The trial of George Zimmerman began earlier this week, and with it came the expected media firestorm.  Who could have imagined that the Trayvon Martin case would have generated this sort of interest from the media?  There have been several pictures painted of the accused George Zimmerman; some news outlets have described him as a cold-hearted murderer, while others see him as a victim free of all blame.

Regardless of which stance you take, it is important to take into account facts that are not often projected through the media.  Zimmerman’s unedited 911 call proves that he originally phoned the police in order to alert them to suspicious activity.  It is hard to believe that Zimmerman had a pre-organized plan to stalk down and kill Trayvon Martin if he first alerted the police to Martin’s presence.  Secondly, there was a scuffle that took place between Martin and Zimmerman that was originally ignored by the media.  Medical evidence proves that Zimmerman did suffer a fractured nose and cuts on the back of his head, so it is hard to justify the fact that Martin was just a victim and nothing more.  That being said, it is also almost impossible to support the idea that Zimmerman is guilty of blame as well.  Martin was a 17-year old male, and Zimmerman at the time was 28 years old.  It seems hard to believe that Zimmerman was unable to find some other method to stop Martin, and his last line of defense was to use his firearm.

Neither Zimmerman nor Martin had the greatest track record.  Martin was suspended from school numerous times and caught with marijuana, but Zimmerman was also arrested in 2005 for shoving a police officer.  This only complicates the case because it proves that both parties were flawed, but their pasts also should not be influences on this trial that is happening in the present.

The public might not ever truly learn what happened on the night of February 12, 2012, but it is important to remember that the media can paint Zimmerman and Martin to look like anything it chooses based on what evidence is given.  Objectivity is the best asset to have when observing this trial, and it also gives you an advantage that the media does not.  Don’t believe everything that the news and radio tells you, because it is often the view they want people to have, and not one that takes into account all of the evidence.  Murder or self-defense? that question remains a mystery for the time being.  The most important thing is that the objective truth is discovered and that justice is served one way or another.