Given that GZ didn't commit any crime leading up to the killing, I would have to argue that he was completely innocent. Should he not have followed Martin? Maybe not. But to say he "isn't innocent" is disingenuous. I sat through three weeks of watching the trial via stream, I saw all of the evidence, just as the jury did.
You know what I came away with? George Zimmerman is not without his flaws, but he was a noble man. He served his community, served as the go to guy for kids needing role models in life. The last thing he wanted to do was kill someone. He may have been a bit overzealous in his actions on that night, but as I can tell he still went by the book. He was headed back to his vehicle.
Trayvon Martin on the other hand, was portrayed by the media as some angel, a treasure of humanity. Well what I saw in that trial was a (pardon my language) thug. There was evidence that did not get submitted which showed him holding a gun. I can't dismiss the pot usage either. I grew up thinking doing drugs were wrong. His propensity for getting into fights was strong. He was almost a grown man, Wake. He was taught the differences between right and wrong, but still in spite of that made his deadly choice.
In situations like these, there is no gray area. There is right and wrong, life and death, guilt and innocence, justice and injustice. An exception may be race, since we are all human. We are all caught making assumptions. But as I sat through that trial with "rapt" attention, I put the puzzle together. There is no place in this for emotion, since Sabryna and Tracy will never get their son back. Zimmerman will never be able to return any semblance of normalcy back to his life.
I concur that this is not a game. But I leapt for joy when the proper verdict was read. I thought to myself, "is it wrong to celebrate the exoneration of an oft and erroneously vilified figure?" No, I don't believe so. I wanted the media to eat crow. And so they did. I wanted justice to be done, and so it was. For those in America who seek to exact vengeance on innocent people all for the verdict, they should indeed be ashamed of themselves.
This "No Justice, No Peace" rationale is disturbing. Dr. King would be absolutely appalled by what this nation has become. His dream has been turned into a nightmare by the likes of the media and of Al Sharpton. The shame in all of this, is that even now if King were still alive, his brand, his ideology, his pragmatism... would not fit into the agenda of those on the left or on the right. It would not meld with the race baiting tactics some use to label others.
One wonders what Dr. King would think about people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson turning civil rights into highly compensated "careers". My guess is that he'd be appalled.