Recently George Zimmerman told Radar Online about his plans to participate in a celebrity boxing match for charity on March 1. Interestingly, no specific charity or percent of proceeds was mentioned.
“Boxing isn’t new to me. It’s something I had picked up well before the incident and it’s something that I liked, I enjoyed and I kept up with it and I was able to lose a tremendous amount of weight and get a healthy lifestyle,” he told Radar Online. Isn’t it strange how quickly Zimmerman transformed from helpless man — who, according to testimony from his defense, was a horrible boxer and had no choice but to shoot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin — to an experienced, confident boxer ready to take on any opponent?
Rapper The Game, who has a picture of Trayvon Martin’s face tattooed on his left leg, has eagerly requested to be Zimmerman’s celebrity opponent, seemingly an ideal opportunity for revenge. DMX has also expressed that he wants to box Zimmerman.
Unfortunately, Zimmerman’s standards are just a little too high for The Game and DMX. Monday, Zimmerman announced he would like to fight Kanye West instead. His reasoning is particularly interesting; according to TMZ, Zimmerman wants to fight Kanye because of his history of attacking “defenseless people.” That’s right, Kanye’s history of attacking defenseless people. Last month, Kanye allegedly assaulted an 18-year-old in a Beverly Hills medical office after he got into an argument with Kim Kardashian. Ironically, Kanye did not shoot or kill him.
This feels like a weird dream. I think that last week, before there was any talk of a celebrity boxing match, had I emerged from my bedroom in the morning and told my apartment mates, “Last night I dreamed that George Zimmerman was boxing Kanye West,” they would have laughed at the utter ridiculousness. Now, this could possibly become a reality, and it’s not funny; it’s horrifying.
It’s scary to live in a world where George Zimmerman’s name is ever used in the same sentence as Kanye West’s, or any other celebrity for that matter. It’s nauseating to imagine the amount of money Zimmerman will be making from a publicity stunt like this, an opportunity he would have never had, had he not taken the life of a defenseless child. Should I also be expecting to hear soon that Casey Anthony is having a dance-off with Miley Cyrus?
To be fair to The Game and DMX, I can understand their intentions. Zimmerman not only took away a child’s life and got away with it, but actually gained fame and fortune from it. Now that he’s asking for someone to box him, who wouldn’t want to kick Zimmerman’s ass, especially if it were legal?
I won’t attempt to make an argument against reacting to violence with more violence. That’s not my concern. My concern is that it doesn’t matter how negative the attention is that he’s receiving, because he’s still receiving it. My concern is that George Zimmerman is setting an example to the world that you can kill another human being and become a celebrity. My concern is that, though people asking to fight him may think they are honoring Trayvon Martin, they are feeding into Zimmerman’s fame, and putting money in his wallet.
It’s difficult for me to imagine this fight actually taking place, and I’m not sure if it’s because this still feels like a bizarre dream or if it’s because I believe that once the hype settles down, these people will see Zimmerman isn’t worth their time. Either way, it’s crucial for both Zimmerman himself and everyone following to realize that George Zimmerman has no place accepting applications for a celebrity anything. It’s very important that this fight and any future events glorifying criminals and degenerates be stopped or at least ignored.