Cynical
observers may see a connection with the Michael Dunn verdict, but has teenage
murder become just another chess piece in the media ratings game? Is crazy racism
to be sold between commercials for mouthwash and erectile dysfunction?
What
happened to Jordan Davis in a Florida parking lot when he went there for gum
and cigarettes and was carried out dead will put Dunn away for the rest of his
twisted life, as Zimmerman’s encounter with Trayvon Martin should have.
But
what is the role of reporting in feeding our shock and disgust? Will an extended
interview with Trayvon’s killer ease the pain of that miscarriage of justice or
simply exploit it?
We
are not talking about censorship here. Zimmerman is free to talk to anyone he
wants and CNN has every right to interview him, but where is the line between
expanding the news and exploiting it?
In coming
weeks, we will hear more about Michael Dunn than any reasonable person
would want to know, and there will be talking heads aplenty to preen about
racism, gun control, courtroom justice and mental illness in our culture.
For
now, can we just agree that it is no triumph of American journalism to be
shoving George Zimmerman into our faces right now?
Update: God is “the only judge I have
to answer to” is the takeaway from Zimmerman’s interview, according to CNN’s
website. Now we don’t have to watch and risking throwing up.
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