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Suspicion Nation: The Inside Story Of The Trayvon Martin Injustice And Why We Continue To Repeat It (2014)

by Lisa Bloom(Favorite Author)

4.13 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

161902327X (ISBN13: 9781619023277)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Counterpoint

review 1: I really didn't want to read this book. I heard Lisa Bloom give a talk recently and I perceived her as a "rock star" persona, playing to the crowd. And this is the third non-fiction book in a row I've read on race...I wanted a break from the topic. But, I recently joined a discussion group on what's happening in Ferguson (a suburb of my ST Louis). They wanted to read the book...so I reluctantly bought it.The book is divided into two parts. The first being the Trayvon Martin case, the second being a discourse on race. The first part was very close to five stars for me. I had only followed the Trayvon case in a general sort of way...I didn't have the luxury of watching the trial on TV. I knew some blame had been cast upon the prosecution. Bloom must be an amazing attorney/d... moreebater and I couldn't help think that if I ever got into trouble, I would want her at bat for me. She makes some valid points and frankly makes the prosecution look like bungling boobs. Her main contention was Zimmerman said several times his gun was in his waistband in the back of his pants and Trayvon grabbed it while he straddled him. If he was lying on his back on the ground, how could Trayvon have seen the gun or gotten to it? She contends Zimmerman had his gun drawn from the get go. Another issue was with the biggest witness the prosecution had...his friend Jeantel and how woefully lacking the prosecution was in preparing her. They offered her little preparation, no emotional support and treated her almost as hostile.It's useless to theorize what happened. As the dead can't speak, we only have Zimmerman's side. But all the prosecution had to disprove, was that Zimmerman's suspicion, ultimately fear, was "reasonable"...not reasonable eliminates self defense (ie, you can't say "he looked at me sideways and I was afraid so I shot him"...that's not "reasonable.") How could his suspicion have been reasonable? Even on the phone with the police, Zimmerman offered no more than "he looks suspicious." If he was afraid, why did he follow him? He wasn't afraid, because he had a gun. Bloom states Zimmerman's suspicion using a syllogism:1. two black burglars had robbed a house in the neighborhood.2. Trayvon was black.3. Therefore, Zimmerman was suspicious of Trayvon and that suspicion of Trayvon was reasonable.The prosecution, who never played the race card (in a trial that was all about race), basically conceded this point.You might as well say, (Bloom's example):1. Nine out of ten child molesters are male.2. Eduardo is male.3. Therefore, Child Protective Services should take his kids away.Zimmerman's logic extrapolates backwards from a small subset (burglars) to a large group (black males). It's just not reasonable. We need some "Mind Your Own Business Laws", not more "Stand Your Ground." Zimmerman's racial bias and unreasonable fear, set this whole tragedy in motion. And if you think you don't suffer some bias, google "Implicit Bias Test." Harvard has one. You can pick your minority...LGBT, Muslims, Christians...take your pick. The test is free and cheat-proof. Even almost half of the African Americans taking the test for racial bias, get results of having preference for European people. How disheartening is that?The second part was three stars. Same old stuff, same statistics blah blah, although she does it eloquently. She tackles "Black on Black crime." She argues against the statement, "blacks commit all the crimes", talks about the prison system. She takes them all on. She's a great debater.All that being said, there were some holes in the book. There seemed to be parts of the trial she never addressed. My assumption was that she only put forward parts she took issue with or thought were botched. IDK. It gave it a lopsided feel to me or not very thorough.In short, it's an easy read. But, I think most people have made up their mind about this case by now. I doubt reading this book will change many opinions. If you believe in Zimmerman's guilt, this book will affirm what you know, maybe providing more detail and depth. If you believe Zimmerman is innocent, this book will only infuriate you. Don't go there.
review 2: Jeffrey Toobin wrote the introduction for this book, which is not as detailed or quite as compelling as Toobin's own works (on the OJ Simpson trial, for instance). Nevertheless, the book does lay out in clear detail what a travesty the Zimmerman trial was. In its second half, Bloom lays out a convincing account of how implicit biases taint the American law enforcement and legal systems at every level. less

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