Trayvon Martin Case: Banishing Zimmerman’s Name

Today I am featuring our good friend Tzar and his recommendation that I stop using Zimmerman’s name in the titles to my posts and instead to refer to this case as the Trayvon Martin case.

Upon reflection, I have agreed to follow his recommendation.

Here is his comment and my response.

Hello Professor

I wanted to comment on your choice to title your articles with Zimmerman’s name vs Trayvon’s. In light of Friday’s gas station shooting of a teen over the loudness of the music in his car and how attention seeking The Zimmerman clan has been of late, I thought I would raise the question: Do we give people who want attention like Zimmerman has received incentive to behave like him by mentioning Zimmerman too much. It’s complicated but essentially I wonder if we would we be better served if we referred to the “Trayvon Martin case” instead of the “Zimmerman case”

Here is the excerpt that prompted this post

How the media shouldn’t cover a mass murder

Every time there’s a mass shooting, I remember this piece of footage from Charlie Brooker’s BBC series Newswipe. In it, a forensic psychiatrist outlines the guidelines for news reporting of such a tragedy, assuming that your aim is to prevent further ones.

He says:

If you don’t want to propagate more mass murders…

Don’t start the story with sirens blaring.

Don’t have photographs of the killer.

Don’t make this 24/7 coverage.

Do everything you can not to make the body count the lead story.

Not to make the killer some kind of anti-hero.

Do localise this story to the affected community and as boring as possible in every other market.

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/staggers/2012/07/how-media-shouldnt-cover-mass-murder

Just some musings
great article as usual

My response:

Hi, Tzar.

You make a good point that had not occurred to me. I am used to thinking about a criminal case as the defendant’s case, rather than the victim’s case. I’ve always done it that way and so has everyone else I know.

Of course, just because it’s a common practice does not make it right.

I’m going to have to think about this

Thanks, for mentioning it.

Tzar’s response to me:

It is my intimation that the persistent hammering of one name vs another, chisels out monoliths in the consciousness representing not only our better or worser angels, but possibly inspirations to the our better or worser angels.

At the least it would be a fascinating social experiment; to essentially drown out the Zimmerman name and do things such as strictly refer to him as the defendant or the killer and put forth Trayvon’s name repeatedly enough that it can enter into proper martyrdom and social lore. A child’s defamation-notice I said defamation and not simply death-should mean something, it should stay in the society’s psyche. I believe that this kind of approach may help do that, I also believe that this is the kindest and worse thing we could do to vulgarians who openly support Zimmerman’s vulgarity.

One may even want to consider this propagandist approach as sort of a modus operandi or prevention play book whenever these horrible things happen.

Sorry for the flowery language, Just thinking out loud right after my morning coffee. 🙂

Finally, my conclusion.

People say it’s difficult to teach an old dog new tricks. My answer is that a person should always be willing to review and question old beliefs and ways of doing things. We become old dogs, if we don’t.

I also believe that the path to making a better world begins at home with the self. Often it’s the seemingly small change, the minor adjustment or adaptation, that others notice. In this way the ripple becomes a wave and the wave a tsunami.

Thank you, my friend.

I like your idea and I’m not only going to give it a try, I’m going to feature it and credit you on the front page.