It was bound to happen, my comments on the verdict.

I have been asked by some to give my views on this Zimmerman verdict through this blog.  I have initially resisted giving my views publically, as I’d rather let the hot emotions from others cool.  I would like to make this clear up front:  I’m dismayed that an issue of right and wrong has been turned into an issue of race.  On the topic of race, I need to get this on the table: 

Al  Sharpton, Jesse  Jackson, and Ben Jealous are not leaders of the Black community.  I never got that ballot in my mail to elect our race’s leader, and neither did any other Black friend or family member I have.  These are people that have been designated leaders by media outlets that are NOT run by any Black person. Think about that.  No Black people I know of under 65 belongs to the NAACP!  No Black people I know see Jackson and Sharpton as any more than obsolete has-beens and publicity hounds.  Sorry it’s true.  Cats like Jackson and Sharpton haven’t been relevant since the 70s, and they serve only the interest of ignorant racists who need to put a face on Black America that feeds into their stereotypes as Blacks as a bunch of whiney, super-liberal, selective alarmists who don’t really care for the interests of people outside of our own.  These guys lost credibility with me and many other educated and younger Blacks when we discovered they have done NOTHING to address the thousands of Black men and boys killed by other Black men and boys each year in this country, but magically want to protest and bitch the moment a Black man or boy is killed by a person who is not Black.  These men did great things for civil rights in the 60s, but their time has passed.  Again, they serve only the interests of bigots, and political and economic opportunists looking to score political or economic gains off of racial shit-stirring.    

Back to the Zimmerman case.  To me, this was not an issue of race, nor was it of “stand your ground.”  This was an issue of right and wrong and awful decision making that lead to a 17 year olds death.  I hold a concealed carry permit and sometimes carry a handgun in public.  According to the state I reside, there are things I legally cannot do, and then there are things that I simply should not do.  For example, I cannot legally bring a weapon into an establishment that serves booze then consume that booze while armed.   Though not illegal according to state law, it’s highly frowned upon, according to the NRA sanctioned concealed carry safety courses, to follow a stranger while armed.  Why is obvious: It puts you into a dangerous situation where you face civil or possible criminal prosecution if you following and confronting a stranger leads to you using your weapon (For example, the guy you are following has a gun, he sees you as a threat, a firefight breaks out, and a bystander gets hit).  Secondly, it puts you in a situation where your weapon can be used against you.  He, the adult armed with a firearm, unwisely chose to leave his vehicle and not wait for the police to follow a total stranger, who turned out to be an unarmed 17 year old .  At this point, he’s wrong, period.   Anything after that (who attacked who first, who was screaming for help, for example) is irrelevant as Zimmerman has not only disobeyed a police dispatcher, but has also disobeyed something that is taught on day one of any firearms safety course:  DO NOT bring a firearm into a potentially dangerous situation.  Unfortunately, in the court of law, you can’t necessarily go to jail for terrible decision making even if someone gets killed, so the verdict did not shock me.  All the defense had to do was prove reasonable doubt, and they did.  And right, wrong, or indifferent, a jury following the guidelines had little choice but to not ignore that reasonable doubt.   At the same time, this same state put a woman in prison for 20 years for firing a warning shot around her abusive husband, and acquitted another woman that killed her kids.  So who knows, even if it was harder to prove reasonable doubt would the verdict would be any different.

Another issue this case should have generated discussion on instead of race, is class and connections, and how the criminal justice system is far from blind.  Zimmerman in my view never should have had a concealed carry permit to begin with.  He had been arrested for domestic violence and assaulting a police officer.  None of which led to convictions, in my view due to the fact his father is a retired judge.  But we don’t need to just take my word for it on how connections or money can allow you skirt the criminal justice system, look no further than celebrities like Lindsey Lohan who routinely get busted for breaking the law, skips court dates, avoids court ordered rehab, violates probation, and rarely (or never) sees the inside of a prison.  Dante Stallworth, a football player, strikes and kills a pedestrian while driving drunk.  He not goes to jail for only 24 days, but is back playing football the next year.  Middle class Joe Shmoe with no such connections to people in high places, a smaller checking account, with the inability to afford 500 dollar an hour defense attorneys would not be as fortunate and likely be in prison for years.  I also wonder what the outcome of this verdict has been if Martin, regardless of color, was from a politically connected or well to do family, and Zimmerman did not have a father as a retired judge.  My money is Zimmerman would have been arrested on site and convicted with little fanfare.   The prosecution fumbled in my opinion, by not taking the opportunity to put the county that issued Zimmerman his concealed carry on trial.  They did not draw the connection at all between Zimmerman’s father and George’s past arrests.  They never even questioned why two arrests for a violent crime got tossed out of court.  Why did the police officer who was in an altercation with Zimmerman that led to his arrest fail to press charges?  I’m not going to bore anyone with anymore “what ifs” and “whys”, but my point is, you are less likely to face serious consequences of criminal behavior if you are well connected and/or well paid verses not having those same connections or deep pockets.  The national discussion about this has been oddly omitted following this case.   What do we tell our children?  “Always do the right thing?”  Even when the daily news if full of stories about people doing the opposite of which and getting away with it?  Should we be instead telling our kids, "do the right thing, but if you get caught doing otherwise, make sure you know the right people and have the money to pay good defense team”?

In closing, Zimmerman though acquitted, through is foolish and idiotic actions, not only killed a 17 year old boy, gave fuel for the closeted and not-so closeted racists in this country (of all colors), but also did a disservice for law abiding gun owners who choose to do the right thing by carrying a weapon for self-defense, not playing a game of cops and robbers and putting the lives of others in danger just because you couldn’t cut it as a real police officer.  To any wanna-be Zimmerman’s out there:  Mind your own damn business and let the police do what they are paid to do.  If you feel the need to troll your neighborhood with a gun, you need to get up and fucking move or seek professional help.  Yes, you have every right to protect yourself, and my son has every right to walk down the street without being following and approached by some shithead playing cop.  I don’t presume to know, nor care what actually happened in the final seconds of this confrontation other than someone ended up dead.  What I do know is that George, through his awful decision making, and piss-poor judgment, will spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, unable to work, likely living in poverty once the legal bills have been paid and the inevitable civil suits run their course.  And frankly, I don’t feel sorry for him.