On the Beat
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A Cop’s-Eye View of “The Verdict” A
"dumb bomb" is a primitive explosive device, often dropped from an airplane. The bomb is considered "dumb" because it simply falls to the ground without actively steering itself; needless to say, it's some feat precisely hitting a target with this type of weapon. A bomber might have to drop dozens, or even hundreds of dumb bombs to take out a target effectively.
Home Games Tue, July 23 • 7:15 PM vs. Jackson Generals BI-LO BOGO
Wed, July 24 • 7:15 PM vs. Jackson Generals
Thu, July 25 • 7:15 PM vs. Jackson Generals Soddy Daisy Night
Fri, July 26 • 7:15 PM vs. Jackson Generals Fireworks!
Sat, July 27 • 7:15 PM vs. Jackson Generals Used Car Night
"Smart bombs," by contrast, control their fall precisely in order to hit a designated target dead on. All of which, of course, leads me to the topic of postZimmerman-trial America. We know the verdict. We don’t know the court details, but we do know the media accounts, so who needs details? Some of us don’t agree, but that’s mainly because we have no idea of how the court system really works. At the end of a sequence of events that I don’t feel the need to repeat, George Zimmerman was arrested and tried for the second-degree murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The first thing we learned about Trayvon was that apparently no pictures exist of the 6-foot tall youth beyond the age of 12, giving the impression we have of George Zimmerman creeping into infants’ rooms everywhere and just smothering and/or beating the crap out of the little guys. But that’s OK as far as misleading pictures go, and it’s certainly not a first. I of course refer my Chattanooga readers to the name Alonzo O’Kelley Junior, the 15-year-old who was interrupted while shooting into a crowded moving car from a sidewalk, and subsequently killed by a police officer when
22 • The Pulse • july 18-JULY 24, 2013 • chattanoogapulse.com
he pointed the same gun at him while vigorously being asked to stop doing such. The photo of him used was from the fifth grade, thus again promoting a baby-killing atmosphere. (Why they didn’t use a picture of the cop from when he or she was in the fifth grade to even up the perception, I will never know, but I’m floating the idea to a few local outlets.) Where was I? Ah. George Zimmerman confronted a young man in a gated community and asked him what he was doing there. There is corroborated court evidence that he, in fact, established the contact that resulted in this tragedy, and did so against the advice of a civilian 911 operator. This is immediately where people began conserving energy by not thinking again. In response to the question (“What are you doing here?”), his fans apparently feel that Trayvon was justified in throttling him to the ground and beating his head onto
the concrete sidewalk. Ask a question, have your head beaten against concrete. With that, the “dumb bombs” are now raining down about us, and it’s disconcerting to say the least; you see, that last bit is what the trial was about, not the first bit. Did George Zimmerman put himself in an unnecessary position? Yup. Did Trayvon Martin make a poor choice when he attacked Mr Zimmerman? Yuuuuup. But that’s where the public’s thoughts stop, because this was racial. “Whitey” killed a baby boy. When America found out “Whitey” had a Hispanic parent, and didn’t look any more Aryan than the president does? Why, a new ethnic group was created from thin air called “White Hispanics,” because once stoked, the fires of propaganda must be tended, after all. In the end, it turned out that attempting to kill someone (and let me beat your head into the ground to see if you really doubt this) was reason enough to be shot, and Zimmerman was acquitted amidst threats of rioting and against his life. But the unrealized tragedy? Our own lawmakers and “leaders.” The case was so weak that the local Sanford district attorney refused to bring charges against Zimmerman.
That is why, on the orders of the governor, an outside district attorney, Angela Corey, had to be brought in to handle it. Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee was fired because he also refused to charge Zimmerman with a crime, and the lead detective on the case told the jury he believed Zimmerman's version of the events. Charges were still brought and we still have the same result. There wasn’t a case. Just anger. And that’s not justice. If Jackson, Sharpton and the NAACP hadn’t jumped on the Trayvon Martin case and made it into a racial matter, nobody would have heard of it. His death would have gone unnoticed just like the more than 500 black youths who were murdered in Chicago in black-on-black violence last year, and how has THAT not sparked national outrage? In short? The attention on the Zimmerman trial is not about justice for Trayvon; it’s about intimidation and dividing the American people along race. Evidence? It’s only news if it’s “white on black” crime. And when “white” turns out to be Hispanic? New ethnicities are created to fit the rage. We need to start getting tired of this, and start getting tired of it now. And by “we,” I mean ALL of us, all races, all ethnicities. Focus less on the hyphenations and the blame, and more on progress. Just a radical thought… which probably makes me a “racist.”