George Zimmerman for Prime Minister

According to a piece I just read, if I want to push my blog to a million readers, I must comment promptly on the top issue of the day. I just checked. Right now, that means the Zimmerman trial.


I also have to say something controversial. Hence the headline.

Okay, in my opinion, justice was definitely served. It would have been a travesty if Zimmerman had been convicted of either murder or manslaughter. All the evidence corroborated his story.

Even if it had not, even if Zimmerman had followed Martin with a chip on his shoulder, and even if he had started the fight, it looks as though his actions, though foolish, would not have amounted to manslaughter. Perhaps at worst felony assault.

Igor Gouzenko can head the Welcome Wagon.

And even with his acquittal, and with the real likelihood that Zimmerman is guilty of nothing more than being an unusually good citizen trying to protect his neighbourhood, he has already suffered much more than he would deserve to for felony assault. First, one should not minimize the stress of being charged with murder and facing a possible life sentence, not to mention possible bankruptcy from legal fees even if acquitted. Second, he has been demonized as a racist and a murderer in the media. His name, face, home address, and even social security number have been reported in the newspapers and on TV. He is not wealthy; he cannot afford the protection he now needs from hotheads who have been stirred up by all the bad publicity and seek the sort of vigilante justice of which he was falsely accused.

Given all this, I think if political asylum means anything in real terms, George Zimmerman has a case for being given political asylum in some other country. Canada would probably be the most amenable country for an expatriate American.

Then, upstanding citizen that he appears to be, he might well go into politics.