ECCENTRIC TANTRUMS
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Copyright 2012 by William A. Mays, Proprietor
The case of mentally challenged, lying murderer George Zimmerman of central Florida raises a number of issues. First is its economic value to the state. Florida's depressed housing industry is sure to get a shot in the arm as criminals from all over the country will be flocking there now that it's revealed that gun-wielding maniacs can stalk, assault, and murder innocent strangers without fear of arrest or prosecution. Even Bernie Goetz of New York City did time in jail after shooting a gang of criminal youths who had him cornered in a subway car and actually were threatening to stab him with screwdrivers. Zimmerman behaved more like David Berkowitz than Bernie Goetz, identifying a random, unaware victim and then going in for the kill. He'd clearly been itching to shoot a young black male for quite some time. But as "police officers" Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver, Marc Cooper, Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon, and Kenneth Boss—also of New York City—found out, when you shoot black males at random without provocation, chances are better than 50/50 you're not hitting a criminal.
Another thing this case brings up is the notion of the good, old-fashioned lynch mob. Lynchings, when done right, brought summary justice to a deserving miscreant, saving inadequate police forces and courts time and money. But the problem was sometimes they got the wrong guy, and dead men care little whether they win appeals or not. The American justice system stepped in and—with a slightly better record at not convicting the innocent—has been running the show ever since. However, when the justice system completely abdicates its responsibility, some citizens feel they are left with little choice. Already the New Black Panther Party—a group of ordinarily wacko extremists with no connection to the original Black Panther Party—has offered a $10,000 reward for anyone bringing them Zimmerman alive. If state and federal officials hadn't stepped into the black-hole-like vacuum of justice in Sanford, Florida, we might have matched the NBPP's offer! As long as there is a National Police Gazette, police departments and district attorneys will not be accomplices to the murder of innocent civilians.
Still another issue raised is how the unstable Zimmerman—with one conviction and other allegations of assault—got a permit to carry a concealed handgun in the first place. It recalls how the borderline-psychotic Jiverly Voong repeatedly went to Gander Mountain in Johnson City, New York, to load up on weapons and ammunition while displaying sudden, bizarre outbursts of anger and wildly irrational thinking. Voong nonetheless was able to make all the purchases he wanted before going on to commit the worst mass murder in the history of Broome County. Gander Mountain, of course, is a large corporation, and as such would sell assault weapons to Charles Manson as long as it increased the bottom line. There are many small gun shops that would have turned Jiverly Voong away.
So who allowed Zimmerman to be armed and patrol the streets? His local neighborhood watch group was not registered with the National Sheriffs’ Association, which oversees local watch programs. But apparently it was approved by the Sanford Police Department, the same department that neglected to collect evidence at the crime scene or interview witnesses before accepting Zimmerman's claim of what happened. It turns out the SPD may have been farming out their responsibilities to private volunteer contractors, and then when the inevitable happened they covered it up with a coat of whitewash.
The murder of Trayvon Martin opens up almost too many cans of worms to count. But a good place to start is with the government of Sanford, Florida, a throwback to the deepest, darkest era of the Jim Crow South.
Another thing this case brings up is the notion of the good, old-fashioned lynch mob. Lynchings, when done right, brought summary justice to a deserving miscreant, saving inadequate police forces and courts time and money. But the problem was sometimes they got the wrong guy, and dead men care little whether they win appeals or not. The American justice system stepped in and—with a slightly better record at not convicting the innocent—has been running the show ever since. However, when the justice system completely abdicates its responsibility, some citizens feel they are left with little choice. Already the New Black Panther Party—a group of ordinarily wacko extremists with no connection to the original Black Panther Party—has offered a $10,000 reward for anyone bringing them Zimmerman alive. If state and federal officials hadn't stepped into the black-hole-like vacuum of justice in Sanford, Florida, we might have matched the NBPP's offer! As long as there is a National Police Gazette, police departments and district attorneys will not be accomplices to the murder of innocent civilians.
Still another issue raised is how the unstable Zimmerman—with one conviction and other allegations of assault—got a permit to carry a concealed handgun in the first place. It recalls how the borderline-psychotic Jiverly Voong repeatedly went to Gander Mountain in Johnson City, New York, to load up on weapons and ammunition while displaying sudden, bizarre outbursts of anger and wildly irrational thinking. Voong nonetheless was able to make all the purchases he wanted before going on to commit the worst mass murder in the history of Broome County. Gander Mountain, of course, is a large corporation, and as such would sell assault weapons to Charles Manson as long as it increased the bottom line. There are many small gun shops that would have turned Jiverly Voong away.
So who allowed Zimmerman to be armed and patrol the streets? His local neighborhood watch group was not registered with the National Sheriffs’ Association, which oversees local watch programs. But apparently it was approved by the Sanford Police Department, the same department that neglected to collect evidence at the crime scene or interview witnesses before accepting Zimmerman's claim of what happened. It turns out the SPD may have been farming out their responsibilities to private volunteer contractors, and then when the inevitable happened they covered it up with a coat of whitewash.
The murder of Trayvon Martin opens up almost too many cans of worms to count. But a good place to start is with the government of Sanford, Florida, a throwback to the deepest, darkest era of the Jim Crow South.
| Sometimes Lynch Mobs Got It Right |
| The Trayvon Martin Case |