The Zimmerman case is about many things, but it isn't about George Zimmerman, an Hispanic Obama supporter who campaigned against police brutality only to find himself plucked up by the hand of Big Brother to play the villainous white racist in the latest episode of liberal political reality television.
Zimmerman is the latest Bernie Goetz; another wholly unlikely cult figure who currently campaigns for vegetarian lunches in public schools and squirrel rescue. It's not that the two men had anything particularly in common. Unlike Goetz, it is very unlikely that Zimmerman jumped the gun, so to speak, but they both fill a similar niche. They represent the embattled lower half of the middle class.
To understand the Zimmerman case, you have to live in a neighborhood that has just enough property values to keep you paying the mortgage and just enough proximity to dangerous territories to make you feel like you're living on the frontier.
The chain of events doesn't make much sense to the elites, which is one reason why they assume that the explanation must be racism There weren't a lot of New Yorker readers cheering as Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey stalked the subways and parks of the city blowing away hoods. The perfect target audience for the Death Wish movies or for Goetz saying "You don't look too bad, here's another" was that bottom half of the middle class that didn't have enough money to leave the city and didn't have enough liberalism to accept the violence as their just due.
But the case isn't about race either. It's about a struggling middle class in a precarious economy trying to hang on to what it has. And it's about a culture of dropouts from the economy who celebrate thuggery and then pretend to be the victims. It's doubtful that anyone in Zimmerman's neighborhood who weathered multiple break-ins has much sympathy for the Martin family. And that's one reason that the prosecution hasn't found any useful witnesses.
If Trayvon Martin had been the clean cut innocent kid that the media tried to pretend he is, the reaction might have been different. But he wasn't. The gap between Martin and Zimmerman wasn't race, in other circumstances most liberals would have called both men members of minority groups, it was aspiration.
George Zimmerman wanted to to be a cop. Trayvon Martin wanted to be a hood. It's quite possible that Martin got no closer to his ambition than Zimmerman got to his. Both men were just going through the motions on the edge of a game of cops-and-robbers that suddenly turned deadly real. And even in a country where the thug tops the entertainment heap, the vulnerable parts of the middle class have more sympathy for aspiring cops than for aspiring thugs.
What are cops and thugs? Cops are the protectors of the middle class and thugs prey on the middle class. Not just any part of the middle class, but the vulnerable parts, the men and women without enough money and mobility to get out when neighborhoods turn bad. And then it all comes down to territory and who can intimidate whom. Either the cops intimidate the thugs or the thugs intimidate the cops.
Everyone is the hero in their own story, but George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin were living out different stories. George Zimmerman was looking out for his neighbors while Trayvon Martin was looking to live the thug life. Martin's story ended with him realizing that sometimes attitude isn't enough and Zimmerman's story ended with him realizing that sometimes even when you try to be the hero, you're going to be drawn as a villain.
But the Zimmerman and Martin story is an American story. That's why it has become so big. Back in the 70s, when Paul Kersey was skulking around on the silver screen, it was mainly an urban story. Now it's an everywhere story. It's a story about homesteaders and savages, about a shaky middle class built on piles of debt trying to protect what's left of its way of life while across the street, there's the glamor of not working and scoring money any way you can.
It's a culture clash of a primal kind. Settlers and nomads. Cops and robbers. Builders and destroyers. And it was never going to end well. The elites want the settlers to make way for the nomads, the cops to acknowledge their role in alienating the robbers and the builders to admit that their construction is really the destruction of the way of life of the destroyers. They don't understand the struggling lower middle class and they don't care to. They have a great deal of empathy for the Trayvon Martins swaggering around another neighborhood that decays at their touch, but none for the George Zimmermans, sweating, mopping their brows, worrying how they're going to hold everything together.
Neighborhood watches don't have to turn violent, but they exist because of the potential for violence in a society with plenty of law, but little order. The struggling middle class looks to the cops only to realize that the cops have their own job and it isn't to protect them, it's to protect each other. And so they become cops. It's vigilantism of a sort and it's a symptom of social collapse. But it's also the attitude that helped make the United States happen.
That's the real story behind the headlines, the agitprop and the circus of a public trial. It's the reality that doesn't get talked about much because it's much less interesting than the straightforward story being fed into the presses. The one about an innocent young boy killed for no reason at all. It's a story about what happens when people are backed into a corner and then told to stay there. It's about a frightened middle class trying to survive. And it's about territory.
Settlers make homes. Nomads walk in and out of them. Builders thrive on making things and destroyers on trashing them. Zimmerman picked his side of the coin and Martin picked his.
Zimmerman is the latest Bernie Goetz; another wholly unlikely cult figure who currently campaigns for vegetarian lunches in public schools and squirrel rescue. It's not that the two men had anything particularly in common. Unlike Goetz, it is very unlikely that Zimmerman jumped the gun, so to speak, but they both fill a similar niche. They represent the embattled lower half of the middle class.To understand the Zimmerman case, you have to live in a neighborhood that has just enough property values to keep you paying the mortgage and just enough proximity to dangerous territories to make you feel like you're living on the frontier.
The chain of events doesn't make much sense to the elites, which is one reason why they assume that the explanation must be racism There weren't a lot of New Yorker readers cheering as Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey stalked the subways and parks of the city blowing away hoods. The perfect target audience for the Death Wish movies or for Goetz saying "You don't look too bad, here's another" was that bottom half of the middle class that didn't have enough money to leave the city and didn't have enough liberalism to accept the violence as their just due.
But the case isn't about race either. It's about a struggling middle class in a precarious economy trying to hang on to what it has. And it's about a culture of dropouts from the economy who celebrate thuggery and then pretend to be the victims. It's doubtful that anyone in Zimmerman's neighborhood who weathered multiple break-ins has much sympathy for the Martin family. And that's one reason that the prosecution hasn't found any useful witnesses.
If Trayvon Martin had been the clean cut innocent kid that the media tried to pretend he is, the reaction might have been different. But he wasn't. The gap between Martin and Zimmerman wasn't race, in other circumstances most liberals would have called both men members of minority groups, it was aspiration.
George Zimmerman wanted to to be a cop. Trayvon Martin wanted to be a hood. It's quite possible that Martin got no closer to his ambition than Zimmerman got to his. Both men were just going through the motions on the edge of a game of cops-and-robbers that suddenly turned deadly real. And even in a country where the thug tops the entertainment heap, the vulnerable parts of the middle class have more sympathy for aspiring cops than for aspiring thugs.
What are cops and thugs? Cops are the protectors of the middle class and thugs prey on the middle class. Not just any part of the middle class, but the vulnerable parts, the men and women without enough money and mobility to get out when neighborhoods turn bad. And then it all comes down to territory and who can intimidate whom. Either the cops intimidate the thugs or the thugs intimidate the cops.
Everyone is the hero in their own story, but George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin were living out different stories. George Zimmerman was looking out for his neighbors while Trayvon Martin was looking to live the thug life. Martin's story ended with him realizing that sometimes attitude isn't enough and Zimmerman's story ended with him realizing that sometimes even when you try to be the hero, you're going to be drawn as a villain.
But the Zimmerman and Martin story is an American story. That's why it has become so big. Back in the 70s, when Paul Kersey was skulking around on the silver screen, it was mainly an urban story. Now it's an everywhere story. It's a story about homesteaders and savages, about a shaky middle class built on piles of debt trying to protect what's left of its way of life while across the street, there's the glamor of not working and scoring money any way you can.
It's a culture clash of a primal kind. Settlers and nomads. Cops and robbers. Builders and destroyers. And it was never going to end well. The elites want the settlers to make way for the nomads, the cops to acknowledge their role in alienating the robbers and the builders to admit that their construction is really the destruction of the way of life of the destroyers. They don't understand the struggling lower middle class and they don't care to. They have a great deal of empathy for the Trayvon Martins swaggering around another neighborhood that decays at their touch, but none for the George Zimmermans, sweating, mopping their brows, worrying how they're going to hold everything together.
That's the real story behind the headlines, the agitprop and the circus of a public trial. It's the reality that doesn't get talked about much because it's much less interesting than the straightforward story being fed into the presses. The one about an innocent young boy killed for no reason at all. It's a story about what happens when people are backed into a corner and then told to stay there. It's about a frightened middle class trying to survive. And it's about territory.
Settlers make homes. Nomads walk in and out of them. Builders thrive on making things and destroyers on trashing them. Zimmerman picked his side of the coin and Martin picked his.
Comments
Great analysis, I am getting similar (but less articulate or less pointed) opinions voiced on a number of sites, including Fox. This "monkey trial" (Scopes trial) is really another culture and politics show, not about a supposedly race related murder. However, it borders on being a lynching of GZ.
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, the cops are really intended to protect the oligarchs and elites. (If anyone doubts this, ask how Beverly Hills fared during the RK riots) The average middle class person is being systematically disarmed, vilified by the MSM when they stray toward the right, and slowly but surely impoverished by the loss of jobs. Our elected officials are intent upon importing millions of poorly educated and unskilled laborers, exporting high paying jobs, and expanding the welfare (vote-buying) rolls. The middle class is being squeezed out of existence by taxes, hidden inflation (QE 1,2,3,etc.), layers of useless laws and restrictions, and shrinking opportunities to climb up economically.
GZ may have exhibited poor judgment, but did nothing to warrant a beating by TM. Funny thing, the NSA, CIA, FBI, and who knows who else at the state and local levels seem to be monitoring just about everything that everyone does, but they can't figure out who did what first between GZ and TM. If nothing else, the state will give a new twist to "use a gun, go to jail": "Stop a crime, go to jail or at least go bankrupt defending yourself and watch your life dreams go down the toilet."
Fantastic analysis. The best.
ReplyDeleteLinkback from my place.
ReplyDeleteFrom my point of view, it's also about a wannabe gangbanger feeling dissed because he was about to be questioned about his business, without realizing he was not on a city street, where you usually need to be loitering to be stopped. He wanted payback for being dissed, and got in over his head.
ReplyDeleteHe was in an HOA common area. From Zimmerman's point of view, he is a part owner of that common area, and has every right to identify residents from guests or trespasser. While that may not always be wise, as it may put your life at risk, he certainly has that right.
I personally see no difference between the HOA common area and coastal waters or an ADIZ; You can't pull over a ship on the high seas, but you sure can board and search a vessel in territorial waters, or scramble the jets for an aircraft that enters an ADIZ and won't identify itself and state its business.
Note that because this is in an area he partially owns, he is operating in the capacity of an owner protecting what is partially his own property, and not merely acting as a overzealous vigilante.
very good point
ReplyDelete"The perfect target audience...was that bottom half of the middle class that didn't have enough money to leave the city and didn't have enough liberalism to accept the violence as their just due."
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely perfect description.
This is ALL about race. Only whites can be colorblind, "race neutral", or post-racial. A black man would never say that race does not exist. That is why whites are being demographically replaced in the US.
ReplyDeleteMiddle-class is a value system, not just an income bracket. Values include education, personal responsibility, citizenship, and private property rights.
The American black "middle class" is new, and entirely propped up with government minority contracts, wealth transfer payments, easy subsidized loans, public sector jobs, race-based preferences, quotas, and Affirmative Action. I have actually heard educated black people say that whites are "finally letting us have a little something." This is quite telling.
This is why most blacks will NEVER vote for Conservatives or vote GOP. GOP wants small government. Small government advocates are called "racist" because small government means no fake black middle-class, no easy credit minority mortgage scams, and no welfare or race up-liftment programs. Blacks only vote for policies that enrich other blacks. They vote against whites and for black power and control every time. It is a private contract not discussed around whites.
Blacks don't have the cultural value system to sustain a middle-class status and income. The black middle-class is disappearing because it was created by the government's picking of artificial winners.
It is unfair to expect blacks to compete openly with whites. Open competition always creates a disparate impact on blacks, and a call for more redistribution and social justice engineering for equality of outcome.
And btw, the faux propped-up black middle class is producing many of these well-dressed, violent black teens who roam and terrorize middle-class white suburban neighborhoods. The thugs are not all produced by the black ghettos. The new black middle class does not have the family structure or value system to sustain a middle class status, and they fail to transfer any values or work ethic on to their black children. So you get huge, roving packs of wandering black youths in formerly safe, middle-class neighborhoods. A significant black population causes the devaluation of property for whites. Whites lose, blacks are bailed out with white tax dollars. Lather, rinse and repeat.
Blacks believe that like education, a middle class salary is magical and will transport them to "equality" with whites and the accumulation of stuff, but middle-class values include a good work ethic, sacrifice, future time orientation, failure, delayed gratification, saving, maintenance to property, generosity to others, and good planning. Black culture does not include these values.
Have you ever lived near authentic blacks or in a black ghetto neighborhood? If you have, you would know that black CULTURE is the problem. Black culture promotes violence, degeneracy, Critical Race Theory, illegitimacy, anti-intellectualism, a sense of racial grievance, and victimhood. Blacks create the violent ghetto neighborhoods that destroy cities and force whites to flee in White Flight. Each time whites have to flee, they lose a percentage of their saved wealth and property. And slip out of middle-class status. This is a war on the WHITE middle-class.
And THAT is why the white middle-class is disappearing. It is a deliberate dispossession in the form of white flight that forces white people to wander like nomads in their own country.
We should shrink government, eliminate Affirmative Action and quotas, END the welfare state, bring back restrictive covenants, and legalize freedom of association for whites. It will be messy at first, but it is the only way to save the real American middle class.
After reading your post, I can't believe I actually thought racism was a thing of the past! That was horrible! It makes me sad humanity still thinks like this. Has it ever occurred to you maybe none of that's true? I live in a predominantly white town and we r experiencing exactly what you are saying is prone to blacks in our city but by white people. Maybe it's just about choice and not color?
Delete"There weren't a lot of New Yorker readers cheering as Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey stalked the subways and parks of the city blowing away hoods."
ReplyDeleteYeah, but who didn't wish he'd taken out Jeff Goldblum?
The truth is that Trayvon is dead because he went for the "beat down" that ii glorified in Thug culture. After he knocked Zim down, the smart thing would have been to slit, especially since you are a "guest" in that neighborhood. Unfortunately for Trayvon, (but fortunately for the rest of society,) he let his instincts for violence and immediate glorification take over, and that was a fatal mistake.
ReplyDeleteBeating down whitey works in most rap songs. Not so much with an armed populace
Spawn today, having lived in and 'grown up' in the environs of perpetual lower incomes have no idea .. literally .. what Private Property is. Unless you try and steal their Skittle or tennis shoes. Then they understand private property. But when it comes to a slice of terrain, owned in Title with Deed etc, I'm telling you they have no idea what that is, and why they can't go there unless invited.
ReplyDeleteNo knowledge of equity. Property.
I approached a kid on a bike one time who'd just ridden his bike through a flower bed I'd planted (approached may be the wrong term). Told him to get off my land. He told me unless it has a fence around it he can go any damn place he pleases.
Wow, I just found your blog. I really like your writing.
ReplyDeleteLinked from Derb at VDare. Great piece Knish.
ReplyDeleteOf course this will never be discussed on TV but this case is the perfect example of the exact reason why white people try so hard to live in all white neighborhoods. The woman that Trayvon Martin and his father were staying with, Brandi Green, seems to have had a decent job and income and to have lived quietly with her 12 year old son. But then she gets a new boyfriend and he brings his 17 year old juvenile delinquent suspended from school son with him to the neighborhood for a visit. And doesn't bother to supervise the kid because he and Brandi need to go out and have fun. And s**t happens.
ReplyDeleteEven the nicest-seeming black people are likely to have miscreants in the extended family or among their friends. What do you do to be safe from them except to keep as much distance as you can, hence property values much higher the whiter the area.
Recently, 'rapper' (there is debate about the precise nature, genre, of what he did as a performer) MC Daleste was shot and killed while performing. At least one of his songs included material dedicated to killing police officers.
ReplyDeleteCertain parts of our culture, especially the black community, are saturated in nihilist, and consequently vicious, entertainment. What do those who like such performers expect to happen?
Ideas (and art, however distorted in modern culture, does concretize ideas) have very serious consequences.
As DG observes, "It's a culture clash of a primal kind. Settlers and nomads. Cops and robbers. Builders and destroyers. And it was never going to end well."
It will virulently continue not to end well as long as the Left's nihilism is a prominent part of our culture.
The media has played Zimmerman as a white vigilante who killed a cute puppy-dog black kid. They must have seen their story crumble when Zimmerman's mother and uncle, in accented English, took the stand.
ReplyDeleteWill the CNNs and MSNBCs start to push this story to the backburner? Is there now "no story" for them?
Art West
Remarkably coherent analysis. I'd like to see further analysis from an objective perspective within the black community, as I believe there are also broader social narratives at work there too.
ReplyDeleteFor low income blacks in particular, they face a realization by elite whites that they're "hopeless", particularly as economic elites and political progressives move to import another 10-30 million Hispanics on the political front. Black unemployment is out of control, yet the whites have chosen to import more alternatives and let blacks suffer. Increasingly, it appears the economic elites appear tired of funding perpetual welfare, dealing with broken families, a rejection of education and personal advancement, and an epidemic of crime. "Why do blacks have these problems when Hispanics do not?" seems to be an unspoken question. "Haven't we tried to lift you up long enough? Haven't we made up for slavery and disenfranchisement? Just how long are you going to refuse to work and cost the affluent upper income earners through income redistribution?"
This of course neglects a great many factors but the fear of Hispanic replacement of blacks in society is almost certainly a factor here too, in spite of the national media's attempts to portray Hispanics as whites.
I agree with the Black Culture comment.
ReplyDeleteOne rather small correction, George Zimmerman didn't want to become a cop.
Per conversation with one of his professors he wanted to become a lawyer, then a prosecutor. (remember his father was a magistrate) Rather confirmed by the Sanford NW coordinator who offered George a more official position complete with a marked government vehicle and uniform; a position Mr. Zimmerman turned down.
It's also a clash between sobriety and intoxication. Zimmerman was dead sober. Martin was high on pot and about to make some Purple Lean with the watermelon iced tea and Skittles he had just bought. One of the side effects of chronic Purple Lean use is fits of rage.
ReplyDeleteFrom comment above: "If nothing else, the state will give a new twist to 'use a gun, go to jail': 'Stop a crime, go to jail or at least go bankrupt defending yourself and watch your life dreams go down the toilet.'"
ReplyDeleteSpot-on. This case is not just about racial grievance, it's also a full-frontal attack on the gun culture and the right of self-defense. The state is sending a clear message that even if you get licensed to carry concealed and do everything the law says you should, in the unfortunate event you are ever forced to use the gun to defend yourself, you will be put into the legal meat grinder afterward, and even if you manage to escape imprisonment, you will be bankrupted and pilloried in the court of public opinion. The state wants its monopoly on force, and greatly resents the citizenry taking responsibility for its own defense. This case shows that when they can't get gun control through the legislative process, they'll abuse the judicial system to achieve their ends.
I have heard zero about Purple Lean until your post. And I've been following this case pretty closely. Also, with THC in his system, Martin could easily have been experiencing a know side effect of paranoia.
ReplyDeleteJerry
George Zimmerman’s Black Ancestry is Revealed
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2876811/posts
George Zimmerman: the black, Hispanic, Peruvian, kind-hearted non-white, not-racist poster boy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2876692/posts
George Zimmerman Has ‘Black Roots’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2876518/posts
Suppose for a moment that this horrible misunderstanding (for that is what it was) had ended with Zimmerman dead and Martin explaining himself to the police. Think they would have just taken his statement, dusted him off, and sent him on his way? I'm all for self defense, but the disparity in treatment must be acknowledged.
ReplyDeleteSanity Inspector, point taken. But in the court of public opinion, Martin would have appeared as the hero who bested a man with a gun. Martin, I believe, would not have been charged. It would be his word - from "a kid" in an unfamiliar area, being "stalked" -- against whichever witnesses wanted to step forward. If Martin and Zimmerman scrambled for the gun, and Martin shot Zimmerman, I believe the public would react the same.
ReplyDelete...Or it could have been about getting out the black vote.
ReplyDeleteMartin and Zimmerman had (at least) one thing in common. Both were afraid of the other, and both believed the cops to be ineffective. Despite prior experience of "punks getting away," Zimmerman still contacted authorities out of respect for the rule of law. Martin did not call 911 when Zimmerman followed him. Instead, he decided the respond according to the laws of the street. When he faced off with Zimmerman ("what's your problem?"), he might have been sizing up Zimmerman and thinking about how he was going to take him. I can see that. Who will die and who will survive and face the jury? Fists against a gun.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, each person will read what he/she wants into it.
Liberals will cry for more gun control measures.
And conservatives will reply, "I'd rather be tried by 12 than carried by 6."
Don't forget: We've had months to mull over each detail as it comes forward -- the facts as well as the lies (thanks, media!).
ReplyDeleteMartin and Zimmerman had mere moments.
It surely appears that this trial is motivated by liberal Miami politicians, angry about someone taking the law into his own hands and killing a "favorite son". Miami's 2010 census shows Blacks at 19.2%, while Hispanic/Latino are at 64.3%, so I'm wondering why the Mayor and Police Chief think it is in their interest, or the community's, to persecute a Latino. Don't they vote? Maybe they didn't see his photo and just reacted to his last name: Zimmerman.
ReplyDeleteThe trial is an embarrassing comedy of incompetence, at first and second glance, but is the D.A. that incompetent? Could he be rebelling and showing the World that the City is wrongfully pressing this Murder trial? I'd like to believe that, but not being in the Courtroom, it's more a lean to reason.
Regards,
Backing up what Lionel said - three years ago, a homeowner in our once safe & quiet neighborhood started rented to Section 8 tennants. Each family (six in total) started out as good neighbors. But once their friends and family started visiting and hanging out, it was like living next door to the Ghetto. Couldn't even let your kids play outside anymore.
ReplyDelete@The Sanity Inspector said...
ReplyDeleteI don't have a major disagreement with you, but must note that the police held Zimmerman for 6 hours, took pix, statements, etc.
Jerry
What an eye-opening analysis! About the best way to describe this piece is that it creates a sudden gasp of understanding about what's really going on in the GZ trial.
ReplyDeleteto Jerry.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure of all the detail. but the case stuff is (was anyway) public record. Best explanation I read was written over a year ago.
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/24/update-26-part-2-trayvon-martin-shooting-a-year-of-drug-use-culminates-in-predictable-violence/
and explains why TM's mom was so insistent her baby's past wasn't a subject for analysis.
TM's own online presence seems to be bragging of being a drug user and dealer.
Judge Nelson won't allow any of this in court,but I suspect West will go scorched earth after the trial to achieve three purposes.
1) get some fragment of GZ's cred back.
2) reestablish the original perception (wannabe thug got shot attacking a CWL holder who was armed)to reduce probability that Feds retry for same crime.
3) remove the black community's excuse to go out and riot (actually to smash and loot)
DenisO said...
ReplyDelete"The trial is an embarrassing comedy of incompetence, at first and second glance, but is the D.A. that incompetent?"
There's another possibility. If the DA was told by people way above his head (like say, the President) that the trial must go forward, then it would go forward even if there was not a scrap of evidence.
And the administration might do this because? Because by the time it is over there will be no win except for government.
If Zimmerman walks - there are riots predicted.
If Zimmerman is convicted - then riots STILL happen because now Trayvon's death must be vindicated.
Riots become an excuse for martial law (phase two?), gun confiscation, more fear and intimidation – I’m sure you see where I am going with this.
Actually ...
DeleteYeah, the DA really is that incompetent. She's an anti-gun fanatic - literally. Based on her record, I'm pretty sure she'd have pushed this case regardless of the political climate.
First the latest development and then how it relates to this post and Alex' comment above.
ReplyDeleteThe Illuminati, a popular clothing brand and activist blog that powers itself on paranoia and conspiracy theories, has called for the murder of George Zimmerman in order to restore “justice.”
“The Only Justice for Trayvon Martin is to take the Life of George Zimmerman. #EyeForAnEye #ZimmermanTrial,” the group posted Tuesday morning.
From http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/9/illuminati-clothing-brand-calls-eye-murder-george-/#ixzz2YcDBClvp
Sultan and the elitist element: The irony should not escape anyone that Illuminati is also the quintessential elitist organization in all conspiracy theories.
Alex: When law enforcement does not charge this clothing firm with criminal fomenting to murder, that too is another way for government to chill those who need to defend themselves. Like you said, gun control by any and all means is on the agenda.
RE: the anonymous one's comment just above Jhn1:
ReplyDelete"Increasingly, it appears the economic elites appear tired of funding perpetual welfare, dealing with broken families, a rejection of education and personal advancement, and an epidemic of crime. "Why do blacks have these problems when Hispanics do not?" seems to be an unspoken question. "Haven't we tried to lift you up long enough? Haven't we made up for slavery and disenfranchisement? Just how long are you going to refuse to work and cost the affluent upper income earners through income redistribution?"
I hate to tell you this, but it was these elites that destroyed any resemblance of middle class American culture in the black communities by the welfare state. It rewarded bad behavior. I am old enough to have met black families that grew up in the Jim Crow era. These people knew family values, had faith, and were hard working folks that strove to overcome many obstacles. Today, most people of color would consider these people chumps. And just like Justice Thomas and others, they would be vilified as Oreo's and lackeys. As for the Hispanics, maybe the folks that came across the border legally have the work ethic, but here in SoCal, we are over-run by the gangsters, pregnant teens, and intoxicated drivers. Run over would be more correct, literally. They are here for the vote buying benefits courtesy of the same democrat oligarchs.
Florencia 13 has ethnically cleansed parts of South LA of young black males. The remaining black males wisely show great deference.
ReplyDeleteThe Zimmerman case is also a conflict between values based on merit or identity politics. Those whose values are based on merit judge the encounter on behavior. Those whose values are based on identity politics, base their judgement on which group they want to win.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that Martin did not call the police was that he was dirty. He had just smoked some dope. He was also carrying the ingredients for Purple Lean, which probably meant that he had a illegal stash of codeine waiting for him back home.
ReplyDeleteI refer you to Col. Dave Grossman's essay about Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves. We know which Zimmerman was and which Martin.
ReplyDelete-Rurik
Uh, uh, uh........hmmmm........uh, uh, uh.......................RACIST!
ReplyDeleteThere are two ways to make your way in the world: by producing value or by stealing it. Civilization is the building of cultural and governmental institutions that favor the producers over the stealers. Many early societies aimed to be civilized only internally, curtailing theft from each other but engaging in theft from outsiders, often at the highest societal level, by engaging in conquest.
ReplyDeleteIslam at its core was based on stealing from outsiders and this still forms its central identity. Communism aimed to steal everything from everyone, both internally (by enslaving its entire population), and externally (by enslaving the world).
The civilized West, and particularly the United States, was from its founding the exact opposite, renouncing and fighting against theft both internally and externally, UNTIL the commie-left managed to get control of all of our information industries. How the hell did we let that happen?
The Zimmerman-Martin case is indeed a remarkable testament to how thoroughly our media elites now side with the predators and against the defenders of life and property, and Obama is, as usual, the worst of the worst, not only calling publicly for special treatment for people who look like him, but as it now turns out, actively engaging in fomenting "grassroots" agitation for the bringing of unwarranted charges:
http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/172171/
It is shameful and telling, that an open, honest article such as this should be relegated to the obscure; only to be found and perused by chance
ReplyDeleteOur far left media will bury any of these facts, supplanting them with liberal excuses for black society's uncivilized, destructive actions upon any area they move into. The president's new brainstorm of declaring preemployment background checks on blacks racist; since most young black men have criminal records, is a case in point. Admit on one hand that young blacks are far more likely to be criminals, then come up with another way to hide that fact and force those criminals into our workforce until they victimize those employers, spend another stay behind bars and are released to victimize the next hard working company owner who has no right to know who he is hiring. On the other, completely dodge the part of his statement that states; blacks are more likely to be criminals and ask why this is and demand a change. Making excuses does nothing but give those an excuse for their actions, relieving them of any personal responsibility for their actions and taking away any incentive NOT to follow the victimizing culture
As a father of three daughters and a retired Marine; I Always explained to my children the dangers one ill thought decision could have on the rest of their lives. Shoplift a $10 item and it could easily set your career back 10 years; costing you tens of thousands of dollars. Lose your temper and hit a fellow student, in this day and age and you could easily find yourself unable to attend your college of choice
Now, if this liberal fool in the White House has his way; that will no longer a valid deterrent for those few black parents that seem to care about their children's lives or the impact they make on the community they live in. Once again, we find ourselves; the non black community, being blamed for their actions
I have been to dozens of countries on this planet and one immutable fact remains: The closer you get to Africa, the worse that society behaves. Tens of thousands of years ago, those that had the drive and wanted more out of life, for themselves and their families; Left to find more. Those who were complacent with whatever they could glean, author harder work or risk, stayed. They were perfectly willing to accept whatever the land was willing to provide and live their life on that. This is exactly what we are seeing with the welfare program here. The black welfare society; in large part, has taken a program designed to help people get back on their feet and opted for spending their lives on that pittance; unwilling to work for more
With all the studies on human evolution and the genetic evidence that we all originated there, one has to wonder where that study, the one that investigated why a large portion of the population migrated out of Africa and why some chose to stay. Having been there and seen communities still living 5k years behind the rest of the planet; I find my theory to have significant merit
Wow..can't believe all the various comments shown above..all very astute, interesting and mind riveting..each allowing me new perspectives on not only this sad court case, but on humanity and its many social & political differences, but also our similarities..and how far but how close we could be if we allowed our good hearts to overule our sometimes slanted minds.
ReplyDeleteToo many of us forget that there is truth hidden in the mess of things, no matter how disarrayed. Often, truth is sad and actions surrounding its shimmer unspeakable.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Daniel for your clear mind and brave voice. You always put into eloquent words what so many of us muddy in our minds.
jackson frost said...
ReplyDeletethe idea that "purple lean" was involved in martin's behaviour is absolutely nonsensical. first of all, it's an incredibly expensive drug. second of all, it's a regional phenomenon...
Really? How much does a bag of skittles, a can of furit juice, and a bottle of cough syrup cost where you live? Martin still had over $40 in his pocket after purchasing two of the three ingredients, and likely had the cough syrup already.
And why does it matter that its "regional"? Martin had posted repeatedly on his "no limit nigga" social media accounts about its use.
I initially ignored this blog as mere tripe when someone passed it along yesterday in a mass email he circulated to several friends. Considering the narrow perspective and the twisted analysis replete within its lines, I did not feel that it was even worth commenting on. However, one person on my friend's mailing list, chimed in from Toronto with a critique of the judicial process that did pique my ire, so I felt compelled to address that remark, and while I was at, this blog as well. My comments follow the Toronto correspondent, shown here:
ReplyDelete"To judge by the latest biased ruling excluding this poor schnook's defense evidence (starting with what a bum the deceased was, right down to today's 'no reconstruction' nonsense, the Powers that Be in the Sunshine State seem absolutely determined to hang this guy. Jesus Christ got a fairer trial before the Sanhedrin.
Anyhow, greetings from sunny, hot, humid Toronto!"
To which I replied:
I am not following the Zimmerman/Martin case in any detail, so try not to shoot me for failing to be attracted to such gossipy circus trials.
Nonetheless, I wonder why someone would question the judge's ruling that evidence indicating that the victim was "a bum" should not be allowed.
Does the status of a victim in the community really have any bearing on the guilt or innocence of a person committing a crime? Just because a victim is an ordinary person, a little man, or even "a bum," should such denigrating character slurs really count in deciding matters of good and evil, guilt and innocence?
I would have thought that Fyodor Dostoyevsky had put that issue to rest once and for all in his great classic masterpiece, Crime and Punishment, in which Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished student, rationalized his killing of a pawnbroker as a justifiable murder on the grounds that he was a superior man, while she was--in his demented mind--merely a wart on society, just another one of the common rabble, whose life he was allowed to snuff out, and whose money he was entitled to steal, because he was a "great man" while she was nothing but "a bum" in Russian society of the times.
Equally absurd and entirely wrong-headed (though highly amusing) is the original blog writer's contention that a member of the middle class has both a right and duty to protect his property from incursions by those he deems inferior to his status. Such convoluted conflations of social Darwinism run amok mixed with an incompletely understood interpretation of the capitalist system ought to be seen for the embarrassing confessions of misguided conservatism and capitalism that they represent.
To attempt to lay out a defense for a killer who may have rationalized his murder on the ground that his property values were threatened not only reveals that the author has a deep need to project his innermost fears onto the killer with whom he apparently empathizes, but it is also an argument that devolves society back from the rules of law to the law of the jungle. Chaos would rule if that author's ideas were prevalent.
Obviously, he, too, never read nor understood Dostoyevsky: he probably thought that, since Fyodor was a Russian, he must also have been a Communist who had nothing to teach such a die-hard, let-me-shoot-you-before-you-shoot-me capitalist as he.
JMB
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raskalnikov
While you have a valid point in properly vilifying a shooting based on the defense of "property values" or "incursions" by "inferiors", the Zimmerman trial is about neither
DeleteThe defendant was part of a neighborhood watch, formed to protect its society from rising crime. While doing nothing more than observe a stranger in his neighborhood, he was viciously attacked due to a "street code" and mentality that justifies such actions.
It is labeled racist to profile someone based; not only on color, but also dress, then basically justify that profiling with the actions that followed. Only political correctness prevents the truth being told; any one of us who sees an individual, of any race, dressed as Martin was, cutting through our yard at night, is going to watch them closely; especially if there has been a recent rise in crime in their area. The talking head liberals, with 8 foot fences protecting their homes, would have the police swarming the area, immediately. Those who state they would take no notice, are liars; plain and simple
The prosecution's case, with very few exceptions, seemed to be one intent on proving Zimmerman's innocence, rather than guilt. Throughout most of the trial, I couldn't help but wonder if this was nothing more than an attempt to appease the impending mob, by putting Zimmerman on trial, to allay claims of injustice to Martin. This case was either the worst prosecution in recent history or a trial of a man completely deserving of a not guilty verdict
The most telling aspect of this entire event, is the current state of racism in this country. The intimidation of the judicial system and jurors, by proxy is no different than what was committed during the Jim Crow era...and worse. Under this State Sponsored racist intimidation, it is now the population; as a whole, that is threatened. Very grew of us are oblivious to the threat of violence a not guilty verdict represents. Where those threats were limited to the (democratic party) klan south, at that time, the entire nation is now bracing itself for acts of violence due to the possible exoneration of what all the evidence shows to be an innocent man
One of the most telling aspects is the lack of threats coming from the hispanic community, should this obviously not guilty (I'm not in a position to declare him innocent) hispanic man be convicted. Where does ths racism come from and why have we become so tolerant of it?
@JMB
ReplyDelete"Nonetheless, I wonder why someone would question the judge's ruling that evidence indicating that the victim was "a bum" should not be allowed.
Does the status of a victim in the community really have any bearing on the guilt or innocence of a person committing a crime? Just because a victim is an ordinary person, a little man, or even "a bum," should such denigrating character slurs really count in deciding matters of good and evil, guilt and innocence?"
Yes, sometimes it does. Specifically, any claim of self-defense is ALSO a claim that the "victim" was committing (or about to commit) a felonious assault. Think about the implications of that ...
Had the police arrived in the interval between Martin's attack on Zimmerman and the single gunshot, then, if the defense's story is true, Trayvon Martin would be the one on trial for assault and battery.
Nobody is disputing whether or not Zimmerman killed Martin. The dispute, to frame it as Wyatt Earp might, is whether or not Martin needed killin'. The answer to that question depends on WHO Martin was and what he was doing.
Which is exactly why the lynch mob has attempted to paint Martin as a choir boy out fetching candy for his little brother. Because that's a picture of somebody who wouldn't hurt a fly.
"Really? How much does a bag of skittles, a can of furit juice, and a bottle of cough syrup cost where you live?"
ReplyDeletenow you're just showcasing your ignorance by mixing up two *decidedly* different cough syrups. the cough syrup known as "purple lean" is a scheduled, codeine-containing narcotic that can fetch upwards of $50 for a SINGLE OUNCE on the street. it cannot be purchased over the counter anywhere in the united states. the region matters precisely because the only way promethazine/codeine syrup finds its way to the streets is in areas of high demand. in fact, "purple lean" is, as the original poster mentioned, associated with "rage behaviour" via the well-documented but poorly-understood phenomenon of opioid-induced irritability.
the over-the-counter medication that you have clearly confused for "purple lean" and which is sometimes ingested for intoxication contains dextromethorphan: "dxm". not only is it not an opioid (or purple) and thereby not responsible for the irritability imputed to martin's alleged "purple lean" usage after the absurd theorising of the original poster (who i take to be you, naturally), it is an *entirely* different class of drug that most recreational drug users find to be, in fact, an unpleasant experience.
alternatively referred to as a "deliriant" or a "dissociative" (tho the latter is something of a misnomer, as DXM is not pharmacologically comparable with other dissociatives such as ketamine or phencyclidine), the effects of dxm are incredibly incapacitating, both sensorily and myotonically, and it bears repeating that most users find its effects unpleasant: its use is mainly confined to self-described "hardcore-psychonaut" types who enjoy being temporarily deprived of their sanities. the use of dxm is not shown in the extremely limited literature to be popular in black communities, despite the relative popularity of pcp-laced cigarettes in some urban areas.
in any event, dxm cough syrup is certainly not "purple lean" and certainly isn't associated with "rage behaviour".
that you don't even know that opioids are scheduled, rx-only drugs in this country is testament enough to your lack of even the most fundamental knowledge about "purple lean"; that you nonetheless feel comfortable confidently repeating illogical conspiracy theories about martin's apparent addiction to an extremely expensive (and locally rare) drug, despite situational and toxocological evidence to the direct contrary, damages by association the standing of those who would seek zimmerman's freedom on purely factual grounds.
again, martin was bad enough: there is no need to open oneself (and one's philosophical brethren) to criticism by the invocation of utterly preposterous and factually inconsistent conspiracy theories about the particulars of which one is utterly nescient.
Good grief, it's not "Purple Lean," it's "Purple Drank."
ReplyDelete--Matthew M.
Sultan Knish,
ReplyDeleteYou have stated the heart of the matter:
George Zimmerman wanted to to be a cop. Trayvon Martin wanted to be a hood.
So many kids today dress like thugs. Actions have consequences -- usually bad ones.
"Such convoluted conflations of social Darwinism run amok mixed with an incompletely understood interpretation of the capitalist system ought to be seen for the embarrassing confessions of misguided conservatism and capitalism that they represent."
ReplyDelete- yeah but Dostoevsky was a true Christian - see Rene Girard's reading - not a high Gnostic with a complete interpretation of the capitalist system!!
a fabulous article, the best I've come across on this issue and backed by the best comment section I've come across (ever) on any issue...Daniel your genius is inspiring!
ReplyDelete"George Zimmerman wanted to to be a cop. Trayvon Martin wanted to be a hood."
ReplyDeleteZimmerman did NOT want to be a cop. He wanted to be an attorney; a prosecutor, actually. He turned down an opportunity to be a police auxiliary -- with a uniform and marked car.
So glad HotAir linked to this opinion piece or I'd never have stumbled upon this blog. Fabulous analysis, very well written and presented. I'm now a fan :) ... keep writing.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that this is one of the smartest pieces on this circus that I've read. ... and I've read most of them.
ReplyDeleteJackson Frost you are wrong about DXM.
ReplyDeleteI used to medically detox drug abusers and have had people that had psychotic breaks while on DXM. This psychosis closely resembles breaks caused by PCP with the violence. I remember on TM's twitter or facebook account before being scrubbed his buds were giving him props for going off on a busdriver about a week earlier. Certainly that prior behavior is relevant. The best predictor of future behavior is past performance.
wow. Many of you guys a either racist or already have some biased fixed views on society.
ReplyDeleteUltimately , Zimmerman was prepared to shoot and kill even before he interacted with Martin. I say this because if he was not armed, he might not have had the audacity/confidence to confront Martin. He knew that his actions could and most likely would stir up a confrontation with Martin. He was prepared for this and willing to take part in this because he had a gun. Before the confrontation occurred, Zimmerman was ready to shoot Martin. Otherwise, he would have 1. NOT FOLLOWED MARTIN
2. STAYED IN HIS CAR
3.RAN AWAY
I believe there might have been many reasonable moments for Zimmerman to back down, but perhaps he accepted the terms and conditions of fighting and when it didn't go the way he had imagined. He pulled out his gun as a last resort.
I think we all forget that Martin wasn't even trespassing, he had the right to be in that neighborhood. So in reality, he was not guilty of anything anyway.
He just fit the description of a black guy in a hoody dressed like a "thug" (hip hop attire).
Of course, this is all speculation because I wasn't there, and neither were any of you.
As far as the big picture is concerned, it's not about Zimmermans character or Martins Character. Please..... stop trying to defame the characters of these two individuals and especially stop trying to defame the black community as a whole.
Stop attacking black peoples family values, education values, accusing people of being on welfare, promoting black people as violent, etc etc... It's ignorant.
"Wow, many you guys a..." -- Anonymous (number 40 something).
ReplyDeleteYou write like a Leftist white guy who is paid to troll lies so that soft-headed liberals are confused and conservatives waste their time with liars. Baiting for sure in both cases.
Two things:
Fact: While Zimmerman was looking for the address, Martin went home initially. (opinion: Nothing further would have happened. But consistent racialist goading from thugs from your side are responsible for Martin's thinking no "crazy-ass cracker" is gonna make me afraid. )
Fact: So Martin then left home, looked for Zimmerman, and confronted him.
Undisputed facts between the prosecution and the defense.
But racial mayhem instigating Left guys ignore it and then have the gall to project the consequences of your side's constantly keeping open old wound on individuals who naturally react to unknown faces who are skulking. He did call 911, nobody looking for trouble does that. The trouble maker is your kind.
Second thing: "black people family values." There you go again. Why are black people family values any different than any other family's you creep?
The Left hates all people, and are quite content
on stirring up racial hatreds with bloody outcomes as their goal. Seeing the words "family value" used by the likes of you makes me sick.
A brilliant summary, Mr. Greenfield. Bravo.
ReplyDeleteto Pascal Fervor... My comment about family values was in regards to an earlier post where someone made a blanket statement attacking the family values of black people. In fact, if you had read some of the previous comments, you would clearly see that many commentators were using this case as an excuse to verbally attack black people. """""The Left hates all people, and are quite content
ReplyDeleteon stirring up racial hatreds with bloody outcomes as their goal. Seeing the words "family value" used by the likes of you makes me sick.""" -Pascal Fervor All of that is unnecessary.... Statements like that promote conflict. It's also quite ridiculous to make a blanket statement like that about "The left". Come on..... Also, you say I write like a leftist white guy. Well, how do you know I'm white? How do you know I'm leftist? Why would you even mention that?
I know nothing about you, and only identified you with those traits. Fifty years ago I attended college with them, and they were the same. They would claim to speak for minorities as if the minorities did not know how to speak. And woe came to any actual minority who disagreed with their narrative.
ReplyDeleteSomething I neglected to note earlier You choosing to take the topic off course from Daniel's insights that the elitists seek to deny any "lesser man" the right to defending himself is typical of Leftist ploys.
If you are no Leftist, then prove it and stop polluting this thread any further.
Take up your arguments with me on the thread I created so the world will know how Leftist trolls operate. Politically Incorrecting Neighborhood Watch was inspired by you. Once you show up, you might provide a better handle for yourself than my current designation for you as "something like the 40th Anonymous troll."
Thanks, another great article I hadn't seen before, very true to life.
ReplyDeleteThe elites never seemed to "get" why the "Death Wish" movies were so popular.
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