False narrative of Trayvon Martin shooting embeds on campuses

Posted by William A. Jacobson Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 11:30am

The deification of Trayvon Martin, with comparisons to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Emmitt Till, is just part of the false narrative of the prosecution of George Zimmerman.

We are seeing a mythology grow and become embedded on campuses which misrepresents the factual and legal nature of the case. Long ago it was the false hoodie and racial narratives which feverishly were embraced on campuses, and now it is the "hunting season / stand your ground" narrative.

The latest is an email circulated by a University of Maryland official School official tells students Trayvon Martin case proved it is 'legal to hunt' children:

An email sent to students by a University of Maryland official that cites the Trayvon Martin shooting as evidence "it is legal to hunt down and kill American children in Florida" is being blasted as the latest evidence of a left-wing bias on campus.

The email, from William Dorland, director of the school's Honors College, starts by welcoming students back to campus, but then quickly veers into politics.

"This year, we learned that it is legal to hunt down and kill American children in Florida," it reads, in a reference to the trial of George Zimmerman, who was cleared of all charges in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The email went out to all students in the Honors College.

The political language continued:

"This year, the most activist Supreme Court in the history of the United States and radical factions of gun owners, gun manufacturers, and marijuana users are challenging the very fabric of the nation..."

Dorland then invites students to attend a lecture by former NAACP chairman Julian Bond.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The truth is that Trayvon Martin, someone who bragged about fighting and sucker punching people in the nose (evidence the jury never heard), was shot as he was on top of Zimmerman pounding him Mixed-Martial Arts " ground and pound " style, as described by an eyewitness backed up by the physical evidence of injury and ballistics.

This is how politicized mythology grows, and comes to be accepted as truth, as in the Matthew Shepard case.

For a clear explanation of why these narratives are false (racial motivation, "hoodie" targeting, stand your ground, etc.), watch the presentation Andrew Branca and I gave at Cornell Law School, Did the Jury get it right in The Zimmerman Trial?

False narrative of Trayvon Martin shooting embeds on campuses