ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT INTERVIEW ON TITANIC

Showing posts with label trayvon martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trayvon martin. Show all posts

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Brother says Trayvon stalked George!

I get it, Trayvon mugged George! George Zimmermans brother has laid it out for us on that hot Florida night. He has let us know that George was not following Trayvon and in fact the opposite happened: he was followed! The brother is very calm and we now see George's defence which is that he was the victim. He was just a good Samaritan doing his duty as a citizen by calling in a suspicious character and walking back to his truck when he was attacked by a the Skittle toting thug and brutally assaulted and then right before he lost consciousness, right before imminent death, he went to his last resort, literally gasping his last breath, he didn't want to you understand, but he pulled his gun to keep Trayvon from taking it from him and shooting him!

The brother says all this in perfect calm. Very logical. Very tragic. But no. George was not following Trayvon. No. No. He merely kept his eye on him then lost track of him and then was attacked from behind and became the victim of the crazed Skittle mugger. Hmmm. Even Pierce Morgan had a hard time with that one but this is what we can expect. The gun was incidental. The gun just happened to be there because it is very normal for Floridians to carry guns and call in suspicious characters and to follow the suspicious character and then disobey the 911 operator and follow the suspicious character.

Wait a minute Pierce the brother says. He never said he was suspicious and he never followed him. But the police asked him if he was following him and he said yes!  I think you have to listen to that tape a little closer Pierce. He never said he was actually following him. What about calling in a man with a hoodie? He would have called in anyone who was suspicious. So we see on that hot Florida night no one is never safe. Even with a nine millimeter and an SUV you still are in danger.

What if he had never gotten out of his truck, Pierce asks finally. What if he had just left this boy alone? Ah. But you see. You are assuming he did something to Trayvon. Trayvon pursued my brother! And my brother woudl have been dead if he had not used his gun. Ohhhhh....it all makes perfect sense now. You are right. Good thing George had a gun. He might have gotten pinged by a Skittle.

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Will George Zimmerman run?

You wouldn't think the guy would just take off, but it is sure strange that George cut off communication with his attorneys and now is MIA. And the prosecutor said she will be releasing information within the next seventy two hours. And George is talking to Sean Hannity. I'd run. Sounds like a desperate man to me and the fact that all his former attorneys would say is that he is somewhere in the United States. Wow. I bet that prosecutor is nervous now.

It would be a hell of a thing if George just disappeared. But really can you imagine what is running through his mind. He shot and killed a seventeen year old. Now something along the lines of guilt and a sneaking suspicion that Stand Your Ground might not be as Teflon as it is cracked up to be would get him checking his passport and eyeing freighters bound for ports unknown. Because in the three AM moment, George has to have that final reckoning that he stalked a kid with some Skittles and a can of tea.

Even if you fool yourself into thinking you needed your nine millimeter to defend yourself against the unarmed highschooler you still have to wonder what would have happened if you had not followed him in the first place. And if you did follow him and were the aggressor, didn't you bring on the push back that might have occurred when one human tries to stop another? Even George must have started doubting his very thin rational that he needed deadly force against the Skittle man trying to get away from him.

But maybe we will never know. Maybe right now, George is on a plane or a ship or waiting to slip into Canada or going up into the mountains never to be seen again. If he is lucky he can get a new identity, start a new life. Something Trayvon will never be able to do.

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Monday, April 2, 2012

The Gated Communities of Florida

Just got back from vacation in Florida with the in laws in their gated community. Maybe a hundred miles from where Trayvon Martin was gunned down. You have to go across a moat and past a guardhouse to get into the enclave of pink and orange bungalows. Buford Pusser in a white hillbilly hat with a gut hanging over a gun belt smiles and checks my ID. You vistin? Yep. The in laws. He makes a call and I wait in the warm Florida night that seems so quiet, so peaceful. Alright, he says giving me a pass. Go on. I nod to Buford and drive into the unreal world.

There is no crime here in theory. There is a large cement wall painted light pink that goes around the entire complex. There is a gas station and a car wash and a community center with a pool. You just need groceries from the outside world and these can be delivered. You exist in a world built on a swamp drained into large retention ponds. You exist in a world that has no blacks or Mexicans except the ones who keep the chemicals on the grass. Just palm trees and warm tropical breezes.

And I go jogging in the morning. There is no one out except for the few who are taking walks, biking, jogging. We all move about in total safety because the real world is outside the tall pink walls. There is wildlife on the other side and you can hear strange animals calling out, yelps, whistles, then sirens from those other strange animals. But inside your world of gates and walls and Buford Pussers all his Greatest Generation Americana.

And you can see how it happens. A black male in a hoodie would not make it far in this gated community. I have gotten a few looks myself just taking walks at night. There is a norm and if the norm is violated then you are suspect. Now add a dude with a gun looking for anything out of the ordinary. Hot night. A gun. Gated community. Black male. Hoodie.
.
Bang.

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Friday, March 30, 2012

The Zimmerman View

Well now we have the brother of poor George saying that it was all in self defence and that the medical records will prove that poor George was getting beat up by the Skittle bearing Trayvon and that as a last resort meeting force with force he had to shoot the unarmed hoody skittle bandit to save his own life. Hmmm. Ok so here is the brothers salient point...George could not really defend himself against the blitzkrieg of Trayvon because "he was out of breath." Now the logical question for the vigilante turned murderer is...drum roll please...why was George out of breath?

Say he was working out. Taking a jog. Dropped and decided to do a quick fifty push ups and then some jumping jacks. Maybe a quick Karate workout to be the ever ready citizen patroler. Maybe he was running from some point outside the gate community and was late for work. Maybe he had asthma. Maybe COPD. Maybe he just as a rule is out of breath. Or maybe...just maybe he was....CHASING TRAYVON. Could that be the reason poor George was out of breath?

The brother sees no incongruity in this version of events. He sees himself as giving Georges side of events but of course the question, the question is that if a man is pursing another man and he has a gun and he has ignored the police who told him not pursue the man and now he is out of breath...since that man is the aggressor and the other man on the defensive? And how would these tables turn on packing George? I mean couldn't he have stopped running after Trayvon and caught his breath?

Or was George so intent on catching the hooded Skittle bandit and using his nine millimeter that he didn't even stop to catch his breath? The brother doesn't elaborate on this...but he wants the hate speech to stop. Tragic he says. Tragic. Yeah...you're right. Poor George all out of breath having to bust a cap to defend himself...there really ought to be a law.

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Fiction of Zimmerman's Story

When you write fiction you have to have believability. You have to have people believe that your character is capable of the actions you have described. Your editor is shaking her head because she just read your story that is about an African American walking in a gated community in Florida. And he is being pursued by this guy in an SUV who has a gun. Your character is scared and talking to his girlfriend on his cellphone telling her that this dude is following him and he is trying to get away. Just run the girlfriend says. Your character has a pack of skittles and an iced tea and is wearing a hoodie. But your guy with the gun  is closing in.

Now your man in the SUV who has a nine millimeter on his hip in a holster is talking to the police. They tell him don't pursue your guy but you want to keep the action going so you have him get out of his truck and mutter, "they always get away." Now you have established a motive for him to pursue your black teenager who is still trying to get away, heart pounding, holding his iced tea and Skittles. Now your guy in the SUV is running after him and he calls out and your character stops trying to get away.

Here is where your editor puts down your fiction. I just don't get it. What? You have this kid who is scared to death running from this guy. Yeah so? But then you have him turn and assault the guy in the SUV and punch him and jump on top of him and slam his head against the sidewalk. Yeah so? Your guy in the SUV has a gun! He has a nine millimeter on his hip! Your character has a pack of Skittles and an iced tea, he would never turn and fight a man with a gun. It just wouldnt happen. You stare at your editor. Maybe my character is a bad ass you point out. Your editor demures. Even the worst gang banger in the world wouldn't take on a man with a gun if he doesn't have one. 

So you rethink your story. Hmmm... How about I tell it from the view point the guy in the SUV? Your editor shakes her head. Oh, so now you want to tell it from the viewpoint of a man hunting a young un armed African American with a gun and an SUV?  She shakes her head. Who in the world would empathize with someone like that?

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Monday, March 26, 2012

Hunting Trayvon

Yeah ok it's self defence so the lawyer says. Trayvon turned on Zimmerman and he had to pull out his gun to defend himself. If you ever have gone hunting then you know an animal will turn when trapped. Did Zimmerman trap Trayvon with his relentless pursuit, chasing him on foot, reaching out and grabbing him? And when Trayvon tried to get away, pushing Zimmerman away, did he shoot him? Bam. Just shot him because that's what you do when you have a gun and your quarry doesn't.

And that is at the heart of the matter isn't it? One guy had a gun and one guy had a pack of Skittles. One guy had a car and one guy was on foot. One guy was trying to get away and one guy was pursuing. Sure sounds like hunting to me. When you hunt you track your prey. You follow him or her through the woods and try not to make a sound until you are ready. That was the surveillance part. Where Zimmerman is telling the cops about the young black man in the hood. He describes him and starts to trail him. Now he is in the chase part of the hunt.

You are done tracking and see your quarry. You are now figuring out how to take a shot because there is a chance the animal will get away. So you close the gap. This is the part where Zimmeran ignored the cops who told him not to get out and pursue and he did it anyway. Because now he thinks Trayvon is getting away (see 911 tape"they always get away) and now you are confronting the animal and it sees you. And if the animal is trapped or smells danger and cannot get away... then they turn. They bare their teeth, they may even charge.

And here is where Zimmerman demands to know who Trayvon is. Here is where he pulls his gun as Trayvon struggles to get away from him because we all know he went to apprehend and that's where the struggle took place. And it doesn't matter whether the animal struggles or not because you are armed. Here is the part where you shoot the animal you have been hunting. Here is the part where the hunt ends.

Here is the part where you kill.

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

You better not be packing no Skittles

Man. Am I glad I'm not black! Anyone could shoot me! Like Trayvon Martin you are fair game for any nut job with a gun and lots of nut jobs have guns. And in Florida you can call it self defense. Step back Jack. He looks suspicious! Pull out your .357 and do the deed. Wild West here we come. What do we need cops for when you can just pack heat and cruise around in your car looking for any perps...there's one now! Get out of the car and switch off the safety. Hey...you!

And it is hot and it is a nice neighborhood and you are black. What in the hell are you doing here?And now he is walking toward you. Hey I have my gun. I have my gun and all that prejudice and suspicion pulls the trigger. Pow. Pow. Yeah baby. Justice. No trial. Nothing. Just vigilante justice FLORIDA STYLE. Cool. Call 911. Police arrive. They are white too. So it was self defense?Oh yeah. He's black! Got it. You are good. What's that in his hand? Skittles? Dangerous. He could have hit you with them, good thing you were packing.

And so you sit in the morgue for a few days with your phone. Your dad calling you. Hey where is my son? The police, the coroner, don't bother to check the phone. What is that sound coming from the basement? Just another DOA. What the hell. Good thing Zimmerman busted a cap on this dude and did us a all a favor. The gated white people of gated communities will rest easier knowing there are dudes out there packing heat. You just better be the right color and not wear a hoodie.

And you better not be packing no Skittles.

http://www.billhazelgrove.com/

Books by William Hazelgrove