George Zimmerman Revisited: Knowing How to Handle Assholes and Feed Alligators

During the years and months leading up to February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman had been a busy beaver. Wikipedia notes that between 2004 and 2012 he made nearly 50 calls to the Sanford, Florida police reporting everything from loud parties to open garage doors, and children playing in the street.

Despite his hyper active surveillance efforts, by the winter of 2012 the gated community where he lived, The Retreat at Twin Lakes, was apparently on a slow slide into chaos. In the prior 13 months police had been called to the 260 unit gated complex 402 times. Burglaries were on the uptick and there had even been a shooting. In response to the rising tide of crime in September, 2011 the residents, with police help, met to form a neighborhood watch program. At the meeting the ever vigilant, Zimmerman was named its coordinator.

The first and most steadfast rule police laid down for members of the new volunteer group was they could not be walking the grounds armed. After all, the last thing cops needed was a bunch of Wyatt Earp wannabe's roaming around at night taking pot shots at someone taking out the trash, or walking home from a 7-11.

George Zimmerman got the memo, but on the 26th, when he began to follow, "...a real suspicious guy," he was packing a Kal-Tec PF-9, 9mm hand gun. His excuse would later be since he wasn't officially on duty it was perfectly okay for him to be carrying a weapon. Hey, it's Florida for God's sake, everyone carries, right?

The, "real suspicious guy," he noticed was 17 year old African-American, Trayvon Martin. Martin was in Sanford with his father. They were visiting the old man's fiancé and her son at The Retreat at Twin Lakes. The younger Martin was returning from--that's right--a convenience store carrying a bag of skittles and a bottle of cold tea. He was also talking on his cell phone to a friend in Miami and wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up because it was raining.

Zimmerman told police dispatch, "This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he is on drugs, or something." Moments later he said, "These assholes, they always get away."

Meanwhile, Martin was telling his friend, Rachel Jeantel over the phone that some strange guy was watching him from his car. She later testified she told him to run for the apartment where he was staying.

What happened next was a uniquely American tragedy. On George Zimmerman's part, it involves racial paranoia and assumptions, and the ability of anyone in this country to get his, or her hands on a gun, no matter what their qualifications, or judgment. As for Trayvon Martin, like so many young black Americans these days, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Despite the police dispatcher telling him, "We don't need you to do that," Zimmerman exited his vehicle and followed Martin. There was a confrontation. Zimmerman assumed he was facing a burglar. All Trayvon Martin knew was some strange dude--maybe a mugger, or sexual predator--was accosting him.

Zimmerman, predictably, shot the unarmed 17 year old to death during a brief struggle. Then all hell broke loose.

Thanks to George Zimmerman the ripples of that storm are still being felt. Two days ago the New York Daily News reported Zimmerman blew his top when a film crew shooting a documentary about the killing showed up at the houses of his parents and an uncle allegedly unannounced. According to him, executive producers JayZ and Michael Gesparro were indirectly harassing his relatives.

Well, sort of.

It turns out Zimmerman's main complaint is his ex-wife is getting paid an unspecified amount of money to participate in the documentary while the producers are refusing to pay his parents and family members anything.

The Daily News reports he told an interviewer on the website, "Blast," "I know how to handle assholes who fuck with me. I have since February, 2012. Anyone who fucks with my parents will be fed to an alligator."

Ah yes, there's the perfect response. Imagine the reaction of white America if O.J. Simpson went off on some filmmaker and told him something like, "Listen, I fucked up Ron and Nicole and if you don't pay my family for being in this movie, I'll do the same to you."  

Of course, this won't be the first time the Zim Man has tried to cash in on Trayvon Martin's death. In May of 2016 he put the gun he used that night up for auction on two different sites--the first one deleted the offer as soon as they realized who was selling what. Zimmerman wrote a blurb on the second site which said, "The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/12. Now is your opportunity to own a piece of American history. Good Luck."

To further hype the sale he also told people, the Smithsonian Institute had expressed interest in having the gun.

How very Trumpian of him.

The Smithsonian issued a statement immediately after they had been told of Zimmerman's claim. It read, "We have never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmerman's firearm and have no plans to ever collect, or display it in any museums."

God bless the good people at the Smithsonian. At least someone around here has retained a sense of decency. These days, thanks to the likes of George Zimmerman and others, it is, as we all know, an increasingly rare commodity.




12-19-17