Glenn Beck Website Blames Trayvon Martin for His Own Killing
At Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze” website, the wingnuts are in full-throated defense mode for George Zimmerman, in an article now titled: Sharpton Calls for Arrest of George Zimmerman After Shooting of Trayvon Martin in ‘Self-Defense’.
I say it’s “now” titled that, because the URL for the story reveals its original title: “Tawana Brawley 2.0 - Al Sharpton Sides with Aggressor in Self-Defense Case.”
And the article is almost laughably wrong — “almost laughably” because there’s nothing really funny about this sickening attempt to blame the victim.
Zimmerman has not been arrested because of Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws, which state that as long as someone is on their own property, if they have a reasonable suspicion that their life is in danger, they are allowed to use deadly force. Under Florida law, therefore, Zimmerman did nothing wrong, assuming Trayvon Martin actually aggressed against him.
Of course, Zimmerman was not on his own property when he shot Trayvon Martin — he chased the boy down, and shot him in the street.
Naturally enough, the fact that Zimmerman is himself a racial minority has done nothing to assuage accusations that he shot young Martin out of subconscious racism, making this possibly a hate crime.
That’s another wingnut talking point about this incident that reveals their own not-so-hidden racism — because “Hispanic,” as we pointed out on Monday, is NOT a racial classification.
According to the US Census:
Since the 1970 Census, the questionnaire has asked U.S. residents whether they are of Hispanic origin, and if so, which broad Hispanic group they identify with. Hispanic origin is considered separately from race in the Census—and Hispanics may identify with any race.
What they’re really saying here is that Latinos and Hispanics are not and cannot be “white.” Lovely.
This sick article goes on, smearing Trayvon Martin by noting that he’d been suspended from school (is that supposed to be an excuse to murder him?), and providing a helpful list of the reasons why he might have been suspended, including arson, sex offenses, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
None of which Trayvon Martin was ever accused of.