Hardly a Surprise

I had a strong feeling that George Zimmerman was going to walk, though I was reluctant to voice it ahead of time.

Was justice done for him and Trayvon Martin? Justice is one of those lovely abstractions we like to hang things on, but when reduced to the human level, justice is a very subjective thing. By itself, our court system doesn’t represent justice. It’s just the vehicle that’s supposed to get us there. The last stage in the process is the trial. As with any adversary situation, much like a sporting event, the better team wins. A clear majority of the legal talking heads on cable TV seemed to conclude that the defense did a much better job of presenting its case than the prosecution did.

Much of the trial was televised as per Florida law, raising the perennial issue of whether cameras in the courtroom are harmful. This may go against the grain, but I have persistently believed that if a single seat in a courtroom is open to a member of the general public, by extension, the rest of us should be able to see the same proceeding, with adequate protections, of course, for the jurors.

While the usual concerns about media hype and the folks in court playing to the cameras are raised, I submit that it’s beneficial for the public to know exactly how our courts work and how our laws are applied. There are cameras on almost every street corner, and while we may not all like the idea, we’re used to them by now. If there were cameras in every courtroom in procedures that are open to the public, we would eventually get used to that concept, and be better educated as well. There would be fewer “trials of the century,” because they’d all be on TV.

To return to the point, though, was justice done in Florida? One Facebook friend commented on a post of mine last night, telling us all to relax, it’s Florida, as if real justice isn’t expected there. If we expect all trials to produce justice, are we expecting too much?

I won’t dodge your lingering question. As I’ve said before, I think this country would be a considerably safer place if we didn’t have Neighborhood Watchers walking around with guns.

Hoodie Hysteria

So now a member of Congress was asked to leave the chamber for wearing a hoodie. At what point do we get to say ENOUGH already?

The Trayvon Martin case has brought some serious issues to light that we all need to discuss, but geez Louise, can’t we inject a little reason back into all this? I don’t care how many people walk around with hoodies; I don’t care what Geraldo said and has since apologized for. I only wish I had bought stock in companies that make hoodies.

I’m also tired of hearing about million-dollar bounties for the arrest of George Zimmerman, who shot Trayvon. And Anderson, I hope you’re finished playing that altered tape that has Zimmerman uttering a racial slur. All it takes is someone in real authority to agree with you, not all your various attorneys and ex-prosecutor-turned-pundits. Otherwise, it’s all speculation.

Of course, it’s going to take a thorough investigation to sort things out. Now we have witnesses who say that Trayvon attacked Zimmerman, not the other way around. We have reports that Zimmerman was a fine upstanding human being and that Trayvon was not a perfect teenager. Then there’s the part about the Sanford police wanting to arrest Zimmerman, but higher authorities turning them down.

Is this really about hoodies, or race? Or is it about Florida’s stand-your-ground law? Or is it about the proliferation of handguns and the vetting required for neighborhood watchers who may want to be cops? Is it about a flawed legal system? Or Is it about social media, and our seemingly desperate need to come up with nightly heroes and villains for the 24-hour news cycle?

I thought I knew, but I don’t know anymore. I’m beginning to wish everyone would just shut up until the investigation is completed. And even then, it’s going to be about who believes whom.

Do you blame me if I feel like spending more time on Turner Classic Movies than CNN et al?

Rabid Neighborhood Watchdogs

I don’t dispute the idea that Neighborhood Watch programs can be effective in preventing crime, as long as the watch-ers don’t have wannabe cop delusions.

We live in a nice neighborhood in a suburban area. A couple of years ago, I needed some exercise but didn’t want to stray too far from the house, so I started walking around the block (a fairly large one with some steep climbs). On about my third lap, a red sports car pulls up and a young man asked me if I lived in the area. His tone clearly had more than just curiosity – he wanted to know what business I had there. It seemed he had appointed himself a guardian of the neighborhood.

Of course, I had never seen him before either, and took a little umbrage at being confronted in my own neighborhood by a stranger, so I informed him that yes, I lived there, and so what was his name and where did he live? Fortunately, this encounter ended peacefully, but I could easily see how it might have escalated. I don’t think our town issues concealed-weapons permits, so neither of us was “packing.”

Suppose a police officer had pulled up in a marked car and asked me the same questions? While such encounters aren’t usually enjoyable, I would have answered them. It’s the officer’s job to do that, and I would have had no problem complying.

The cops in our town are pretty good about responding to “suspicious person” calls. There probably aren’t a lot of those, even though scores of people pass by daily, jogging, walking dogs, etc., including people of different colors. There are obviously times when we’re in a heightened state of alertness, say, if the police warn about a rash of burglaries in the area – but those instances are also relatively rare.

I don’t know why the case of Trayvon Martin should be legal brain surgery. The reputed Sanford neighborhood watch captain in this case, George Zimmerman, called the police and said he was following a suspicious person, and law enforcement told him specifically NOT TO DO IT. Is disobeying a directive from a police agency against the law? You would think so. He certainly is liable for every action beyond that point.

If folks want to be cops, what they should do is apply, go through the training, graduate from the academy, and get hired. If folks want to be neighborhood watchdogs, they should clearly understand their role (usually, they get training from police) and keep it in mind when confronting other civilians on the street.