Posted on 03/26/2012 9:16:12 AM PDT by Red Steel
What is true of the stopped clock is also true of the perpetually aggrieved, shamelessly exploitative publicity hound: Through sheer chance, he occasionally will be right.
The Trayvon Martin case appears to be one of those instances for Al Sharpton. The longtime provocateur and MSNBC host has a leading role in the protests over the lethal shooting of the 17-year-old Martin at the hands of a zealous Neighborhood Watch volunteer in the Florida community of Sanford.
During halftime of the NBA All-Star Game, Martin left the home of his father's girlfriend to walk to the local 7-Eleven for Skittles and iced tea. It was about 7 p.m., and he caught the attention of 28-year-old George Zimmerman, who had taken it upon himself to patrol the neighborhood armed with a gun. He considered Martin suspicious and called 911, which dispatched police. Ignoring the 911 operator's urging not to pursue Martin, Zimmerman followed the young man, got into an altercation with him and shot him dead.
Zimmerman claims Martin attacked him from behind, and he fired in self-defense. But while he was on the line with 911, Zimmerman was the one chasing Martin. At the same time, Martin talked on his cellphone to his girlfriend, complaining of a man watching him. She told him to run away, which he apparently did during the interval Zimmerman was on with 911. The girlfriend claims she heard Martin say, "What are you following me for?" before the call went dead.
The tape of another 911 call from a neighbor has yells of "help" in the background before the gunshot. We may never know what exactly happened in the altercation. We do know this: Through stupendous errors in judgment, Zimmerman brought about an utterly unnecessary confrontation and then — in the most favorable interpretation of the facts for him — shot Martin when he began to lose a fistfight to him.
Florida has a "Stand Your Ground" law that stipulates that someone doesn't have to retreat and can use deadly force if facing a threat of death or bodily harm. It is one of the reasons that the police didn't press charges against Zimmerman. But the law is not meant to be a warrant for aggressive vigilantism. It was Martin, chased by a stranger who wasn't an officer of the law, who had more reason to feel threatened and "stand his ground" than Zimmerman.
So, Sharpton and his usual complement of allies are right about this: The Sanford police appear to have made the wrong call in letting Zimmerman off. Of course, the usual suspects can't leave it at that. In their telling, the case is a wholesale indictment of American society.
One MSNBC anchor compared the case to the notorious lynching of Emmett Till in 1950s Mississippi. On a visit from Chicago, the 14-year-old Till talked to a white woman and was subsequently murdered, mutilated and thrown in a river. His murderers got off. The Till case exposed a system built on injustice and hatred. The Orlando suburbs in the 2010s aren't remotely comparable, and George Zimmerman manifestly did not set out that night to kill Trayvon Martin, or he wouldn't have bothered to call the police.
News accounts tend to leave out that Zimmerman is a mixed-race Hispanic. That doesn't mean he can't be a racist. (Although it's murky, it sounds as if he mutters a racial epithet on the 911 call.) But a Hispanic-on-black killing lacks the narrative clarity of a white vigilante chasing down Trayvon Martin in the tradition of the worst practices of the Jim Crow South.
The attention devoted to the case has forced the chief of police of Sanford to step aside temporarily, and it's hard to see the grand jury that is now looking into the shooting not handing down charges against Zimmerman. If so, he shouldn't be effectively tried during street protests or on cable TV. There's already been enough vigilantism in Sanford, Fla.
Rich Lowry is a syndicated columnist. He can be reached via e-mail at: comments.lowry@nationalreview.com.
"Zimmerman claims Martin attacked him from behind, and he fired in self-defense. But while he was on the line with 911, Zimmerman was the one chasing Martin....
"Zimmerman brought about an utterly unnecessary confrontation and then — in the most favorable interpretation of the facts for him — shot Martin when he began to lose a fistfight to him. "
The most 'favorable interpretation' Lowry? Really?
What I've read, Zimmerman lost Martin and it was Martin who doubled back to jump Zimmerman. Following a person versus one being the violent aggressor is a huge distinction.
Rich Lowry is an idiot of the first order. This proves it.
Sure glad there’s the internet, where mere bloggers consistently display orders of magnitude more journalist talent than our MSM ‘tards.
Hey Rich Lowry, try for something you can do....like...ditch digging.
Trayvon Martin shooting: George Zimmerman says Trayvon decked him, then began hammering his head
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2863975/posts
A prominent voice for the Republican establishment.
I'm a bit baffled as to why they feel compelled to speak to this.
My guess is that the need they feel to be loved and accepted by the Democrat Media is overwhelming.
Lowry and Sharpton are both ignint.
The DC/media nexus live in a colored prism that effects clear thinking.
Try this one...the other one might have been a dupe...all I know is it disappeared from heading up breaking:
Police: Zimmerman says Trayvon decked him with one blow then began hammering his head
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2863974/posts
I think NR pundits such as Lowry have had any concept of needing a neighborhood watch or needing to defend youself removed from their brains out of overexposure to the Beltway mindset of letting someone else do it for you. That comes to mind with Santorum’s comments as well.
Zimmerman wasn't "self appointed". He volunteered when ASKED by his local community.
He didn't call 911, he called the non-emergency number.
He DID comply with the Dispatchers request he not follow Martin, that was when he got jumped.
Zimmerman didn't shoot him dead until after the kid was on his chest trying to bash in his skull...
Conclusion, Lowry is a moron and the entire MSM has it's collective head up it's ass...
“...try for something you can do....like...ditch digging.”
That’s above his pay-grade, too. He’s unqualified for squat, based upon all the many, many wrong/ignorant/biased “facts” he presents in this poorly-written article, DC.
Lowry is just afraid of being called a racist. Being on Sharpton’s side on this allows him to claim he is “racially sensitive”.
More lies - tip off was 7:30 so halfime couldn’t have been at 7:00
Well said, DC.
Where’s the outrage over the 13 year old WHITE boy who had gas poured on him and LIT by 2 BLACK kids???? The selective outrage of these racists who are trying to bury Zimmerman is sickening. Now we know 6’2” Martin was suspended for 10 days for assaulting a bus driver and he had Zimmerman on the ground slamming his head against the concrete.
Obama is planning on calling the burned boy’s mother any time now......
Even if Sharpton was right, (which he’s not), why give credence to a reprobate at all? All of these, freaking, lawyers without degrees are making me gag!
For some journalists, it’s not about how right you are, but about how many lies you can get out there and make people believe.
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