Exploiting the Florida Tragedy
- Print print this page
- Discuss 37 comments, Blog about
Advertisement
I do not believe in conspiracy theories. Rather, I believe that significant events happen because stupid people find themselves dealing with the same problem at the same time.
When a concentration of stupidity creates idiocy, there is always a politician ready to spin the result to his advantage. This is known in political science as the "KAOS" theory, the assumption that the IQ of the average well-meaning problem-solver as well as his government supporter is slightly lower than that of Maxwell Smart.
This is certainly the case with Florida homicide victim Trayvon Martin and shooter George Zimmerman.
The facts are still fuzzy, but what seems to have occurred was that Hispanic George Zimmerman, packing a loaded weapon, went out on patrol for his neighborhood watch. He was a policeman "wannabe" who fancied himself as a superhero. Zimmerman then encountered a 17-year-old African-American dressed as a caricature of a thug complete with hooded sweatshirt and an "in your face" attitude.
Trayvon was, in essence, a stereotype of that young black male who even African-American newscaster Juan Williams admitted, "scares me." He was Hollywood typecast as the person whose presence makes women, white and black, cross the street rather than risk an encounter.
To label a young man like Trayvon as "suspicious" was certainly unfair. In the end, he was just a boy traversing the neighborhood with Skittles and iced tea. But, as Geraldo Rivera pointed out, by "styling yourself as a gangsta ... people are going to perceive you as a menace."
So the tragedy played out. The boy dressed as a "gangsta" met the "vigilante," the latter mentally convinced he was an undercover cop. The gangsta got scared that he was being followed and may have struck the vigilante on the back of the head, slamming him to the pavement.
The vigilante struggled. He fired his weapon. And "stupid is as stupid does." A mother lost her son.
There was no need for an armed volunteer to follow a teenager doing nothing more than dressing the part of a stereotype. Nor was there a reason for a young man to strike a resident just because the resident followed him, if he did. Each was a prisoner of his own pop culture.
Then, into this predictable novel came those whose business it was to exploit unproven perception with politics. President Obama said that if he had a son, he would look like the dead boy. Al Sharpton led mobs from New York to Orlando demanding a lynching. The Justice Department - which, only a few years earlier, refused to prosecute or even sue when it found blacks intimidating white voters - sent investigators and FBI agents to publicly join the rabble.
Even movie director Spike Lee added to the spectacle by tweeting to the mob the vigilante's address, a place which turned out to be the home of an old man and woman with no connection to the tragic farce.
Such events are not without precedent. Sharpton and Obama may have learned their tactics from the prosecutor who ignored the evidence to arrest and convict the Scottsboro Boys. Or, possibly they studied the reaction of the Durham County district attorney who was anxious to jail some oversexed Duke lacrosse players because his African-American supporters perceived them to be "rich white boys" hurting a poor black woman.
Politicians like Obama, Sharpton and their tactical predecessors from Durham and Scottsboro fish for political profit in a sea of tragedy and farce; and too many swallow the hook.
All of us carry with us ugly racial stereotypes. George Zimmerman was clearly afflicted with that burden. But many young black males "double down" on that stereotype, wearing their "pants on the flo" and hoods on their head, refusing to acknowledge the mainstream culture. Politicos both understand those prejudices and are anxious to exploit them.
Whether it is George Wallace "standing in the schoolhouse door" or Al Sharpton whipping up a mob, we must all maintain our skepticism. And, where politicians like Barack Obama ignore truth, favoring KAOS in the name of justice, we must demand that they be replaced in the interest of justice, the only justice possible for a dead naive gangsta and a mentally challenged vigilante.
Robert M. Levy is chairman of the Moore County Republican Party. Contact him at Law52@prodigy.net.
More like this story
Advertisement
Comments
djcalaska 1 year, 1 month ago
well said!
Toyboy52 1 year, 1 month ago
Thank you and Happy Easter Bob Levy
Courseaire 1 year, 1 month ago
Mr. Levy - I see you too have turned your assumptions into facts to support what you've already determined happened as if you were an eye witness to this event and put it to print.
JimHeim 1 year, 1 month ago
It looks like the one lynched was Mr. Martin.
Here's my rule: If you challenge me when I am walking down the street, I will kill you. There will be no warning. Under the law, if you put me in fear of my life, I am authorized to use deadly force. And I will.
If only Trayvon had a gun, he might be alive today.
sweeti 1 year, 1 month ago
Thank You JimHeim. Hope you had a wonderful Easter
Toyboy52 1 year, 1 month ago
The technical legal result in any state would be the same: 1. Even if Zimmerman was the original aggressor , he retreated to his car. 2. When Trevon "cold cocked" Zimmerman on the back of the head while he was retreating, Martin became the aggressor and engaged in an illegal act. 3. At that point, Zimmerman had the right to use deadly force to protect himself as he was being beaten to the ground.
It was not smart for Zimmerman to play "armed vigilante". It was just a's stupid for Martin to hit Zimmerman from behind while Zimmerman retreated. But it was also criminal for NBC to doctor The 911 tape and for the New York Times and NPR to call Zimmerman a "white Hispanic" to create a liberal cover story and incite riot.
There is plenty of blame and it does not all belong to George Zimmerman.
Thatcher 1 year, 1 month ago
jimheim-- Do you know why justiceforall never commented here? I just wanted to know what he/she thought about this.
madstork 1 year, 1 month ago
Hello Pilot...Heim's message is a threat
Courseaire 1 year, 1 month ago
Madstork - A threat to whom?
JimHeim 1 year, 1 month ago
Mr. Levy presents facts not in evidence. No evidence has been made public that Zimmerman was backed to his car. No evidence has been made public that Zimmerman suffered any injuries at all. No evidence has been made public that Martin threatened Zimmerman in any way.
While we are free to speculate about events, it would be more useful if that speculation was based no facts.
The question remains as to why Zimmerman got out of his car to begin with. Private citizens are not cops and do not have the right to challenge pedestrians for being in a neighborhood. If Zimmerman suspected a crime he was privileged to call 911 - nothing more. Had Martin had the gun he would have been in a better legal position to use it than Zimmerman since he was the one being stalked.
To date there has not been one shred of evidence made public that Trayvon was violating any laws at the time he was accosted.
As for the doctored tape, if it were criminal to alter videos, Fox News would be in court every day. In fact, it was a Fox station in Florida that got the courts to rule that news programs are free to lie. Thus, NBC did nothing legally wrong. Thanks, Fox Noise.
madstork 1 year, 1 month ago
So they fired the guy for no cause? Have any Heim reasoning on CNN enhances video after they state no injuries to Zimmermann and ABC enhances voices which the uttering’s of Zimmermann were found not to be conclusive that he referred to Martin as a C--n.
The only reason this has boiled into such a national racist issue can be attributed to the media and the usual cast of race baiters. Sharpton is a pathetic man. Tawanna Brawley is his legacy and he never apologized for it. Same pattern.
pgericson 1 year, 1 month ago
Unfortunately the author has used this case - backed by selective quotations and unfounded assertions- for a larger purpose. If he had only taken heed of the of the President's comments, rather than reacting to a small portion of the President's commentary.
Obviously this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through. When I think about this boy I think about my own kids and I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together, federal, state and local to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened. I’m glad that not only the Justice Department is looking into it, I understand now that the governor of the state of Florida has formed a task force to investigate what is taking place. I think all of us have to do some soul searching to figure out how something like this happened. That means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened as well as the specifics of the incident. But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon. If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon. I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves and we will get to the bottom of exactly what happened.” What would the author have preferred that the President had said, exactly?
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"No evidence has been made public that Zimmerman suffered any injuries at all."
Simply false.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"No evidence has been made public that Martin threatened Zimmerman in any way."
False, at least one witness reports Martin on top of Zimmerman, why do you feel the need to post that which you know not to be true.
skylinefirepest 1 year, 1 month ago
Well Jimmy, seems like you let your spouting of unconfirmed "facts" get you a real spanking here!! I keep telling you and you just won't listen, the people are aware, at least to some degree, what's going on and they're gonna spank you and your idol here shortly!
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"What would the author have preferred that the President had said, exactly?"
"there are multiple agencies investigating the circumstances surrounding Trayvons death, I am confident they will be able to get to the facts of the case. I encourage all Americans to be calm and patient and allow these investigations to proceed in an orderly fashion. As parents, Michelle and I are deeply saddened to hear of this young mans death and our deepest sympathies go out to his parents and other loved ones"
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"To date there has not been one shred of evidence made public that Trayvon was violating any laws at the time he was accosted."
Apparently the same holds true for Mr Zimmerman, what are we now 5-6 weeks out, multiple agencies investigating, yet no arrest.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"Fox News would be in court every day."
Your just have to wait for it. So predictable.
JimHeim 1 year, 1 month ago
fugitiveguy, Zimmerman admits pointing a gun at an unarmed minor and shooting him to death. That should not have gone uninvestigated. Until the 'liberal' media made an issue of it, there was no ongoing investigation. Now there is. Point for our side.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"That should not have gone uninvestigated."
At this is point it is only speculation that it wasn't investigated. If at the end of the ongoing investigations there is still no arrest will you still be saying there was no investigation?
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"Point for our side"
One man is dead. Another man's freedom hangs in the balance. To you this is about scoring points?
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"As for the doctored tape, if it were criminal to alter videos, Fox News would be in court every day. In fact, it was a Fox station in Florida that got the courts to rule that news programs are free to lie. Thus, NBC did nothing legally wrong. Thanks, Fox Noise."
Speaks volumes about you. So the end justifies the means. Your cool with a major media outlet admittly falsifying a report that paints a man as a racist while his life and freedom hang in the balance. Does any of your fellow left leaners have a differing opinion
mcg2010 1 year, 1 month ago
A few things. 1) As a student of Political Science (complete with BA in the subject) there is no such thing as the "KAOS" Theory. There are points within the general "Chaos Theory" that can be applied to political science, just as they are applied to the fields of math, biology, and economic just to name a few. Now if you were attempting to be factitious in your description of "KAOS" theory then my mistake. But I felt the need to clarify.
2) You initially stated this: "The facts are still fuzzy, but what seems to have occurred was..." and go on to give a play by play of what happened that fateful night. You continuted to elaborate details of the evening in comment posts above. To which I say, wow! What an incredible resource to have right here in Moore County! Someone who was so clearly there in that gated community in Sanford, Florida that night. Surely with your vast knowledge of what exactly happened that night you've been questioned by the Sanford, Flordia Police?
See I can be factitous too. "Race Baiting" and "political spin" is a problem in this case. However the President's comment did not do that. Sure he didn't have to say anything, but his comments were no more inflammatory than anything be shouted from either side of this story.
And nonsense articles like this do nothing, but fan the flames. At this point, the best thing we can do is let the justice system work and allow for the real facts to come forward. For every Al Sharpton screaming about justice for Martin, there is a Sean Hannity screaming about the injustice of the public trial of Zimmerman. They are both wrong. And to be honest, so are you and every other columnist, politico, talking heading, commentator, activist that continues to paint the image that they some how know better than anyone else what happened that night.
Courseaire 1 year, 1 month ago
mcg2010 - very well put!
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"At this point, the best thing we can do is let the justice system work and allow for the real facts to come forward."
I agree and have posted very similar comments on several occasions.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"For every Al Sharpton screaming about justice for Martin, there is a Sean Hannity screaming about the injustice of the public trial of Zimmerman. They are both wrong."
I disagree, to make false accusations and false claims of racism, for media outlets to distort the news is definitely not on par with someone pointing these things out. I'm no fan but to Hannity and Fox's credit, they very often have speakers from both sides of an issue on to debate and discuss.
Andybinga 1 year, 1 month ago
Please sign this petition for MSNBC to fire Al Sharpton. Please pass it on.
http://www.change.org/petitions/msnbc-fire-al-sharpton
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
I don't want anybody fired. That joke of a network is defined by on air personalities. If it weren't for the mother ship they would have been belly up long before now.
pgericson 1 year, 1 month ago
@fugitiveguy.... good answer to the question regarding what the President should have said. Essentially the two messages are the same, albeit without the nod the President gave to the African-American community. Notice who didn't take up the challenge [the author]
JimHeim 1 year, 1 month ago
fugitiveguy, I'm just pointing out that as the result of a suit by a Fox station, it's been ruled that news programs are allowed to lie. There is no editorial comment in that; simply a statement of fact.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"As for the doctored tape, if it were criminal to alter videos, Fox News would be in court every day."
No editorial comment here either I suppose. Justice, actual justice based on the law is not a conservative or liberal issue. Thats what I want to see happen. How about you? Can Mr Zimmerman be afforded the same presumption of innocence you would insist that the most heinous of criminals recieve?
JimHeim 1 year, 1 month ago
Geoff, you seem to think that 60 senatorial votes is not a big win. If only candidates who get 60% of the local vote could be seated, congress would be a mostly empty building.
You also give the impression that the lack of any Republican votes for PPACA makes it illegitimate. Have I got that right? The House just passed a budget without a single Democratic vote. Makes it a bogus bill, right?
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"And of course, someone MADE him put up a picture of where someone had vandalized a black cultural center as his website image."
I have a hard time believing he knew the significance of the building, under the circumstances it would have been among the dumbest moves he could make. Is there any known history of racist activities prior to the night of the shooting? I think his record actually points in the opposite direction in that regard.
JimHeim 1 year, 1 month ago
fugitiveguy, exactly why do you think he chose that photo?
Courseaire 1 year, 1 month ago
JH - "The House just passed a budget without a single Democratic vote. Makes it a bogus bill, right?"? N, it just shows that the Dems will do anything to stop progress.
fugitiveguy 1 year, 1 month ago
"fugitiveguy, exactly why do you think he chose that photo?"
The only thing I can think of is that he saw some supportive grafiti and was not aware of the name of the building it was on. It makes no sense that he would purposely put something on a website that would lessen support for him. I do not think he is a racist, there is no past history I am aware of that would indicate that.
Thatcher 1 year, 1 month ago
fugitiveguy-- You are correct. The grafiti was painted on the Hale Black Cultural Center at Ohio State University. http://gothamist.com/2012/04/10/george_zimmerman_creates_website_fo.php. Unless Zimmerman moved to Ohio, and attended the candlelight vigil last Wednesday, he probably had no clue about the building itself. Be well!