Trayvon Martin

[seemslikeadream]

Zimmerman's Parents in Hiding from 'Enormous Amount of Death Threats': ABC News Exclusive

George Zimmerman's parents, Robert Zimmerman, Sr., and Gladys Zimmerman, sat down for an exclusive interview with Barbara Walters for ABC News on July 15, 2013. (Ida Astute/ABC)

By LAUREN EFFRON (@leffron831)
July 15, 2013
George Zimmerman immediately went back into hiding after being acquitted of murder in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, his parents told Barbara Walters in an exclusive interview with ABC News, adding that they haven't seen him since he left the courthouse.

The Zimmermans said that because of "an enormous amount of death threats," they, too, have remained in hiding and still don't feel safe enough to return to their home in Orlando, Fla.

Watch Barbara Walters' exclusive interview on "Nightline" tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET

Two days after a Florida jury found their 29-year-old son not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the death of Martin, 17, Zimmerman's parents, Robert Zimmerman Sr. and Gladys Zimmerman, sat down for their first television interview. They opened up about how their son's murder trial has affected their family and how he and they are struggling to cope with the aftermath.

"Under the circumstances, we have not been able to talk to him," Gladys Zimmerman told Walters. "To tell you the truth, we don't trust anything, not even the phones."

"We have had an enormous amount of death threats. George's legal counsel has had death threats, the police chief of Sanford, many people have had death threats," Robert Zimmerman said."'Everyone with Georgie's DNA should be killed' -- just every kind of horrible thing you can imagine."


Trayvon Martin's Mother Offers Emotional Testimony in Murder Trial Watch Video

Thousands Protest Zimmerman's Acquittal Watch Video

George Zimmerman Acquittal Sparks Twitter Rage Watch Video
George Zimmerman was accused of second-degree murder for shooting Martin on Feb. 26, 2012 inside a gated community in Sanford, Fla. While he admitted to shooting the unarmed teenager, Zimmerman maintained that Martin attacked him and he acted in self defense.

A jury made up of six women found Zimmerman not guilty of both second-degree murder and manslaughter charges Saturday after deliberating for more than 16 hours over two days.

Five Moments That May Have Led to George Zimmerman's Acquittal

But the family's celebration of George Zimmerman's new freedom has been short-lived. His parents said that their son has no job and no health insurance. Gladys Zimmerman said her son has been living off small monthly stipends from his legal defense fund.

"Even for us, we have not been living a normal life for the past months, it is hard," she said. "We have lost everything, everything -- the whole family, not only George. The whole family. We have lost everything."

When asked if her son could ever live a normal life again, Gladys Zimmerman said, "Only time will tell."

In the wake of Martin's death, the case quickly developed racial overtones when Sanford law enforcement declined to arrest Zimmerman, who is a white Hispanic -- his father is white and his mother is originally from Peru. Trayvon Martin is black.

George Zimmerman was arrested nearly two months after the incident when the state appointed Angela Corey as a special prosecutor and she brought second-degree murder charges against him.

Outrage and protests have reignited across the country since the not-guilty verdict was announced, something George Zimmerman's mother said was "hurtful."

"This is America, and we went through all of this with the judicial system," Gladys Zimmerman said. "They wanted an arrest for my son. They got an arrest. Now lets, you know, find a verdict ... now they have a verdict. ... He went through the whole process they were pushing for, and now they are not happy with the verdict, and I pray. I pray for them, for God to touch their heart."

Just because we got that verdict Ms Zimmerman doesn't change the facts

YOUR SON KILLED TRAYVON

and he will pay for that for the rest of his long fearful life

[82_28]

Sum Ting Wong in this country when we can't freely say Ho Lee Fuk over the tragedy of racism.

Though will admit that my Thai friend thought it was funny as fuck -- I just showed her. Funny it all happened in the same week. Not funny. But dude that fed that to the anchor was, I will say, brilliant. Snowden style.

Not so much the fucking Zimmerman, guy. It certainly has become a microscope that doesn't matter, because the truths of the nature of violent death itself.

Since I am at RI, I'm just gonna say my mostly 99.9% true persona of 82_28 is that this was systematically staged for a news cycle.

Nope, don't know how, don't even believe it. But as they say, the "perfect storm".

[parel]

By Lynn Sweet | Get In Touch: lynnsweet@twitter | lsweet@suntimes.comSweet - July 15, 2013 6:37 pm
Rep. Gutierrez calls for House hearings on Zimmerman verdict in Trayvon Martin case


WASHINGTON–Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on Monday called for the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings in the wake of a jury on Saturday clearing George Zimmerman in the killing of Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman was found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Gutierrez, a member of the Judiciary Committee, is urging panel chairman Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.) for further inquiry into the killing.

In a letter to Goodlatte Gutierrez wrote, “”When any child is gunned down and no one goes to jail, it is incumbent on lawmakers at the highest level of government to investigate whether justice has been done, whether the underlying law is just, and whether federal legislation could help avoid another tragic death like the death of Trayvon Martin. I respectfully request that the House Judiciary Committee hold hearings as soon as possible to examine these questions further.”


continues

[parel]

Stevie Wonder had a very strong reaction to the Zimmerman verdict.

“For those who may have lost in the battle for justice, wherever that fits in any part of the world…we can’t bring them back…
From there he goes on to pledge not to perform in Florida or any state that has a ‘Stand Your Ground’ law.
See Stevie’s emotional statement and response here. He speaks about his decision not to play Florida at the 1:16 mark.



http://tlcnaptown.com/2124384/stevie-wo ... abolished/

[seemslikeadream]

thanks parel for the Stevie vid....BOYCOTT FLORIDA !

nothing comes from violence



like tears from a star

how fragile we are

[8bitagent]

Christ, Zimmerman literally said with a straight face he wouldnt do anything differently, he doesnt regret anything and it all happened for a reason. Unbelievable. At least that 31 year old woman getting 20 years for firing a gun in the air
is getting new interest in her case. Funny how the gun lobby cabals sure dont seem to be wanting to help her case of injustice. Proving more of the point that they seem mostly concerned with non black cases of stand your ground.

Though I call for a boycott on ALL violent crimes on innocent people in America regardless of race, gender, etc. People getting Zimmermanned every hour in every day in America through rape, robbery, shootings, assaults, etc.

[David]

heavy fucking truth

[justdrew]

Trayvon Martin had no interest whatsoever in Zimmerman. He was targeted and followed by Zimmerman, a man with a gun who had no business targeting or following him, and who even disobeyed the recommendation of the police not to follow him. Assuming no one disputes that, then all self-defense arguments end there.

It is neither against the law, nor the creation of an implicit threat, nor an invitation to a scuffle to follow someone and ask them what they are doing. At least, I don't think it is. Am I wrong about that?

It is unimaginable that a black Zimmerman vigilante who had targeted, pursued and shot a white Trayvon would not have been immediately arrested, held without bail or at a bail too high to meet, and brought to a trial with a near-certainty of conviction for murder followed by life in prison or the death penalty.

Understood, and agree. But what if a white Zimm had followed accosted and shot a white Trayvon? Would an ensuing scuffle become a self defense setting if we allow that the hypothetical white Trayvon threw the first punch?

All hypotheticals aside, though, it doesn't really matter. The institutionally racist encapsulation of the the event, the community, and the society pretty much negate any legalese wrangling that might be used by anyone, myself included, to consider this killing outside of the color of that envelope. The thing about this murder that kills me is how many persons and groups are guilty here right along with Zimmerman.

yeah, that's it. Anyway the prosecutor probably intentionally threw the case. Certainly seems that way to me.

[seemslikeadream]

yea like letting juror B37 judge Zimmerman

juror B37 - “a boy of color”

juror B37 - husband lawyer

juror B37 - book deal

juror B37 - just when did you sign that book deal? just when did you have the chance?

juror B37 - you really thought there were “riots” in Sanford, Florida after Trayvon Martin was killed?

Juror B37 Martin’s killing “an unfortunate incident that happened.”?

[parel]

That press conference by the prosecutors was so unbelievably creepy and illogical that it can only be perceived as a victory speech.

[mulebone]

White people need to figure out that we're all "black" now.

Wow! That was awesome.

I haven't laughed so long and so fucking hard since the 'How do you cope" thread where cat videos seemed to be endorsed as a universal panacea protecting the delicate constitutions of RIers from the rigourous harshness of the mean ol' world. When the one cat (snicker) started going on about how he/she saved his/her neighborhood bird population by adopting a cute little ball of fur that now has the sole function of amusing him/her (which translates as cats are great when they're sentient stuffed animals doing cutesy things but not so great when they're following their nature as efficient little killing machines) I almost swallowed my gum.

The "we're all black now" bit is another gum swallowing moment that I thank you for from the bottom of my tainted black heart.

Personally, I can't wait until Al Jolson, who has been previously characterized as a purveyor of minstrel show racism for his famous black face character, can now be seen as the visionary prophet he always was...
Adroitly & unselfishly giving early 20th century America a small foretaste of its 21st century
"We're All Black Now" future.

Bravo Al.

Bravo.

Generally you folk are just pedantic, boring and about as much fun to hang around as as a room full of religious fanatics. But, occasionally, y'all say things that are so utterly absurd, and you say them with such dead panned straight faced seriousness in that special "parody is pointless" way that only left wingers can muster, it almost makes the wade through the turgid RI waters worthwhile.

Take heart though, right wingers are as unintentionally funny as left wingers, but for different reasons. They're more like religious fanatics who would have trouble spelling both "religious" & "fanatic" as they blabber on endlessly about nothing in particular. It is one of the lessons that I've learned in 51 years of living, the right & the left are surprisingly alike in a mirror image/Bizarro World sort of way.

In the end, I wouldn't want either one of you dictating my fate. Not one fucking iota of it.

[slimmouse]

From 21st century wire, and almost on cue for me....

Zimmerman Acquitted: Political agitators move in, race mobs on standby

Editor’s Note: Anyone who reacts to this verdict as “racist” is simply falling helplessly into a narrative that was written by corporate media and political opportunists who capitalize on division

21st Century Wire says…

Jurors in the George Zimmerman trial reached a verdict just before 10pm EST on Saturday night – turning in a not guilty verdict.

Details are still forthcoming about a retrial in either a criminal or civil court, as well as a DOJ prosecution effort through federal courts.

Due to the racially charged atmosphere surrounding the case, the country remains on edge this weekend with many cities bracing themselves for racially motivated, random reprisal attacks and riots in retaliation to the Zimmerman decision.

White House Adviser, political activist and professional agitator, Al Sharpton, has called the jury’s verdict “an atrocity”, and has vowed to mobilise his ‘supporters’ crowd down in Florida in the coming days, a move which will almost certainly inflame the situation and stir-up a sustained media storm during the coming weeks. Sharpton stated:

“I will convene an emergency call with preachers tonight to discuss next steps and I intend to head to Florida in the next few days.”

The ‘New Black Panthers’

New Black Panther leader Samir Shabazz publicly stated earlier this week that his organisation is preparing to ‘take the fight to white people’ living in American suburbs:

“This time we’re doing it right… This time we’re not burning down our communities. This time we’re going out to Whitey’s suburbs and burning down HIS community. We’re going to make Whitey feel the pain.”

Shabazz, who has also made comments insinuating about ‘killing white babies’, also remarked about how he would “love nothing more than to come home with a cracker’s head in my book bag.”

It’s important to note here that the ‘New Black Panthers’ (NBP) have no actual affiliation, or any endorsement from the original Black Panther Movement, which is survived by the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. Critics have accused the Tampa, FLA-based group of hijacking the name in order to invent credibility and gain support from the black community at large.

Many pundits have speculated as to why none of the NBP leaders have been arrested or held for questioning by federal authorities after to publicly inciting racial violence in both 2012, and in 2013 – as being down to the possibility that at least one of the NBP leaders is in fact reporting to a US federal agency like the FBI under a ‘informant status’. Listen to an NBP radio interview which aired on Florida radio last April:



Problem, reaction, solution

As a direct result of the politicization and racial tension which was injected at the early stages of the Zimmerman case, the conversation has festered into a black vs. white narrative. President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, and Presidential Adviser Al Sharpton, all weighed-in early on the Zimmerman-Martin Affair in 2012, which has fuel a media-driven, racially charged national conversation over the case in Sanford, Florida.

National broadcaster NBC also helped to polarise coverage early on by first doctoring and then airing audio clips of George Zimmerman’s 911 call to the police, which they were forced to admit gave the impression that the caller, Zimmerman, was ‘racially profiling’ the victim Trayvon Martin.

According to documents obtained by Judicial Watch, it has also been revealed that AG Eric Holder’s Department of Justice (DOJ) secretly spent thousands in federal tax dollars in order to prop-up ‘Trayvon support demonstrations in Sanford last year, which contributed to politically charging and injecting race into the case.

The public reaction has been that of outrage and division ever since, inspiring an explosion of racial threats from different media quarters, including social media. The threat of potential civil unrest and random attacks has apparently given law enforcement emergency powers to apprehend anyone insinuating threats on Twitter and Facebook.

The Lake County News-Sun has already reported how a Chicago-area teen has been charged with a felony for tweeting that he’d ‘shoot everyone in his town if George Zimmerman is set free’. See tweet here:

Other emergency enforcement measures around the country are likely to include “Shelter in place” directives by police, forced curfews, checkpoints, house to house searches and fire arm confiscations, and perhaps a declaration of temporary Marshal Law in some urban areas should violence begin break out resembling an Rodney King/LA riot situation.

RESULT: Less rights, less privacy and less freedom.

What other black leaders are saying about the verdict

In stark contrast to the political agitation from White House advisers like Al Sharpton being are all over the mainstream media, other black leaders have been weighing in on the Zimmerman verdict with a considerable more leveled head.

Project 21 was formed in 1992 when the riots following the verdict in the Rodney King case revealed a need to highlight the diversity of opinion within the black community. Here is what the black community advocacy members from Project 21 are saying:

“Six women, some of them mothers themselves, found George Zimmerman not guilty of second degree murder and manslaughter in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Although Mr. Zimmerman was acquitted, there are no winners in this tragic case. A teenager is deceased and a young man’s family is mourning. George Zimmerman will never have a normal life again. I call for all sides to respect the verdict reached by a jury of Mr. Zimmerman’s peers and honor Trayvon’s memory by letting peace prevail in the streets.”

- Christopher Arps - managing partner of a digital media and political consulting firm and a co-founder of the black political networking website Move-On-Up.org.


“To celebrate justice rendered in this case is not an admission or an articulation that Trayvon Martin deserved what happened to him that fateful night in February of 2012. As most will acknowledge, it’s a sad and unfortunate thing that Martin lost his life and that his parents had to bury their son. The jury ruled – considering the evidence presented – rightly in my opinion. George Zimmerman is innocent of the filed charges against him. Despite the considerable emotion surrounding this case, justice has been served. It is not ‘justice for Trayvon.’ Nor it is ‘justice for George.’ It is simply justice.”

- Derryck Green – graduate student, with an M.A. in Theological Studies and is currently pursuing his doctorate in ministry.


“The justice system did what it is supposed to do – get to the bottom of what happened. Agree or not, our system works. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, by his own admission. He has to live with that, and I believe God will judge him for that action. But the jury decided that action did not rise to the level of manslaughter or murder. I accept and respect that. We all should, whether or not we agree with it.”

- Coby Dillard is a founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party in southern Virginia, a regular columnist for the Norfolk Virginian Pilot and a Navy veteran.

“George Zimmerman has been found not guilty. Regardless of how people feel about it, we must still show love and have compassion one for another.”

- Demetrius Minor, a former White House intern, is an evangelist and motivational speaker.

Here is what some other members of the black community are also saying about the situation…


VIDEO 1: Another alternative view from black America from YouTube artist ‘Painless Risen’.


VIDEO 2: Artist E.T. Williams weighs in on behalf of common sense.

Judging by the diversity of opinion within the black community, the tone struck by the White House, the Sharptons and Jacksons of the world, and of course MSNBC - could be a very long way from echoing the true sentiment of the black community in America.

The crux of the whole media and political agitation campaign rests on the accusation of “racial profiling” by Zimmerman against Martin, yet no one can proof such a claim. Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, discusses the background, evidence and reality of the situation:


Many commentators feel there is a real danger in the media whirl-wind being stirred up by this case, as the subsequent sectarian public reactions threaten to set back race relations at least 20-30 years in America, as seen in the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case, where “black vs white” has been inserted as the overwhelming theme by social influencers in both the media and politics. The result would push the nation toward a race war that would quickly morph into class warfare.

The other knock-on effect which the corporate media and political agitators are not talking about yet are the secondary effects of random black-on-white reprisals – namely, fueling secondary white reprisals, and providing new relevancy to backward, archaic white supremest groups in the process.

Any rioting or revenge attacks which might take place as a result of this verdict could very well backfire on the current US administration who played in active role in carrying the current situation to where it is today.

Events taking place and policies enacted in the wake of this media-driven, national upheaval – will determine what was the real agenda that begun back in April 2012, which is still in motion.

Link ( including videos and stuff ) http://21stcenturywire.com/2013/07/14/z ... n-standby/

[solace]

Photo of Zimmerman's great-grandfather raises questions about racial profiling

http://www.cfnews13.com/content/news/cf ... n_law.html

[8bitagent]

Well this is a doozy, if you can hold back vomiting. Even if one was to side with Zimmerman, the things he says.
Why the heck would he "not change a thing" that happened or say he doesn't regret anything?

[Jerky]

I have a rather large and diverse twitter feed and they tweets are about 50 'Im gonna kill me a cracker' to 1 "the thug TM deserved what he got."

Mind if I call your bluff and ask you to provide a couple examples of "I'm gonna kill a cracker" Tweets that you've received?

Thanks in advance.
YOPJ