@Frank Apisa,
Quote:Several people have pointed out that if Zimmerman had simply stayed in his car rather than becoming a vigilante and stalking Martin...Martin would have remained fully intact.
Among those several people were the police department he was ostensibly "helping" by stalking Martin.
The police investigation concluded that this was a totally avoidable death, and encounter, had Zimmerman just remained in his car.
That's apparently what also troubled the jurors about not holding him responsible, in some way, for this death, because, by stalking Martin, he alone created the conditions that led to an encounter and a needless death.
I think Zimmerman is likely struggling with that fact too, and, in some ways, it might have been easier for him, psychologically, to accept a conviction than an acquittal.
On the Hannity show, Zimmerman said, if he had to relive that night, he wouldn't do anything differently because, "It was God's plan." This attempt to deny personal responsibly for his bad judgment that night, and, certainly, in retrospect, he should be aware of just how bad his judgment was, that statement also reveals he's been obviously wresting with the issue of whether God will punish him for killing someone--something he also mentioned to one of the police officers who interrogated him. Well, maybe, in his mind, if it was "God's plan" he won't get punished by God, but he's not sure, and that thought may be haunting him, and it may be destroying him.
Unfortunately, Zimmerman's lack of insight, coupled with his poor controls over his volatility and anger, and his feelings that he has nothing left to lose in this life, has resulted in his continuing to provoke heated encounters with others, which have included threats of his using a gun, and his experiencing a rather significant depression. He's continued to repeat essentially the same kind of behaviors that led to Martin's death that night, except now he's doing it in full view, and not under the cover of darkness, and there are living witnesses who have observed his actions.
This is no longer about Trayvon Martin. And, it should really never have been about Trayvon Martin, except as the victim of a tragic and needless homicide. How Martin should have reacted to Zimmerman is really quite beside the point--
Zimmerman should not have been following/stalking him in the first place. Martin should never have been forced to deal with George Zimmerman at all.
All along, this should have been about George Zimmerman, and his impaired impulse control, and poor judgment and self-control, his anger issues, and his propensity to instigate violent encounters and to provoke. But, looking at it that way, wouldn't have been useful for the NRA gun-lovers, who exploited Zimmerman for their own purposes, or to the right-wing conservatives who exploited him as a way of attacking Obama and the black community, or to the gun control advocates, who exploited him to attack laws they oppose. The real George Zimmerman was obscured in all of this. So was the real Trayvon Martin, who wound up being the one put on trial, with no way of speaking for himself.
Since his acquittal, we have been seeing the real George Zimmerman, and the reactions--of fear--he provokes in others. We don't have to wonder what Martin was feeling that night--it was the same sort of fear expressed by the 2 women who recently called 911 about him, and the same sort of fear, about what he might do, that's been expressed by a Chief of Police.
And this new chapter in the Zimmerman Show, that's been opened with his recent arrest, is unclouded by issues of race, stand your ground, and all of the other hot button polarizing issues that obscured looking at Zimmerman as an individual the first time around--this time, the focus should remain on Zimmerman, without excuses for his flawed judgment and controls, and without looking to blame, or hold accountable, anyone but Zimmerman for his actions.
We know, from his bizarre 911 call, that Zimmerman is trying to weave "a woman scorned" scenario to explain what led to his arrest--and he's thrown in an allegedly hormonal pregnant woman, to make her "going crazy" seem even more plausible. That's classic Zimmerman. But, this time around, we know enough about him, and his patterns, that we should not just accept his self-serving version of events, and this time there is a living witness/victim who can testify against him.
So, let's hold off on trying to trash his latest accuser. This time, let the evidence unfold in court, where the credibility of
both parties can be evaluated.