Last week, before the verdict came in, I wrote a post asking the question: What if George Zimmerman had been an undercover cop? I stand by this comment/ question, suspecting that many defenders of Trayvon Martin would not be defending him if this had been the situation. More likely, it never would have been a story in the national media.
One anonymous commenter responded to my last post saying: “Mr. Zimmerman– NEVER identified himself. Police, even undercover, MUST identify themselves.” First, this is simply not true. There are a lot of undercover police who do not identify themselves. That is why they are undercover. But aside from that, the comment is assuming that Zimmerman and Martin stood there having a conversation. The more plausible scenario is that Martin punched him almost immediately when they came face to face.
One thing that you will often learn in a concealed carry class or other gun training is that you should always keep your distance from someone if you suspect the person might be a threat. Now, it is possible that Zimmerman completely ignored this advice. But common sense tells us that the most likely scenario is that Zimmerman did not intentionally get close to Martin. It would make no sense for the very reason of what happened. Once you get in a physical altercation, your gun may not be of use to you any longer and your opponent might even be able to get it.
I think there is a silent majority in this case, even if the majority is slight. I have a pretty good mix of friends on Facebook between liberal (in the modern sense), conservative, and libertarian. Most of the comments are those against Zimmerman and defending Martin. It is only my libertarian friends who are speaking out, not always for Zimmerman, but in defense of him and the jury decision. I suspect that many people who agreed with the verdict are staying silent in fear of being called racist or politically incorrect.
I have figured out what this case is mostly about, aside from race. I have some friends who are against Zimmerman and think he should have gone to jail, yet aren’t bringing up the race issue. For them, they don’t like the fact that Zimmerman was carrying a gun and, as they say, tried to take the law into his own hands. Once again, if Zimmerman had been a policeman, then everything would be sitting well with them. It is the fact that Zimmerman did not have a state-issued police badge. These people want gun control. They believe that only government officials should be allowed to own and carry guns.
I find it fascinating to listen to some of my friends and other people I know who are defending Trayvon Martin. They will also make comments about being a parent. Yet, none of these people, unless they have some hidden personality, would never punch someone in the face and pound their head in a sidewalk because they felt “threatened”. Most people would run the other way. Most of these same people would also raise their children to not initiate any violence. So here are all of these non-violent people who are defending the actions of Martin who, most likely, initiated the violence. Just look at the injuries that Zimmerman had right after the altercation. None of my friends would have been capable of doing this to another human being in anything other than self defense.