Polling: My Ideal Angle on the Trayvon Case

I don't think I've written anything about the hideous, disgusting, tragic Trayvon Martin case, because it's the kind of thing I try to avoid and I haven't really felt like I have anything to say. But today there's a poll out about it! That's more like it! The poll asks three substantive questions: whether the respondents think George Zimmerman is guilty of a crime, how much of a factor racial bias played in the shooting, and whether Zimmerman would've been arrested had his victim been white. The interesting thing, of course, is the racial breakdown. For all three questions, there's an enormous split between black and white respondents, in the obvious direction. 36% of whites think Zimmerman is guilty, 15% of them feeling so "definitely," while 7% think he is not and 52% are uncertain. Among African-Americans, 72% think he's guilty, 51% definite about it. Just 1% think he's not guilty of a crime, and only 26% are unclear. 30% of whites think racial bias was a major factor, with 26% saying it was a minor factor and 27% saying it wasn't a factor at all. Among blacks, the breakdown is 72%-13%-8%. 52% of whites think the race of the victim isn't making the decisive different in Zimmerman's non-arrest, to 33% who think it is. Among blacks, well, 73% say it is making a difference, and just 20% say otherwise.