Friday, June 28, 2013

HARPER: Media misreporting rampant in Trayvon Martin case

A combination of pressure through social media and poor journalism led to the trial of George Zimmerman, who is accused of second-degree murder in last year’s shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Immediately after the shooting in Sanford, Fla., which is 20 miles northeast of Orlando, the media described Mr. Zimmerman as white, setting up the racially divisive meme of a white man killing a black teenager — a characterization that proved to be wrong.
A columnist for The New York Times described “the burden of black boys in America and the people that love them: running the risk of being descended upon in the dark and caught in the cross-hairs of someone who crosses the line.”
The media then described Mr. Zimmerman as a “white Hispanic” after it was revealed that his father is white and his mother comes from Peru. Even now, many media outlets use this description: “Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic.”
Under the definition of the U.S. Census BureauMr. Zimmerman qualifies as Hispanic. Why do the media continue to emphasize this inaccurate racial theme? It’s probably because they think such sensationalism provides more readers and viewers. Instead it brings the media’s credibility into question.
That’s not all. The press and supporters of Trayvon’s family maintained that Mr. Zimmerman had not been injured during the confrontation, placing in doubt his claim he was acting in self-defense because he said the youth had struck him and thrown him to the ground. Police photographs clearly showed Mr. Zimmerman had suffered injuries to his head, nose and eyes, which were consistent with a fight of some sort.
The inaccuracies and poor reporting continued. The media described Trayvon as a good student. Subsequent information, however, showed he often got into fights, used marijuana and was suspended from school before he was shot — material the judge has restricted the defense from using. Further evidence indicated the teen had marijuana in his system at the time he was shot. Moreover, Trayvon’s purchases of watermelon-flavored fruit juice — not iced tea as reportedly frequently — and Skittles may not have been so innocent. These are two of three ingredients of Purple Drank, a concoction that also includes cough syrup he used to get high, according to his text messages.
It gets worse: NBC News and MSNBC took the misinformation campaign to a new level by editing a call to police from Mr. Zimmerman to make it appear the defendant was racist. NBC apologized and fired some of those responsible for the deception, which is a clear violation of journalism ethics. (Full disclosure: I am an expert witness in a lawsuit by Mr. Zimmerman against NBC and MSNBC.) MSNBC’s Al Sharpton also became a leading advocate for Trayvon’s family — a role that would usually violate the network’s prohibition on personnel engaging in political activities. An MSNBC representative said Mr. Sharpton had received an exemption from the policy.
The stories leading up to the trial still hype the racial issue. In a recent editorial, the South Florida Times said Sanford is “notorious for being biased against black males and … has a history of justice being warped in favor of white people.”
The newspaper even argued that Mr. Zimmerman should be forced to prove he did not stalk the teenager to kill him. What a warped view of our legal system, where it has always been the government’s responsibility to prove a defendant has committed a crime.
Fortunately, a jury will hear testimony and evidence about what happened on Feb. 26, 2012, so a verdict will be based on facts rather than the poor reporting that has appeared so far in much of the media.

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10 comments:

  1. "Fortunately, a jury will hear testimony and evidence about what happened on Feb. 26, 2012, so a verdict will be based on facts rather than the poor reporting that has appeared so far in much of the media."

    It doesn't really matter what the verdict is. You Angie, have done everything but say this nigger boy deserved to die. You have already made your judgement, but somehow, it's different and more morally sound then those who accuse Zimmerman of a racially motivated murder.

    What Zimmerman's motivations were are not known. What is known is that he CHOSE to follow Martin, some kind of confrontation occurred and he shot and killed Martin. What the court finds is irrelevant to you, but some of us still respect the rule of law.

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    1. OH but YOU have decided that Zimmerman is guilty .. OK Max if you say so.

      Travon is where he deserves to be -- worm food and not hurting anyone and breaking more laws.

      It is not worth it boys and girls so avoid a life of crime.

      May Zimmerman walk free then sue the shit out of the media that slandered him and live the rest of his life as a millionare .....

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    2. What I know is that Zimmerman shot and killed this kid. Whether that is proved to murder is for the courts to decide. I really haven't said at all that I think he is guilty. Instead, I have repeatedly stated what is known. He followed the kid, a struggle ensued and Zimmerman shot and killed Martin. YOU are the one losing your mud over this and posting utterly irrelevant information while repeatedly making the statement Martin deserved to die. And while you make this claim, you don't explain why. He's a shitbag in your eyes, and apparently that's good enough. The problem is that in a court of law, the outcome may be different.

      Why is your bullshit here not slander of Martin?

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    3. No, he WAS a shitbag and now he is worm food.... big difference.

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    4. Max, I think were I lost it with this case is what you rightly stated:Whether that is proved to murder is for the courts to decide. But it was too good of an opportunity for racial shit stirrers and people who have no respect for a constitutional right to pass up... All the way to the President of the United States and every activist including black hate groups.

      Maybe it was murder... maybe not... maybe the stand your ground law saved the right persons life... maybe not.... that is for investigators, lawyers, judges and a jury to determine... but of course one has to wonder, if he is found innocent, how many other murders will take place as a result...

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  2. Trayvon's girlfriend shot herself in the foot yesterday (pardon the pun) testifying about a letter that she had written to Trayvon's mother which recounted the time line and things she heard in a call she was having with Trayvon during the altercation......

    Turns out she didn't write the letter because she can't even read cursive:

    n a painfully embarrassing moment, Jeantel was forced to admit that she did not write a letter that was sent to Martin's mother describing what she allegedly heard on a phone call with Martin moments before he was shot. It came when West asked her to read the letter aloud in court.

    "Are you able to read that at all?" West asked.

    Jeantel, head bowed, eyes averted whispered into the court microphone, "Some but not all. I don't read cursive."

    It sent a hush through the packed courtroom.

    She was unable to read any of the letter save for her name, date and the words "thank you."

    She also admitted lying about things that were said in the conversation because she didn't want his mother to hear them.....

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    1. The bottom line is that the ONLY reason Zimmerman is on trial is to appease a black mod. When the shooting first took place the DA did not believe he should have been tried. Either it was believed that it was self defense or that there was not enough evidence to convict. Then the media got ahold of it and SLANDERED Z and purposely mislead the public about the facts.

      Now if (or hopefully) he is found innocent or is acquired will it be OK to shoot the rioters? After all it has been a long time since they were able to "get" a new TV, sneakers, and such for such a "deal". OOOOO the Travons of the world are hoping ...

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    2. "She also admitted lying about things that were said in the conversation because she didn't want his mother to hear them.."

      And Zimmerman appears to have lied when he said he didn't know anything about the stand your ground law.

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  3. “Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic.”

    The purpose of this to to imply others don't identify him as Hispanic.

    Do you see the Media writing "President Obama, who identifies himself as African American..." No of course not.

    17YO isn't really a kid anymore. Maybe compared to ourselves, yes. But compared to a "kid", he's not.

    Zimmerman didn't do anything illegal. Catching up to someone and asking them a question as part of a neighborhood watch is not illegal.

    Further, he was RESPONSIBLE and called 911. No one intent on murder would call 911 before committing the act.

    Trayvon took offense, and acted like a THUG. The thing about acting like a thug (such as bashing someone's head in to the cement) you never know who might be armed.

    Zimmerman saved his own life.

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    1. Wow Live, you wrapped this one up solidly. NO need to continue the court case. Several of you here simply don't give a shit about the law or the courts. Trayvon is guilty in your eyes of ......something and therefore deserved to die.

      After watching testimony the last couple of days, I am beginning to think that Zimmerman was basically getting his ass kicked pretty good and shot the kid to make it stop. I have to concede the point that even if I was a stupid asshole who started a needless confrontation (like I believe Zimmerman did), I would probably shoot someone if I had a gun to make it stop if I was getting my ass kicked. Whether that makes it true self defense or not is another story. I think most kids who don't grow up in some sheltered universe eventually get into a scrape they wish they hadn't started and then looked for any way out in the middle of it. That's the way the real world works.

      I didn't get into a ton of fights when I was a kid, but one thing I did learn is that you don't let someone come up on you and get the first shot. If I was getting followed by some weird looking dude, and that did happen on occasion, I would not have stood there and let him walk up to me and start giving me static, especially if he had been following me for several blocks. From what I've seen come out so far, Zimmerman is a cop wanna be and it was him rather then Trayvon who started this altercation. Per Zimmerman's words, Trayvon came at him from the front and possibly started the physical altercation. If it comes across that Zimmerman was scared for his life because he's kind of a loud mouthed pussy and was getting his ass kicked, I can see him getting off on self defense. If you shrink the entire episode to that specific fact, it's probably a defendable point.

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