FLORIDA, June 26, 2013 — Over the last several months, much has been heard from Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin.
In February of last year, Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who claims that this was done in self-defense. At the time, Martin was unarmed and seventeen years old.
Since then, his history of truancy, firearms-related issues, and handling marijuana — among other things — has come to light. Nonetheless, Zimmerman was eventually charged with second-degree murder and is now standing trial.
Evidence suggests that Zimmerman suffered head injuries the night Martin died, though exactly how and why remains a mystery. What is certain, however, is that the shooting’s aftermath has been highly polarizing. It has also drawn considerable attention to the oft-overlooked central Florida port city of Sanford, where the shooting took place.
In a recent interview with popular black-interest blog The Root, Tracy Martin said that “(y)ou can’t prepare your child to contend with the warped mentality of someone else. You can only teach them to be good and live by the laws of the land. George Zimmerman acted in a deranged way — and all the evidence supports that. I know how society negatively portrays black boys, and my son Trayvon wasn’t naive. He wasn’t blind to stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination. But I shouldn’t have to tell my child to fear walking to the store to get snacks just because he’s black.”
On Monday, according to Good Morning America, Tracy Martin reportedly “cursed at a supporter of George Zimmerman.
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“The accusation came up as Zimmerman’s lawyer argued to have Martin’s parents banned from the courtroom since Zimmerman’s parents were not allowed to be present for the proceedings. If the judge declined to order Martin’s parents out, the lawyer asked that both sets of parents be allowed be present.”
Yesterday, right-leaning blogger Sundance of widely-read The Conservative Tree House released several photos of Tracy Martin, some of which date back to 2010.
One shows Martin posing with a crowd of people in which, according to the blog, a finger sign denoting Crips membership is visible. Another portrays him standing in a different crowd with a cityscape and raining dollar bills in the background.
In these photos, Martin himself is making some sort of hand sign. Other individuals photographed are doing the same. TCTH identified said signs as gang-related.
A different set of photos features Tracy Martin speaking at a press conference after his son’s death. In the first photo, a tattoo on the side of his neck spelling an undefinable term is readily apparent. A photo taken sometime later, though, reveals that this has been replaced with another tattoo. Rather than a word, two hands clasped in traditional prayer pose are present.
“Here is what happens after the media consultant tells you the financial reward can be better if you improve your image,” Sundance writes.
Later in the article, Sundance uses scanned images of a police report and a text message conversation involving Trayvon Martin to highlight inconsistencies in Tracy Martin’s statements to law enforcement officials.
Despite all of this, the latter remains a popular figure with many social action groups who believe that George Zimmerman should be found guilty. When Robert Zimmerman, George’s brother, was asked if these groups responded to the Martin shooting in a very strong fashion due to fact or personal biases, his answer was clear.
“Absolutely 100% bias,” he said. “The polite word for ‘agenda” is ‘bias.’ In the midst of an investigation, it is normal for few facts to be known because it is essential that the integrity of the investigation is maintained. There are many who profit from perpetuating the idea of racism and are clearly willing to sidestep facts and insert racial narratives because it is in their organization’s interest not to become obsolete.”
Zimmerman also stated that “political correctness combined with deceptive portrayals of Trayvon Martin facilitated sidestepping an uncomfortable question: Could Martin actually be capable of doing what he did to Zimmerman? If one were inclined to believe he was, they would be subjected to accusations of insensitivity or racism. The equation would [later] evolve to suggesting that if one believed George had defended his life, the reason is because the person had no compassion for loss of life.”
A difficult question indeed. The more one learns about the Trayvon Martin shooting’s aftermath, the less one seems to understand.
Read more:
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/conscience-realist/2013/jun/26/tracy-martin-trayvons-father-questioned-over-suspi/#ixzz2Xiy3834j
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