Trayvon Martin case: Real-life “Bonfire of the Vanities”

As the details surrounding the Trayvon Martin shooting continue to trickle out and the facts seem to support George Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense, and we see that Martin may not have been the rather angelic being as the press has portrayed him to be, it would be reasonable to expect emotions as well as news coverage to be ratcheted-down…However, these are anything but reasonable times.

The movie, “The Bonfire of the Vanities” based on Tom Wolfe’s novel of the same name focused on the main character, Wall Street investor Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) and his mistress Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith) who take a wrong turn on the way back from a late-night arrival at JFK airport and end up in a rough South Bronx neighborhood.

Two black teenagers approach as McCoy exits the vehicle to clear away some debris from their path, and frightened McCoy and Ruskin hastily speed away, hitting Henry Lamb, one of the teens.

Lamb is seriously injured and lapses into a coma and McCoy is eventually arrested and charged with hit and run.

Enter tabloid journalist Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis), who begins a sensationalistic series of articles painting the crime as yet another example of class warfare and racism.

There is even a race-baiting Harlem-raised pastor, Rev. Bacon (who bears a great resemblance to real-life Rev. Al Sharpton) who paints Lamb as an upstanding young man struck down in the prime of life by rich white folks.

Lamb was actually a gang member with a criminal record, but that did not matter to Fallow and Bacon who had their own agenda to promote and sell.

While the details may be different, the basic story line is the same…

The press is using the Trayvon Martin shooting as a vehicle to drum up ratings by engaging in wild speculation and continuously crying racism (with a lot of help from Rev. Bacon…er, Rev. Sharpton).

While the media has been putting forth the cherubic image of Martin, reality is rather different.

The Miami Herald reports that Martin was suspended from school on multiple occasions for graffiti and being caught with drug paraphernalia (“a marijuana pipe”).

A Miami-Dade Schools Police report obtained by The Miami Herald describes a school security officer finding a “burglary tool” as well as a dozen pieces of jewelry, including silver wedding bands, a watch and diamond earrings in Martin’s backpack.

“Martin replied it’s not mine. A friend gave it to me,” according to the report.

Of course, these revelations do not lessen the fact that another teenager has been killed in this increasingly violent country, they merely further expose what many already see as a mainstream press absent of any credibility.

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