Question The Media Doesn't Seem Interested In: Where Was Trayvon Martin Shot, In Relation To Zimmerman's Last Known Location and His SUV?

The media is in lynch mob mode, and has a lot of opinions and precious few facts.

Supposedly what makes them different than bloggers is that they are fact-based, not theory- or opinion-based.

And yet they have ginned up a national racial controversy without asking some simple-to-determine, important questions.

There's about a one-minute gap in the cell-phone calls to 911, between Zimmerman's last call and calls from the witnesses (in at least one of these calls, you hear the gunshot).

Thus we know the exact time the incident took place.

Now, Zimmerman's claim is that he was walking towards his SUV when Trayvon Martin confronted him.

This seems likely to evidenced via recourse to a simple map. From the 911 calls, we should be able to learn Zimmerman's last known location (prior to the shooting). We should also know where his SUV was parked.

Seems like an elemental fact, no? If it appears that Zimmerman was in fact heading closer to his SUV when the confrontation took place, it supports (though does not entirely prove) his account of the incident.

If Zimmerman was still moving further from the SUV, then it casts doubt on his claim he was heading towards the SUV. And then that suggests that he was possibly still tracking Trayvon, and that in turn suggests (without proving it to be so) that he initiated the confronation.

Now, the evidence might wind up being murky. He might not have moved far enough to establish if he was moving towards his SUV or away from it. It's also possible, though it seems unlikely, that he could have been moving, coincidentally, towards the SUV, while actually tracking Trayvon Martin, because Martin might have been coincidentally heading that way himself.

So there are situations where this simple technique will bear little fruit, or at least be disputable.

On the other hand, there are situations where this technique will provide fairly good evidence as to whether Zimmerman's story is likely true, or likely false.

If the media is so concerned about facts, and not simply partisan, hot-button, traffic-bating yelling -- why have they as of yet not undertaken this very simple step of determining where Zimmerman was in his final call, where his SUV was parked, and where Zimmerman was in relation to points A and B when the shooting occurred?

This isn't rocket science.

It does, however, take a small amount of intelligence, a limited investment in actual work, and a desire to actually have the facts at hand before fomenting a lynch mob.

None of which the media possesses in ample supply.

Oh, and meanwhile, our media, which routinely spikes stories in in the interest of not inflaming Murderous White (Hispanic) People Against Minorities, seems oblivious to its own handiwork in this area.

An Incomplete Map: This shows some things (the shooting location, the pickup location), but not important other things, like the "clubhouse" Zimmerman saw Trayvon moving towards, or the address he said he was at on the cell phone calls.

thanks to @thenewsjunkie for that.

posted by Ace at 05:01 PM

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