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The Eyes See What We Want Them To See – Keeping An Objective Mind.

 

On the George Zimmerman video that’s shuttling around the web. Both sides are using that to bolster their case, when, if looked at with a critical eye, it may not show what either side wants it to.

The Pro-Zimmerman side says, if you look at one certain frame on the vid, it shows that Zimmerman does indeed have a wound on his head.

…..

Or clearly shows a moire pattern due to the poor video resolution and the short hair on his head. Johnny Carson used to tick off his producers because he would wear jackets that would often produce the same effect.

Two problems with that being a head wound:

1. That is a sizable cut. Even very small head wounds bleed like all get-out. If that IS a head wound, he would have needed proper medical attention from paramedics on the scene, and

2. There are other shots in that video of the back of his head that don’t show that mark. Something that large would certainly had to have shown up on several frames, at more than one angle when viewing the back of his head.

The outer side, those that want to make this a race issue, says it shows he has NO head wound.

But this is very low res stuff. He may still have a head wound, and the initial police report do state he was treated for a head wound, but it’s small, and the low res camera doesn’t pick it up. I don’t know how much a broken nose typically bleeds, or what the swelling looks like. But again…. Low res video. Not sure how much that will show up in this situation.

People are also making a note that there is no blood on his shirt from his broken nose. He may have had his jacket zipped up, and whatever blood there was went on his jacket, which would explain why there is no blood on the shirt. And, if the jacket is water-proof, and it’s raining, then much of the blood and grass that was reported may have washed off in the precipitation.

Another snafu in this whole thing – Conflicting reports. That’s going to happen in a case like this. Think it always does. We do have one report from an officer on the scene that does provide some good detail. But this officer was not the first on the scene. The one report does say that Zimmerman was given some on-the-scene aid for a cut to the head and a bloody nose, but the video certainly suggest those injuries are not as severe as some, perhaps even Zimmerman, are making them out to be. I would very much like to see that report too, as it would give us another view of the events as they unfolded after the police got there.

Now, on to the pictures being used by various outlets concerning the two principles in this case. I posted the ones you will typically see of both Mr. Martin and Mr. Zimmerman. Why use the picture of Trayvon as a 12 year old instead of using one of the recent ones that shows him as he looked a few days before his death? Don’t be afraid to let us see him as he was. I keep seeing the 12 year old picture used. And, on the other side, the photo of Zimmerman is not recent either. And it certainly brings out his Latino lineage more than the more recent pictures, as if to say “Hey, this guy can’t be a racist because he’s also a minority”. It’s manipulative, like the 45 year old who posts a picture of himself when he was 25 when trying to attract a date. It’s almost like it scares some people to show honesty.

To me, this is the most important issue – If things are as they appear, Zimmerman’s pursuit of Trayvon probably, in the end, makes all this other minutia irrelevant, as he appears to be the first aggressor. But, again, I am not going to side that way until all the facts, as much as possible, become known.

Zimmerman, to me, does look to be in the wrong here (understatement as the other guy is dead) but in my lifetime I’ve seen too many people who initially looked guilty turn out to be quite innocent, including some who have ended up on death row and been executed, and that gives me great pause when these kind of cases enter the public square.

Unless something else breaks, this will be the only thing i will post on this case.