If George Zimmerman feels invincible after that verdict, you know that

[Baitball Blogger]

31. I disagree with you.

When you are trying to pin down the causes of corruption, you have to recognize the social dynamics that are peculiar to the region. There are factors that are peculiar to Seminole County that may not be found anywhere else. For example, here, in the mid eighties, a strong anti-government organization formed under the guise of property rights interests. Among them were lawyers and judges. They either owned land, or were developers, or some combination thereof. That had a major impact on the course of events that followed. Through their private, monthly barbecue meetings a good ole boy network was allowed to take hold in this place. In those meetings local key players were able to mingle with state congressional hopefuls. Perhaps this was the beginning of the meets and greets. Perhaps this was a vetting arena to determine who was a political friendly, and who was not. The point is, that it happened with little attention from the press. This was occurring through the eighties and nineties when the internet was not yet a factor, and camera phones were not as prominent as they are today.

Lots went on without attention from the press in those days. In my city alone there was an attempt to take on a developer who had a firm vested interest in a certain private property. It was property that a special interest group did not want to see developed. What happened would have been comical, if it weren't for the way it affected so many people in such a negative manner. The city, which never before paid attention to State regulations, suddenly wanted to use them to require land amendment changes that would have delayed and bankrupt the developer. That would have made the powerful local forces of the time, happy. The problem they had, was that good ole boy city attorneys didn't leave them much to work with.

I can see now why the case was quickly settled. Anyone who looked at the case closely and examined the evidence would have seen all kinds of implausible legal reasoning. The city's big legal strategy was to keep the venue to a county courtroom where they hoped to get a local judge that everybody knew was prejudiced in their favor. That's how good ole boys think. It's a lot of pseudo law mixed in with a lot of bravado. However, the whole case fell apart when the plaintiff sued them in FEDERAL court. When it became obvious that minor details, such as legal malpractice, was about to go public, everything was settled quickly with a two million dollar settlement and a confidentiality clause.

That confidentiality clause has wronged a great many people because it has kept them victimized by the local circumstances; as it has also allowed the wrong-doers to continue with careers that should have come to an abrupt end in the nineties.

So, again, I disagree with you. To pretend that all corruption is exactly the same, is to lose the small nuances that allow us to find a wedge where we can begin to open the tight shell that is giving them shelter. In my case, it might involve lawyers who have a stake in past wrong-doings. In another area of Florida, it might involve another kind of government collapse. In sum, I think it would be wrong to try to broad-brush these things, because it would have the negative effect of creating a feeling of defeat before we even get started.