Until Z-M, there was an increasing frequency of events where young blacks would "sucker-punch" elder whites -- and get away with it.
The goal was to legitimize that blacks ("because... racism") would be entitled to assault whites -- with social (and, eventually, legal) impunity.
Zimmerman-Martin killed that momentum. And, may have prevented -- or greatly delayed -- an eventual race war...
at the same time this event took place, in Sanford, a couple of black thugs attacked a white man by pulling him from his truck and bashing his head in with a hammer. the pathetic media wouldn’t even post their skin color but through research found out who they were. I think the victim is in a ‘home’ for life now.