http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/03/23/trayvon-martins-hoodie-and-george-zimmerman-share-blame/
Geraldo Rivera has a new radio show on KABC-AM in Los Angeles, and WABC in New York, and probably will be syndicated by Cumulus nationally soon. He has said in public what I’ve been thinking but unwilling to say out loud.
There is an active culture war going on now between Hispanic and Black Americans – a lot of it related to drug gangs and access to jobs. This conflict is especially active in Los Angeles where Hispanic gangs are “taking over” the “black neighborhoods” and housing projects with the support of the city government – and forcing blacks out of Los Angeles.
The sympathetic [sometimes cropped] photograph of a smiling young Trayvon carried by all the press is surely a few years old (he doesn’t look 17 in that picture) – but even then, he’s wearing red clothing and with a reference to Los Angeles (Malibu). Even with my limited knowledge of the drug culture, that screams “Bloods” drug gang.
The man who shot Trayvon is Hispanic – if you listen to Geraldo for any time at all, you know that Geraldo is as focused on his own Hispanic ethnicity as Al Sharpton is about his – and views the entire world as for or against Hispanics.
It’s Sunday February 26th at night – when the Neighborhood Watch guy observed 6’3″ Trayvon walking through the gated community in the rain, When he notices he is being followed, Trayvon puts up the hood on his hoodie and starts trying to evade the Neighborhood watch guy which just escalates the tension and suspicion that Trayvon is up to no good.
Trayvon had just been suspended from school for 10 days in Miami for being in an unauthorized area of the school
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/22/3507783/trayvons-parents-paint-portrait.html
His parents are divorced. His mom works for the local government and he has been living with her in Miami. Trayon was staying at the condo of his father’s girlfriend spending time with her children, so he wasn’t a person who would have been recognized as living in the neighborhood.
When police arrive, they say they find Mr Zimmerman with a bloody nose and a wound on the BACK of his head, causing the police to accept his account that Trayvon jumped Mr Zimmerman from behind and assaulted him, and the shooting was self-defense which Florida law allows.
Another really important point is that Trayvon’s parents didn’t know he was dead for a day when they reported him missing and the police were then able to connect the dots a few days later. That means Trayvon was not carrying an ID on with him (although he apparently had a cell phone which the police took).
The shooting occurred 300 feet away from where his dad’s “fiance” lives (rental?) So how could nobody in the neighborhood not at least known there was a shooting and talk to each other about what happened and who the dead kid was?
The picture shaping up is that Trayvon was out of control and his mother was no longer able to deal with him and sent him to live with his father who may not be around for extended periods of time (accounts don’t say if Mr Martin is a local truck driver or a long distance). Near the start of Mr Zimmerman’s call to 911, he indicates there has been a path of outsiders bypassing the gate and taking the same route toward Trayvon’s “house”.
That’s convincing enough that the police send someone from the Drug Enforcement unit to investigate rather than a homicide investigator. It seems likely there was a reason for that beyond just Mr Zimmerman’s speculation.
Geraldo takes the position that while what Mr Zimmerman did was probably wrong and needs to be investigated better, young men of color who dress and behave like gangsta thugs are significantly responsible for what happens to them as a result.