Georgia Mountain Beacon

Guest column by Gary Meier

Fanning flames of racism

There they all were again, this time in Sanford, Florida, using the race card to foment division in their constant battle of class and racial warfare…Al Sharpton, Benjamin Jealous (NAACP President), Martin Luther King III, Dick Gregory, David Patterson (former governor of NY). Black activists stirring up a firestorm of rallies, marches, protests, rebellion and hatred toward whites. All in the name of gaining revenge for the death of a 17 year-old teenager named Trayvon Martin. “We demand justice for Trayvon, they scream”.

Newspaper accounts report that Martin was returning to his father’s house in a gated community after buying candy at a nearby convenience store. The second actor in this drama is one George Zimmerman, the captain of the local Neighborhood Watch program of this gated community. Which raises the question, if Martin was returning to the community, this suggests that he belonged there and should have been known by Zimmerman and the rest of the Neighborhood Watch team.

Needless to say, Martin is black. Zimmerman, according to reports, is Hispanic with many black family members and friends. He tutors black children free of charge. Only radicals, who always wear blinders, would be able to concoct a sinister racial killing in this situation. Never-the-less, Seminole County NAACP President Clayton Turner made this ludicrous statement: “The line has been drawn in the sand. We as people of color are going to stand our ground…we are going to prevail”. Apparently he desires that one shade of black prevails over another shade.

Based on previously documented crimes in the neighborhood perpetrated by a group of black males, the Neighborhood Watch team must have been on special alert for any suspicious activity. Zimmerman, doing his stated duty of “watching” out for the neighborhood, immediately became suspicious of Martin walking along dressed in a hoodie. Hoodies are often associated with crimes and criminals.

Zimmerman immediately called 911 to report his observations with the statement “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something”. He told the dispatcher he was going to follow him. The dispatcher had the audacity to tell him not to do the job he was supposed to do…follow him and “watch” him. But Martin replied “OK”.

The next piece of information available involves another call to 911. This was a male reporting that there was a scuffle outside his window, he looked out and saw a man on the ground screaming for help. Upon leaving the window to control his dog, the man heard a gunshot and silence ensued.

A police report on the incident reports that Zimmerman showed obvious signs of being in a struggle. “I could observe that his back appeared to be wet and was covered in grass, as it he had been laying on his back on the ground”, wrote the officer. Zimmerman was also bleeding from the nose and back of his head.

It doesn’t take the analysis of a rocket scientist to understand the only conclusion that can be drawn from the observations of the individuals in the two paragraphs above. Zimmerman, on his back being beaten by martin, acted in self-defense. He has not been charged because Florida is one of 21 states with a “stand your ground” law that allows the use of force if an individual “reasonably believes” he is protecting his or someone else’s life.

Activists are calling for revenge against Zimmerman. Based solely on emotion, with complete disregard for the facts, the President of the United States, ministers, democrats, and others have hopped on the bandwagon, being duped by the media into accusing Zimmerman of “racism”.

This is completely irresponsible. It’s time for everyone to remove their blinders and take some time to examine all the facts and information before jumping to racially based inflammatory conclusions.

Tags: Gary Meier, Guest Column