling for help for so long, it might go a ways toward explaining what happened.

handworn April 13 2012, 12:41:27 UTC

Well, there's also the wounds on Zimmerman's head and the results of the lie detector test he was given right afterwards, though of course those aren't proof that it happened the way he said it did, but you're right that the 911 call is the only recording. I wonder if other things will be heard in the background when experts enhance it.

chaoticgoodnik April 13 2012, 14:53:28 UTC

I have deliberately not gone looking for info about the incident, not because I've already made up my mind but because (a) any information I found would probably only depress me and (b) facts seem to be thin on the ground anyway. That said, it's pretty difficult to avoid hearing somethingInformation that has percolated in: initially, it was easily to believe that a black guy was shot by a white guy and the police gave it a pro forma look-over and basically said, yeah, okay. After that, I heard that Zimmerman had abrasions to the back of his head, apparently inflicted by Martin (casting doubt on the original idea), and that Martin's family trademarked a couple slogans to use so sell merchandise to benefit other people in similar situations. (One of the slogans was "Justice for Trayvon" and I think the other was "I am Trayvon" ... heard that on an classical station's newsbreak and I was only half paying attention.) I haven't bothered to fact check any of this, because I don't think there's much point. I don't know what happened, ( ... )

handworn April 13 2012, 16:23:37 UTC

What I want is changes to what's in people's heads-- for the factors that gave rise to and nourish street culture to go away, and for the use of firearms in self-defense to be generally acknowledged as legitimate IF the rules are followed (to include Stand Your Ground in some form, if not exactly this one).