Demagoguing Trayvon Martin

George Zimmerman's side of the story (funny how nobody waited for that!) can be found here. Now, here's the kicker- a fact that has been available for literally days: eyewitnesses collaborate Zimmerman's story.

Former NAACP leader the Rev. C.L. Bryant, meanwhile, has criticized Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson for "exploiting" the tragedy in order to "racially divide the country." It's beginning to sound like the Duke lacrosse team case all over again.

Meanwhile, Spike Lee tried to enable potential lynch mobs by tweeting Zimmerman's address. He got it wrong, endangering the life and safety of the innocent woman who lives at the address he gave. The Black Panthers have offered a $10,000 reward for Zimmerman, whom the authorities do not believe they have grounds to arrest, "dead or alive."

There was a time when lynching was considered bad form in the African-American community. No more, it seems.

Martin's mother, meanwhile, is seeking to trademark his name. And the Obama campaign has a new product for sale:




Nor are those who work for the President's re-election campaign the only examples of Zimmerman's fellow Democrats trying to make political capital out of the incident. Martin's prior behavior hardly warrants the automatic credence given those seeking to lynch Zimmerman; he was suspended from school three times, and caught not only with marijuana residue and a pipe for smoking pot but with a burglary tool and stolen jewelry.

Little of this has appeared in the media, of course. Which may be the reason why a CNN poll shows that 73% of the American people disagree with the police, and think Zimmerman should be arrested.

Was deadly force justified? I don't know. Perhaps Zimmerman should be thrown in jail, and the key thrown away. But shouldn't the facts of the matter be established before the guy is lynched?

And don't we ever learn from incidents like this? Don't the media ever learn?

HT: Drudge

ADDENDUM: It turns out that the picture on the right at the beginning of this post is of a DIFFERENT Trayvon Martin, and not the one George Zimmerman killed.

Frustration over the demogoging of this case by the liberal media is one thing. But misrepresenting the facts in order to manufacture evidence is simply not OK, no matter who does it.