George Zimmerman and the Problem of Cowards with Guns
The Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial has now been over for a while. I seem to be fairly unusual in that I am unsure of how to feel about the case. It’s not like the O.J. Simpson trial where the jury just got it wrong and everyone knew it. The jury in the Zimmerman/Martin case seemed to apply the law correctly. And the law seemed to be okay as well (i.e., If you are the aggressor, but then attempt retreat and the initial victim becomes the aggressor, you may defend yourself—pretty standard self-defense law). If the jury correctly applied a reasonable law, why does it feel like justice was not carried out? The reason is that George Zimmerman’s reckless and ill-advised actions unquestionably started a chain of deadly events for which he will pay no criminal penalty. That should trouble anyone.
While we hear every talking head on cable news opine on this trial without end, it seems odd that I can find no one who is pointing out what seems to be a fairly important point—that this tragedy was wholly preventable and would probably only occur in a country like ours where largely unqualified people are allowed to carry firearms. Had George Zimmerman not been carrying a gun, not only would Trayvon Martin be alive today, George Zimmerman never would have even exited his vehicle on that fateful day.
Before getting to the meat of this post, I first want to say that I am deeply disturbed by the many people who seem to take great pleasure in George Zimmerman being found not guilty. I saw Facebook posts from conservative friends who saw this as a big celebratory “fuck you” to African Americans, liberals, and the anti-gun lobby. Where does this come from? This is a tragic event for the Martin family, but also the Zimmerman family. What on earth is there to feel good or celebratory about?
To the point of this post, George Zimmerman is a wimp, a chicken, and pantywaist. The power of carrying a gun for him is quite evident. It allowed him to pretend to be something other than what he truly was—a giant coward.
The big question in trial was, “Who was the aggressor, Zimmerman or Martin?” A 911 call revealed someone yelling for help, but each’s mother testified it was their son yelling for help. Five of the six jurors believed it was Zimmerman. I believe it was Zimmerman, too. Why? Because Zimmerman is a coward. His own expert witness testified that Zimmerman felt he had to fire his gun because Zimmerman was an individual who had no skills, knowledge, or experience relating to self-defense or fighting. When Martin started to come after him, Zimmerman freaked out and felt he had no choice but to shoot Martin.
This is one of the problems with cowards who carry guns. Cowards see the gun as their first line of defense because they don’t know how to do anything else. In a sane world, Zimmerman would have gotten his ass beat and deservedly so. This is a guy with a history of racial profiling. In the six months prior to calling 911 on Trayvon Martin, Mr. Zimmerman had called 911 on four other people that he found suspicious. All four of them, like Trayvon Martin, happened to be black.
A further problem of cowards like George Zimmerman carrying guns is that it puts them in confrontational situations they otherwise would never think of putting themselves into. These wimps would always choose to stay in safe, non-confrontational settings, but with artificial courage strapped to their side, they quickly and undeservedly gain power and respect. Think about it. Here is a guy with admittedly no ability to fight or defend himself brazenly approaching a stranger in a hostile manner despite requests from police to not get involved. Someone with Mr. Zimmerman’s complete lack of training or experience in physical confrontation is not going to be putting himself into a position such as this where the risk of personal harm is so high. So stating that Zimmerman’s carrying of a gun made this a deadly situation is only half the story. His carrying of a firearm created the situation. The NRA often states we need “good guys with guns.” I wonder if the NRA would consider Zimmerman a “good guy.”
Perhaps the answer to this problem of cowards with guns is to require that anyone applying for a concealed weapons permit to first demonstrate they have some semblance of an ability to defend themselves without having to resort to firing his or her gun. This may increase the chances of gun owners feeling they have other options before having to shoot the person they fear—potentially irrationally. I am sure Trayvon Martin would have appreciated any efforts to take guns out of the hands of cowards, or at least the cowardice out of gun owners.
– Dylan
TheBlueBrothers 
August 2, 2013 at 7:07 am
I agree about the verdict; and I have to agree also that the gun was the catalyst here. This is so different from the idea of what concealed carry is for, at least to me. Concealed carry is supposed to give you the ability to defend yourself, so you aren’t forced to bring a knife to a gunfight, so to speak. But GZ didn’t just happen to be out with his gun–he went hunting specifically for that kid. And that’s why I can’t believe he’s a free man today.
I wonder, if some lesser charges had also been brought: stalking, menacing, harassment, or something of that sort, would manslaughter have been easier to get?
I feel like the moment he grabbed the pistol and left his house, by his own admission specifically to look for someone who had done him no harm, he forfeited any claim to self-defense. I realize that how I feel is not relevant to the legal matter at hand, but nonetheless I can’t help feeling that the case simply cannot be limited to what occurred during the confrontation itself. I am generally a supporter of concealed carry, but this is just an egregious abuse of the right.
August 2, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Joel – I completely agree with your sentiment. Your line that GZ “went hunting” is spot on.
What I didn’t mention in my initial post is that even I don’t believe it would have much of an impact if we required holders of a concealed gun permit to first take a self-defense course. I believe this because I sense many of these gun fanatics don’t want to use their gun as a last resort. They get that permit itching to shoot a “bad guy”, or as you put it, “hunt.”
August 3, 2013 at 7:44 am
Well, not too many people I know would go hunting, so to speak. I have yet to encounter anyone who doesn’t think GZ was very foolish to go looking for Martin. As far as whether people would use the gun as a last resort– harder to say. If you believe your life is in danger, just how long do you wait to be absolutely certain? By the time you realize you can’t fight off your attacker physically, it may be too late. Maybe. I suppose every scenario is different. I’ve never even been in a fight, so I’m not really an expert on how people think and react in those situations. But there is some truth to what you say.
August 12, 2013 at 5:56 pm
Bluebros don’t like anonymous posters, yo.
I guess this is the point where I’d encourage all of you to support repealing the second amendment and banning all handguns…but I’ll focus on something else.
1.) I learned before this case that I am NEVER to confront a stranger. Rule #1 in Detroit. And it’s probably not a good idea to honk, either. I don’t mean to play the “I live in the big bad D” card, but you see it where people are hotheads and the dumbest ones have guns and they love to flash it to threaten others. I don’t care if someone yells horrible obscenities to my girl (happened before), I don’t say a word. God forbid I’m drinking and say something back and we start to fight and the guy has a gun. I’ll keep my head down and survive. And make way more friends on the way.
2.) If you ever want to see who the good guy and bad guys are in this case, (it’s not always black and white, but this is pretty damned close) go read what the good Americans over at the American Thinker have to say about the whole thing. Or just google “Trayvon Martin lean drink” to see the sick desperate character assassinations the gun nuts and right are trying to pull on this poor dead child. The other side might have anger and want justice, but I’ll share in their anger long before I revel in the killing of a dumb punk n-word drug addicted child. Ok for the n word you’ll have to go to the youtube boards, but these people are out there en masse and they’re insidious.