Now Zimmerman’s lawyers are claiming that Trayvon Martin shook Zimmerman’s head so hard that he got shaken -baby syndrome and as a result of that he didn’t know what he was doing when he shot the teenager. A 28 years old man, 180lb, given shaken baby syndrome by 150lb teenager who was armed with skittles and ice tea?
Rev Al Sharpton of MSNB has a great piece on it.
My readers may wonder why I have so much interest in this story. A few years ago I vacationed in St. Petersburg Beach. What I saw truly shook me up. There is a sizable African-American population in surrounding cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg. But there was not a single African American in the hotel I was staying in. None in their restaurant. None in other restaurants I visited. None on the beaches. After a few days I saw one African American in the yard of the hotel doing some cleaning and janitorial work. He was exceptionally quiet, you would think he never talked.
I am very curious by nature so one day I approached him and engaged him in a conversation. He turned out to be a very bright man. I asked why he was so quiet and minding his own business all the time. He told me he was happy that way as it keeps him out of trouble and when he goes home he has a good time with his family.
I was shocked by the situation. I can fully understand now how a red-neck can kill a black teenager and walk away free in that state.
This must not happen in this day and age but the Southern U.S has a long way to go yet. I will never forget remarks by a taxi driver. I asked him how come, despite a sizable African population, you hardly see any African- Americans in the St. Petersburg Beach area. His response was “we keep them in their place” -in other words segregation. It really shocked me. I hope the situation has improved since my visit a decade plus ago.
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