Isn't there some old saying something to the effect of if you want to keep respect for someone, keep them at a distance? I feel that way about the jury. I hope we have heard the last of B37.

Interesting ideas at SocialCourtTV. Good points about about the prosecution's failure to search social media during jury selection, use more effective exhibits during the trial, and most of all to humanize Trayvon Martin. She uses the term 'cultural competency' that the prosecution  lacked to put TM's supposedly scary language and actions into context with his peer group. If you can't bring the victim to life, it is very hard to win, especially when the victim is put on trial to a certain extent in a self defense case. We talked about this a little the other night here:

Why didn't Prosecution defend Trayvon's character? Because they did not want to have his text messages written in "teen speak" and his cell phone pics to be scrutinized. References he made in social media and to his friends showed a teen engaged in a bit of bravado and trying on the gangsterism of mainstream Hip Hop like the costume it is, complete with testing out a set of gold teeth bottoms.  All of these, together, would make Trayvon appear to be a "thug," until and unless these references were placed within their proper context and properly defended. Trayvon Martin was a human being, a teenager engaged in "frontin'," which actually reinforced just how much of a nerd he was; but the Prosecution can't defend what it doesn't know.

Given that, I find it surprising that people are so accepting of racial strife exhibited through the Zimmerman trial. Instead of recognizing that criminals often hide their identity with hats or hoodies and young men would be better served if we taught them to remove their hoodie if they're in a situation Martin was in, we get the Miami Heat picture belligerently glaring out from their hoodies as if it's a cultural badge of defiance. Now Crump is claiming that Trayvon was just "trying on the gangsterism of mainstream Hip Hop like the costume it is." I would posit that it does not serve us well to continue glorifying a gangbanger mentality or any other negative component of our subculture. There is a reason racism persists today, and it has to do with being recreated, not taught. Why are NYC immigrant taxi drivers wary of AA customers? Because they've been taught that blacks are dangerous? Or is it perhaps for the same reason that I feel completely safe wandering the multicultural streets of Honolulu, but go on high alert walking past young Asians in LA who look like gang members. Context is everything.

One of the most complex components of racism is how easily a person's self identity is impacted by other members of the group. Rachel Jeantel's testimony during the trial is a perfect example of this. I've seen many African-Americans cringe when they watched her testimony. She seemed confused at times, and she was confrontational and angry with Zimmerman's attorneys, even saying she didn't understand some of the relatively simple questions. In my opinion, she appeared distrustful but also dishonest. Her demeanor and language suggested she was a product of a low-income, under-educated class of Americans that could be any race. Yet some African-Americans seemed to feel embarrassed about who she was and the way she spoke. As I sat with AA women attorneys watching her (and watching them react to her), I realized they somehow thought she represented them in spite of the differences between them and her.

Why don't whites so easily fall prey to the same problem of association? White immigrant sub-groups may have played a key role in allowing American Caucasians to separate from others they disdain. Throughout our history, there have been waves of Caucasians from different countries. Whites have been able to distinguish themselves and their "tribe" as better than those <ethnic slurs for Polish, Italian, etc.>.

But there are still plenty of generalizations about whites as oppressors, both from AAs and white people themselves. White guilt is alive and well, as this trial has shown us, with people of all races desperate to make this a example of white on black racism, even creating a new ethnic group, "White Hispanic," to reinforce their preconceived meme.

The fact that some people indulge in white guilt, believing Caucasians are generally wrong or bad based on the actions of some other Caucasians indicates that our innate tendency for tribalism gets way overblown in the complex world we live in today. You don't hear many white people saying "Mother Theresa is white, and so am I, so white people must be good." Instead, you hear silliness along the lines of owning slaves is bad and in the US the slave owners were white so white people must be the bad guys. Statistically, white Americans are overwhelmingly good people who give billions of dollars every year through donations and tax money expenditures to help poorer people of other races in this country and around the world. White Americans fought and died to end this country's black slavery, while contemporary slavery in Africa where blacks still own other blacks is relatively unchallenged. I believe that's because it's easier to assign blame or assume self identity when a group is clearly delineated visually.

The difference in this case is that Charles is African American.  And 90% of the African American community are delusional about this case and are extremely pro-lynch mob.  The 10% that believe similarly to Charles are fearful of being ostracized for not "keeping it real", and very likely keep their opinions silent.  As Chris Rock would say...."keeping it real....yeah real dumb"

GZ thought he was acting suspiciously - especially while standing on a neighbor's lawn in the rain - a neighbor GZ knew not to be at home and whose house had recently been broken into.  GZ reported to a NEN (NOT 911) that TM was acting as if he were on drugs.  I don't know what TM did that night to make GZ think that - maybe it was an overreaction - but no one can ever know that.

It was Democrats who filibustered to stop Civil Rights legislation until they finally saw the handwriting on the wall and voted for it.

George Wallace was a Democrat.  Orville Faubus was a Democrat.  Lester Maddox was a Democrat.  Sheriff Bull Connor was a Democrat.  Senator Byrd was a Klan member and one of those who fought hard against civil rights legislation.

The South has been wrongly accused of bigoted racism for decades while the North has escaped such accusations, despite the fact that racism exists in every state, county, city and town in America.

The shift of Southern whites to the GOP began in the 1920s and gathered steam in the 1950's when Eisenhower became President, long before the supposed "Southern strategy" of the GOP supposedly attracting racists to their party.

The 1964 Civil Rights act was supported by over 80% of the Republicans in Congress and less than 70% of the Democrats.

What ever happened to the 3 guys in the 7-11? Did they purchase anything for TM?

Did GZ's Ridgeline truck have tinted windows?

What happened to the ping log?

Who was the other person using Rachel's phone?

My step-daughter is in that age group (21 going on 13 :) ), and she and all her friends care. They can't tell you about any evidence except that TM died, but they care enough to be upset.

And Charles Barkley is the most loved NBA commentator. He's very well known and doesn't need this case to get any attention. He's "Sir Charles"!

I didn't remark on the question being "odd" in that it's wording suggests the more serious the charge, the more likely or easier to bypass the grand jury.  The reality is opposite that.  Less serious charges don't get a grand jury.  There is no parking ticket grand jury, or speeding ticket grand jury, or DUI grand jury.

(White) guy is in his yard when several (black) women charge across the street from their house/yard and start pummeling him (the conflict was over something having to do with their children in school).  He's armed, but doesn't pull his gun and start firing until one of them very competently attacks him and specifically his head from the side (turns out she was a martial artist).  Fortunately no one died, and he is of course charged, not being as badly wounded as Zimmerman.

The prosecution e.g. tried very hard to show he wasn't on his own property but abjectly fails, and he made a sufficiently convincing case he was in reasonable fear for his life when the attack from the side started.