Why is Juan Williams less informed that I am about the Zimmerman Trial

 

 

Juan Williams is listed as a journalist.  As such me should not be ignorant about the facts of the events that led to the shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman.  He does a workmanlike job describing the racial aspects of the trial, but he seems to be clueless about the events of that night even though these have been available for months if not years.

He's writing as if this is some kind of Greek tragedy. It wasn't.

 

"These are all caricatures of two real people caught in a tragedy."

Williams: Zimmerman should have listened to the 911 emergency dispatch operator who told him to stop following Martin.

Me: Zimmerman was not told to stop following Martin. The dispatcher said "you don't need to do that" after he asked Zimmerman if he was following Martin. Zimmerman replies: OK.

Williams: Why did he have a gun if he was simply part of a neighborhood watch program?

Me: A lot of people have guns and carry them. If I were part of a neighborhood watch program I would definitely carry a gun for protection. If I were trying to spot burglars or other bad guys at night I would want to have an advantage if they decided that I looked like a likely victim.

Williams: He had no basis to suspect Martin of any crime. So why does he describe Martin as “suspicious” to police?

Me: Were you there, Juan?  He was a neighborhood watchman for heavens sake.  He's supposed to be on the lookout for people who act "suspicious."  The homes in the neighborhood had been burglarized. It was raining and a person who's walking around looking around in the dark is suspicious. He may not be casing the area, but a neighborhood watchman is supposed to be on the lookout for people, especially young people, who are ".., just walking around, looking about" in the rain. Zimmerman called the cops and was waiting for them to arrive.

Williams: Why does he apparently lump Martin with people he describes as “these a--holes, they always get away.”

Me: Zimmerman figured that the suspicious kid he called the cops on may well well have been a burglar. And, take it from the voice of experience, burglars usually get away.

Williams: Why didn’t Martin just walk away from Zimmerman?

Me: Good question.  My guess: it may have something to do with culture that makes black folk call white folk "creepy-ass crackers." Could it have something to do with the game in some cultures to see if you can knock somebody out with a single sucker punch, like this one on the street in Baltimore?  Think what a great story it would have been if Martin had been able to do what he wanted with that out-of-shape "white Hispanic" leaving him bleeding, perhaps dying on the pavement.  Lot's of street cred with that.