Tragic Scenarios
excerpt:
We start with Zimmerman spotting Martin on the way back from the convenience store and concluding that he seems “suspicious” in light of recent burglaries. Maybe it’s just because he’s
an unfamiliar black teenager and Zimmerman is applying a racist stereotype, or maybe there’s something else that Zimmerman misunderstands—the boy is walking slowly to prolong the trip home while he talks to his girlfriend, which on a rainy night, Zimmerman perceives as someone “casing” houses.
Failing to understand
how creepy his own slow-motion monitoring of the teen from his SUV seems, Zimmerman takes it as a further confirmation of his suspicions when Martin breaks into a run.
Stupidly disregarding the 911 dispatcher’s advice, Zimmerman gets out of his car to ensure he can point the boy out to police when they arrive. After all, he thinks, if this is the guy who’s been breaking into local houses, it would be crazy to let him slip away to strike again, and he only intends to get a closer look and
maybe ask a few questions. This would be dumb, but not inherently criminal. He either approaches Martin, or Martin himself finally decides to confront this determined stranger to demand an explanation for why he’s being followed. Zimmerman, in turn, demands to know “what he’s doing in the neighborhood,” meaning “explain what I regard as suspicious behavior.”
Martin seems visibly edgy—as you would be with a creepy stranger tailing you!—and
maybe Zimmerman simultaneously exposes the holstered firearm, hoping it will deter the teen from trying anything.
But Martin isn’t connecting the question with the recent spate of break-ins, which he has no reason to know about: What he hears is
a threat from an armed and menacing stranger who has been
stalking him from his vehicle, and now sounds angry to see
a black teenager in “his” neighborhood. And
when Zimmerman exposes the gun, Martin
reasonably concludes that he’s about to become the
victim of a hate crime. He could run—but he won’t outrun a bullet, and risks being shot in the back. It seems like his only chance is to
disable and disarm this nut before he can draw the weapon.
It’s a risky gambit, but in another few seconds, Zimmerman will have time to draw the gun and fire, so Martin doesn’t see any other good options. Making a split-second decision, the football player goes for the tackle, thinking he can get the gun away and
hold this creep for police.
