A brilliant series from the 80s was called, The Bill of Rights: A Delicate Balance. On one of the episodes, one of the panel members was a leading defense lawyer and he said, “Great lawyers are not masters of the law. They are masters of language.” He went on to explain how wordage, tone, & body language often had a bigger impact on verdicts than evidence. We saw this, ad nauseum, with the OJ trial and should not be surprised to see it again – especially on an over televised, over hyped, and over emotional case that was the Zimmerman trial.The dead youth’s parents said that they are unhappy with the verdict, but that at least Zimmerman was arrested and went to trial, an option they had feared they’d have to endure. And just like OJ, Mr. Zimmerman will face a civil suit (I don’t think the much bally-hooed civil rights class holds water) and he will HAVE to testify at that trial. But this even could have a positive outcome that does more justice to Trayvon Martin who died standing HIS ground outside his father’s house….^Zimmerman and Martin have revealed that the circumstantial crime of driving/walking/breathing while black is still prevalent in some minds in our nation. Some folks have personal or anecdotal reason to be nervous around another race/culture, but some of our neighbors’ paradigms have deep roots in a soil rich with bigotry and prejudice.^Women with children in the grocery stores get glares because of their burkahs, and mennonites/amish in their bonnets and ‘sensible’ shoes receive patronizing grins or snarky fashion advice. Brown, white, black, and asian people with heavy accents often hear an American say something like… “Learn english you jerk!” And even if they don’t speak the language, they understand the tone.^Mr. Zimmerman should have listened to the 911 operator’s advice to not follow his target. He DEFINITELY should have stayed in his car until police arrived. He is DEFINITELY not guilty of murder by verdict of a jury of his peers. If you don’t like that decision, wait for the civil case. But if you deny Mr. Zimmerman his day in court, you give others the right to deny you your own rights.^Mr. Zimmerman will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life no matter what happens. But if we, the people of these United States, begin a civil and respectful conversation on these topics, we may open some hearts and minds. Sometimes it starts with just saying hello to someone in line with you.RespectfullyC.
A brilliant series from the 80s was called, The Bill of Rights: A Delicate Balance. On one of the episodes, one of the panel members was a leading defense lawyer and he said, “Great lawyers are not masters of the law. They are masters of language.” He went on to explain how wordage, tone, & body language often had a bigger impact on verdicts than evidence. We saw this, ad nauseum, with the OJ trial and should not be surprised to see it again – especially on an over televised, over hyped, and over emotional case that was the Zimmerman trial.The dead youth’s parents said that they are unhappy with the verdict, but that at least Zimmerman was arrested and went to trial, an option they had feared they’d have to endure. And just like OJ, Mr. Zimmerman will face a civil suit (I don’t think the much bally-hooed civil rights class holds water) and he will HAVE to testify at that trial. But this even could have a positive outcome that does more justice to Trayvon Martin who died standing HIS ground outside his father’s house….^Zimmerman and Martin have revealed that the circumstantial crime of driving/walking/breathing while black is still prevalent in some minds in our nation. Some folks have personal or anecdotal reason to be nervous around another race/culture, but some of our neighbors’ paradigms have deep roots in a soil rich with bigotry and prejudice.^Women with children in the grocery stores get glares because of their burkahs, and mennonites/amish in their bonnets and ‘sensible’ shoes receive patronizing grins or snarky fashion advice. Brown, white, black, and asian people with heavy accents often hear an American say something like… “Learn english you jerk!” And even if they don’t speak the language, they understand the tone.^Mr. Zimmerman should have listened to the 911 operator’s advice to not follow his target. He DEFINITELY should have stayed in his car until police arrived. He is DEFINITELY not guilty of murder by verdict of a jury of his peers. If you don’t like that decision, wait for the civil case. But if you deny Mr. Zimmerman his day in court, you give others the right to deny you your own rights.^Mr. Zimmerman will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life no matter what happens. But if we, the people of these United States, begin a civil and respectful conversation on these topics, we may open some hearts and minds. Sometimes it starts with just saying hello to someone in line with you.RespectfullyC.