Trayvon’s weapon: A bag of Skittles

America’s obsession with race is by no means over. The inability of prominent conservatives to evaluate the facts surrounding the death of Trayvon Martin does not bode well for an early resolution of the problem. When reviewing the circumstances without consideration of race the conclusions should become obvious.

First of all, if a teenager is followed by a man along a walkway in a housing development with no other pedestrians visible, is it reasonable for him to be uneasy?

• Is evidence of Trayvon Martin’s telephone call to his friend sufficient to establish his uneasiness?
• Would a woman normally be especially concerned by a man following her in a secluded area?
• Was there reasonable egress from the walkway?
• What caused the mild injury to George Zimmerman’s nose and the back of his head?
• What is the significance of Trayvon still holding a bag of Skittles in his hand as he lay dead?

It is clear that Zimmerman became the aggressor when he insisted on following Trayvon. The women jurors would normally understand the state of anxiety that would cause. When Trayvon and Zimmerman first contacted one another, it is certainly Trayvon who was afraid of Zimmerman’s violent intent.

Then there was a scuffle and Zimmerman had an opportunity to flee. The scuffle was not even violent enough to force Trayvon to drop his Skittles. It could be that Trayvon struck Zimmerman in the face and Zimmerman fell down and banged his head. The point is that if the encounter was not violent enough to force Trayvon to drop his Skittles, then how was it threatening enough to cause Zimmerman to fear for his life?

Zimmerman shot to death a frightened boy who was armed with a package of Skittles. A jury of Florida ladies found that constitutes self defense. Try as they may to insist that the question of race was not involved, nothing else makes any sense.