Our Latest Takeaways About the #Trayvon Martin Tragedy

So much has been written, so much as been dissected. What we think about one of the Internet's most talked about stories of 2012 (anyone still talking about Kony now?).

• Focus

• A unarmed young man is dead: "There's no way I can believe that, because he's not a confrontational kid," said Jerome Horton, who was one of Martin's former football coaches and knew him since he was about 5. "It just wouldn't happen. That's just not that kid."
• The 911 dispatcher specifically told Zimmerman to not pursue Martin on February 26: "In the 911 call the dispatcher asks Zimmerman if he is following Trayvon Martin in which he responds, “Yep.” The dispatcher tells Zimmerman, “Okay, we don’t need you to do that.”
• The Sanford Police messed up: According to John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and former NYPD Eugene O'Donnell, the Sanford police made three major mistakes: 1. They didn't question Zimmerman more; 2. There was probable cause for an arrest; and 3. Someone died that night, and the situation was urgent.
• The entire nation now knows that Florida's Stand Your Ground law is problematic: Read Florida's actual statute, which states the following:

Protection of Persons and Property: Authorizes a person to use force, including deadly force, against an intruder or attacker in a dwelling, residence, or vehicle under certain circumstances; creates a presumption that a reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm exists; creates a presumption that a person acts with the intent to use force or violence; provides that a person is justified in using deadly force under certain circumstances; declares that a person has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force in certain circumstances; authorizes a law enforcement agency to investigate the use of deadly force but prohibits the agency from arresting the person unless the agency determines that there is probable cause that the force used was unlawful; provides for the award of attorney's fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and other expenses to a defendant in a civil suit who was immune from prosecution for justifiable use of force.

Protection of Persons/Use of Force:  authorizes person to use force, including deadly force, against intruder or attacker in dwelling, residence, or vehicle under specified circumstances;provides that person is justified in using deadly force under certain circumstances; provides immunity from criminal prosecution or civil action for using deadly force;defines term "criminal prosecution", etc. Creates 776.013,.032; amends 776.012,.031.

• Zimmerman's use of a concealed weapon also violates Florida's own guidelines about use of such weapons for self-defense: "A license to carry a concealed weapon does not make you a free-lance policeman. But, as stated earlier, deadly force is justified if you are trying to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. The use of deadly force must be absolutely necessary to prevent the crime. Also, if the criminal runs away, you cannot use deadly force to stop him, because you would no longer be "preventing" a crime. If use of deadly force is not necessary, or you use deadly force after the crime has stopped, you could be convicted of manslaughter."
• Geraldo Rivera is a tool.
• Zimmerman's lawyer needs some public relations training. For someone who says he has not talked in full detail about the events of February 26, you would think that he might want to at this stage. By the way, the attorney is now saying that Stand Your Ground does not apply to his client. Here is what he told CNN: "In my legal opinion, that's not really applicable to this case. The statute on 'stand your ground' is primarily when you're in your house," said Craig Sonner, attorney for George Zimmerman. "This is self-defense, and that's been around for forever — that you have a right to defend yourself. So the next issue (that) is going to come up is, was he justified in using the amount of force he did?"
• As for the Martin Family attorney? They are just asking for an arrest so that the case moves into the court system and not just the Internet.

• And yes, America, racism is a part of all this. Wake up. Stop "defending" and "overthinking" and start realizing that unless we don't start looking as to WHY George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin to death, we will never heal or unite as a country.