You will find in previous posts where I suggested that if there was a history of racial incidents involving Zimmerman, they would most likely come out. A couple of posts and news stories today seem to be doing just that.
I don't think it's a matter of whether Zimmerman is a racist, not in the sense that he had an animus against black people and was just looking for a chance to gun one down.
But what those tapes relate is him saying, "I think he's black" "Yeah, it a black male" and then "This guy looks like he’s on drugs, he’s definitely messed up.”
“There’s a real suspicious guy. This guy looks like he’s up to no good, on drugs or something.”
What led Zimmerman to this conclusion -- other than the fact that the teen was black?
I can't think of a more obvious case of finding someone "suspicious," of assigning criminal motives to someone, simply because he is black. That's the racial component, that because you are black, you are automatically assumed to be a criminal or a threat or both, and need to be dealt with. And that's what lead to the deadly confrontation.
And there's this:
Zimmerman wasn't arrested at the time, and ABC News has learned he was not given a drug or alcohol test that night -- standard in most homicide investigations.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/neighborho...tch-guidelines/story?id=15955985#.T2fybIGn7d4
As a former police officer, this is beyond belief in terms of botching an investigation.
And as to the larger issue of Florida's deadly force carry permits, again, it's incomprehensible to me.
In Tallahassee in 2008, two rival gangs engaged in a neighborhood shootout, and a 15-year-old African American male was killed in the crossfire. The three defendants all either were acquitted or had their cases dismissed, because the defense successfully argued they were defending themselves under the "stand your ground" law.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/03/what-happened-trayvon-martin-explained
So in Florida, if you're killed in a crossfire from a gang shootout, that's just your tough luck. The shooter was just "standing his ground."