Trayvon Martin Rallies: Readers Sound Off

Rallies held in Sarasota to remember Trayvon Martin – the Florida teenager shot by neighborhood watch volutneer George Zimmerman – prompted a flurry of comments on the Sarasota Patch. 

(See "Trayvon Martin Rallies Planned in Sarasota.")

Some readers criticized the rallies, held last weekend after the Rev. Al Sharpton  called for "100 rallies in 100 cities."  Others argued just the opposite. Most all of the comments were emotion filled.

Here are some of them, excerpted for length. To read the complete story and comments click here, or add your own views in the comments section below:

Maureen Skowron wrote: "Are we about over this yet? Move on people. The jurors heard all and made their decision."

Throw Him Off the Bench wrote: "All he has to do was walk to his fathers house instead he chose to confront and beat someone he didn't know. Every community needs person dedicated to watch their neighbor's property....we have one so don't come here and expect to be ignored."

But Kathleen Caterino responded: "The rule of law is not just about process, but about standing up for truth. The self-evident nature of racial profiling which resulted in the murder of a 17 year old boy, does not allow the not guilty verdict to be respected merely because the process allowed a trial. The lies and latent prejudice exhibited by the defense were manifestly apparent to anyone who cares about the truth – and the comatose prosecution was on display to all who know better..."

Charlesworth Longtooth III argued: "Plug in someone white into the Martin's position and someone black into Zimmerman's position and ask yourself if the same positions would be held by all involved. If the answer to that is anything other than an unequivocal yes then racism is there, like or not."

What are your thoughts on the acquittal in the George Zimmerman trial, and the call by President Obama last week for a national dialogue on race? Let us know in the comments below.