As usual, Joe Scarborough was bloviating this morning about the bloviating of Sean Hannity on the President's remarks on the Zimmerman/Martin case. I have noted my thoughts on Obama's comments elsewhere - I think he missed a chance to be everyone's president because he is too attached to an agenda and, seemingly, identifies first and foremost with race.
Boring Joe was on about Hannity's comment that Obama might have been like Martin because of gang-affiliations and drug use. Joe's felt it was unconscionable to apparently impugn Martin for doing something that many other youths, white and black, do and that it should not make one "fair game". Certainly not - but that is irrelevant. Marijuana use hardly makes one fair game for assault.
The problem, Joe is this: From the day this tragedy happened, people (including the president) have tried to cast Zimmerman as a "white devil" and Martin as a "black angel". No, drug use is not the deciding factor in this. But if one wants to make the case that Zimmerman is evil and Martin an angel, then reality dictates that we examine them more closely.
Try as they might, the only evil things that have been attributed to Zimmerman is that he is white (well, white-Hispanic - "white enough") and carried a firearm - both legal. He followed a stranger in his neighborhood, which had seen increased crime. Martin has been presented solely as a victim. Yes he was followed and asked about his reasons for being there. Then he sucker punched Zimmerman and was in full mount pounding on him. Is it okay to ask why? Joe and others would have us believe it was justified righteous indignation for being observed, followed and questioned - that Zimmerman deserved it. I would suggest it is acting out on images and norms he has been fed for many years - and which many seem to be perpetuating.
Martin was no angel; that is the point. This is not to speak ill of the dead, it is not to say Martin deserved what happened - the fact that people see it that way is just more evidence of a desire to rewrite the facts. This was not a case of evil Zimmerman walking up to angel Martin and shooting him, no matter how Joe might wish to twist the facts. This is not like the case in Georgia where the young criminal simply shot a 13 month-old child in the face for the fun of it (BTW, why are you not shouting about justice for that child and all the dead in Chicago?).
The facts, as reported by Zimmerman and eye/ear witnesses, and as corroborated by physical evidence evaluated by experts do not corroborate the idea that Martin was a passive victim of this event.
Boring Joe, as usual, knows the truth and will not let facts cloud his judgement. He and Hannity both are using this case for their own purposes.
For a more reasoned look at how this case became the issue it is, see Romany Malco's commentary on Huffington. It is clearly a necessary and eye-opening commentary.
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