Paradigm shift: facts Zimmerman haters are missing

Many Americans believe that Trayvon Martin was acting in self-defense when he attacked George Zimmerman on February 26th, 2012. If so, we must ask ourselves, "Why did Trayvon wait four minutes to circle back to Zimmerman and then defend himself by sucker-punching a man who was waiting for the police?" That's right: Trayvon Martin ran away before Zimmerman got out of his car and then came back four minutes later to "defend himself".

Necessary force?

What is the best way to defend oneself when approaching a man who is waiting for the police? It would seem that Trayvon thought it was to sneak up from behind and then sucker-punch Zimmerman in the face. According to the police reports and courtroom testimony this is exactly what happened. Many people choose to ignore this part of the narrative and are content with the opposite of the truth because "he got out of his car".

Never ordered by police to do anything

Zimmerman was never told to stay in his car and he was never ordered to "stand down". Those words are nowhere on the readily-available police dispatcher recording. When Trayvon Martin runs away the dispatcher asks Zimmerman, "Which way is he running?" Only then can he can be heard exiting the vehicle--not before. He got out of his car to see which way Trayvon was running, not to attack him.

As Zimmerman is walking toward where he last saw Trayvon, the dispatcher asks if Zimmerman is following him. Zimmerman replies, "Yeah." The dispatcher says, "We don't need you to do that." Zimmerman responds, "Okay," and then returns to his car.

George Zimmerman remains on the phone with the dispatcher for two minutes longer giving details of his location and preparing to meet the police. Trayvon Martin has run away and is long gone by this point--at least, that is what Zimmerman thought.

The aggressor is defined

After Zimmerman has hung up with the police dispatcher he walks back toward his truck to wait for the police and has no idea where Trayvon is. Trayvon sneaks up from behind Zimmerman and shouts, "Yo! You got a problem?"

Zimmerman is not trying to instigate a fight, but is instead only waiting for the police to arrive. He replies, "No, I don't have a problem."

Trayvon says, "You got a problem now." He then punches Zimmerman in the nose. This makes it clear that Trayvon was the aggressor and that Zimmerman was the victim in this case.

Yeah, but that's what George Zimmerman says

In police investigations witness accounts tend to come from people who were present during the event that is being investigated. This account of events comes from the only person capable of giving a first-hand account of what happened that night.

Benjamin Crump, who is the lawyer for Trayvon Martin's parents, says, "It's only Zimmerman's word that Trayvon attacked him." It is unclear why Trayvon Martin's parents need a lawyer, but his motivation for trying to undermine Zimmerman's account of events is not.

Crump has from the very beginning gone out of his way to get himself and his clients in front of the camera and to generate as much media coverage as possible. If he admitted that there is no reason to disbelieve Zimmerman then he and his clients would have simply faded into obscurity.

Those four minutes are key

While it is clear that Trayvon Martin attacked Zimmerman, many cling tenaciously to the idea that Zimmerman could have prevented this by staying in his car. Benjamin Crump, eager to shift the blame and make Zimmerman seem like the aggressor, counters every piece of evidence with, "Yeah, but he got out of his car!"

It is patently absurd to think Zimmerman knew Trayvon would attack him for getting out of his car or for walking toward where he had last seem him. It is absurd to think that Trayvon was justified in doing so at the time or four minutes afterward. It is worse to think that Zimmerman deserved to be attacked because he got out of his car.

Yeah, but he got out of his car

While most agree that Trayvon is the agressor in this case, many believe that Zimmerman deserved to be attacked because he got out of his car. Benjamin Crump agrees, but goes as far as to say it is irrelevant who threw the first punch because Zimmerman got out of his car.

If he did attack Zimmerman for getting out of his car then he waited four minutes and then went back to where Zimmerman was waiting by his car for the police. That isn't self-defense. That is an attack, plain and simple.

In the end Zimmerman was forced to shoot Trayvon Martin in order to defend his own life. Zimmerman didn't know that getting out of his car would cause Trayvon Martin to attack him. No reasonable person would expect to be attacked for getting out of his car.

Some still refuse to believe

Many Trayvon Martin supporters insist on ignoring the evidence and cling desperately to the idea that Zimmerman attacked Martin because he was black. For them this case must be about racism .

In an interview with Anderson Cooper just after the trail, the juror known only as "B-37" has made it clear that Zimmerman did not racially profile Trayvon. Race played no part in his decision to call the police. Race played no role in his decision to exit his car or to walk toward where he had last seen Trayvon Martin.

In summary

Getting out of a car does not cause death. Attacking an armed man does.