Trayvon's murder was a modern-day lynching.

[Odin2005]

Just like in the lynchings of the Jim Crow days, an innocent black guy would be falsely accused of a violent act and them murdered to terrorize blacks to "keep them in their place".

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. I could not agree with you more.

A little while ago I was reading one of the articles and I could not believe the pure hatred in one of the comments. The "got what he deserved, uppity kid that he was" mentality. The smears upon his parents... I hate that we share this earth with such hatred.

[brewens]

2. Ain't got no bidness in this here gated community boy! That's the message. It's the cops

just as responsible as that Zimmerman nutjob. They approved of his antics. Someone doing that around here would have been shut down by the cops or sheriff right away, and I live in Idaho.

[arely staircase]

11. and the cops didn't even try to look for his family in the neighborhood

they assumed he didn't belong there and kept his body in the "john doe" listing at the mourge. then when his frantic father finally got some attention it came in the form of a picture of his son with blood running from his mouth.

[arely staircase]

3. it actually wasn't

until the police gave the murderer a pass.

then it was.

[Odin2005]

5. If Trayvon were a white kid Zimmermann would be in jail, now.

[arely staircase]

9. no doubt

and had zimmerman been black and trayvon white, zimmerman would be facing the death penalty.

[Hippo_Tron]

25. I'd say more like it might have been until the cops gave it a pass

And then it definitely became one once they did.

Zimmerman may have genuinely been so afraid of black people, he felt it necessary to shoot one for being in his neighborhood. Or he might have just murdered in cold blood. That's the kind of thing you have a trial to find out and punish accordingly.

[baldguy]

4. Why don't they act honestly & come right out and SAY IT?

"No N***ers Allowed After Sunset"

[indivisibleman]

6. I agree completely. This is a modern day lynching.

Racism is alive and well in America and it his being supported by Republicans.

[malaise]

7. Yep

Sickening

[Kalidurga]

8. If Trevor was a 20 something and had shot Zimmerman...

he would probably be in jail.

[boxman15]

27. No doubt.

He'd never see the light of day again, most likely.

This is sickening.

[Zanzoobar]

10. He's guilty?

[arely staircase]

12. we will find out at the trial the local racist pigs tried to prevent nt

[Zanzoobar]

13. LOL. So, yes, he's guilty.

[arely staircase]

16. it certainly looks that way, yes. nt

[NOLALady]

20. What do you think?

[WillyT]

14. Absolutely !!!

& Rec !!!

[workinclasszero]

15. You can thank the damned NRA and teabag republican pols for that!

Hell its open season on blacks in any "stand your ground" state now. And apparently there are quite a few states like this already and the NRA republicans are pushing for more, you betcha!

Hell all you gotta do is say uh the brother threatened me so I killed him. Case closed, see ya!

[Thinkingabout]

17. Interesting how against birth control and abortion but make laws for killing.

What is it with the republicans, making laws to prevent womens choice to use birth control and abortion is murder but this dumb idea of "stand your ground" is okay. I guess they want more children produced in order to have a fresh supply of prey for out of control gun owners.

[kestrel91316]

19. Black teens are not human life like a white zygote is.

[liberalhistorian]

18. The parallels between Martin and

Emmett Till are beyond eerie, right down to the fact that Emmett Till's body was also kept unidentified at the morgue for three days, like Martin's (although in his case, I believe it was one day), with little effort being made in either case to identify him, even though it was obvious how young they both were. And Martin, like Till, was also visiting family, as he was at his father's fiance's house; Till was a northerner visiting family in Mississippi and was unfamiliar with the Jim Crow laws and racial dynamics of the state. Truly sickening to believe that such could happen again, more than fifty years later.

[caseymoz]

21. I don't know . . .

Zimmerman acted out of racism, so it was a one-man lynching. However, neighbors called the police, and they sounded shocked and appalled. This wasn't like any lynching in the Old South. Everybody would have either been in on it, or hiding it, afraid to speak out.

The major reason why it's not like a lynching, and everybody is denying it, is that Stand Your Ground law. And it's because of that law that there will be no justice done in this case: ever. At least they could still prosecute lynchings forty years later, and did. Nothing like that will ever happen here.

Zimmerman either deliberately arranged the murder to conform to the provisions of that law, or he is terribly lucky. As it is, they can't even arrest him.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. Hearing about the Martin case reminds me of this picture

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

23. I haven't seen the picture before

and I don't recognize anyone in it. Is it from around l955? is it related to Emmitt Till?

[Art_from_Ark]

24. It's from the 1967 Mississippi murder trial

of the 3 civil rights workers who were killed in 1964. The guy in the foreground is Sheriff Lawrence Rainey, one of the defendants. He knew he was going to be acquitted by the all-white jury.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

29. Got it, Following this story has grabbed my attention.

It feels like this could help some things in the long run. I haven't had TV for years, so never watched the Rodney King beatings. But they grabbed the attention of the Nation for a period of time. The DJ on the radio station I listen to, in dedication to Trayvon Martin, just played Bob Dylan singing The Ballad of Haddie Carol, who was struck down by a 24 year old man with his cane. He got 6 months in jail for the murder. Then there is this case which I just learned of today on DU:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11377781
A sad situation.

I think we need a recognition that "Entertainment Lies for News" and "Shock Jock BS" needs to be called out and exposed for the damage it does.

And be able to emphasize the positive co-creative accomplishments we achieve. That is especially good for mental health.

Take care,

[Behind the Aegis]

26. I don't believe it was. I think this was plain ol' fashioned racism.

When I think of lynchings, modern day or prior, I think more of a "seeking out" a "undesierable" to punish. James Byrd, Jr. would, IMO, be an example of a modern day lynching. Both are examples of hate crimes to the extreme, but for very different reasons. Some people look at a black face (or Latino/Hispanic, sometimes Asian) and they see an "intruder," therefore they are out of place and up to no good. That's hardcore racism. However, said may or may not act on the situation. Modern Lynchings, the bigots seek out a victim or sometime stumble upon one, and it's pretty much written how it will end for the minority person. The lynchers, no matter their methods, are spilling out their hate onto one (sometimes a small group), but it is intended to carry a larger message: your kind will never be safe!

Whenever things like this happen, of course the community affected will be terrorized. Why wouldn't they be? We already have "driving while black," "shopping while black" and now, "walking down the street while black." It is really pathetic and gut-wrenching.

[arthritisR_US]

28. It sure feels that way :(. n/t