George Zimmerman. Remember him? George, who shot Trevon Martin and was acquitted in July.
We did several posts on George and Florida’s stand your ground gun law. At the time of his acquittal, we felt fairy certain that Zimmerman would screw up somewhere up the line, just as O.J. Simpson did after his acquittal, and would end up in the news again. And he has – 5 times since his acquittal.
The most recent event occurred today, November 18, 2013, when Zimmerman apparently came to his girlfriend’s home, smashed a glass table, threatened her with a gun, then pushed her out of her own home and locked her out. He barricaded himself inside and called 911, just as she had done moments earlier, and gave his version of events.
On MSNBC this evening, Lawrence O’Donnell played the full tape of the 911 calls. The tape is chilling. Zimmerman sounds strangely calm as he spells out his version of the events. It’s the voice of a man who knows how to play the system, who knows that his version of reality must be recorded somewhere, for his own defense. It’s the voice of a man who knows that the best defense is an effective offense.
What’s really interesting to me about the Zimmerman case is the girlfriend – not his wife, who is divorcing him – but his new girlfriend. What woman in her right mind would get involved with this guy?
When I worked as a librarian and Spanish teacher in the Florida prison system, I discovered a rather strange and perverted phenomenon that I called The Inmate Groupie Weirdness. You take a high profile case involving a young man and, invariably, female groupies converged. They sent letters (in the days before e-mail), dropped by for visits on weekends, and sometimes the inmate actually married the most faithful groupie while still in prison or as soon as he got out.
I don’t know what it’s like in Florida prisons since I left in 1979, but many of the prisons are now privatized (more profitable!) and it’s likely that conjugal visits can be arranged, for the right price. Even back in the days when the state had fairly stringent oversight on prisons, almost anything could be had for the right price – cigarettes, drugs, sex. And if you were a high profile inmate, someone whose case got a lot of media attention, you could get even more privileges. Unless you molested kids. Then you usually died in prison, killed by other inmates.
If George Zimmerman ever does time, there will be some woman in the wings who declares her undying love for him. And when he’s released, she’ll be outside the gates, waiting for him, eager to draw him fully into her life. And it’s likely that she, too, will end up calling 911 because sociopaths like Zimmerman just can’t help themselves. And women who are drawn to men like this can’t help themselves, either. Something essential is missing from their psyches. It’s why Charles Manson had such a faithful female following.
I don’t know if the missing ingredient was breast milk or a loving parent, or even something simpler. Maybe all the players involved agreed to these roles before they were born in this life. But Zimmerman, regardless of what happens to him, won’t ever lack for female support and adoration.
Go figure.
Interesting post. Well, I’m baffled, too, about women who date psychopaths. Looks like my recent foray into relationship development went bust. I had a bad feeling that things ultimately wouldn’t work out between me (quintessential nice guy) and a lady who has a long history of dating abusive men. I’m heartbroken…in time for the holidays! But, the search for a spiritually-equal mate begins again in January. It saddens me that there are women out there who seek men like Zimmerman out (I heard that Scott Peterson was another one who had groupies). Nice guys don’t bring drama or a roller coaster of emotions to a relationship, but compatibility, conversation, and kindness ought to count for something, right? Maybe I’m meant to be a monk in this lifetime.
Sorry to hear this, sansego! But don’t lose heart!
I’m disheartened because we had so many amazing and deep conversations since April and she indicated on many occasions that she wanted a future with me, and then in the past week, she has been acting strangely and yesterday, I learned that she blocked me on Facebook. I don’t understand how someone who claimed to be so spiritual and wanting a relationship based on honest communication could just cut things off without telling me what’s wrong. I know that she had a health crisis in October, but not sure what it is. She has been acting strange ever since then. Its a huge shock and disappointment, like someone I knew and loved died. In a way, it is a death of a relationship.
It’s a good thing you found out now rather than years down the line!
I do love a well-timed synchro!
After I finished reading this post a few moments ago, I clicked-onto a search engine’s homepage where there was a gorgeous photo of a Nevada desert landscape – and just below it? A completely unrelated, recent photo of Charles Manson and his new girlfriend.
That’s a good one, for sure!
That’s beyond me to figure out. Excitement? Danger? Something missing in their lives? When I published penfriend mags there women who specifically wanted to contact those on Death Row – odd.
ONE that had an agenda???????
Ted Bundy got married in prison. You’re right – it’s really unbelievable.
I’d forgotten that about Bundy…