To the editor:
Every time I think I have heard, seen or read it all, I am pulled back into the reality that the tea-partiers will say or do anything to support their own twisted narrative of life in the United States.
Last week's vile attempts by racially motivated, white, middle-aged men to turn the victim of a murder into a villain made me want to take a long shower. Unfortunately, that is not a sufficient response to what has become one of the worst examples of character assassination that I have ever had the misfortune to witness.
Before discussing the motivation and the possible direction the ludicrous implications of a law which was copied nearly verbatim from the American Legislative Exchange Council, let's get the facts and falsehoods straight.
First, Trayvon Martin was reportedly between 140 and 160 pounds. George Zimmerman was nearly 100 pounds heavier and nine or 10 years older. Zimmerman had a 9 mm sidearm that the neighborhood watch program said he should not have had. The police dispatcher told him not to follow the boy, who was armed with Skittles and iced tea. Who had the right to be frightened?
Second, Zimmerman claims to have been beaten severely and afraid for his life, yet police video shows a man with hardly a mark on him. I have had a broken nose a few times in my life, and as anyone who has knows, a broken nose bleeds profusely. There was not a drop of blood on him or his clothing.
Martin's mother and audio experts confirm the voice crying for help was his.
Martin was on his cellphone, telling his girlfriend he was being followed. His girlfriend suggested that he run, but not wanting to provoke suspicion, he rejected this advice and began to walk quickly. No ear, or shortly afterward, eyewitness supports Zimmerman's account of the events.
All of these established facts point to probable cause for an arrest, but none was to be for 46 days, Fox shows pictures of the victim that were not him. Blame the victim seems to be what they are all about.
His family is now suffering insults from the right, as if they don't have enough to deal with.
Last, let's imagine that the situation was reversed and a 27-year-old black man had followed a 17-year-old white boy and had shot for possessing Skittles and iced tea. How long do you suppose it would have taken for an arrest to be made, or even to be necessary, since a black man may not have survived long enough to be arrested?
No prom, no graduation, no higher education, no wife, no children, no family picnics, no adult life for Martin.
For his parents, no son, no grandchildren from Trayvon, no more memories. Only bittersweet memories of a child who is lost to them. In the end, all they have left to do for Trayvon is to see that justice has been done. That's all they ask, I hope they receive just that.
Bob Atkinson
Weirton
