The Ballad of Trayvon and George

Forget the "ghetto trash trainwreck" star witness for the prosecution, the Skype calls (or lack thereof), or any of the more sensational facts about this case. Better yet, go ahead and completely take race out of the equation, because that seems to be the only thing anyone wants to talk about.

Trayvon Martin was not killed for being black. As much as the news media wants to present the case as the inevitable tragedy of the deeply engrained racial inequalities and prejudices still present in the American South, this case isn't about race.

The prosecution has chosen to say Martin was a victim of the ubiquitous (yet rarely acknowledged) "dangerous black male" stereotype, and that Zimmerman profiled him based on that criteria.
Pointing the finger at Zimmerman's supposed racial prejudice (for which there is virtually no evidence) is why he will go to sleep a free man tonight.

The real problem here is that Trayvon Martin's death was ENTIRELY preventable. We are talking about preventable death on the scale of cigarette smoking, wearing a seatbelt, and fat people.
George Zimmerman did not listen to the dispatcher. Instead, he decided to "play hero" through vigilante justice rather than allow law enforcement to do their job. It is well documented that Zimmerman had an almost child-like obsession with becoming a police officer. Had he followed the dispatcher's instructions to wait for police to arrive, absolutely NONE of this would have happened. In his own words, "these fucking punks always get away", and that is exactly the mentality he carried in approaching Trayvon. As he should have, Trayvon responded indignantly. Being a young black male in this country can be an unpleasant experience, and the prejudice of the "dangerous black male" has been repeatedly confirmed in psychological research.

The problem is that a fist fight ended with a gun shot. The most that Zimmerman should have done is possibly hold Trayvon at gunpoint until police arrived. But he wanted to be the hero.

Am I saying Zimmerman is innocent? He is without a doubt NOT guilty of murder. But the many lesser charges (negligent homicide, manslaughter, etc) for which he could have been found guilty were BARELY explored by the prosecution.

I could go on, and maybe I will later. But consider this: Zimmerman was arrested and charged after the intense public outcry and 24/7 coverage by the news media. Racial conflict creates higher ratings. The death of Trayvon Martin was not because of racial tension. It was the result of one man deciding to take his interpretation of the law into his own hands. And according to the verdict, that vigilantism is perfectly acceptable in the state of Florida.