Why Public's Opinions on Zimmerman Is Shifting

Why Public’s Opinions on Zimmerman Is Shifting

US News • June 2012 • Views: 1,896

For weeks, the death of Trayvon Martin, the investigations it launched and the civil rights rallies it spurred were the most important news stories in the country, according to pollsters.

At least six news organizations or polling companies did surveys. What they documented, in general, was that people were fascinated and outraged by the Feb. 26 death of the unarmed 17-year-old and angry at the shooter, Neighborhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

Two sets of findings, though, stand out:

Although it was the No. 1 story in the country overall, twice as many blacks as whites singled it out as the country’s most important story, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

And as time has passed and more evidence has been released, people’s feelings about Zimmerman have eased.

More…

Trayvon Martin George Zimmerman

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12 comments

alinuxguru Mon, Jun 18, 2012 12:14:20pm

I have been saying this from day one. The media and the public at large were in a rush to judgement and looking for reasons to hate this guy. Although Zimmerman is a tool, as more information comes out, his "guilt" grows in doubt as the facts are more nuanced.

Ironically, probably the only person that is going to be sentenced for a crime in this circus may well be Zimmermans wife.

Major Tom Mon, Jun 18, 2012 12:49:32pm

I'm not going to re-hash out Zimmerman's guilty actions that night, or explain for an upteenth time why he committed cold blooded murder, and why Martin was innocent... But the switching of pubic opinion on the subject, i think, can be explained by the right wing media's united front in defending Zimmerman. People heard about the crime, initially, and suspected Zimmerman's guilt for obvious reasons. After seeing his face and hearing some more facts about Zimmerman's encounter with Martin, there was doubt in both versions of events. At this point the Right Wing Media's untited front bombarded reasonable people attempting to make sense of the actions that night, and berrated people who could possibly believe him (Zimmerman) guilty. The Right Wing Media was consistant in their assertion that the 'Liberal Media' had tried the case and condemned Zimmerman, as well in their favorite meme that Black people are scary, and always the aggressor to poor white folks... Everyone knows the dangers with the media 'mob-mentality' trying a case publically, and the media attention did leave a bad taste in people's mouths... Fox always blames the media, so this seemed consistant, and justification of their crying and their victim mentality... And so now it may seem to many that the Martin side is inconsistant, and that Zimmerman's side has been consistant from the beginning. But of course, he hasn't been, and even if he had been, it only proves that he is able to keep a story straight in an effort to save his own skin. As the recent calls have confirmed, he is a liar, and willing to make false statements to improve his living situation. Public opinion may be fickle, but there have been reasons for the movement in opinions from people tenuously following the case. The facts however, have been consistant, even up until Zimmerman and Wife were caught hiding 10s of thousands of dollars.

What, me worry? Mon, Jun 18, 2012 1:46:35pm

re: #1 alinuxguru

I have been saying this from day one. The media and the public at large were in a rush to judgement and looking for reasons to hate this guy. Although Zimmerman is a tool, as more information comes out, his "guilt" grows in doubt as the facts are more nuanced.

Ironically, probably the only person that is going to be sentenced for a crime in this circus may well be Zimmermans wife.

If you read the article, you missed this:

Since those mid-May numbers were released, there have been major developments in the case: Zimmerman is back in jail because his wife, Shellie, lied under oath about the family's finances, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. concluded.

On Tuesday, Shellie Zimmerman was arrested, and she was charged with perjury.

Those things, Irby said, will likely cause public opinion to shift again, this time against Zimmerman.

Ya think? Maybe they're actually the lying trash most of us thought they were?

What, me worry? Mon, Jun 18, 2012 1:51:23pm

re: #1 alinuxguru

I have been saying this from day one. The media and the public at large were in a rush to judgement and looking for reasons to hate this guy. Although Zimmerman is a tool, as more information comes out, his "guilt" grows in doubt as the facts are more nuanced.

Ironically, probably the only person that is going to be sentenced for a crime in this circus may well be Zimmermans wife.

If Zimmerman gets off, it'll be because of an ill-conceived law, brought on by one of the worst state government's in the country and neither will justice be served to anyone.

Bob Levin Mon, Jun 18, 2012 2:07:28pm

"This, obviously, was a huge news story," said Scott Rasmussen, founder of Rasmussen Reports.

People's opinions about Zimmerman changed, said Kenny Irby, a faculty member at The Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla., because "people are modulating their opinions based on the staccato-like information that comes out."

And it will likely continue to shift, he said, as more bits and pieces come out.

In other words, it's not news. There shouldn't be polls regarding anyone on trial. Scott Rasmussen was doing PR for himself.

SidewaysQuark Mon, Jun 18, 2012 6:55:01pm

The more I learn about this, the more I think it was an unfortunate kid (who might have occasionally been out of line and a bit too big for his britches) who encountered a possibly well-meaning but poorly-prepared mall ninja (look it up) with an unfortunate outcome.

I don't see any good resolution to this terrible situation possible.

Targetpractice Mon, Jun 18, 2012 7:06:25pm

re: #3 What, me worry?

If you read the article, you missed this:

Ya think? Maybe they're actually the lying trash most of us thought they were?

No, just that the state is relying half-truths to try this case. Despite reproducing portions of Sherrie's testimony in the affidavit for the perjury charge, they can't single out one sentence in her testimony that is demonstrably false, something that Florida case law says they have to if they want a perjury charge to stick. And it also omits the portion of her testimony where she stated that George's brother-in-law would be the one to ask about how much was in the Paypal account, as he was the one in charge of it. This isn't that surprising, considering the state's affidavit against George didn't include the injuries he sustained or that he was claiming self-defense in the shooting.

gwangung Mon, Jun 18, 2012 10:06:34pm

re: #7 Targetpractice

No, just that the state is relying half-truths to try this case. Despite reproducing portions of Sherrie's testimony in the affidavit for the perjury charge, they can't single out one sentence in her testimony that is demonstrably false, something that Florida case law says they have to if they want a perjury charge to stick. And it also omits the portion of her testimony where she stated that George's brother-in-law would be the one to ask about how much was in the Paypal account, as he was the one in charge of it. This isn't that surprising, considering the state's affidavit against George didn't include the injuries he sustained or that he was claiming self-defense in the shooting.

Dude, you're not going to get one single person from the legal field to agree with you. She flat out lied.

Targetpractice Tue, Jun 19, 2012 12:27:17am

re: #8 gwangung

Dude, you're not going to get one single person from the legal field to agree with you. She flat out lied.

I'm going off the opinion of a Cornell Law School professor. And a Denver criminal defense attorney.

So, you were saying?

alinuxguru Tue, Jun 19, 2012 7:20:54am

re: #6 SidewaysQuark

Yep. Pretty much sums it up.

blueraven Sat, Jun 23, 2012 11:11:58am

re: #9 Targetpractice

I'm going off the opinion of a Cornell Law School professor. And a Denver criminal defense attorney.

So, you were saying?

So you are using the words of noted birther William A. Jacobson

and a defense lawyer who refers/links back to noted birther?

Scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

blueraven Sat, Jun 23, 2012 12:00:12pm

re: #6 SidewaysQuark

The more I learn about this, the more I think it was an unfortunate kid (who might have occasionally been out of line and a bit too big for his britches) who encountered a possibly well-meaning but poorly-prepared mall ninja (look it up) with an unfortunate outcome.

I don't see any good resolution to this terrible situation possible.

With all dues respect, why is Martin the one "who might have occasionally been out of line and a bit too big for his britches"
and Zimmerman "well-meaning but poorly-prepared mall ninga"?

Zimmerman also has priors, including violence, so maybe he was not so well meaning.

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