A Tale of Two Cases

The man saw some teenagers breaking into cars in his neighborhood. He did not call the police; instead he went out and confronted the teens. He said he had a gun and that the teens would wait there until the police responded.

This was not a “stand your ground” situation. The man with the gun initiated the contact.  It would not have made any difference anyway, as this incident occurred in New York State – which does not have a “stand your ground” law. New York does allow lethal force if there is absolutely no route of escape. Again, though, the man with the gun initiated the contact.

One of the teens ran at the man with the gun. The teen did not make contact with the man with the gun, but the man shot the teen in “self defense.”

The man with the gun was tried for manslaughter. He was not tried for murder, with manslaughter thrown in at the last minute to cover the prosecution’s tail-side, but for manslaughter from the outset.

The man was acquitted. The man took his gun outside, in a non- SYG state, confronted the teens, and he was acquitted.

The man with the gun was Roderick Scott. The teen, whose family claims was never in trouble before, was Christopher Cervini.

Christopher Cervini

Roderick Scott

I am torn. I don't know how I feel about this case. Traditionally I would have said it served the kid right. Even if you are a nice kid who has never been in trouble before, logic should tell you not to run at a guy who says he has a gun (except, of course, if he says he is going to kill you and your friends and you do it to try to save your friends).  However, Scott initiated the contact. He threatened the teens. He is black. Cervini is white. Most people have not heard of this case. No one has been beaten because of this Scott's acquittal. No one, outside of Cervini's family and maybe some friends, is calling for "Justice for Christopher." The President has not mentioned the case. The Attorney General has not set up a hot-line for people with dirt on Roderick Scott to call to expedite a civil-rights prosecution.

Meanwhile, George Zimmerman, who -- until that night last year -- was the epitome of inclusion, fairness, and respect, has the unmitigated gaul to shoot someone who is trying to beat Zimmerman's head into the concrete. Riots. Fires. Calls for the deaths all white people to avenge Martin's death. Zimmerman did not make the first contact. Trayvon Martin did. Zimmerman broke off his surveillance when told to do so by the police dispatcher. It was Martin who circled around and snuck up and attacked Zimmerman. It was Martin who was on top of Zimmerman, pounding Zimmerman's face in.

George Zimmerman

Trayvon Martin

In this case, though, we have celebrities -- who live in gated communities and are protected by armed guards -- telling us that we should be disarmed and we should be expected to cower in fear.

I have seen the aftermath of the Zimmerman verdict on Canadian TV. The crawls always say he was acquitted of "shooting an unarmed teen." 

I have a good friend who is a second degree black belt in karate. It has been made very clear to her that her hands are considered weapons. If she were, say, to get into a bar fight, she could be charged with a felony. Trayvon Martin, however, is a sweet little angel for beating George Zimmerman's face in with mixed-martial arts punches and telling Zimmerman that he was going to die. Zimmerman is the criminal for defending himself.

Meanwhile, youths such as Martin are saturated with a hip-hop culture that glorifies violence and demeans people. We are told that if we are critical of that culture, we are racist. David Dinkins, former mayor of New York whose one term in office could charitably be called a disaster (rampant crime, driving the city to the brink of bankruptcy) says the reason he lost his bid for reelection was because of racism. New Yorkers -- who elected Dinkins to his first term -- suddenly became racist and wanted no part of a black mayor after four years? Could it be they wanted no part of an incompetent boob, no matter what his skin color?

Fortunately there are numerous conservative black people -- men and women -- who are coming to prominence. Providing they survive the accusations of sexual harassment, which are de rigueur, perhaps we can take back the country and make Martin Luther King's dream come true.