The FBI And A Skin Game

When a black youth is shot and killed by another it makes the headlines in the hometown newspaper.  When a black youth is shot by someone other than another black must it be considered a hate crime and beaten to death for months on end?

Of course I'm talking about the Trayvon Martin case.  The seventeen year old was shot and killed by a non-black who was on neighborhood watch patrol.  At first it was described as outright murder.  The President even got involved saying that if he had a son he'd look like the young man.  And of course the usual defenders against racial injustice, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, were on site before anyone could catch their breath.  Talk about making a tragedy a hotbed of racial unrest before the facts were even known!

I suspect a lot of it was because of the photos the media used in telling the story.  George Zimmerman was shown in an old mug shot looking like the thug the media was trying to portray.  And Martin was shown as a twelve year old boy, not a seventeen year old young man.  Prejudicial reporting without a word being spoken or written.

This all happened in February.  Facts are still being discovered.  Like Martin had bruised  knuckles which could have come from the fight Zimmerman claimed they had.  And the fact that Zimmerman had abrasions on the back of his head, black eyes and a broken nose.  All of a sudden it isn't so cut and dried.

Neighborhood watch personnel are supposed to watch for suspicious people in their neighborhoods and notify police.  I believe Zimmerman did.  Did he "stalk" Martin?  Did he kill him because he hated blacks or because he truthfully feared for his life?  I think I'd have done the same thing if my head was being pounded into the ground. If he hadn't had the gun would he have been the victim?

Rather than asking for a rational approach until the facts were know, the rabble-rousers were in full voice.  Bounties were put on Zimmerman's head.  Nothing from the President on that one.

Now, the FBI is thinking of involving themselves and charging him with a hate crime.  It's interesting to me that this is evolving, pardon me for using that term, because Martin was black.

Well guess what?  Zimmerman's great grandfather was black and his mother Hispanic.  Just which community do you most want to offend?

Inconsistent statements the police claim Zimmerman made don't surprise me considering the man has been accused of everything from murder to a hate crime while having his address revealed on the Internet, a price put on his head and his own life at risk.

 It makes me wonder just who is guilty of 'hate' in the whole sorry episode.