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Trayvon Martin

An anniversary approaches. It is an anniversary most Americans do not anticipate or celebrate, but for those worshipping at the alter of racism and social justice, February 26, 2012 is a holy day. On that day in Sanford Florida, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed, in lawful self-defense, by George Zimmerman.

NBC News did not distinguish itself in the Martin affair, purposely and falsely editing audiotape to make Zimmerman appear to be a racist—they got caught–and it appears to have learned little, publishing a ridiculously false screed by one Patrisse Cullors: 

The day is necessarily somber. Nearly six years ago, Trayvon’s death at the hands of white supremacist vigilante violence indicated the beginning of an escalating attack on Black lives and demanded that this nation confront its overtly racist past and present. The urgency of #Justice4TrayvonMartin turned into a global urgency to fight for Black lives — one which persists today.

What we acknowledged as a nation during the one-and-a-half year trial of George Zimmerman is that the white majority’s public imagination of Black people was based on their fear of us, not the reality of who we are. Trayvon Martin was a teenage boy literally walking in his own neighborhood doing what most teenagers do: Wearing a hoodie, buying snacks and talking on his cell phone. His family and Trayvon would not know that his life would end that night because a white vigilante would be empowered by his own racist beliefs and murder a 17-year-old boy in cold blood.

As regular readers know, SMM was one of the few sites on the Internet that provided factual, rational analysis of the Martin case. The Martin case archive is available here.  Cullor’s assertions have little basis in reality:

Trayvon sparked a movement that stands up to fascism, that challenges the Trump administration and its Muslim ban, border wall and desecration of humanity; we must continue to remember Trayvon in our fight for Black lives.

Tom Knighton at PJ Media takes Cullors to task:

To call Black Lives Matter a controversial movement understates the reality. In addition to criminal behavior and violent exhortations from some members, the entire movement is based on a complete lie.

That lie is still being told.

Let’s look at a recent op-ed from BLM co-founder Patrise Cullors marking almost six years since Trayvon Martin was killed. Cullors writes: ‘His family and Trayvon would not know that his life would end that night because a white vigilante would be empowered by his own racist beliefs and murder a 17-year-old boy in cold blood.’

Cullors — in addition to using ‘white’ to describe a man with the same amount of white ancestry as Barack Obama — has a different definition of the idiom ‘in cold blood’ than most people do.

A jury found George Zimmerman not guilty; that Zimmerman acted in self-defense. That’s not hard to imagine considering Trayvon Martin was bashing Zimmerman’s head into a concrete sidewalk — a beating that would have killed him had it been allowed to continue. Fearing for his life, Zimmerman pulled his gun and shot the 17-year-old, killing him.

But even in exposing Cullors’ hyperbole, Knighton gets it wrong:

Cullors ignores Martin’s actions, much like she ignores Martin’s homophobia which led to him confronting Zimmerman. Martin told a friend he believed ‘cracker’ Zimmerman was watching him for sexual reasons.

While Zimmerman was not blameless in the confrontation — he had been told to stay in his vehicle by police, but instead opted to follow Martin — no evidence pointed to Zimmerman instigating an attack on Martin. Nothing at all.

It has been necessary to correct the record at every anniversary, and this, the 6th, is no different.

Trayvon Martin

On the cold and rainy night of his death Trayvon Martin was not a promising scholar with a bright future, but a tall, muscular, 17 year old wanna-be thug who bragged about his drug use and violence on social media. Martin was in Sanford because he was serving a 10-day suspension from school—not his first—after being caught with marijuana residue and jewelry stolen from the burglary of a nearby residence. He was staying, by chance, at the home of his father’s girlfriend. He was not in his neighborhood.

Martin left that home to walk to a nearby convenience store, where he bought blunts, cheap cigars pot smokers hollow out and fill with marijuana, another favorite of Martin’s he mentioned on social media. It’s not know if he had been smoking pot before he left the home or after, but it was found in his bloodstream after his death.

Martin was wearing a hoodie, apparently against the rain. That garment was seized upon as a racial symbol of innocence and black authenticity, but it played no actual role in the case. The martyr’s tale of Trayvon Martin also had him buying food for his little brother who remained in the home, supposedly tea and Skittles, which would also be seized upon as symbols of Martin’s innocence and purity. In reality, Martin bought a watermelon flavored concoction and Skittles, two of the three ingredients—the third being Robitussin cough syrup–of “Lean” or “Purple Drank,” a drug substitute Martin bragged on social media about using.

During his walk to and from the store, Martin was speaking by cell phone with Rachel Jeantel, a girl whose testimony was to prove a disaster for the prosecution.  A serial perjurer, she is the source of the “homophobia” assertion Knighton makes. Her on-stand testimony, a complete surprise to prosecutors, strangely suggested that Martin, while on the phone to Jeantel, called Zimmerman a “creepy-ass cracker.” Bizarrely, Jeantel clumsily suggested Martin thought Zimmerman a “creepy, ass-cracker,” somehow turning Martin’s racial slur—if indeed he made it at all—into commentary about a stalking homosexual. Jeantel also said Martin called Zimmerman a “nigga,” which doesn’t fit terribly well with proving racism on Zimmerman’s part. Jeantel actually supported Zimmerman’s account of the event, and substantially proved self-defense.

Nor did Zimmerman ”profile” Martin. George Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch captain of his housing development, and held in esteem by the Sanford Police head of that program. He was on his way to buy groceries when he saw Martin, who he did not know or recognize, standing in the rain, on the lawn rather than the sidewalk of a home that had been recently burglarized. Martin appeared to be casing the home, and also appeared to Zimmerman to be under the influence of drugs, as indeed he was. Zimmerman did not know, of course, that Martin was a burglar.

Zimmerman called the police, and watched Martin, from a distance, while remaining inside his truck. He did not identify Martin’s race until the dispatcher specifically asked, responding: “he looks black.” During his conversation with the dispatcher, he made no racial comments, though CNN and NBC among others, tried to claim he called Martin a “f***ing coon,” but their own audio experts revealed he was merely commenting, under his breath, that it was “f***king cold,” which it was that night.

When Martin realized Zimmerman was watching him, he circled Zimmerman’s truck, then sprinted off, toward the residence where he was staying, and was almost immediately out of Zimmerman’s sight. Because the dispatcher had twice told Zimmerman to keep telling him what Martin was doing, Zimmerman trotted after Martin, not trying to catch him, but merely to keep him in sight to report to the police he had been told were on their way and due to arrive any minute. The dispatcher never told Zimmerman to remain in his truck, and if he if had, would have had no legal authority to do so, nor would Zimmerman have been obligated to obey him. The dispatcher eventually realized Zimmerman was moving and asked if he was. When Zimmerman confirmed it, he said “we don’t need you to do that,” to which Zimmerman replied, “OK.”

By this time, Martin had been out of sight for several minutes, and Zimmerman told the dispatcher he lost Martin, had no idea where he was, and was going to walk back to his truck to meet the responding officers.

Martin, who had been hiding nearby, came out of the dark and sucker punched Zimmerman, breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground. Leaping astride him, Martin began to rain blows, “MMA ground and pound” style, as an eye witness described it, and repeatedly beat Zimmerman’s head into the concrete sidewalk beneath him. Fearing for his life, Zimmerman fired a single round from his legally carried concealed handgun, which ended the attack.

It is interesting that Rachel Jeantel’s testimony actually confirmed that it was Martin that approached and accosted Zimmerman. If he chose, Martin could have been indoors and never saw Zimmerman again. He had plenty of time. Instead, he chose to hide in the rain and attack Zimmerman, apparently living the thug lifestyle.

Zimmerman fully cooperated with the police, giving them multiple statements, including a video reenactment of the events, without an attorney. And there the incident might have ended. The local prosecutor, recognizing a textbook case of self-defense, declined to prosecute. But sensing a big payday and political advantage, race hustlers stirred up outrage and a special prosecutor was appointed to prosecute Zimmerman, regardless of the evidence.

The state had every advantage, including a never-ending media narrative. The first judge assigned to the case was so blatantly biased against Zimmerman, he was removed from the case. The second judge was equally biased, and a significant ruling she made against Zimmerman was overturned, but she remained on the case. The prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence from the defense and behaved unethically throughout. At trial, prosecution witness after witness actually proved the defense case, making unmistakably clear Zimmerman acted in self-defense under Florida state law. Despite many “activists” claiming that “stand your ground” was somehow implicated, the law played no part in the case. The verdict, for those that actually watched the trial, was no surprise.

Even six years later, some persist in claiming Zimmerman somehow did something wrong by leaving his truck, but nothing he did was illegal. Do we really want to argue citizens should not try to keep potential criminals in sight to help the police find them? Are we really of the opinion we have no responsibility for our homes and neighborhoods, for the suppression of those that would commit crimes against us and our neighbors?

Despite an exhaustive FBI investigation aimed at proving Zimmerman a racist, not a trace of racism was found. In fact, Zimmerman was known in the community for championing a black man abused by the police. Zimmerman had a black ancestor, and the media invented a new race, just for him: the “white/Hispanic.” The Obama DOJ declined to prosecute him.

The Trayvon Martin the Media wants you to remember

Circa 2018, some still seek to laud Trayvon Martin as a holy social justice martyr. Most recently, Martin was discovered to be a virtual aviation pioneer, though that great promise somehow escaped the world during the Zimmerman trial and for years thereafter.

The shooting in Sanford Florida on February 26, 2012 was a classic, and unremarkable, case of self-defense. Without the involvement of race hustlers and a presidential administration deeply invested in keeping the racial pot stirred, it would have remained such, rating no more than a mention or two in local media outlets. Trayvon Martin was a young man a year away from being eligible for serious prison time, and racing down that wide path. Burglar, drug user, in-school delinquent, violent thug who bragged on social media about punching people in the nose, Trayvon Martin was not worthy of emulation, though as the inspiration for a movement like Black Lives Matter, he’ll do. He’s the son Barack Obama never had.