Motley Moose – Archive

The verdict in the George Zimmerman trial appalled me, as it appalled so many of you. Like you, I feel that justice was not done.  But it is not Trayvon Martin who was denied justice at the trial: Trayvon Martin would have been denied justice even if George Zimmerman had been found guilty of murder.  Trayvon Martin was denied justice because he was killed for no decent reason.

Indeed, because this was a criminal trial, Trayvon Martin was not even a party to the trial. Those two parties were George Zimmerman and the state of Florida. In a criminal trial, there is a high burden of proof on one party: The state. The state has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did what he or she is accused of. The defense need do nothing. The jury found (unreasonably, to my way of thinking) that the state had not met that burden.

So, the people who were denied justice by the verdict are the people of Florida, and, by a not unreasonable extension, the people of the whole USA (after all, we are United States).

Why is this important? I think it is important because it vastly broadens the group to whom injustice was done.  George Zimmerman did an injustice to Trayvon Martin. The jury did an injustice to us all.

Moooose, Well I had a flash piece the other day of good news in the Obama administration weighing in on Stop and Frisk now I’ve got to share some tripped out what kind of crap news is this from the Zimmerman saga.

http://thinkprogress.org/media…

Previously, Zimmerman Sr. “believed generally racism was a thing of the past.” He says that, personally, he hadn’t encountered much racism, even though his wife is Hispanic. But after his son shot and killed Trayvon Martin, however, Zimmerman learned that racism is “flourishing at the insistence of some in the African American Community.” He then goes on to list various black leaders and organizations that he believes are racist:

Congressional Black Caucus. “[A] pathetic, self-serving group of racists… advancing their purely racist agenda.” He later adds that “all members of Congress should be ashamed of the Congressional Black Caucus, as should be their constituents.” And finally: “They are truly a disgrace to all Americans.”

The NAACP. “[S]imply promotes racism and hatred for their own, primarily finical, interests” and “without prejudice and racial divide, the NAACP would simply cease to exist.”

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. “[W]hat I would expect of a racist.”

Trayvon Martin’s funeral director. A “racial activist and former head of the local NAACP.”

Benjamin Crump, Natialie Jackson and Darrly Parks, attorneys for Travyon Martin’s family. “The scheme team.”

The National Basketball Players Association.

Black Chamber of Commerce.

National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers.

National Black United Fund.

United Negro College Fund.

While stopping short of explicitly calling President Obama a racist, Zimmerman Sr. does say that Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have “shamelessly” sought to exploit his son’s case “to obtain great advantage in the African-American community.”

I also understand he went on to condemn the Electric Slide and Billy Dee Williams for daring to be the pretty individual he is.

Can I get a WTF ya’ll WTF?