Do you see the Zimmerman case primarily as a legal, poltical or cultural matter?

[Smeagol]

There are in my humble opinion some interesting dynamics to the Zimmerman case where based upon public passions, which we also see expressed on this forum, I wonder if many people actually view the case primarily as a legal matter.

First, the case drew national attention due to liberal media focus that could be argued tried to make the case that a teenage kid who's only crime was walking down the sidewalk with a bag of candy and an iced tea while black and dressed as a typical black teenager was shot dead and nobody was charged with a crime. Then rallies were held that were at a minimum had the participation of liberal political leaders and were possibly organized by them. This was followed by expressions of support from politically conservative media figures for Zimmerman. After the Seminole County State Attorney refused to charge Zimmerman, The Republican Governor of Florida, in a rare if not unprecedented move assigned a Special Prosecutor to the case, Florida's toughest State Attorney who is also a Republican elected official. A video of Zimmerman walking around areas of police headquarters not accessible to the public like he owned the place is released and the Sanford Chief of Police resigns or was fired, not sure which. Zimmerman is featured on a politically conservative media broadcast in a friendly setting to share his side of the story. He then sets up a defense fund and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations start pouring in.

From my observations, one of the characteristics of political passion is an unwillingness to see any fault whatsoever with their side. Objectivity is out the window and its our guy can do no wrong. Another thing I've noticed is not only is there a high degree of passion with many as it relates to the Zimmerman case, most people cannot bring themselves to acknowledge even a single thing they think Martin or Zimmerman did wrong, depending on which side they support and will passionately argue against any mention of even partial fault with the side they support often resorting to less than polite discourse and rudeness toward anyone with thinks they notice some partial fault. Kind of reminds me of political season.

Yesterday I stumbled across an article that said something to the effect that the majority of whites think Zimmerman is innocent. I'm sure most blacks think he's guilty. I highly suspect as far as public opinion goes, this case is boiling down to political divisions and despite Zimmerman being bi-racial with significant Hispanic heritage, quite possibly ethnic group tribalism where facts are analyzed through the filter of our existing political or even ethnic biases. My question is do you think most people are looking at this case objectively as a legal matter or subjectively as a political or cultural/ethnic loyalties matter?

___________________________________________________________________________
Mods: To keep from making this personal, I constructed the poll to ask whether people though OTHERS viewed the Zimmerman case as a legal, cultural/ethnic or political matter however it was an afterthought and I forgot to modify the thread title. Can you change:

"Do you see the Zimmerman case primarily as a legal, political or cultural matter?"
to
"Do you think the public sees the Zimmerman case primarily as a legal, political or cultural matter?"

Plus I misspelled political. Thanks.

 

[Rainman05]

I'd say subjectively, and both subjectively are correct. But most see it from an ethnic/cultural standpoint. Which is why people got so emotionally involved in the case, despite murder being common, despite latino on black crime being common and viceversa, despite everything else. That's because deep down, the nasty secret is that ethnicity trumps all.

 

[MaggieD]

There are in my humble opinion some interesting dynamics to the Zimmerman case where based upon public passions, which we also see expressed on this forum, I wonder if many people actually view the case primarily as a legal matter.

First, the case drew national attention due to liberal media focus that could be argued tried to make the case that a teenage kid who's only crime was walking down the sidewalk with a bag of candy and an iced tea while black and dressed as a typical black teenager was shot dead and nobody was charged with a crime. Then rallies were held that were at a minimum had the participation of liberal political leaders and were possibly organized by them. This was followed by expressions of support from politically conservative media figures for Zimmerman. After the Seminole County State Attorney refused to charge Zimmerman, The Republican Governor of Florida, in a rare if not unprecedented move assigned a Special Prosecutor to the case, Florida's toughest State Attorney who is also a Republican elected official. A video of Zimmerman walking around areas of police headquarters not accessible to the public like he owned the place is released and the Sanford Chief of Police resigns or was fired, not sure which. Zimmerman is featured on a politically conservative media broadcast in a friendly setting to share his side of the story. He then sets up a defense fund and hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations start pouring in.

From my observations, one of the characteristics of political passion is an unwillingness to see any fault whatsoever with their side. Objectivity is out the window and its our guy can do no wrong. Another thing I've noticed is not only is there a high degree of passion with many as it relates to the Zimmerman case, most people cannot bring themselves to acknowledge even a single thing they think Martin or Zimmerman did wrong, depending on which side they support and will passionately argue against any mention of even partial fault with the side they support often resorting to less than polite discourse and rudeness toward anyone with thinks they notice some partial fault. Kind of reminds me of political season.

Yesterday I stumbled across an article that said something to the effect that the majority of whites think Zimmerman is innocent. I'm sure most blacks think he's guilty. I highly suspect as far as public opinion goes, this case is boiling down to political divisions and despite Zimmerman being bi-racial with significant Hispanic heritage, quite possibly ethnic group tribalism where facts are analyzed through the filter of our existing political or even ethnic biases. My question is do you think most people are looking at this case objectively as a legal matter or subjectively as a political or cultural/ethnic loyalties matter?

___________________________________________________________________________
Mods: To keep from making this personal, I constructed the poll to ask whether people though OTHERS viewed the Zimmerman case as a legal, cultural/ethnic or political matter however it was an afterthought and I forgot to modify the thread title. Can you change:

"Do you see the Zimmerman case primarily as a legal, political or cultural matter?"
to
"Do you think the public sees the Zimmerman case primarily as a legal, political or cultural matter?"

Plus I misspelled political. Thanks.

Most people couldn't care any less. As I like to say, most people are too busy living their lives, working for a living, raising their kids and trying to find joy where they can. This trial is insignificant to a large majority of Americans.

IMO, the reason emotions are high at Debate Politics is because, well, that's what we do here.

We've got people who support law and order wherever they find it (or don't find it); we've got people who think George Zimmerman has been railroaded by racists; we've got people who support gun ownership and see this incident as speaking to our right to self defense; we've got people who DON'T support gun ownership and see this incident as speaking to the FOLLY of gun ownership and the right-to-carry; and we've got racists who see this incident through those lenses.

Pretty interesting mix. But most people? They don't give a **** either way.

 

[joko104]

I think the last 2 mostly apply about equally.

 

[shrubnose]

I think the last 2 mostly apply about equally.

It shouldn't happen, but they might affect how this case turns out.

 

[Smeagol]

It shouldn't happen, but they might affect how this case turns out.

I don't think race or politics will affect the verdict but I think they will affect public reaction to it.

 

[j-mac]

I think it is both 1 & 2....Can you vote both?

 

[year2late]

I see it as primarily a legal issue.

There are hints of political - but primarily because the case was handled poorly in the beginning,

I would like not to think there are social issues, but even though I do not believe ZImmerman to be racist, I have seen quite a few racist innuendo on various message boards and on the television.

 

[Smeagol]

I think it is both 1 & 2....Can you vote both?

Sorry, I set the poll up for only one response.

 

[j-mac]

Sorry, I set the poll up for only one response.

No problem, I'll just leave my vote here. But at this point if I had to choose only one, I'd say #2. That is why I voted that, but in reality, as a practical matter it is factually #1 at present, but the fact that #1 was brought, is a result of #2.