George Zimmerman strikes again! What do his defenders have to say now?
It really doesn’t come as a shock to hear that George Zimmerman’s distorted world view and temper have resulted in yet another criminal charge.
It really doesn’t come as a shock to hear that George Zimmerman’s distorted world view and temper have resulted in yet another criminal charge.
Late Friday evening, Zimmerman was arrested and booked on charges of aggravated assault and is currently out on $5,000 bond. He has been ordered to stay out of Volusia County and away from the alleged female victim and to surrender any firearms. Police officials have yet to release the full details surrounding the incident; however, at this point, one must wonder who couldn’t have seen this pattern coming?
The answer is pundits like Bill O’Reilly, who found no fault in Zimmerman’s pathology at the time of his acquittal. Instead of addressing the systemic problems of racial profiling, excessive force, and most certainly unrestrictive gun possession laws, the Zimmerman trial became a platform for some to berate urban culture and paint a picture of young black men as inherently menacing.
As waves of protesters took to the streets on behalf of Trayvon Martin, Zimmerman sympathizers created a criminal out of the dead teen. According to O’Reilly, Trayvon Martin “died because he looked a certain way and it wasn’t based on color.” He went on to say that if Trayvon was wearing a suit and tie that he didn’t “think George Zimmerman would’ve had any problem.”
Never mind the fact that it was Zimmerman’s profiling of Martin that led to the altercation. And let’s completely ignore Martin’s right to feel threatened and the need to defend himself from a stalking stranger.
So where are Zimmerman’s supporters now that he has once again proven himself to be a hazard to the general public safety and welfare?
During the trial, Frank Taaffe was arguably Zimmerman’s biggest supporter. Since then, however, Taaffe has come forward, voicing a change of heart in an attempt to “clear his conscience.” In May of 2014, Taaffe told reporters that he believed Zimmerman racially profiled Martin and would not have followed him if he were white. These statements were a far leap from his comments two years prior in which he stated that “Zimmerman wanted to ensure the safety of the community.”
What’s most ironic, and unfortunate, is that Zimmerman couldn’t and shouldn’t have been trusted to keep a batch of bananas from bruising, let alone entrusted with a firearm. Through one public display of aggression after another, Zimmerman has confirmed what many of us already knew about him, minus those jurors in Florida.
His former girlfriend, Samantha Scheibe, also failed to recognize the pattern, which subsequently resulted in assault charges being filed in November of 2013. These charges were later dropped after Zimmerman submitted an affidavit from Scheibe stating that he was not a danger to her and that officers misinterpreted her statements at the time of the incident.
Let’s also take a moment to note that these charges were not even the first for Zimmerman. His history of run-ins with the law pre-dates his encounter with Trayvon. He had been arrested in 2005 and 2006 respectively for domestic violence and resisting arrest. And yet, because of the testimony of supporters like Taaffe, Scheibe, and the Zimmerman family, his violent temper has yet to be curbed by the actual authorities.
Now, after another dazzling show of aggressive machismo, Zimmerman has found himself, again, behind bars. And what of his flock of apologists? What could they possibly say now to defend his egregious behavior? What kind of man do they believe him to be now?
Hopefully, they and all of America are paying attention. Hopefully, those who would believe that sagging pants and hoodies are a call for handcuffs will remove their cultural blinders.
The fact of the matter here is Zimmerman has a longstanding history of violent behavior. What’s even worse is that even after umpteen strikes, he still stands a better likelihood of being set free than any other black person to ever enter the justice system.
Follow Brandon Dottin-Haley on Twitter @bidottinhaley
