An uneasy calm settles over Sanford, Fla.

Residents wonder what's next after weeks of racial tension before the arrest of a neighborhood watch volunteer who killed teen Trayvon Martin.

 

By Richard Fausset, Los Angeles Times

April 12, 2012, 5:23 p.m.

SANFORD, Fla. — When the Rev. Al Sharptonled a rally of thousands here last month, he told city leaders that they "risked going down as the Selma or Birmingham of the 21st century" unless George Zimmerman was arrested.

On Thursday, with Zimmerman behind bars, many here were wondering when they would get their reputation back.

"There's not all this racialism, like everyone's saying," said Beth Rollf, who is white and owns downtown's Taste of Thyme Cafe. "There are no riots. People need to know Sanford for what it is: a quaint, artsy town with a lot to offer."

Whether Sanford will be scrubbed from the list of American cities with an ignominious racial past was just one of the unresolved issues reverberating the day after Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, turned himself in to authorities, charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.  READ MORE

Florida shooting highlights folly of “amateur hour”

George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin/ AP Photo

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpy

Post by Brian O'Neill on March 21, 2012 at 6:25 pm

The alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.

Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.

As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.

Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?

The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.

So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.   READ MORE

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-The alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.

Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpyThe alleged shooting death of a Florida youth by a citizen watch volunteer has officially crossed over from tragedy to spectacle.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-0ld African-American, was reportedly shot after being confronted by Robert Zimmerman, an armed resident voluntarily patrolling the gated community in Sanford. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense, but the 911 tape and excerpts from Martin’s last phone conversation suggest otherwise.
As a result, Sanford, a suburb of Orlando, is currently hosting an armada of civil rights tourists, including the NAACP, the ACLU, the National of Islam and the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights. The swelling numbers have also attracted hordes of media as well as local and state policitians. It may not be Disney, but it is a circus.
Nevertheless, many fair questions are being asked of this shooting: Was race an issue? Was self-defense involved? Was the new Florida “Stand Your Ground” law a factor? Was Zimmerman acting in the capacity of law enforcement?
The answers may be frustrating for a while, because it may be difficult to prove racist motivations in Zimmerman’s actions, even if such exist. And without eye-witnesses,  we may never know exactly how the last few seconds of Trayvon Martin’s life played out. As for Florida’s 2005 law, its stated purpose permits residents to use deadly force if a person “reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm…or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.” That standard contains no language capable of stretching to cover the unreasonable situation of shooting a person without such reasonable fear.
So what do we know? We know that Zimmerman, a volunteer on neighborhood watch, was not acting as a police officer.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpy

ead more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/03/21/florida-shooting-highlights-folly-of-amateur-hour/#storylink=cpy