Trayvon Martin’s family looks to trademark ‘I am Trayvon,’ ‘Justice for Trayvon’

Trayvon Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton is seeking to trademark phrases with her son's name.

According to applications filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the family's attorney last week, Fulton wants to trademark "I am Trayvon" and "Justice for Trayvon" for use in DVDs and CDs memorializing the slain teenager.

In the wake of the news that her son had been suspended from school after traces of marijuana were found in his book bag, Fulton said Monday that those leaking information were trying to blame the victim. "They killed my son, and now they are trying to kill his reputation," Fulton said.

Fulton's trademark application could be fuel for critics who contend Martin's parents--and civil rights activists like Rev. Al Sharpton--are trying to capitalize on the killing for personal or financial gain.

But Martin--who was unarmed when he was shot by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watchman, in Sanford, Fla., last month--and the hooded sweatshirt he was wearing at the time he was killed, have become a symbols of the country's racial divide, and the pursuit of justice. Martin's family may simply be trying to gain some control over his name, which has been cropping up on t-shirts and hoodies across the country.

Zimmerman's image, meanwhile, appears on a t-shirt that is causing even more furor in Florida. Zimmerman's face appears on the shirt under the phrase "P---- A-- CRACKER," A photo of a Florida rapper--Plies--wearing the shirt was posted on Twitter, sparking outrage among Zimmerman's supporters.
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So what do you folks think about the issue of how this kid got killed? What do you think happened? I'm listen to talki radio a lot and it seems like most of the people who are calling in are getting criticised by the radio hosts if they even hint that racism is behind this. The biggest problem
I" have with the shooter's actions is that after the Police dispatcher told him NOT to pursue this kid, he did so anyway. It leads me to believe he was stalking, hunting this kid down. Add to that the fact that the shooter had called into 911 some 47 or 48 times since January, and it makes me thing something about that guy just wasnt right. After listening to the 911 tape, I am even more convinced the guy was unstable.


I suspect that after the dispatcher told him not to pursue the kid, he continued to do so, eventually had a confrontation and the kid turned on him. PRetty much kicked his butt and thats when the other guy shot him.

I dont like AL Sharpton nor Jessie Jackson (who just cant resist turning this into a circus), but I think that had the shooter followed the dispatcher's instructions, that kid would still be alive.

Listen to the 911 tape. That punk ass wanna be cop mutters such phrases as "fucking coons always get away..." He may not have been a white supremest (Zimmerman is only half white), but what he said to the 911 dispatch clearly show that hate of black people was a factor (which is why the DOJ is looking into the case and the police departments non-investigation).

The other thing is, the kid may have been 6'3" or so, but he only weighed about 140 lbs from what I've read. Zimmerman may be quite a bit shorter, but he is about twice his weight and looks to be much stronger than the kid he shot. I have a hard time believing that Martin would a) attack someone so much stronger than himself if it could be avoided and b) that Martin could beat Zimmerman as badly as Zimmerman claims. Certainly, whatever happened Zimmerman wasn't 'standing his ground' in this case.

As for copyrighting Martins name, I could buy the families excuse. They may want to be able to tell people not to memorialize him in certain ways or use him for causes they may not agree with. If they didn't hold copyrights they wouldn't be able to prevent offensive usages.

This is how I think it went down:

Zimmerman, who obviously has a problem with blacks (judging by the 911 recordings), saw a young black man walking through his neighborhood. Zimmerman wanted a confrontation so he initiated it even after being told not to (his neighborhood watch duties ended at that point).
Trayvon, like 99% of all southern teenagers was prolly polite at first, but Zimmerman most likely wasn't happy with a polite exchange and most likely assumed a threatening tone and stance.
Like all teenagers would, Trayvon protected himself by being a smartass.
This caused a physical altercation (Zimmerman supposedly recieved a broken nose) in which the more athletic (and younger) Trayvon would have had the upper hand (weight issues aside...Trayvon was in shape and Zimmerman was not).
Seeing that he was gonna get his ass kicked by a young black man, Zimmerman pulled and shot.

Of course since Trayvon is not able to tell his side, we will never know what happened with 100% certainty.

As far as the "Stand Your Ground" law is concerned; that is a non-issue where Zimmerman is concerned. When Zimmerman initiated the confrontation, and there is no reason to believe Trayvon committed a crime, Trayvon then became the one who had the right to "stand his ground" and NOT Zimmerman.

Mark, I think you are right. Though I" dont know all the facts, I" suspect Zimmerman initiated the whole thing by going after the kid after being told NOT to. In my mind ... he was stalking his victim. MAybe he didnt initially plan to kill him, but he should have done what the police dispatcher told him to do and wait for the police.

(Darn this keyboard. I
cant type)...

This is Zimmerman when he was brought in to the police station right after shooting Martin. What happened to the broken nose and multiple lacerations Zimmerman allegedly suffered that forced him to shoot Martin?