George Zimmerman: 'This Case Was Never About Race'

George Zimmerman would like you to know that neither the incident in which he killed Trayvon Martin nor the resulting trial — which saw him acquitted of second degree murder — had anything to do with race.

“This case was never about race,” Zimmerman told Fusion’s Derrick Ashong. “I think you were saying the emotions around case were about guns, race and violence. But the case itself was never about the race.”

What does Zimmerman say to people who disagree with that assessment?

“I don’t defend myself from the people who have that kind of opinion; as well, I don’t defend myself from dragons,” he said. “You know, it (would) be pointless and futile.”

Zimmerman said he wasn’t aware of race when he was growing up.

“Growing up in a biracial household, we never saw color,” he said. We were raised with two girls, they were African American, both of them doctors, great girls…and they were our sisters and we never saw race.”

When asked, Zimmerman denied that he was a racist and said he didn’t understand why people focused on that aspect of the case. He agreed that racism exists in the United States, but maintained that he had never experienced it personally.

“I can’t say that I have ever experienced [racism], and I can say that I’ve never acted in any way against another race,” he said.

More from Fusion’s Derrick Ashong interview with George Zimmerman:

Derrick Ashong: Why I Interviewed George Zimmerman

George Zimmerman: I Was ‘Always Armed’

George Zimmerman Takes a ‘Christ-Like’ Approach to Critics

George Zimmerman Says He’s ‘Absolutely’ a Victim and Never Reached Out to Trayvon Martin’s Family

Editor’s note: Fusion reached out to the Martin family and their attorney for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.