Zimmy the Pinhead

[H2O Man]

The jury is engaged in its second day of deliberations in the George Zimmerman trial, as I write this. As a result, the commentators on the cable news programs are in search of topics to fill the segments or shows on the trial. Highlights of the closing arguments can go only so far, which could increase the likelihood of panels discussing some of the important social dynamics involved in the case.

These issues include: gun control; fear of crime; laws on self-defense, including "stand you ground"; profiling; and the justice system. These are all important topics for discussion, and there are a variety of opinions on each that are worthy of our consideration.

There are also tangents to these issues; for example, some of the media is covering stories about concerns that there could be a violent response to a "not guilty" verdict. Such coverage could be seen as reinforcing an idea that violence is an option; yet what remains unstated is that it could be people like George Zimmerman acting on this fear, rather than young men like Trayvon Martin.

Let's take a closer look at this, keeping in mind that Zimmerman is not a unique individual -- there are many, many other people (overwhelmingly male) with his general personality type. There are similar sad excuses for men in your and my communities, We may even walk past one of them on the street, or in the store, today.

Zimmerman has correctly been called a "wannabe cop." And I'm not saying it is "bad" for someone to want to have a career in law enforcement. But I am definitely saying there can be both good and bad reasons that people want to be police officers, and that with those men having Zimmermaniac Personality Disorcer (Axis II), a huge quantity of the bad lies below a shallow surface of psuedo-good.

A defense witness who testified as an "expert" in violence compared Zimmerman to Pee Wee Herman, and Trayvon to Chuck Norris. In doing so, he exposed himself as an advocate for the defendant. Why? Because he is Zimmerman's wettest dream: a tough guy who views violence as the ultimate answer to life's questions. But Zimmerman is neither Pee Wee or a tough guy. (Note: Pee Wee resolved the theft of his bike without guns or violence.)

What do we know about Zimmerman that can help us to know with certainty what took place the night he murdered Trayvon? George has a legal history: he has two charges on record, one for a "domestic" incident, and one for a conflict with a police officer. In both instances, Zimmerman blamed the other person involved for not doing what he wanted them to do. An attribute of ZPD (Zimmerman Personality Disorder) is their believing that they are an authority, and thus, anyone not doing exactly what they want are resisting authority -- and need to be punished.

Zimmerman knew he was not a tough guy. But that was definitely his goal: he wanted to be able to administer "justice" to people who disobeyed his rigid mental rules for society. Hence, he trained, three days a week, in an MMA gym. Like police careers, there are both good and bad reasons to take up MMA. George had bad reasons, unless one choses to believe he simply wanted to drop weight. In fact, his actual reasons were the same as those that led him to get the concealed firearm permit.

Zimmerman racially profiled a 17-year old, because in his mind, black male teenagers wearing "hoodies" are criminals, punks, and assholes. I mean, what other options are there? Well, when Sgt. Z of the Wannabe Police Department saw one of "them," he began to simmer at the very thought of how "they always get away." He wasn't going to let some desk jockey tell him he needed to stop following this punk. Not in his town.

If there were two teenagers, Zimmerman would have stayed in his car. (More than two, and he would have shit his pants.) But because he believed Trayvon was afraid of him, George got out and followed. He caught up to Trayvon, and began to bark orders in his best Chuck Norris imitation. With gun in hand, he believed "the suspect" would be safe to push around.

Trayvon realized that this was no police officer -- it was an aggressive, unhinged, punk asshole with a gun. And Trayvon was exactly right. So he fought back, quite literally fighting for his life. Zimmerman was soon lying flat on his back. Since his MMA moves weren't working, he shot the boy.

All of Zimmerman's original cover story to the police were designed specifically for what he was convinced that Trayvon was: a criminal. If and only if Trayvon Martin were a thug, in that neighborhood on a criminal mission, and presenting a vicious threat to the community (especially white women), Zimmerman's story would have made sense. The thug, recognizing that an Authority was closing in on him, would have done what George believed black males wearing hoodies are genetically programed to do: he attacked from the dark shadows, and threatened to kill George.

Had that been true, the case would have gotten little but local attention. Obviously, Sean Hannity would have had him on his show, and pinned the Fox Freedom & Hero Award. George would have used this on his next application to a police department. But it wasn't true.

What is true is that it can be dangerous to be a black male teenager/youth in the United States. It's not a contest, or a debate about if that is a more dangerous status than, say, being a Native American female, or any other identity that is prone to being victimized in our violent society. And the sad truth is that, by and large, those punks, assholes and thugs that commit acts of violence against human beings they identify as targets, tend to have a pretty fair chance of avoiding legal consequences. And not only meaningful legal consequences -- any consequences, at all.

I am hoping for a guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge.

Peace,
H2O Man

[H2O Man]

1. I do not know

why some of the things in the OP appear like links ..... blue on this screen .....not on my usual computer.

[arcane1]

2. I had malware once that made links out of regular text, and the links went to even more malware.

I don't see any links in the OP, if that helps.

[FSogol]

3. You have spyware/viruses on your computer. The blue links do not appear for me. n/t

[livetohike]

4. It doesn't look that way to me. Do you think the computer picked up a virus? nt

[H2O Man]

6. Must be.

I just got on my own computer, and it looks normal.

Well, normal for DU.

[livetohike]

5. Great analysis as usual H2O Man

but the likelihood of hearing anything meaningful coming from the talking heads is 0%. You should be there to inject some intelligence into the discussion .

[H2O Man]

8. I wish I could!

I spoke to a rather conservative audience two nights ago. There were 55-60 people there. My talk and the Q&A took a bit less than an hour. But no one left at the "official" end of the program. Everyone came up to the front of the conference room, and we all talked for another hour .... until the building closed for the night. Then, about half of us hung out in the parking lot, continueing the discussion.

Two of the group's leaders told me that they've never seen anything like the reaction I got. And a couple of people have continued the discussion with me, on e-mail. (A good start to exploring for a campaign!)

[livetohike]

9. You are going to be a great campaigner! One thing about people, most can tell

if one is authentic and not full of B.S. and therefore, they listen. You will do just fine, so I hope your decision to run is affirmative .

[Autumn]

7. Zimmerman the "wannabe cop "made himself, judge jury and executioner of

young Trayvon. A young boy on his way home. I will be okay with a guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge, but I want more than that. Whatever justice he receives is much more than what young Trayvon received.

[H2O Man]

11. When the judge ruled

that the prosecutors could only speak of "profiling" -- but not "racial profiling" -- I think it tied the prosecutors' hands on one of the most important issues. They kind of got around it by playing some of Zimmerman's other 911 calls -- because literally all of his calls about "suspects" involved young black males. Yet the rules of law often keep the truth from being told in court.

[Autumn]

13. I think the fact that he had made the previous calls, the judges ruling on that was wrong.

And I forgot to tell you in my other reply to you, that was a great analysis. Thank you.

[H2O Man]

23. I definitely agree.

She made some cautious rulings, because of concern about errors that could reverse a conviction. Still, by her interaction with defense attorney West, it was clear that she knows Zimmerman is guilty as sin.

[malaise]

10. Sound as usual Waterman

Rec

[H2O Man]

15. Thank you!

[The Magistrate]

12. Well Said, Sir

[H2O Man]

16. Thanks.

It's a disturbing case.

[tblue37]

14. In addition to hoping for a guilty verdict simply

because it is the only justice Trayvon or his family can hope for now, I also hope Z ends up in prison for the simple reason that if he does not, he will be lionized and enriched by right-wingers, the same way G. Gordon Liddy, Oliver North, Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin, and other truly awful people have been simply for being so very, very awful.

I don't think I could stomach seeing him asked his opinion on the major issues of the day, starring in NRA ads, giving keynote speeches at RW forums, or otherwise being made much of by those reactionary fools.

It is already pretty bad ($30,000/month pouring into his defense fund?!), but the worship and enrichment of Z is going to explode if he gets acquitted.

It will anyway, of course, but at least if he is in prison he won't be as well placed to exploit the many career opportunities that will come his way.

[H2O Man]

17. Right.

I feel so bad for his parents & brother. And I can see GZ capitalizing on his "fame," and the right wing exploiting that same "fame."

[Mr.Bill]

18. There are probably districts in Florida (and other states)

where he could be elected to Congress. I am not kidding.

[H2O Man]

24. Right.

Those running his campaign would do just what his defense team did in court: not let him talk, and instead substitute old film clips of him lying. He wouldn't be in any debates, of course, where anyone might ask him a tough question.

We live in strange times. The fact that the least capable of human waste could win political office is an accurate measure of our social pathology.

[Nevernose]

28. Some of those guys actually did prison time

Like G Gordon Liddy. Carter commuted his sentence. North had his sentence overturned, aided ironically by the ACLU.

My point being that right wingers don't care, period. It doesn't matter if their heroes are literal traitors who have served time in prison. They have an R next to their name, that's good enough for them.

[mike dub]

19. Great post, H2O Man

I too am hoping for a guilty verdict on the manslaughter charge.

Until last week when it was allowed that the jury consider manslaughter, I'd been worried that GZ would be acquitted on Murder 2 (I think he's guilty of murder in the first degree, but that's beside the point).
But I have a glimmer of hope that Z *will do time for murdering Trayvon, if this jury of six women consider and hand down Manslaughter.

I'm hoping that the female jury (albeit, mostly white) will have cooler heads (sans masculine bravado crap that a six man ---especially white-- jury might have) and seriously consider manslaughter. Trayvon is dead, and his mother, father, family and friends will never get him back.

And like some other DU'ers, I've only been getting news about the trial by lurking on DU... Can't read about, or watch it in the MSM.

Anxiously eyeing DU for a verdict...

[SaveAmerica]

20. Wonder if Zimmerman Personality Disorder stems from Father's

relationship with him?

Is his Dad cold and not available to him emotionally in general? Did Zimmerman do something that Dad liked and praised once that had to do with keeping order in some way and he continued the behavior looking for approval from his Dad? I have a feeling a lot of the way he is stems from life with Dad, the judge.

[HipChick]

21. His parents appear to be very successful, George is not

His father was paying for his rent..could not keep a job

George appeared to leading a loser life..

[BlancheSplanchnik]

22. I call what he did premeditated homicide

He craaaaved being a neighborhood watch guy.

then just took the opportunity he was planning for.

[displacedtexan]

27. I think you're right.

Skinny kid wearing Khakis. Easy target. Kill him and claim he was breaking into a house.

Presto! GZ's a hero! Plan the parade!

[hue]

33. I agree with You. Following "black guys" was a pattern for Z. The dispatcher told him NOT to follow

but Z did so anyway. This is willful behavior. Z's background in MMA, the fact that he was carrying a gun demonstrate that he was focused on a fight that could lead to death. Carrying a firearm while following the "object" of your potential/imagined opponent places the onus of the outcome on the predator. Indeed this is, IMHO, a clear case of well armed predator and vulnerable prey.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

42. yep.

It's disgusting. And SO obvious.

[brush]

37. Yeah! He was gonna do a citizen's arrest

and be a big hero. Things didn't turn out as he planned though.

Loser, liar, killer. That's what zimmerman is.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

43. garden variety racist psychopath.

And people bought the bullshit. That just ....it's surreal.

[caledesi]

25. Well said H20! nt

[displacedtexan]

26. Let's get serious here: the media is salivating, hoping for riots.

If it bleeds, it leads.

[calimary]

29. Well, I'M hoping for Second Degree Murder, but I'll settle for the manslaughter charge.

It just seems so clear to me beyond a shadow of ANY doubt, and that is the way you've portrayed it here. The "punk" in this case was the guy who WAS a threat: George Zimmerman, with prejudicial profiling in his mind, malice aforethought, a rush to judgment - because for him, young + black + hoodie = nogoodnik. Automatically. He'd already decided this. Game, set, match. No ifs, ands, or buts. And he was thoughtfully willing to appoint himself judge/jury/executioner on behalf of "victims" everywhere.



HE was the thug here. HE was the attacker. HE was the stalker with malevolent intent. HE was the menace to the neighborhood. If I lived there, I'd be terrified that he's around - what if it's ME next time, knowing how this guy already has his mind made up and is willing to jump to conclusions without facts to back him up? What if his next victim is ME? It makes me think, personally speaking, that - what if a guy like that comes upon ME in the dark of night, where he thinks I'm not supposed to be, or he thinks I'm somehow acting suspiciously. And yes, I'm an older white female - probably not filling the bill of visible menace to anyone. But I'd be afraid for my life if I even SAW George Zimmerman coming my direction, knowing what I know about him! Self-appointed vigilante packin' heat, wannabe cop. WHY is it SO DAMN URGENT in the mind of this guy that he has to be some civilian gunslinger with some sort of self-anointed messiah complex or "tough-guy" Clint Eastwood/Rambo/Steven Seagal wannabe? Sheesh! What's the psychology there??? Small penis complex maybe? (Apologies - it's just me, but I've gotta concede that's directly where my mind goes in a situation like this.)

And WHY is he out there with a gun? With ill intentions and prejudicial conclusions not based on ANY facts in his mind? The very idea that a dude like this is somehow entitled to have and carry a gun is freakin' TERRIFYING to me!!!!! If he beats the rap here, how soon will he feel some sort of justification to go off again? Will he still have his entitlement to carry a gun again?



I'd feel a lot safer, on behalf of those living in that neighborhood, knowing that George Zimmerman was safely BEHIND BARS!!!

Lots of talk about "reasonable doubt." NONE here. Not a micron. At least to me.

[RebelOne]

31. I am hoping for any charge that will put him in prison for quite a long time.

And I hope he has an African-American cellmate.

[calikid]

30. As my ole pal Tony the Tiger use to say,

"That was GRRREEEAAT", Thank you H2O Man

[pandr32]

32. Your Axis II ZPD (Zimmerman Personality Disorder)

could very well be psychopathy. An emotionless Zimmerman sits in court each day. He lies easily and with exaggerated details at times. One of the lies that bothered me was when he apologized to Martin's family in the very beginning when he was arraigned and said that he did not know that Martin was just seventeen--but there is a transcript of him telling the dispatcher that the person he was calling in about was probably about ten years younger than himself. Clearly Zimmerman knew he was a teen and he had no issue lying to the Court, the TV audience, and most importantly--the Martin family. No remorse or even a flinch at any point. Clearly his lies/stories are self serving and even he cannot keep the details straight--such as it is with lies.
Zimmerman is aggressive, predatory (this case is a good example), emotionally cold, impulsive, deceitful, manipulative, irresponsible, grandiose, and shows a reckless disregard to others.
I also wonder if he slipped on the wet grass and hit the back of his own head as he hurried to catch up with Trayvon Martin that evening in the rain. I also doubt that Martin was ever on top of Zimmerman as he claims--his light-colored jeans show no marks on the knees that I can see in the photos. If he was pummeling Zimmerman and resisting Zimmerman's weight (Zimmerman would have been trying to get Martin off of him) he would have had to ground his knees into the wet grass and dirt below in order to counter Zimmerman's weight and force. He was, after all, a lightweight. Have I missed something? I have only heard some of the testimony, but cannot recall the lack of stains on Martin's knees being brought up.

[hue]

35. I think along these lines also....

[pwb]

34. That blond woman on MSNBC seems to want Z to be acquitted.

Praising the defense up and down every day, I thought they stunk.
Nice post H2O.

[reusrename]

36. They are profiling him even in death.

Where was he for 4 minutes? Up to no good, no doubt. He could have easily made it home.

Sure he could, if he wanted to lead some psycho killer to where a 12-year-old was home alone.



Even your "expert" in violence was playing that game. He must be a thug or he would have just gone on home. Assholes. Racist fucking assholes.

[tblue37]

39. Fortunately, in his rebuttal John Guy pointed out

that TM would not want to lead a scary stranger home, where the only person was his vulnerable 12-year-old brother. I believe 6 mothers would understand that point.

[reusrename]

40. I think they intentionally minimized that part.

Gives the jury something to figure out for themselves.

I'm almost sure they will figure it out, too.

In any event, that John Guy is a rockstar.

[coeur_de_lion]

38. Jurors are asking for an explanation of manslaughter

So looks as if they are heading in that direction. I think murder 2 or even 1 is closer to what he deserves but as long as they put him away I'll be satisfied.

More and more people on this site have said they feel Zimmerman came at this young boy with gun drawn. If so he might have had more reason than we think for killing him. After all, it wouldn't be legal for our stubby little wannabe cop to point a gun at him, even if he does have a concealed carry permit. He might have killed him to shut him up.

Zimmerman profiled Trayvon as a black punk criminal and he was so wrong . . .

Now it's up to the jury to provide at least some measure of justice.

Thanks for writing one of the more sane analyses of the case. I am following this like I haven't followed anything since . . . . 2004 when another famous case brought me to this board. Always glad to see you here, and to know you're on the side of the good guys.

I live in Florida about an hour from where this happened. I can't bear to think of this nut on the loose here again. I've been praying for justice, hoping my prayers will be answered.

Jurors in Zimmerman trial have question
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/national/south/2013/07/jurors_in_zimmerman_trial_have_question?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20bostonherald%20(Home%20-%20BostonHerald.com)

[coeur_de_lion]

41. OMG I am positively sick

Not guilty, and now we can expect lots more George Zimmermans to surface.

[coeur_de_lion]

44. Can we rise above this and stay positive?

H I'm sure you aren't reading this anymore. We've talked about how DU has become negative since the old days and there are more naysayers now than people who want to uplift.

I count you among those who want to lift us up, and who don't want to take the most negative view of any situation.

There is no doubt that 90% of the members of DU are heartsick and devastated by this verdict. I'm one of them.

But this is what I choose to believe. I choose to believe that this verdict will result in a turning point for racial justice and that ultimately, the state I live in and love so much will right it's wrongs.

In 2012 I was sure that Obama would lose Florida. I knew he would. But thousands of people stood on line for 8 to 12 hours to vote and when all the votes were (finally) counted Florida was blue.

I was shocked, I was thrilled, and so honored that the people of my state (many from Trayvon's home county, Miami Dade) stood up to voter suppression and won it for Obama.

Now somehow or other, we will win it for Trayvon. I know we will. I may be the lone voice saying it but I know that the outrage we are feeling now will cause people to set the wheels in motion to take back our state, just like we did in 2012.

I didn't know where else to post this. You may never see it. Nor anyone else. But I refuse to believe there will never be justice for Trayvon. There may not be a perfect storybook happy ending but there will be ultimate justice in Florida, somehow. Peaceful Justice.

That's all I have to say about that.

[H2O Man]

45. Yeah.

Something good can come of this -- not because of it, but in spite of it.

I've been thinking about addressing that in an OP soon. (I still am having negative thoughts in reaction to the verdict, and will wait until I'm not angry.)

[coeur_de_lion]

46. OK

Thanks

[Me.]

47. With Malice Aforethought

Is what I believe his frame of mind when with he out of the truck with a bullet in the chamber. He was going to take down that suspect 'cause he was determined that this one wasn't going to get away. I keep hearing the prosecutors had a tough job trying to prove their case but I beg to differ. IMHO they were sloppy and let the case slip through their fingers with their inattentiveness. I can't even make up my mind if they wanted to win or not. And what exactly did they rhink the case was about if not race.

On a side note...I was in Traverse City in June and it was a lot cooler than anticipated so we went to a store to get zip up sweatshirt jackets. There were hundreds in the store all styles and colors yet try as we might we could not find a single one without a hood. Needless to say we walked away from the store wearing hoodies.