Recently in the news, the case of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman has grabbed everyone's attention. The article, The Events Leading to the Shooting of Trayvon Martin, gives the complete story (so far) of this very controversial case. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch coordinator, shot an unarmed 17 year old African-American, Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman claims it was self defense, yet recently leaked surveillance tapes show him untouched after this supposed "altercation". He still has not been arrested. Many other details of Zimmerman's story have also been proved wrong, such as him claiming it was himself screaming in the 911 call. Many see this case as just another way that African-Americans are treated unjustly, and claim that if a black man shot a young white boy, this whole situation would have played completely different.
I would have to agree that racism did play a role in this case, as the evidence against George is outstanding.
Did racism play any part in this? In fact, is racism even a big issue in America? Would this case have been treated differently had a black man shot a 17 year old white man?
Reading the story online I do believe that George Zimmerman is guilty of murder but I do not believe that it is racism. Any police officer, security guard, or in this case neighbor good watch will have the upper hand when asked to give their side of the story, I am a strong believer that it has nothing to do with that the kid was black. On that note I also believe that the Zimmerman was on a power trip and unfortunately had a gun and trigger happy. The fact that Martin was black should not be brought up in today's times especially considering that Zimmerman is Latino.
ReplyDeleteOf course racism is not the issue that it used to be, but there is no doubt that it still exists. This whole situation is a tragedy to be honest. I think it was a hate crime just, because Trayvon Martin looked “hood”. “Hood” normally just means black in the eyes of most people. If a white kid had been shot by a black man that black man would be number one on death row by now. If you disagree with this then you are sadly mistaken and you probably have an all-white heritage. I feel that the phone conversation honestly is all that needs to be taken in to consideration. Trayvon was worried someone was following him and he did not know why so he confronted him and just, because of that an innocent young man was taken out of his prime by a self-appointed neighborhood watch power hungry jerk.
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DeleteI think that this is a tragic story. However, I have read many different sides of the story. There are so many different sides to the story that I do not know what really happened. The media tries to make the story seem like a hate crime. When the article first came out Zimmerman was portrayed as white, but he is actually Latino. I do not think that it was an act of racism when Martin was killed. However, I think it became a problem after it surfaced to the media. There is not enough solid evidence for me to feel certain about what really happened.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chris that there is not enough solid evidence to make a decision about what really led to the shooting. The media has a way of distorting or misrepresenting the truth and I think this is a prime example. As Chris points out the first article proclaimed Zimmerman as white, then later it was noted that he was latino. By using race as a point of controversy in this case the media will get more hits to their articles and news reports. I think it is an example of inflammatory writing designed to get more readers.
DeleteAs for Zimmerman not being charged yet, he is a police officer. I do think there will be differences in handling a case with a police officer than with a regular civilian. No cop wants to believe that his buddy killed someone at of pure hatred. As Lillian pointed out maybe he got trigger happy, or maybe he got spooked and reacted on instinct. Does that make it right that he killed a man? No. But in this country you are innocent until proven guilty therefore I think investigators are just trying to piece this incident together before they take action.
It is very unfortunate that the event occurred but dragging the concept of racism into the mess does nothing but fire people up more than they already are. When people bring race into a situation like this they are in effect keeping racism alive in this country. If people would stop using it as a shield to hide behind I believe that racism would be a thing of the past. There is no evidence that race played a factor in the shooting except the fact that the two individuals were of different races. People looking for an easy answer for why it happened naturally are drawn to the racism factor because they don’t have to put any thought into analyzing the case. I am not saying that race did not play a factor in the incident but it is upsetting to think that the people of this country blame racism every time a problem arises.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone can decide whether or not race had anything to do with the case. Just because they were of different races is no reason to believe that race played a role. Playing the race card just heightens tensions even more and keeps racism alive in society today. It is possible that race played a roll but nobody can tell for sure. Jumping to racism is the complete wrong thing to do. George Zimmerman was hispanic, so it would be better to compare this to if a hispanic boy were killed by a black man. I would like to think the case would be handled the same way. I don't think the reversal of roles would change anything.
ReplyDeleteRacism is far more prominent then people suspect in today’s society. Whether Zimmerman shot Martin based off race will never be certain. However, race does play a role in how news reports handle the incident. Zimmerman is automatically accused of being a racist, whether he was or wasn’t just speculation, but what is certain is that whatever the story Zimmerman will forever be known as a racist. News reports are rarely unbiased which causes incidents like this to be shown in one light. It’s a tragedy Martin lost his life so early, that is certain, but at fear of looking racist news reports have remained biased and fail to say that we can only speculate about what happened.
ReplyDeleteRacism could have played a part in this but so could a lot of other things. I'm not trying to defend Zimmerman because I do believe he is guilty. He was a neighborhood watch coordinator so he was on his toes all the time. Trayvon was defenseless and it is truly sad he had to go so young. When we look at the news reports, we automatically detect little things that could be racist and might just be accidental even if we are not racist ourselves. Racism is not as big of a problem as it was, but it's still there.
ReplyDeleteRacism did have a lot to do with this story. There was a similiar event like this that happened in my hometown, but it was between police officers and a black teenager. Cincinnati was put on pretty much lock down and even curfews were enforced. Ever since the racial tension in my city has always been really high. Even if racism wasn't a factor in this, we will never know what was said, because the black boy could have been threatening with words.
ReplyDeleteI think that whoever is in charge of this case needs to pay very close attention to what they are doing. Becuase the outcome of this crime could have a negative effect to bigger problems. I honestly do believe that this case would be handled differently if it was the other way around. Whether we want to admit it or not, our society is still extremely racist.
I agree with Chris and Debbie. There really isn't a lot of evidence here and the sad part is there probably will never be. Media tends to distort a lot of different news stories and this happens to be on they distorted. Whether it is about racism or not media tends to go towards the route of racism.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I can't say whether this story would've been different if a black man shot a latino man. But unfortunately racism is still out there or else we wouldn't be discussing whether this was a case of it or not. One day, hopefully, it won't matter what race shoots what, but the fact that someone was shot and how that came about.
I have the same view point of Will. Due to the fact we don't know all the facts around the murder we can not say for certain if it was a racially charge crime by Zimmerman. However, the media seeking to capitalize off the tragic passing of a teen, they have played on America's sensitivity to racism. Race has played a major role in this case it might not have inspired the crime but it is affecting the way we are interrupting the case.
ReplyDeleteThere is no way of knowing if racism was part of Zimmerman's motive in shooting and killing Trayvon Martin. However, racism does play a role in how the crime is perceived by the American public. A "white man" (Zimmerman is hispanic)killing an African American teenager would obviously invoke some sort of emotional response. Any sort of crime that involves people of two different races will inevitably have accusations of racism towards the two parties of the altercation. Past the smoke and mirrors, Zimmerman killed an unarmed boy and due to that fact I believe that he is guilty of murder.
ReplyDeleteThe reason he hasn't been arrested is because there you can use a gun in self defense. Secondly if a black man shot a white kid the same process would be going on. The question that should be asked is why is the story of a white man killing a black kid getting this much publicity yet black people are shooting each other in gangs and it is not all over the media?
ReplyDeleteThis is a tragic case either way, whether Zimmerman shot the man on purpose or on accident. Racism today is not as bad as it used to be in this country, but unfortunately it still exists. I don't feel like racism has anything to do with this case, dealing with the fact that Zimmerman hasn't been arrested. Police have to take certain precautions before arrests, and they need certain amount of evidence to make a case that'll win in court. It does seem like Zimmerman lied about shooting for self defense, but until police have certain information and evidence no arrest can be made.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not terribly familiar with what happened in this case; I've only heard bits and pieces here and there, but I can say that, unfortunately, racism will always exist. My high school was inner-city, and matriculated both high-income families and low-income families. If you wandered into the cafeteria at lunch, you would think that the cafeteria was segregated; all the black kids sat on one side of the cafeteria, all the whites on the other. This wasn't out of malice or spite; they simply felt more comfortable with people of their own kind. People naturally form groups with similar identities.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that racism as an explicit phenomenon in society is not as direct as it used to be in our country and in the majority of globalized countries, but the undertone, tension, and racial stereotypes are very real in this moment and time. Many times we have prejudices and preconceived notions that affect our judgement in regards to the decisions we make. If the roles would have been switched unfortunately the black male would hold the majority of the blame. Our perspectives on race and ethnicity really depend on the environment in which we are raised. In a more diverse community one might be socially and culturally aware , leading to judge individuals based on character not on the color of their skin, the clothes they wear or the stereotypes that come along
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that racism has played a role in the incidents thus far. First let me start by saying this case is far from over, and you can’t jump to conclusion before the trial has even happened. One is innocent until proven guilty in the court of law, and by making assumptions one is not adding any value to the case just confusing what is actually known. There is no way of telling if this was a racially inspired crime, one can only speculate. I think there are two main reasons why people are saying this was a hate crime. First, the media hypes up the story to strike reactions from their viewers and keep ratings high. Second, there were some skeptical decisions made by law enforcement. For instance not contacting the kid’s father of the news was wrong on their part. One can make as many assumptions as they want, but you shouldn’t believe every word you hear from the media. The only way anyone will be able to fully grasp what happened is until after the trial
ReplyDeleteRacism is still thoroughly present in the world. In some place more than other, however I do believe it is a worldwide problem. The issues lies in the fact that in some countries it is immoral to allow these feelings to show more than other. In the United States we are constantly reminded how we live in a country of freedom and equality, but anyone with a bit of sense will realize that this is far from true. Whoever claims that racism doesn't play a crucial role in the sociopolitical distribution of American citizens is asleep.
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