Trayvon Martin

Anonymous Police Sources Paint Trayvon Martin As Aggressor

Photo: John Moore/Getty Images

“TheOrlando Sentinel reports Martin “decked” Zimmerman, climbed on top of him, and “slammed his head into the sidewalk, leaving him bloody and battered.” This is what Zimmerman told police, according to the Sentinel’s sources, and much of his account “has been corroborated by witnesses.” Those witnesses remain unnamed, and the lengthy time it has taken for this version of events to emerge is unexplained as yet.

There are other updates in the divisive case. Ten days before he was killed, Trayvon was suspended from school after being caught with a plastic bag which had been used to transport marijuana. The family’s spokesman confirmed the story, which first appeared in the Associated Press. Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, told reporters: ‘They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation.’ “

The misery of Trayvon’s parents is, no doubt, bottomless, and nothing we can do will salve their grief.  Their son has been wrongly taken from them.

I fully expect that the truth about what happened that terrible afternoon in Florida will never be known, because in a story like this, everyone has a narrative to promote.

The vast majority of black killings are the result of black on black crime, but for these unfortunates, there are no protests, no marches, no grandiloquent orations from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. If Trayvon had been killed by another black teen, we would not even know his name. But a narrative has been constructed, and “facts” have been widely published to perpetuate that narrative. For instance, I notice that all of the photos in Corporate Media of Trayvon have elevated him to near sainthood, while the photo of Zimmerman shows a man who clearly looks like a criminal.  (In this biased editorial selection, I hear the sound of a gavel falling.)

The media fueled frenzy of Chinese Whispers over this story is a sad repetition of previous rushes to judgment in the absence of facts. The black community and sympathetic onlookers have a long history of hastily rallying behind “victims” who play into racist expectations. The terrible thing is that while they are busy supporting Tawana Brawley, OJ Simpson and (perhaps) Trayvon Martin, real racism continues Bells On in the US. (For instance, “people of color” were targeted by predatory lenders in the recent real estate boom/bust.)

This “poor use of focus” reminds me of the “Stranger Danger” mode of vigilance, where people (most often children) have been told to be cautious of “suspicious looking” people (whatever THAT means), and then fall victim to crimes committed by friendly, personable psychopaths or acquaintances.

I sadly shake my head and turn the page.