Zimmerman's lawyers say he acted in self defense while the prosecution contends Martin is the victim of racial profiling, and Zimmerman zealously and recklessly took the law in to his own hands.
While the trial raises fascinating issues, and it will be interesting to see how it turns out, there are times I feel like I have to take a shower after talking about it. It's far too tabloidy for my tastes. Anything that "reporters" Nancy Grace and Ashleigh Banfield immerse themselves in instantly raises the red flag.
The story is getting extensive air time because it's just a juicy crime story with racial overtones. It makes me uncomfortable.
And then, there is Wilkes-Barre. The city is going through a crime spurt. Some will say it's not a spurt. Wilkes-Barre has had a crime problem for a while, and it's getting worse. Strangely enough, all of this is happening after the mayor said crime is actually down and he has the statistics to back it up.
I can tell the administration is trying to get a handle on the public relations aspect of this. There's a news release from a spokesman, touting every arrest. Great. It's as it should be.
Where Wilkes-Barre falls short, very short, is the actual reporting of the crimes. News releases at city hall are often late. It's tough to get a handle on the situation via phone, and officers at the scene rarely say much. I can understand a lot of that. Officers and detectives have to investigate crimes in order to find the suspect. Time talking to the media can detract from that.
However, it only takes a few minutes to walk over the the assembled reporters to say something like "we have one dead, one wounded, and a gunman on the loose. He was last seen in a while car. We think this is drug related. If people know anything , they can call... How long did that take? Two minutes? If an officer can't do it, the city should appoint a public information officer-- someone who can talk to you face to face, to type out a release, answer a call. Thanks to Twitter, text, and Facebook, the news can get out in seconds, and you know what? It can actually help.
The "cone of silence" method currently employed worked for Max and the chief of Control. It bombed elsewhere.
I speak for myself, but I know others in journalism feel the way. Confirm the facts on a timely basis. That's all you really need to do. It won't take you away from your jobs for but a moment. If there are no firm facts, speculation and rumor take over. Thanks to the internet and social media, it spreads like wildfire, and you know how difficult it is to control. So, not only are you looking for a perp, you're looking for your eroding image and popularity.
Look, the vast majority of men and woman in uniform are decent and honorable people who really want to help their communities. It falls apart when they don't get the manpower, guidance, and tools to do their jobs. One of the tools is common sense. Let the community know what's going on. How hard is that? This "if we don't talk about it, it didn't happen" mentality is failing. The "we don't want to scare the people" argument already falls on its face. Information reassures. Ignorance breeds fear.
Someone once said that life is 10 per cent what happens to you and 90 per cent how you react to it.
I think everyone agrees, the reaction is failing-- badly.
