Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “We Have Nothing to Jeer But Smear Itself”

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April 2, 2012

We Have Nothing to Jeer But Smear Itself

Hatched by Dafydd

And this one goes so over the top, stretching so far beyond the apogee of reality's rubber band, that it's already snapping back in NBC's corporate face like the hammer of God.

A few days ago, NBC's Today Show broadcast the audio of one of George Zimmerman's cell calls to the coppers, shortly before he ended up face-up on the sidewalk with a split lip and broken head -- and his seeming assailant, Trayvon Martin, ended up face-down and dying of a point-blank gunshot wound. Remember, the question is whether Zimmerman was acting in self defense, or whether he was a violent racist hell-bent on killing a black man for daring to be in the wrong neighborhood.

Here is the critical moment from the call as NBC -- one of the "big three" networks -- broadcast it:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. He looks black.

Wow, could one imagine a more damning statement? Clearly Zimmerman was so deeply racist that the mere fact that Martin "look[ed] black" was enough for Zimmerman to conclude that he was "up to no good!" As any fool can see, Martin was unlucky enough to run into yet another armed, racist white guy. (All right, armed, racist "white-Hispanic," whatever that is; but it's the thought that counts.)

Except...

It turns out that NBC, how to put this delicately, slightly edited the actual audio recording. Just because of time factors, of course; the complete transmission from Zimmerman was simply too darned long to squeeze into the audio-clip for the Today Show.

Just for the completists among us, those who don't understand what is important and what trivial, here is full transcript of that moment on the phone between Zimmerman and the police dispatcher:

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Dispatcher: OK, and this guy -- is he black, white or Hispanic?

Zimmerman: He looks black.

The lines in italic are those that NBC simply had to leave on the cutting-room floor; no time, no time! Alas, telling viewers that this recording was edited would also have taken up time; so transparency was right out as well. Time, time, time!

Oddly, however, the full version doesn't quite seem to make the same narrative point as the tighter, edited version. Say... I reckon that would be yet another reason for snipping those twenty-five completely unnecessary words. Son of a gun!

But that's why we have editors, don'tcha know.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the Left is barely even trying these days? What will they offer tomorrow: "The dog ate my audio?"

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, April 2, 2012, at the time of 3:19 AM

Comments

The following hissed in response by: mdgiles

Zimmerman: This guy looks like he’s up to no good. Or he’s on drugs or something. It’s raining and he’s just walking around, looking about.

Actually, the interesting point is what the dispatcher didn't ask Zimmerman
Dispatcher: I what way does he look like he's up to no good. What exactly is he doing?
Dispatcher: How can you tell he's on drugs or something.

Someone calls in with a complaint, and no one asks exactly what is happening?

The above hissed in response by: mdgiles at April 2, 2012 5:18 AM

The following hissed in response by: gordo

After an exacting and exhaustive investigation, MSNBC has concluded that the edited tape was the fault of a part-time janitor. Said janitor is now washing windows on the outside of the GE building.

The above hissed in response by: gordo at April 2, 2012 8:34 PM