I wasn't there and I didn't see what happened, so I don't know of my own knowledge whether George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in self-defense or in cold blood.
What little I do know about the case, I learned from the news media; and at first I believed Zimmerman was a ruthless, racist killer. But I became less sure of that idea as I learned more about the case, and in particular about how the media had covered the case. They chose not to tell me, for example, that Zimmerman was bleeding from an apparent attack, or that when he said of Martin "he looks black" it was in response to a question about Martin's race.
I started out thinking those guys from the Duke Lacrosse team were guilty, too, until the accuser's story started falling apart.
Here's what I think now. I think there are a lot of people - especially liberals in the media - who are in a big hurry to explain everything bad that happens as a result of "white racism". And that's not how I see things.
I think there are people who dislike other people because of their race, sex, religion, nationality, or whatever group they belong to. I think this is wrong and I try to judge people based on their actions and their character.
I think that there are people who choose to do bad things, and these people may be of any race, sex, religion, or nationality.
I think there are places in the world where people don't like outsiders, and if you walk through those places and you don't look like you belong you could get hurt bad. I think this is wrong too, but I can't change it. And I do not believe that these places are found only in America.
