NYU professor and renowned film director Spike Lee added a considerable amount of fuel to the Trayvon Martin bonfire last week by tweeting the residential address of a certain George Zimmerman to his quarter-million followers. The highly questionable decision of intentionally jeopardizing the life of an as-of-yet innocent man aside, it turns out that Spike didn’t even get the right address:
“EVERYBODY REPOST THIS George W. Zimmerman 159 Edgewater Circle Sanford, Florida 32773″
Death threats have forced an elderly couple, whose son’s name also happens to be George Zimmerman, to evacuate from their Florida home out of fear for their lives as a result of the professor’s tweet, which has since been deleted from his feed (though it continues to circulate the web through re-tweets). Attempts to contact the director were met with a definitive “no comment,” and only at 9:30 p.m. last night – a full five days after the original message was published – did Lee issue a rather indifferent apology via tweet to the 70 year-old couple.
The blunder is part of a string of messy incidents and statements that have transformed a tragic and possibly criminal event into an explosive and divisive topic of national debate. It is undeniable that the media and its talking heads have twisted the issue for their advantage, as have politicians from each side of the aisle – Gingrich and Santorum have condemned Obama’s particularly personal appeal in support of the Martin family as being racially divisive, and Congressman Bobby Rush (D-IL) was removed from the House floor for wearing a hoodie sweatshirt while delivering a passionate speech about the issue.
Such explosive rhetoric on a case whose details remain undeniably unclear is extremely harmful to the national discourse and the legal process, especially when contradictory evidence seems to surface every day. Politicians and media icons such as Spike Lee should be attempting to soothe an increasingly strained and divided public, rather than inflaming them with provocative and dangerously erroneous statements.
The couple that Spike endangered continues to live out of a nearby hotel, complaining of aggressive reporters and fearful of people who can’t separate fact from fiction. Inciting violence against others, even if it was against the shooter, is as unhelpful to achieving justice as is playing upon racial and political tensions for personal gain. And Spike Lee, amongst others, should be deeply ashamed in his role for spreading panic and disinformation.
(Image via)
Read more: NYU Professor Spike Lee Targets Zimmerman; Endangers Old People · NYU Local
http://nyulocal.com/national/2012/03/29/ny... Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Sunday, September 23rd 2012 at 2:01PM
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