Trayvon Martin Case Polarizes the Nation

At the New York Times, "In the Eye of a Firestorm."

And at Tampa Bay Times, "Trayvon Martin case fuels intense political debate on left and right":

From suspect to victim to cultural symbol, Trayvon Martin has metamorphosed into a political point of departure over race.

When President Barack Obama spoke about how his son could have looked like the 17-year-old, his white Republican rivals quickly accused him of being racially divisive.

When Gov. Rick Scott established a task force to investigate the "stand your ground" gun law connected to Martin's shooting, a state Democratic leader rebuked him for wanting to wait until the case is adjudicated.

Liberal and left-leaning media have taken up Martin's case, with calls to arrest his shooter, George Zimmerman. Conservative and right-leaning media have called for a get-the-facts first approach, while some have published images of Martin portraying him as a thug.

Groups from the NAACP to the National Council of La Raza, to white and black supremacist groups, have entered — or been drawn into — the political fray as well.

"It's campaign time, and unfortunately, it has come to that. But that's what we get these days, unfortunately," said Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, the only elected black Republican in Florida's Capitol.

Carroll, who's chairing Gov. Scott's task force on stand your ground, said the group needs to take its time and not interfere with the investigation. She also wants to avoid partisan and racial politics.

But Carroll noted that race infuses the case and our justice system, especially with the high-incarceration rates of African-Americans. But she still wanted to focus on whether the state's stand your ground law, authorizing the use of deadly force, needs to be tweaked. The National Rifle Association is sure to fight that, while gun-control advocates are trying to get the law stripped from the books.

Continue reading.

Plus, from Rex Murphy, at National Post, "The tale of Trayvon Martin is a tragedy turned into a race parable."

BONUS: at the Pew Center for Excellence in Journalism, "How Blogs, Twitter and Mainstream Media Have Handled the Trayvon Martin Case."