Let’s assume for a moment that the situation when Trayvon
Martin was shot was exactly as George Zimmerman described it. There was a fight and Zimmerman was
losing. The key point was that the fight
arose from an encounter that was initiated by Zimmerman. Had Zimmerman not, in violation of
Neighborhood Watch rules and in direct disobedience to his superior’s order, followed
and engaged Martin, there would have been no fight for Zimmerman to lose. Unless we are to believe that Martin approached
and attacked Zimmerman, then we have to understand that it was Zimmerman who
made the encounter happen.
If you look at it from Martin’s point of view, he is being
followed and hassled for no good reason by some big white dude. Zimmerman has no uniform, has no badge or
insignia to identify him as a member of Neighborhood Watch (for the very good
reason that such encounters are to be avoided), and Martin has no way of
knowing that he is not the target of some random bully. Once begun by Zimmerman, one can picture how the
encounter degenerates from words to blows, and Martin apparently is the better
street fighter, which is how Zimmerman ends up on his back. But it is Martin who has ‘stood his ground’
against the assault by an unknown, larger opponent. Zimmerman may in fact have been in fear for
his life at the point where he shot Martin, but was only in that situation
because he forced it to happen. That De
La Rionda could not convey that simple point to the jury betrays massive
incompetence.
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