With the verdict - not guilty - just in, I am set to mulling over eleven key points of law I've gleaned from watching George Zimmerman's learned defense team in action. What a sad lesson in American justice, or lack of:
1. Nothing loosens up a somber courtroom like a good “knock, knock” joke.
2. A black man in a derby is funny.
A black man in a hoodie is scary.
A white man in a hoodie is cool.
3. Someone walking through your neighborhood with a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea is a "fucking punk". Someone cruising around your neighborhood with a loaded gun is an upstanding citizen.
4. If the police tell you to do something, you have to comply - unless you're a badass vigilante.
5. A man who confronts an imaginary threat by chasing it down the street with a gun is defending his rights. A teenager who confronts an actual threat by using his fists is a "grave danger."
6. Who says that Trayvon kid wasn't armed? How else do you account for that honking slab of sidewalk with which he beat Mr. Zimmerman?
7. If you stalk someone on a dark street, confront him with a gun, and he puts up a fight for his life, you can kill him in “self defense.”
8. It is okay to kill someone you think “doesn’t belong” in your neighborhood.
9. This case is not about race. Except that it is.
10. Don’t let the mouse ears fool you. The Deep South doesn’t end at the Florida state line.
11. “Stand your ground” is a license to kill.
"These assholes," according to George Zimmerman, "they always get away.”
You're so right, Mr. Zimmerman; another one just did.