It is a serious issue. But nothing points to it being race related. Not all of the evidence has been collected, no one's heard the other side (which is a right of the accused).
The problem is... he has NOT been accused. I'm not screaming "he's a racist, put the man to death". I'm saying "there's too much evidence to the contrary to claim self-defense and walk away without going to trial. So he is actually free to do much more than share his side of the story as is. He's allowed to go to the store, have dinner at home and wake up a free man. And who said "race related". This was clearly the result of prejudice (on the behalf of one man). Let's not discount that this should be a learning experience on what 'perceived' threats are to some people in this country, and to the lengths in which such a strong fear can result in the extreme action of taking a life without warrant (other than prejudice, paranoia and fear). That was no indictment on anyone else than the perpetrator... until the police decided not to make an arrest. In which case it should call into question the entire investigation.
I'm not saying it's not horrible, I'm not saying it's not a tragedy, I'm saying we need to see all of the evidence first. It's the right of the accused. I'm 18 years old, work, go to school and run a business. I think that takes patience, and maturity, wouldn't you agree?. If this was a white kid and the shoot was black do you think it would be such an issue? No. I've read all the headlines, seen all the reports and I've listened to everyone's point of view. Personally, I don't think Zimmerman's innocent, but I think we need to gather the rest of the facts and figure out what really happened.
You may very well be able to handle a job and your own life. My point (as proven by this statement) is just that you are too young (and it's not really your fault) to put yourself in the shoes of this family or their child. I also think that you are living in a world all to your own if you think that there would be no difference in the prosecution of this case, had the races of the victim and shooter had been switched. We send scuba divers to Aruba for some kids that age, so I can't pretend like this is typical procedure to handle a child murder case (or non-case) like this.
And as for the shooter being 'non-white'... racism has it's roots everywhere. Hispanic communities suffer from racism as well, which I have heard myself. And depending on that person's background, they may have grown up in a prejudice environment that was mostly white.
I think that the facts and circumstances indicate prejudice, as this child was simply walking home from the store... I mean, what else could have been the reason?... I seriously can't think of any other (but I'm not un-willing to consider an idea). But people need to realize that racism amongst young black men in this country does exist (and has since the founding of this country), and that this is likely the cause for death of this child.
I post what I post out of hope that someone will see my perspective as reasonable. I could care less about being 'right'. In this situation, I find it especially hard to understand the arrogance of those who have stood in the way of justice for this family (local PD, political ralliers, etc...). They just want an arrest, and the civil trial of having this horrific trial sorted out. It might provide some closure for a family that has just had the worst imaginable pain happen to them. I understand people having questions, and it's fine to ask them. But it would take 5mins out of your day (Carinata) to get all of the information on this case that should be needed to have some compassion and understanding towards this family.
I'll leave it at that, though. I really am not trying to target you, David. I just seriously think it might be important for you to take 5-10 mins to really take in the full spectrum of these reports. Try to imagine what you might say to the family, or how you might actually feel some of their pain. And then try to imagine telling them that there is a good reason why their child has been killed, and why the killer should go free.