re: #39 A Little Bit Shady

I get it.

It isn’t a case of a privileged class killing a member of a non-privileged class, it’s a case of the non-privileged killing the non-privileged.

That makes the privileged class blameless for the outcome (even though they made the laws that enabled Zimmerman).

It’s a man feeling he has the privilege to summarily kill because of his suspicions. A man who didn’t listen to the police tell him not to follow Trayvon, who told the dispatcher “These bastards always get away” before initiating his pursuit. [Transcript of 911 call]

It’s a man who’s sense of entitlement allows him to view a black kid with his hand by his waistband as a threat, but lacks the imaginative faculties to conceive of non-criminal reasons why an unaccompanied youth might bolt and run from a man following them in a car.

It’s a man revanchist enough to create a dangerous situation by forcing a confrontation. I’ll lay down money he was angry and excited rather than scared: he wanted a fight, a personal triumph. The “neighborhood watch” and the concealed weapon were paraphernalia of a larger power fantasy and he finally had the justification to hurt somebody and feel righteous.

I’ll add one more speculation: Mr Zimmerman is a coward.

Addendum: Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing on his blog about the Trayvon Martin murder. I have a great deal of respect for both his writing and analysis, and will follow what he has to say.