The George Zimmerman saga has already given Florida a terrible national reputation. The mention of Miami teen Trayvon Martin conjures images of tragedy, gun-crazed neighborhood watchmen, and Stand Your Ground.
So it's not exactly helping our state's rep that a photo of two white guys from Florida went viral this weekend when they posted a pic on Facebook showing them dressed in blackface as Trayvon and Zimmerman for Halloween.
The horrifying pic was posted Friday to the Facebook page of Caitlin Cimeno with the caption "Happy Halloween from Zimmerman & trayvon & :)"
The two fellows who decided it was OK to wear blackface to portray an unarmed, 17-year-old kid gunned down in his own neighborhood and the watchman who killed him are, of course, Floridians.
Greg Cimeno, who is 22 years old, was wearing the Zimmerman outfit, while 25-year-old William Filene went in blackface as Trayvon in a bloody hoody, the Smoking Gun reports. Both men live in Cape Coral on the Gulf Coast.
Almost immediately, friends of the trio began criticizing the costumes, with one writing, "Not too funny," in the comments. Greg Cimeno's response: "Not too funny. It's fucking hilarious!"
But then the image went viral, landing on Gawker by Sunday under the headline "Because Blackface Wasn't Offensive Enough for these Partiers."
The three quickly pulled the pic and locked their Facebook profiles, but not before the Smoking Gun tracked them down and also learned that Filene has compiled a colorful criminal record of his own, including a felony auto theft arrest this past June and previous charges of loitering/prowling and failing to register a vehicle.
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