The controversy surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin has officially entered the political football phase. Right-wingers have taken to disseminating a photograph of Martin meant to depict him less as a young, innocent boy and more as an original gangsta. That the photograph is a fake has only proved to be a minor obstacle. Meanwhile, others have taken to disseminating the personal information of Martin’s killer, George Zimmerman, online. There are many problems with this tactic, ethical and otherwise, the most immediate being that there is more than one George Zimmerman. After famed film director Spike Lee re-tweeted Zimmerman’s address, an elderly Florida couple was besieged with hate mail and unwelcome visitors. Turns out the couple has a son named William George Zimmerman.
This highlights one of the issues at the crux of the Martin controversy ― the wages of vigilantism. Among the many problems involved in naming oneself judge, jury and executioner is the possibility of misdirecting one’s wrath.
Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman who on the tragic night broke every rule of neighborhood watch in the book, was by the account of his friends deeply vexed that his gated community had suffered a rash of burglaries. One can sympathize with Zimmerman’s frustration if not his tactics, which, almost a year before he shot Martin, involved calling the police to report a black male “7-9” years old, 4 feet tall, with a “skinny build” and short black hair.
But Zimmerman’s belief that he himself should be the executor of justice set in motion a series of events that ended with the death of a 17-year old boy. Instead of staying put, as a police dispatcher requested, Zimmerman pursued Martin after he ran, asserting to the dispatcher, “These a―holes always get away.” Putting oneself in Martin’s shoes, it’s not hard to understand why he might be trying to “get away.” If a strange man in a truck were following you, you’d likely do the same. And perhaps when confronted by the man, you might even resolve to defend yourself.
Zimmerman never gave much thought to how he might have appeared to Martin. He had already concluded that Martin was a criminal. Zimmerman’s attempt to function as the police was an act of vigilantism, one for which an innocent child paid the price.
It is deeply tempting to heap our frustrations on Zimmerman and his actions, but the fact is that he had been emboldened by the poorly-thought-out policy prescriptions of Florida legislators.
Florida has a “Stand Your Ground” statute. The law expands the notion that one’s home is their castle, to any public street being the castle. The law allows anyone who feels threatened with death or serious bodily injury to respond with lethal force. What constitutes a threat of death or serious bodily injury? In a disturbing number of cases, that has been left up to the killer.
There’s the case of Greyston Garcia, who upon seeing someone breaking into his car chased down the offender and stabbed him to death. Garcia initially claimed that he hadn’t stabbed anyone. Then video emerged, and he pleaded self-defense. The judge who dismissed charges against Garcia, citing Stand Your Ground, wrote in her ruling that Garcia “was well within his rights to pursue the victim and demand the return of his property. ... The defendant had no duty to retreat and could lawfully pursue a fleeing felon who has stolen his property.”
There’s the case of Seth Browning, who, according to police, shot and killed a man he followed in attempt to take down his license plate because he thought the man was driving strangely. When the man left his car to approach Browning, Browning pepper-sprayed him. When the man swung to defend himself, Browning shot him. Browning was not charged.
Perhaps saddest is the case involving Trevor Dooley, who shot and killed a man in front of the man’s 8-year-old daughter. The victim had argued with Dooley over whether a teenager should be allowed to skateboard in the park.
Lest one think that the Stand Your Ground law is merely a Florida problem, it’s worth noting that 25 states now have some version of this law on the books. Most of us can identify with the desire to protect oneself as well as one’s family and property. But given the flaws in the temperament of all humans, it’s easy to see how protection can quickly shade into vigilantism and then vengeance. Stand Your Ground encourages such impulses. If such laws continue their spread, expect more Trayvon Martins to follow.
By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer and senior editor for The Atlantic and its website. His blog can be found at www.theatlantic.com/ta-nehisi-coates. ― Ed.
