But they’re white, so apparently it’s ok.
The mass dissemination of the address on Edgewater Circle in Sanford–the Florida city where Martin was shot to death last month–took flight last Friday when director Spike Lee retweeteda tweet containing Zimmerman’s purported address to his 240,000 followers.
The original tweet was sent to Lee (and numerous other celebrities like Will Smith, 50 Cent, and LeBron James) last Friday afternoon by Marcus Davonne Higgins, a 33-year-old Los Angeles man who uses the online handle “maccapone.” Higgins included the direction, “EVERYBODY REPOST THIS.”
Lee was dumb enough to do just that.
The residence on Edgewater Circle is actually the home of David McClain, 72, and his wife Elaine, 70. The McClains, both of whom work for the Seminole County school system, have lived in the 1310-square-foot lakefront home for about a decade, records show.
In an interview tonight, Elaine McClain told TSG that she and her husband were “afraid” due to the online linking of her address to Zimmerman. “We’re keeping everything locked,” she said. McClain added that the couple was particularly unnerved by a letter mailed to them at their home. On the envelope, she said, were printed the words “Taste The Rainbow,” the slogan for Skittles. Martin was carrying a pack of Skittles and a can of ice tea when he was gunned down by Zimmerman.
McClain said her husband returned the envelope unopened to the post office.
The McClains (pictured below) only became aware that their address was being widely circulated online two days ago, when a TV reporter arrived at their home asking for “George.” Bewildered by their sudden–and erroneous–connection to Martin’s killer, the elderly couple’s distress can only be heightened by posts made by Twitter and Facebook users who threaten to visit their residence in search of Zimmerman. Or other posts that goad followers to vigilante action.
Remember, the Black Panthers have solicited Zimmerman’s kidnapping or murder, with a $10,000 bounty on the table. That crime plus Spike Lee’s re-tweet has put this innocent couple’s lives and property in real jeopardy.
This isn’t the first time the overrated movie maker has gone off the deep end on a developing story. During and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Lee publicly engaged in irresponsible conspiracy theories that accused President Bush of blowing up the New Orleans levees to allow New Orleans to flood on purpose.
Update: Lawyer up, Spike.
An elderly Florida couple have been forced to move into a hotel after their home address was wrongly tweeted as belonging to the man who shot teen Trayvon Martin.
The tweets were traced back to a man in California and the address was also reportedly retweeted by director Spike Lee to his almost 250,000 followers.
Idiot.
Update: Spike Lee is an Obama fundraiser. He held a big fundraising event for the president a couple of months ago.
The lavish New York event, in which an estimated 60 guests paid $38,500 “per head” or $71,600 per couple for the privilege to share dinner with the president and film legend Spike Lee, started at 6:00 p.m., right after another upscale gathering in which leaders of the New York City Jewish community paid $25,000 each for greeting and taking a picture with Obama.
So we have an Obama fundraiser retweeting a threat to a man accused but not convicted of anything, and the threat has landed on an innocent elderly couple and driven them from their home. Care to engage in any soul searching, Mr. President?
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