The Murder of Trayvon Martin

[DrPhil]

Wellllllllll, here's the thing about raising issues that are not central, the side issues become the topic. As with any discussion of opportunities and facilitating factors for crime and victim precipitation, the average person will be distracted from the main issue. Yes, how we look and our demeanor matter. Newsflash. How we look and our demeanor especially matter for power minority groups--i.e., women, racial and ethnic minorities, and GLBT--who have higher rates of victimization for certain types of offenses. Newsflash.

Zimmerman's attorney is betting on this newsflash becoming the main topic because people cannot multitask and are easily sidetracked. Instead of problematizing the potential offender, the potential victim is problematized. The topic has now become what Martin was wearing, whether he was suspended from school a few times, and whether there was a trace of marijuana on one of his school bags weeks ago. What in the samhell does that have to do with anything? Well, they are saying that Martin was a bad kid (read: typical Black male youth who should not have been in that gated community in ther first place--or at least should have been wearing a 3-piece suit to buffer the effects of his badassness). Moreover, they will present it as Martin is the one who was violent toward Zimmerman. Zimmerman was therefore "standing his ground." However, it is also the case that Martin could have been "standing his ground." But, that will not fly in the eyes of the law (I don't care about public opinion) if Martin is portrayed as a weed-selling kid who kept getting in trouble at school for walking on hallways he was not supposed to walk on and so forth.

[TonyB06]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Wellllllllll, here's the thing about raising issues that are not central, the side issues become the topic. ...

Zimmerman's attorney is betting on this newsflash becoming the main topic because people cannot multitask and are easily sidetracked. Instead of problematizing the potential offender, the potential victim is problematized. The topic has now become what Martin was wearing, whether he was suspended from school a few times, and whether there was a trace of marijuana on one of his school bags weeks ago. .....

Who decides what the "main" issues are? This is what I was saying in my earlier response to k_s. That's why I used the absurd example of whether white guys should be worried if tomorrow morning everyone else in America woke up and was suddenly "apprehensive" about the "ominous look" of white guys in ties?

It's that absurdity that has some people obliquely making Trayvon somehow culpable in his own death becuase of how he was dressed.

Whether he called himself a "no limit nigga" on his twitter page is irrelevant;
whether he got suspended for marijauana use is irrelevant. The boy had the right to get back to his daddy's house alive. Period.

I'm up to >>here<< this week with people's "impressions." Feel however you want to feel about people's attire, but if you can't deal with your impressions then stay your a$$ in the house.

[DrPhil]

@ TonyB06

The main issue is whether Zimmerman should be arrested and tried for the incident to get this away from the court of public opinion and let a judge and jury determine whether Zimmerman was lawful. Legal and extralegal factors will be considered and the main issue will be what Zimmerman and Martin were doing in that context that sparked and fueled the incident. It may not matter what Zimmerman and Martin were wearing other than how surface level appearance can fuel perception (raise your hand if you always act based on perception). Did Zimmerman have the legal right to be, what I consider, Billy Badass? Zimmerman did not know that Martin had gotten trouble in school just as Martin probably did not know that Zimmerman was (what some consider overzealous) neighborhood watch.

Just like when a robber enters a family's home, sure we can think the family was dumb for not having a security system and leaving their doors unlocked. That is victim precipitation. Moving on, the robber is still a robber because the robber was uninvited.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

The main issue is whether Zimmerman should be arrested and tried for the incident to get this away from the court of public opinion and let a judge and jury determine whether Zimmerman was lawful. Legal and extralegal factors will be considered and the main issue will be what Zimmerman and Martin were doing in that context that sparked and fueled the incident.

I agree. This is near getting out of control and I personally blame the media with their "bits and pieces" reporting style concerning this incident. They are leaving a lot of room for people to make their own assumptions here, which is not good regarding an incident of this level (see NBPP and their "bounty"). The general public doesn't know all that went down that night so lets hope all parties stay cool headed while the numerous agencies investigating this do their thing.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

The general public doesn't know all that went down that night so lets hope all parties stay cool headed while the numerous agencies investigating this do their thing.

Too freakin' late for that..... I think it will be a miracle if Zimmerman lives through this.

[I2K Beta Mu]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Again, folks can do what they want, but just realize that it may or may not cause others to perceive you a certain way.

And what I'm saying to you is folks are going to perceive you in a certain way regardless of what you wear.

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Yes, you can.

Thank you.