The LA Times is right. The Zimmerman verdict should be a wake-up call to the black community.

Just not how the LA Times, or NAACP, understand it.  And that is the problem.  (Necessary caveat: when I refer to "blacks" or the "black community" I am obviously not referring to all blacks; rather, I am using the term in the same sense as Martin Luther King III is in his speech to the NAACP.)

The black community needs to learn they cannot act like thug gangstas without consequences.  Black parents need to learn they must do something to prevent their children from embracing the thug/gangsta lifestyle of drugs and violence, starting with having children only after getting married and then staying married to raise them.  

The black community needs to learn that when a child is given multiple school suspensions for violence and burglary, that child needs to be carefully watched and disciplined   Black parents need to learn that, when a "troubled" youth like Trayvon moves to a new neighborhood because of multiple school suspensions, they should alert the neighbors to his presence and specifically ask the neighbors to watch him and report back to his parents if they see Trayvon misbehaving.  

Trayvon's parents should then have told Trayvon they asked for their neighbors' help keeping Trayvon out of trouble.  This is how CIVILIZED people and communities behave.  It is entirely Trayvon and his parents' fault that this incident occurred.  The black community needs to realize this if future incidents are to be avoided.

Black "leaders" are telling the "black community" the exact wrong lesson to be learned from this incident, and that is a shame.  It is also intentional, because those black "leaders" have a financial incentive to make their community believe nothing is their fault, but is solely the fault of white racism, for which they must give money and power to black "leaders" to combat.

George Zimmerman is a hero

Most of the post-Zimmerman verdict commentary I've seen, at least in the professional media (both left and right), has agreed there was reasonable doubt according to the evidence actually presented in the actual trial, since there obviously was.  But most of this commentary has also claimed Zimmerman acted inappropriately.  A typical example of this line of thought is from this article in Slate by William Saletan.  The general criticisms of Zimmerman's behavior that night argue he never should have gotten out of his car, never should have followed Trayvon, or indeed, never should have thought Trayvon was doing anything suspicious enough to warrant calling the police.  These criticisms are wrong and demonstrate the larger pussification of America.

According to the left, no American should ever act in self defense.  All threats should be addressed by calling the police and acting as passively as possible towards any aggressors until the police arrive.  According to the right, at least in theory, we are all free Americans with the right to enjoy our liberties against lawbreakers.  People who are acting suspiciously should be confronted by any free American male, asked their business, and if no satisfactory answer is given, appropriately followed and reported to the police.  This is how crime is prevented.  Thugs should most definitely not have free reign to wander around preparing to commit crimes.  Is it dangerous to do this?  Of course.  But this is why we have the Second Amendment.

This brings up the key issue in the Zimmerman case:  that fateful night, was Trayvon acting suspiciously enough to warrant Zimmerman following him and calling the police?  Most definitely yes.  Accordingly, it was right, just and good for Zimmerman to call the police and follow Trayvon to accurately report his location and monitor his activities.

According to Zimmerman's call to the police, "This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something.  It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about."  After identifying Trayvon's race and clothing, after being asked by the police to do so, Zimmerman has this exchange:  Dispatcher:  "OK, he's just walking around the area..."  Zimmerman:  "...looking at all the houses."

Now, we in the outside world know that Trayvon was an accomplished burglar, but that evidence never made it in the trial, and Zimmerman wouldn't have known about Trayvon's criminal history (although, arguably, he and the rest of the neighborhood watch team and HOA leadership should have been told by Trayvon's father about Trayvon's history of fighting, drug use and school suspensions when Trayvon moved into Trayvon's father's girlfriend's house).  Instead, we have only what Zimmerman observed about Trayvon's behavior.  Note that absolutely nothing in the transcript of Zimmerman's phone call to the police indicates Zimmerman thought Trayvon was suspicious either (1) because he was black, or (2) because he was wearing a hoodie.  Trayvon was suspicious because of his behavior, i.e., wandering around in the rain looking at houses rather than quickly and directly walking home.

Under these circumstances, Mr. Saletan's article argues Zimmerman's "Mistake No. 1 was inferring that Martin was a burglar."  This was not a mistake of the "factually inaccurate" type.  Trayvon's behavior that night most definitely suggested he was a burglar.

According to Saletan, "Mistake No. 2 was pursuing Martin on foot."  So instead of following someone acting like a burglar, and possibly preventing another Olivia Bertalan-type "hot" burglary, according to Saletan (and most of the rest of the MSM) Zimmerman should have sat in his car, lost sight of Trayvon and let the crime happen.  Pussification, pure and simple.

Finally, according to Saletan, "Mistake No. 3 was Zimmerman’s utter failure to imagine how his behavior looked to Martin."  Wrong!  It is Trayvon who should have known he was acting suspiciously.  It is Trayvon who should have acted  politely when confronted by any resident of the gated community seeing him wandering around in the rain looking at houses rather than walking directly and diligently back to his father's girlfriend's house.  It is Trayvon who should have politely explained himself to Zimmerman, and should have known that politely explaining himself - as a new "resident" - to his neighbors, when he was walking around outside in the rain, was the appropriate and civilized thing to do.  Instead, Trayvon's warped gang/thug culture brain decided to sucker punch Zimmerman.

Had Trayvon appreciated and abided by the customs and behaviors of civilized men, Zimmerman never would have shot him.  Zimmerman did abide by the customs and traditions of civilized men - he protected his family and his neighborhood from a stranger who was objectively acting like a burglar.

Saletan ends his article with this line:  "And the next time you see somebody who looks like a punk or a pervert, hold your fire."  Wrong again.  Obviously, you don't shoot first and ask questions later, but you do act like an American, a civilized man, and confront people acting suspiciously in your neighborhood.  Your neighbors should expect this of you, and you should expect this of them.  When you are acting suspiciously, you should act like an American, a civilized man, acknowledge that your behavior might look suspicious, and explain yourself politely if confronted.

We know Trayvon was a drug user with a history of violent crime and burglary.  We know - and the statistics amply support this - that Trayvon was highly likely to commit more crimes of violence in his "new" neighborhood.  Perhaps if Trayvon had been arrested for any of his previous crimes, instead of having those crimes covered up to fraudulently manipulate a school's crime statistics, perhaps if his parents had taught him better, he never would have encountered George Zimmerman.  But Trayvon made all the mistakes that night.  Zimmerman is a hero who took up the burden of defending his neighbors when the police proved ineffective.  He happened to stop Trayvon's budding crime career.  While it is a tragedy that Trayvon died so young and now does not have the opportunity to turn his life around, the statistics predict he wouldn't have, and would have victimized more innocent people.  Had Zimmerman been black (wait, he is black), you never would have heard of this case, just like you've never heard of the beating death of Joshua Chellew.

The true facts about the George Zimmerman trial

For those following the George Zimmerman trial, now that the evidence is in (though in some cases, improperly excluded) here is what happened:

After smoking weed with his friends, Trayvon left his father’s girlfriend’s home (where Trayvon was staying only because his mother kicked him out of her home for getting into too many fights) to walk to the store in the rain to buy the ingredients for the drug cocktail “Lean,” which is made by mixing Robitussin DM with the two items Trayvon had purchased, Arizona Watermelon fruit juice cocktail (not iced tea as falsely reported by most media) and Skittles. Trayvon’s facebook postings demonstrate his prior use of, and knowledge of how to make “Lean.”

On his way back to his father’s girlfriend’s house, Trayvon began casing this new neighborhood (he had only been there for 10 days) still in the rain. George Zimmerman was in his car getting ready to leave to the store (not on neighborhood watch patrol) when he noticed Trayvon acting suspiciously. Zimmerman knew of at least two recent burglaries in his neighborhood committed by black male youths, including a harrowing break in at the home of Olivia Bertalan, who was home alone with her baby when two black male teenagers broke into her home and stole her camera and laptop. It was this episode that led Zimmerman to form a Neighborhood Watch Program and receive training by local police.

While in his car, Zimmerman called the non-emergency number for the police, as he’d been trained to do, to report on Trayvon’s suspicious behavior. Trayvon saw Zimmerman in the car on the phone and circled the car menacingly, then abruptly ran away. Zimmerman reported this to the police, “Shit, he’s running.” The police dispatcher then asked Zimmerman, “He’s running? Which way is he running?” Then Zimmerman got out of his car, followed Trayvon for a bit in order to answer the police dispatcher’s question. Then the dispatcher asked Zimmerman, “Are you following him?” Zimmerman said “Yeah.” The dispatcher then said “OK, we don’t need you to do that.” Zimmerman then said “OK” and STOPS FOLLOWING TRAYVON.

In the meantime, Trayvon told Rachel Jeanteal over his cell phone that he’s being followed by a “creepy-ass cracker.”

The police dispatcher next asked for Zimmerman’s exact location so he can meet the police, who were on their way. Zimmerman wandered around looking for a street sign then heads back to his car. As Zimmerman was walking back to his car, Trayvon jumped out in front of Zimmerman, and said “You got a problem?” Zimmerman said no. Trayvon then said, “You do now” and cold cocked Zimmerman in the nose, breaking his nose and knocking him down. Trayvon then jumped on top of Zimmerman and began smashing Zimmerman’s head repeatedly into the concrete path. For about 40 seconds, Zimmerman yelled for help. Several people heard Zimmerman’s screams, and some called 911.

While Trayvon was raining down blows on Zimmerman’s head, Zimmerman’s jacket rode up revealing his concealed carry pistol, properly holstered and properly loaded in compliance with all laws and training. Trayvon saw the gun and told Zimmerman, “you’re gonna die tonight motherfucker.” Trayvon reached for the gun, but Zimmerman pulled it out first and shot Trayvon in his chest, center mass, as he was trained to do. The bullet pierced Trayvon’s heart and he died within minutes. The police arrived momentarily. Zimmerman readily admitted he shot Trayvon, raised his hands above his head and told the police where his gun was holstered on his body. Zimmerman was handcuffed and taken to the police station where he spent several hours fully cooperating with the police. All police officers who testified said that 100% of the evidence was 100% consistent with Zimmerman’s story. When a police investigator (falsely) told Zimmerman there is a videotape of the whole incident, Zimmerman says “Thank God.” The police released Zimmerman with no charges filed.