Business Insider runs a linkbait post with a graphic of Trayvon Martin images it found on the neonazi website Stormfront.
It doesn’t run them to debunk them, mind you, but to back up its thesis that “The Media Is Getting the Trayvon Martin Story Wrong,” as it says in the title bar (the headline hedges it as “Why Lots Of People Think The Media Is Wrong About The Trayvon Martin Case.”
We first saw this image (right) of Trayvon Martin on Stormfront a racist message board.
But how would the story have been received by the public if this was the image of Trayvon Martin in your newspaper, rather than the earlier ones we’ve seen everywhere else?
That was a very bad idea, and it backfired quickly. At 11:40 a.m., an hour after publishing, Michael Brendan Dougherty updated his post:
Oh, hey—oops! Guess you shouldn’t have sourced material from neonazis on the Internets about an inflamed racial controversy.
A half hour or so after that correction, Business Insider removed one of the Stormfront-sourced pictures—of a black kid who doesn’t look like Martin flipping off the camera—but left up the Stormfront-sourced picture of a black kid with gold teeth who looks a bit more like Martin, but maybe not, actually.
In a follow-up post a half hour after that second correction, Nicholas Carson, in the process of writing that he knew a white kid in fifth grade who liked Snoop Dogg and dressed in baggy clothes, says the gold-teeth picture “is definitely a picture of him.”
Carson also writes that “Just So We’re Clear: This Picture Says NOTHING About Trayvon Martin.” But it’s unclear who “we” is there. Dougherty printed the images to ask “how would the story have been received by the public if this was the image of Trayvon Martin in your newspaper, rather than the earlier ones we’ve seen everywhere else?” Clearly the picture(s) say SOMETHING, no?
Some half an hour or so after Carson’s post (I should have screen-capped all these corrections, clarifications, and retractions), Dougherty corrects and retracts the second image from his original post again, writing “now there is also question as to whether the other image is of Trayvon. We have now removed both.”
As of 2:12 p.m., the pictures are still up on Carson’s post, which still says one of them “is definitely a picture of him.”
I’m not sure whether to publish this post right now or to wait for the next correction or retraction. This one’s for the Hamster Wheel Hall of Fame:
UPDATE: And now Good Morning America joins in the poor Trayvon Martin sourcing.
Shouldn't the quotes in this article title be around "Trayvon Martin" rather than "Photos" ?
Nice catch, in any case.
#1 Posted by Simon, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 03:30 PM
Evidently the top picture, the one with the gold grill, was taken from Martin’s Twitpic account : @NO_LIMIT_NIGGA. Martin’s twitter feed was recently deleted.
What we have is a very careful and deliberate campaign to create a narrative of Zimmerman as the out of control, racist, trigger happy, cop wannabe who stalked Martin, ambushed him and shot him. Naturally, the likes of Reverend Al “lets go burn down some Jewish clothing stores” Sharpton and gun control advocates have attached themselves to this event as a way of bolstering their own profile. The truth, as is usually the case in racially charged incidents like this (Duke Lacrosse team), is slowly coming out and shredding the narrative to pieces.
This is looking more and more like Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities.
So while you can pat yourself on the bat for rightfully chastising BI’s souring to a skinhead site, I am not surprised to see you duck the larger issue here.
#2 Posted by Mike H, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 03:42 PM
I'm afraid you don't have a very accurate description of my thesis. The post was describing the backlash and pushback over the Trayvon Martin story, and examining what little merit some of it had.
I ran the image- which included another hateful little illustration along with it - under a section that introduced it this way: "Some of the skeptics are just the normal race-obsessed and racist people on the internet."
So I wasn't sourcing the image of Martin from Stormfront for kicks- I was writing about what people on Stormfront were posting. That might explain why I sourced an image from Stormfront.
We took the images down when it was revealed certainly that one of the photos was not Martin, and that some of our readers were taking them on face value rather than looking at the characterization of the source.
Yes- we could have slowed down and been more methodical in how we updated the post.
Best,
Michael
#3 Posted by Michael Brendan Dougherty, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 05:01 PM
These pictures are just a young trying to look cool... I have two sons that have pictures like these... One of them has 2 golds just like in this picture and he is 32 now and never murdered any one... my other son is 25 and he has two golds that he can take out or put in and both are church going good young men.... Just because you have this picture means nothing... Trayvon did not follow Zimmerman, Travyon was not doing anythingh but talking on the phone, it was dark and rainy I am sure he didn't see Travyon teeth, Travyon did not have a gun; Zimmerman got out of his vehicle... If Travyon was 6 ft and Zimmerman is shorter he should have stayed in the truck or keep gun out of sight when he approached him on his VERY OWN... He was not a registered neighborhood watch guy; He did not have any reason to follow him; he was walking on the sidewalk; he followed only because he looked suspicious; Zimmerman should have identified himself; Zimmerman should have pulled back once the 911 dispatcher told him too because he was dispatching the police if that is what he was truely calling them for; A lot of black guys are harassment every minute of everyday by police so if he was on a racist sight, he did not have a gun and he did pursue Zimmerman; and if he has gold teeth, WHAT IS YOUR POINT?
#4 Posted by monila75, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 05:29 PM
How does this relate to the "business press"... isn't it stretching to even call this the business of press?
While I think the reporting thus far has largely fit a stereotype of its own where facts don't stand in the way of a good story, hopefully the facts will come out sooner rather than later (e.g., not another Richard Jewell botch). IMO, this effort by Ryan adds little if anything.
#5 Posted by Jeff, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 06:34 PM
the kid below is not the real him and besides he did nothing wrong . the man still killed him for no apparent reason . thats the problem in america they judge you on your apperance . so what if he had a gold grill ? he did not do anything to anybody . that was a cruel thing this man did . taking someone's life over how he dressed !
#6 Posted by Jolen Sanders, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 10:18 PM
Typical. The wingnuts always find a way to make themselves the victim. They just love to wallow in self-pity and seething rage. It's pathological. Sick. Just say "It's a shame the young kid was killed." and move on with it. But no, they've got to work up that head of steaming rage and racism.
Here's what I don't understand. Why are these adult men so terrified of walking down the street of their own neighborhood? I've been walking around the streets of my town my entire adult life, and never once have I been so terrified that I needed to carry a gun. No one I know, man or woman, is too scared to walk down the street without a loaded gun. Sheesh!
In fact, I've lived in both Texas and Mississippi, and I didn't feel like I needed to carry a gun. Now, maybe if I lived in Arizona or Florida, it might be so unsafe there that people need to be totin' guns. Like a Wild West show, I guess. Gunfight at OK Corral on every street corner. If that's the case, I sure won't be taking my family there on vacation!
#7 Posted by James, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 11:06 PM
In related news:
http://www.thenation.com/article/167014/exposed-corporations-behind-law-may-let-trayvon-martins-killer-go-free
Just in case we lose sight of the institutions which enabled this fiasco from individuals within it.
#8 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 11:51 PM
ALEC wrote it, NRA funded the votes for it:
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/03/26/8508/nra-pushed-stand-your-ground-laws-across-nation
Mcclatchy reports the history of it:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/26/143105/commentary-the-troubling-history.html
#9 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Mon 26 Mar 2012 at 11:58 PM
Michael,
As for me getting your your thesis wrong, the title of your post is "The Media Is Getting The Trayvon Martin Story Wrong." Any fair reading of the body of the post shows that's what it was about too.
As for examining what little merit some of it had, your paragraph following the Stormfront pictures says, "But how would the story have been received by the public if this was the image of Trayvon Martin in your newspaper, rather than the earlier ones we've seen everywhere else?" Why would you ask that if you thought the pictures had little merit?
#10 Posted by Ryan Chittum, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 12:48 AM
@Michael Brendan Dougherty:
Are you suggesting that it was okay to shoot him dead if he actually looked like those neonazi pictures? Or "more" okay to kill him if he looked like that?
Please explain.
#11 Posted by James, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 02:05 AM
Actually, both photos were from Trayvon Martin's Facebook photos.
The point made after the fact was that the photos were making the rounds with the usual suspects.
#12 Posted by Brett Stevens, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 08:29 AM
Looks like Krugman is on the same page as me on this:
http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/the_facts_of_the_mike_daisey_matter.php#comment-58916
"Not even global warming denying conservatives can trust conservatives, but it won't matter in many of our papers, it won't matter on politico, it especially won't matter on meet the press because challenging the narratives which few people are invested in is safe. No one is going to engineer a freak out to protect Mike Daisey and the Chinese laborers at Foxconn.
Challenging the tea party, the 'starve your grandma' republicans, Fox News, pelican slicking subsidized oil companies, robber banks, narrative driven think tanks, etc? Challenging them to tell the truth involves taking risks."
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/attack-of-the-prison-people/
"Predictably, the letter from Corrections Corporation of America has arrived, demanding a correction on yesterday’s column [about ALEC and the privatization of lawmaking]...
A word about this sort of thing: anyone who steps on the toes of either corporate interests or major conservative institutions (which are often more or less the same thing) has to expect to run into a buzzsaw. The purpose of that buzzsaw is not so much to get specific corrections as to intimidate — to deter the journalist and his or her colleagues from going there again.
And it works. I’ve seen it over and over: some commentator says the obvious, gets hit hard, and thereafter steers away from such issues and is very, very careful not to offend the hard right.(And when the other side points this out, they get very upset — they thought they were safe).
I won’t pretend that I don’t get rattled myself. But I decided a long time ago that it’s precisely the areas that make you nervous that most need addressing. "
#13 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 01:49 PM
I also read "Bonfire of the Vanities" and it made me sick to see reactionary idiots assemble without all the facts available... as does this case where Al (kill whitey) Sharpton stages flash mobs to make himself feel like a hero... when he is most accurately the mightiest of cowards, a demagogue and a buffoon.
Zimmerman should have carried pepper spray, and Martin should have stayed in school and away from drugs and not committing all manner of assorted misdemeanors.
#14 Posted by Steve, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 03:05 PM
I take responsibility for the text associated with the images in Nicholas' post remaining unchanged (to indicate that neither one was Trayvon after that fact was confirmed). I'm the copy editor there and I unintentionally overlooked correcting that one.
It now stands corrected and I apologize for having overlooked it in the first place.
#15 Posted by Jill, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 03:16 PM
"Martin should have stayed in school and away from drugs and not committing all manner of assorted misdemeanors."
Yeah, for all that false stuff:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/22/v-fullstory/2708960/trayvon-martin-a-typical-teen.html
Martin was a monster. It was a lucky thing Zimmerman was there to stop him and Martin didn't have a gun
to protect himselfto maliciously loiter with.Idiot.
#16 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 04:57 PM
@ Ryan
We has posted one entire image, from Stormfront, which we characterized as such. One of the photos in the image was of Trayvon, the other was not. We took the whole image down when we found out the bottom part of it was not of Trayvon.
And yes, I do think the images we present with stories change how we perceive them. That's not controversial.
But the images do not change the facts, or what the duties of justice require. So if George Zimmerman is guilty of murder - what Trayvon looked like, or what he did in his past is of no consequence.
The overall gist of the post- was that there is a big backlash and pushback on the then-accepted story. Some of it made a point. Some of it is just racist nonsense. And my conclusion is that we needed more facts.
#17 Posted by Michael Brendan Dougherty, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 05:41 PM
The facts are, according to the phone calls, a 6'3" 140 lbs black man was approached by a 5'9" 250 lbs man with a history of violence who had been told over the phone to back off.
He didn't. He pushed himself into a potentially violent situation where the person being followed had every reason to suspect he was going to get mugged or attacked.
The boy got shot by the man who walked into a situation the 250 lbs man was told to not get into, a situation he instigated. Were it not for the gun, Zimmerman would likely be guilty of assault and Trayvon, if guilty, would be guilty of provoked assault.
There's no more facts needed, unless you want to defend urban terror based on minority prejudice.
In which case, every black man walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood had best be packing and be prepared to use it on the slightest provocation. Everybody has be prepared to stand their ground, right?
#18 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 06:23 PM
White people are far more likely to be murdered or violently assaulted by blacks than the opposite. Consider: there are over 1 thousand white people killed every year at the hands of racist blacks, yet only a couple of blacks killed at the hands of whites. Of course, the media is not interested racist blacks murdering whites so it doesn't make the news, except perhaps locally. And the race angle is played down completely. To contnue: each year there are 25,000 white women raped by black men, but less than ten black women raped by white men. Now if those stats were reversed EVERYONE in the world would know that white men were dangerous predators. But the media refuses to give us an accurate portrayal of blacks males for the ruthless and violent people they are. And they certainly can't give us the stats as to publish them would be "racist". See the FBI website for the info that shows the horrific and shameful story of black violence towards white men and women that the media ignores.
#19 Posted by Craig, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 07:01 PM
"White people are far more likely to be murdered or violently assaulted by blacks than the opposite. Consider: there are over 1 thousand white people killed every year at the hands of racist blacks, yet only a couple of blacks killed at the hands of whites. "
Nice figures you got there. I guess Michael Dougherty isn't the only one using material from Stormfront.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MReV9dkAVhY
#20 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 07:11 PM
I dont' get you people who say "So what if he had grills" and you pretend that image and appearance matters nothing.
I am sorry, but it does, all around the world. If you are well kept, well groomed, clean, and keep a good proper image you will be better liked, i don't care what your race is.
#21 Posted by Daniel, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 08:04 PM
I agree that Trayvon is a victim and this whole racist image campaign is hogwash. With that being said, I don't know if everyone should be so strong to say that Zimmerman is guilty of a hate crime. There may seem to be some strong facts against him currently, but there are still some things that I don't think the public knows yet. I'm not 100% certain, but I don't believe that the police report (not the 911 call) has been released yet which contains Zimmermans side of the story.
People also have the ability to overreact with race situations. Case in point is the story that occurred in the last year where someone in a Jersey walmart said over the intercom that all black people should go out and walk onto the local busy highway... It created a large racial dispute and later it was discovered that it was an African American youth who played a prank and made the announcement. After that fact was discovered, questions rose about how the youth was influenced by non PC pop culture and the story faded away fast from the mainstream media.
I'm very curious to see the whole picture though and still don't understand why it takes so long for all the facts to come forward.
#22 Posted by Chalupey, CJR on Tue 27 Mar 2012 at 11:49 PM
More facts:
http://gma.yahoo.com/trayvon-martin-investigator-wanted-manslaughter-charge-151838720--abc-news-topstories.html
"The lead homicide investigator in the shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin recommended that neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman be charged with manslaughter the night of the shooting, multiple sources told ABC News.
But Sanford, Fla., Investigator Chris Serino was instructed to not press charges against Zimmerman because the state attorney's office headed by Norman Wolfinger determined there wasn't enough evidence to lead to a conviction, the sources told ABC News...
Serino filed an affidavit on Feb. 26, the night that Martin was shot and killed by Zimmerman, that stated he was unconvinced Zimmerman's version of events."
#23 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 03:32 AM
Why does the TV newsmedia keep showing 6 year old photos of Trayvon Martin?
Kids today take photos constantly; its not credible that the news media has to use 6 year old photos of Trayvon Martin as an 11 year old.
The true distortion is using 6 year old photos that show a young boy vs using a current photo.
#24 Posted by A. Saren, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 08:35 AM
The Martin family released the older photos to sway the public opinion. They know that if they released more recent/up to date photos of Trayvon, they would not have had the same affect. They are trying to try this case in the public opinion. But now that facts are coming out, it is turning on them.
We now know that Trayvon was nothing more than a thug and if he had not been shot that night, it was only a matter of time.
#25 Posted by YepYeah, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 12:07 PM
I personally hope they guy gets off, just to piss off our dumb nation more. way to go America, lets all jump to conclusions just because a black kid got shot. it's sickening. and this is comming from a black man
#26 Posted by turgish, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 01:33 PM
Shame on you all. This is an American tragedy. Two lives are destroyed forever. Treyvonn Martin will never grow older than 17 and his parents will never see him graduate and get his high school diploma, go to college or become a man with a career, get married and ultimately become a father. Martin will be forever labled a racist and murderer; hmm what kind of future do you think he will have?
Whether you are prejudice or not that should not be the focus of this tragedy. This situation can happen again in either of our communities black or white. We as a nation should come together to ensure that we do not loose lives to unnecessary violence and that there are laws in place to define the nature of Neighborhood watch Groups or Vigilantes.
#27 Posted by Marva Smith, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 02:30 PM
the one with the grills is him it is straight off his facebook and myspace account
#28 Posted by J-Dog, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 03:04 PM
To everyone that said get over it move on. What if it was your child or loved one was killed by a black man.will you say get over or move on. No u would want to see that person in jail.Put ur self in their shoes.
#29 Posted by mone, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 03:19 PM
What makes me sick is that you guys are using grills and thug pictures to sully the facts of the incident.
Trayvon was buying skittles in the wrong neighborhood, a gated neighborhood. That was the crime for which a citizen, not the officer of the law, stepped in and interfered in his private business.
Zimmerman had no right to interfere nor intimidate Trayvon. Suspicion is not justification. Hoodies and grills don't matter. You have the right to watch a person on your street if he has done nothing criminal, not to approach somebody if you suspect he might.
At WORST, Trayvon is guilty of being provoked into an assault. More likely? Trayvon defended himself against a man who was following him and outweighed him by 100 lbs.
And who then shot him.
Zimmerman merits no sympathy nor justification. Citizens do not have the right to interfere in the non-criminal, private affairs of other citizens. It doesn't matter if you think he's a dealer waiting for buyers by the convenient store, a thug casing a neighborhood for potential B&E's, or a predator looking fo' the white wemins.
Your thoughts, your suspicions, your fears don't matter. If someone's conduct has breached neither law nor order, you have no right to do a thing except phone the authorities and witness a person's actions on public grounds. That is it.
Zimmerman exceeded the limitations on one citizen's right to intervene upon another citizen's privacy. There is nothing further to discuss. Manslaughter is the bottom floor of what he should be charged with.
Now here are the questions I have in mind. Why do florida citizens feel they have to pick up slack that is required to be handled by legal authorities:
Maybe you can start looking for answers in florida stories like this:
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/sep/22/layoffs-slow-port-st-lucie-police-response-more/
And what is going on with the Sanford police department? How have they been doing before this incident? What is their record compared to other florida communities on crime?
Questions might start with an incident here:
http://www.ktre.com/story/13759437/homeless-man-attacked-by-police-officers-son
Talk about Trayvon's 'history' or 'thuggery' mean NOTHING to this incident - he's the dead one now, you know, for buying skittles and tea.
The questions we need to ask are about the vigilante culture in florida. Why does it have them and why aren't they getting charged when they kill people? What is the effect of a society outsourcing its policing duties to untrained and paranoid minutemen, patriot, and neighborhood watch groups? Do we want that society?
#30 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 04:14 PM
Neo-Nazis not neonazis.
Perhaps worth checking first before throwing words around. Do you even know what you're talking about?
#31 Posted by Antonia, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 07:00 PM
Real Truth: The Trayvon Martin Incident
http://www.stormfront.org/forum/t874686/
#32 Posted by Eric, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 07:04 PM
At the end of the day the media wants to portray Trayvon as a choir boy while on his way to do volunteer work at the hospital, church and soup kitchen was stalked and killed by a racist neo-nazi-klan-member-supremecist. The media narrative is so over the top that no one is falling for it.
#33 Posted by JS, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 07:06 PM
Travyon Martin was witnessed to be on top of George Zimmerman before he was shot?
George Zimmerman was cut in the back of his head and had his nose bloodied by Trayvon Martin.
Trayvon Martin was suspended from school for vandalism and caught with marijuana, stolen jewelry & burglary tools.
Trayvon Martin was either giving or selling weed to his friends?
Why haven’t you seen pictures of Trayvon and his gold teeth?
Why haven’t you seen Travyon and his tattoos he shared on Twitter & MySpace?
Why is no one talking about Travyon being suspended multiple times from school?
Why isn’t anyone talking about Trayvon fighting and swinging at a bus driver?
Why has Trayvon’s picture in his hoodie been digitally altered to make his skin look bright and soft?
Why isn’t anyone talking about the fact that Trayvon beat up George Zimmerman?
When Trayvon Martin & George Zimmerman collided, why was he out so late at 3:00am walking in the rain?
#34 Posted by Angina, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 07:14 PM
"blah blah irelevant questions blah blah blah When Trayvon Martin & George Zimmerman collided, why was he out so late at 3:00am walking in the rain?"
None of these questions matter. Why was he out so late? Shouldn't matter to you or anyone. Has it suddenly become illegal to be out late or to be out in the rain?
Nope? Then it's not your f'in business what someone else is doing on a public street. Zimmerman made it his business and, if he got a beating, he earned it. Trayvon did not earn a shooting by buying a bag of skittles and talking on his cell phone at 3AM in the rain.
Do you not get that this idiot could have attacked you or your sons under this weak pretense for action? I thought conservatives valued privacy and individual liberty. Is all that rhetoric an f'in joke when it comes to people buying skittles and tea at 3AM in the rain? Do you really think violent idiots like Zimmerman should be empowered to follow you, walk up to you, and grill you on the nature of your daily walks?
Is that safety in Florida?
It's starting to resemble safety in Arizona:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Raul_and_Brisenia_Flores
Idiots.
Meanwhile, why the public might feel it has to defend itself in red states when there aren't enough public workers to do the job.
http://www.thenation.com/article/167050/states-went-red-2010-massive-public-sector-job-losses-came-next
#35 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 08:59 PM
Where's the blood?
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/trayvon-martin-case-exclusive-surveillance-video-george-zimmerman/story?id=16022897
Where's the bruises?
Not that it would matter if there were some, Zimmerman was still unjustified.
#36 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Wed 28 Mar 2012 at 10:40 PM
The only fact that should make any difference is that Zimmerman WAS the aggressor the second he stepped out of his car and followed this kid. Trayvon didn't know that this guy was a neighborhood watch Captain, all he probably knew was that he was being followed by a stranger and then confronted by that same stranger. Zimmerman should be held accountable for having not listened to the 911 operator and let the police handle the situation. Instead he confronted a boy and then killed him in cold blood. Let a jury decide if he is guilty or not. The furor over this case is that his word is being taken at face value instead of tested before a jury of his peers.
#37 Posted by Carol H. , CJR on Thu 29 Mar 2012 at 06:57 AM
I usually don't comment on the internet but i'm willing to for this. Now a lot of people are saying he's an innocent kid, but truth be told he had a marijuana baggy (empty/residue) he dressed like a thug, and in this picture he has grills. I don't care what race you are the grills make you look thuggish and disgusting. To me why cover you pearly whites with those grills? Now, just recently last week a white kid (13) was doused with gasoline and set on fire by 2 black kids (16) why are people and the media concerned with that? It was a hate crime and those black kids did exactly the same thing Zimmerman did to Trayvon (racially profiled) him. Trayvon is deceased at the hands of Zimmerman and the 13 year old white kid from Kansas is permanently disfigured at the hands of those black kids. Now if this story was 2 black people nobody would care nor would want justice, they would not go to these extremes.
To someone who said that blacks kill more whites then whites kill blacks that is true and blacks kill blacks more then killing a white person. We have so much black on black crime that nobody cares yet when it involves a suspect that is not black and the victim is black everyone and their momma's come out preaching and cause a damn riot. To the other person who said blacks are anti-social that again is true blacks like to stay with their own race.
Justice does need to be served and Zimmerman needs to be locked up, after all regardless of Trayvon's past (suspenions, perhaps drug dealing, or just a thug) needless to say it still doesn't justify what Zimmerman did to him. Since he pursued Trayvon and instigated this whole mess he took a life that cannot be brought back and for that he needs a cozy cell. He should not be free, he took a life and lied about self-defense. But then again we all don't know exact facts of that night as the media is circulating contradicting stories. Even though a life was taken was it taken in cold blood? was it taken in self defense? did Trayvon reach for the gun to shoot Zimmerman and Zimmerman shot him?
This whole story is just tragic because one family lost a child who they will never see again and another family will lose their son to prison.
R.I.P.
Trayvon
#38 Posted by guest, CJR on Thu 29 Mar 2012 at 10:08 AM
I guess I'm going to have to read about this in Mother Jones.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/trayvon-martin-sanford-racial-history
"It may come as no surprise, then, that law and order in Sanford in recent years has been plagued by allegations of racial injustice, and a series of public missteps involving its police department. In 2006 two private security guards—one the son of a Sanford police officer, the other a volunteer for the department—killed a black teen with a gunshot in his back. Even though they admitted to never identifying themselves, the guards were released without charges.
Then, in 2010, Justin Collison, the son of a Sanford PD lieutenant, sucker-punched a homeless black man outside a bar, and officers on the scene released Collison without charges. He eventually surrendered after video of the incident materialized online; the police chief at the time was ultimately forced into retirement. "Bottom line, we didn't do our job that night," a police department representative told local news station WFTV of the incident.
As it would turn out, the Sanford patrol sergeant in charge on the night of Collison's assault, Anthony Raimondo, would also be the first supervisor on the scene of Trayvon Martin's shooting death."
Most media seems tied up in lazy journalism about Zimmerman, Martin, and hoodies.
What? Are Institutions, culture, and failed government not pageclicky topics?
#39 Posted by Thimbles, CJR on Thu 29 Mar 2012 at 11:37 AM
@Mike H:
But in the Bonfire of the Vanities, despite the assertion that the truly guilty parties were the DA, the tabloid reporter, and the black minister, everything Sherman McCoy suffered was a result of his own misdeeds: his affair and the cover-up. If he'd gone to the cops and taken his lumps with his wife and with the society pages, he wouldn't have suffered as much as he did. If you're suggesting George Zimmerman is only as culpable as Sherman McCoy, you're still saying that he's a world-class asshole with no compassion and a ridiculous sense of entitlement. (Looks like Reagan-era investment bankers fit the "Millenial" mold more than most Millenials.)
#40 Posted by James, CJR on Thu 29 Mar 2012 at 04:35 PM
That clown Klanklannon didn't hack anything. He sat there for hours on end guessing passwords and answering security questions. He actually was asking for help on the Stormfront forums but got his threads deleted. He's part Native American, which makes it comical considering he's so "Pro-White" yet he's the product of an interracial marriage. A majority of these "Internet Nazis" (you know, white kids who are reclusive, hate their parents and blame black people because one made fun of them in high school?) are actually mixed which makes it all comical to me. I'm in no way racist, I just find it comical that a mixed person would be a White Supremacist which first beliefs is securing the white race and putting a stop to race mixing.
#41 Posted by DIpset, CJR on Thu 29 Mar 2012 at 08:03 PM
After all the death threats George Zimmerman is getting, he now has every legal right to shoot every thug that gets near & threatens him. Hey George, carry lots of ammo. You're going to need it! - It will be a safe neighborhood now.
Way to go people!
- P.S. What are you doing wearing a hoodie in Florida in 78 degree whether is what no one wants to ask.
No, I'm not a rrrrrrraaaaaaaacccccccciiiiiissstt jerk offs!!
#42 Posted by T, CJR on Thu 29 Mar 2012 at 09:39 PM
There is nothing wrong the pics on his page,pictures alone can't depic some ones life.He should not have been following dat boy trayvon should have shot him instead but all he had was a bag of skittles and iced tea. I would be trying to defend my self too if some dude or whom ever came following me. I would ask wtf are u following me point blank. I pray george gets right with GOD i don't hate him because it's not of GOD praying for his soul and that he changes his out look. R.I.P. Trayvon...
#43 Posted by sunkiss, CJR on Fri 30 Mar 2012 at 12:28 AM
I hope you all realize that this is NOT the same Trayvon. Please get your facts straight. RIP Trayvon Martin
#44 Posted by Natasha, CJR on Fri 30 Mar 2012 at 12:11 PM
"What we have is a very careful and deliberate campaign to create a narrative of Zimmerman as the out of control, racist, trigger happy, cop wannabe who stalked Martin, ambushed him and shot him. "
That is exactly what Zimmerman is if you've bothered to read Huffington Post: http://goo.gl/2Ixq4
#45 Posted by mukaju, CJR on Fri 30 Mar 2012 at 07:39 PM
All of these statements have taken me for a ride I never want to go on again. First of all if is not about the color of ones skin, what he did for a living or any of the nonsense you all have posted on here, The point is that he lived in the community part time with his father and girlfriend, he was not following George he was pursued by him. No matter how you try to justified this man he should have been arrested. Now I bet the black kid that pour the gasoline on the white is in a detention center somewhere and will be locked up for a very long time. The issue here is that George is not being punished for his crime and this is what is causing the outrage, he should have did what he was told. I listened to the 911 tape and from what George was saying he had not intention on doing what he was told by the 911 operator he had it in his head tht he was going to pursue this no matter what he was told. This is why he coulc not tell the operator where he would be. If I have a fear fo my life or anybody elses life I am going to take the right steps to protect myself and anyone around me but I will not be pursuing someone because of the color of their skin, the way they look or their choice of clothing. For this reason and this reason only this is considered a hate crime. So to all of you with only a first grade education get over yourself and stop trying to justify what this man has done. I am sure that every black person that has commited a crime is either dead or locked up. So they are paying the price and so are their families. Peace is what we need STOP ALL THE HATING\
#46 Posted by Cynthia Pierce, CJR on Fri 30 Mar 2012 at 11:14 PM
All of these statements have taken me for a ride I never want to go on again. First of all if is not about the color of ones skin, what he did for a living or any of the nonsense you all have posted on here, The point is that he lived in the community part time with his father and girlfriend, he was not following George he was pursued by him. No matter how you try to justified this man he should have been arrested. Now I bet the black kid that pour the gasoline on the white is in a detention center somewhere and will be locked up for a very long time. The issue here is that George is not being punished for his crime and this is what is causing the outrage, he should have did what he was told. I listened to the 911 tape and from what George was saying he had not intention on doing what he was told by the 911 operator he had it in his head tht he was going to pursue this no matter what he was told. This is why he coulc not tell the operator where he would be. If I have a fear fo my life or anybody elses life I am going to take the right steps to protect myself and anyone around me but I will not be pursuing someone because of the color of their skin, the way they look or their choice of clothing. For this reason and this reason only this is considered a hate crime. So to all of you with only a first grade education get over yourself and stop trying to justify what this man has done. I am sure that every black person that has commited a crime is either dead or locked up. So they are paying the price and so are their families. Peace is what we need STOP ALL THE HATING\
#47 Posted by Cynthia Pierce, CJR on Fri 30 Mar 2012 at 11:16 PM
Wow, so much crap from arm chair quarterbacks. You were not there. Let the Cops do their jobs. It's not over yet, and we don't need to start the riots yet. You all need a life! Things like this keep rev. Al and the like in business.
#48 Posted by Terry, CJR on Mon 2 Apr 2012 at 12:15 PM
This simply a continuation of the campaign by the far right to discredit any and every authority they can. It started about two weeks ago when leftwingers caught with their pants down on Kony2012. Kony2012 was a farce created by the rightwing and brought down by the rightwing(Alex Jones) leaving liberal war sympathizers looking stupid (Angelina Jolie, Clooney). Its election season and the rightwing is going a bit more nuts than usual. Now they want America to accept the killing of black kid by making the truth so murky people just put their hands up and let it go.
#49 Posted by Jason, CJR on Mon 2 Apr 2012 at 07:41 PM
Florida, known for its racists, 9/11 hijackers and stolen elections. I wonder if there is a connection there?
#50 Posted by Borg, CJR on Mon 2 Apr 2012 at 07:46 PM
The grill pic is of him, has been in the photo section of his fb for weeks, there was aldo an exchange 1 day before he was killed, fb friend asked where he was and what was his phone, he replied no phone, friend replied back we need to do some business I need some plant. That also existed for weeks now, not a hack.
#51 Posted by me, CJR on Tue 3 Apr 2012 at 01:51 AM
Riddle:
How many Florida Neo-Nazis, racists, USSOCOM commanders, Middle Eastern royals, drug flight missionaries, Dutch flight school owners, dirty American intelligence tools, FBI protected spies/informant/terrorists and provocatuers, FBI unprotected framed up "terrorists", Alpha 66ers, JMWAVE operatives, patsies and blackmailed stooges from Florida does it take to kill JFK, start a dozen or so wars, allow drugs through the southern borders, allow 9/11 to go down flawlessly, start more wars, weaken the U.S. government and economy, and then con stupid American "liberals" and pacified moderates into swallowing the entire "official story" for 40+ years while American's savings, jobs, standard of living and the entire AMERICAN DREAM go right down the commode?
#52 Posted by USDecline, CJR on Tue 3 Apr 2012 at 08:12 AM
This is ridiculous. What teenager of ANY color hasn’t experimented with something or did something to look cool? Does that mean that all kids who have tried marijuana, pills, sniffing, huffing or take racy/inappropriate pics all in the name of coolness for the social networking deserve to get shot and killed? So many questions still not answered. Since when does blockwatch carry a gun? I thought their role was to call the police and report suspicions. Why did he not only have a gun but chased that young man around after 911 told him not too? I am tired of hearing about the hoodies! If you go to any high school here in Columbus you will find that all races of children wear hoodies that includes boys and girls, black, white and Hispanic. SO? My daughter is a 17 yr old female honors student who intends to go to med school. She has a dark blue hoodie she always wears! She prefers it over carrying an umbrella on rainy days! No child regardless of race deserves that kind of treatment. A couple of years ago a white teen wearing a baseball cap broke into our garage and stole a motorbike does this mean we had the right to patrol the neighborhood and chase and shoot down every white teen wearing a cap?? It is so sad I am a mother of 3 and I have kids of all ages and races in and out of my house all the time, the point people are missing is that man had no right to take the law into his own hands. PERIOD. He called the police that was a far as his role should have gone. Too many people are making it into a race issue when the call of justice should have taken place no matter what the race of the child. It is so sad to know that in this day and age my children still have to grow up with people who will look at them and not see beyond the color of their skin.
#53 Posted by Sad Mom, CJR on Wed 4 Apr 2012 at 10:25 AM
Your story never talks about the 5 year old photo of Zimmerman. Why are old photos good for one, and not the other? Why is a mug shot and the arrest of Zimmerman relevant but not Trayvon being kicked out of school? Seems you've lost your way. All information prior to the shooting is relevant or none of it is. Unless you are extremely biased it makes no sense at all. I'm sorry, unless you are extremely racist it makes no sense at all.
#54 Posted by Mark W, CJR on Sun 8 Apr 2012 at 03:01 PM
Zimmerman 5'8" was being beaten by muscel bound Trayvon 6'2". The gun went off. A person should be able to defend himself. If Zimmerman did not have a gun he would be dead now. Would there be marches,misreprentaion of facts, Sharpton arrousing raisist emotions, attacks on pollice and call for imprisonment before a trial? Would there be a bounty on Trayvon?
#55 Posted by renie, CJR on Tue 10 Apr 2012 at 01:20 PM
Dear thimbles,
You sir, are an idiot. Look at the facts in this case... Ahhh, facts dont bother you. Moron, race baiter.
Love,
The rest of the human race
#56 Posted by Tommy, CJR on Thu 12 Apr 2012 at 10:53 PM
All of this is just crazy. zimmerman is not god and should not have took that boys life. He followed him and shouldnt have i look like a damn black boy but i am a girl and so i wear hoodies all the time so o well i guess i would be walking down the street mistaken as a male and i could be screaming at the top of my lungs for help. that when george zimmerman should have realized he didnt have a weapon when he was screamn for help. but naw he still shot him..... there is no excuse. and who cares how a person looks... What about that.. i wish it was me then what u have to say o i shouldnt have cut my hair of or what? or o i should have a dress and hills on. this is so crazy...
#57 Posted by Von, CJR on Sun 15 Apr 2012 at 07:26 AM
What happened to this discussion now that the facts are coming out. I would say that there was a lot of unnecessary posturing on all sides. The media is complicit in the misinformation surrounding this case and while its terrible that someone got shot and killed, this is about a persons right to protect themselves during a physical altercation.
#58 Posted by Rob, CJR on Wed 23 May 2012 at 11:15 AM