Zimmerman - national attention is NOT because of racial profiling or 'Stand Your Ground' laws [View all]
We've seen the inevitable 'Some white guy in so-and-so place was badly beaten by a group of black people, where is the outrage there?' stories. Hell, they've even managed to find there way over here to DU.
The reason why the Zimmerman case is getting to much national attention is NOT because of the racial overtones, or because of any 'Stand Your Ground' laws. Yes, those are issues, but those aren't the reasons for the national scrutiny. FACT - Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon several weeks before the national news media began to make a big deal of it. Hell, I live in Orlando, and I don't even remember hearing much about the story when it originally happened. Violent crime is a fact of life in Central Florida, as it is in many areas.
The reason why there is so much national attention, and the reason why the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others have gotten involved is because of the lack of local police action in this case. In just about every other 'black-on-white' rebuttal case that has been brought up over the past month or so, you also notice that the local authorities are actively working to bring those responsible to justice. Not so in this case. Without any national attention, Zimmerman would be walking around a free man, still carrying his concealed weapon.
If the Sanford Police would have done their job - placed Zimmerman under arrest, or at least have done a very thorough investigation - then this would have remained a local story. Sadly, given the amount of crime in the Orlando metro area, there's a very good chance it wouldn't have even made much of a local splash.
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