Trayvon Martin

[libby]

I wish I had time to comment more but I've appointed myself neighborhood watch captain, strapped on a gun and am busy enjoying my constitutional right to follow teenage girls around the neighborhood. They're wearing tight little shorts so I'm pretty sure they must be prostitutes.

Be sure to carry your gun just in case ....

[libby]

  I hope Zimmerman has to look over his shoulder everywhere he goes and I hope someone gets him.   

  Now all you have to do is when you kill someone is, to be alone, in the dark, hit your head on the concrete a few times.  Hit yourself in the nose and face a few times and claim stand your ground and self defence. 

  For this asshole killed a kid coming back from the candy store with some candy and a cold drink.   

Okay. I'm going to play devil's advocate. Troll has a point. Since when do volunteer neighborhood watch people carry guns? Zimmerman got out of his car and followed a young black male wearing a hoodie who was talking on the phone after the police advised him not to, and ended up killing him.

Would he have done the same thing if the young male wearing the hoodie had been white?

[libby]

  Be sure to carry your gun just in case ....

Guess I'm sleepier than I thought. Just noticed Exterminator had already strapped on his gun.

[me]

Okay. I'm going to play devil's advocate. Troll has a point. Since when do volunteer neighborhood watch people carry guns? Zimmerman got out of his car and followed a young black male wearing a hoodie who was talking on the phone after the police advised him not to, and ended up killing him.

Would he have done the same thing if the young male wearing the hoodie had been white?

Zimmerman is Latino/Hispanid not white and I would imagine he's been profiled by whites himself so why would he profile anyone?  Why is everyone insisting on making this a white on black thing? 

[libby]

Zimmerman is Latino/Hispanid not white and I would imagine he's been profiled by whites himself so why would he profile anyone?  Why is everyone insisting on making this a white on black thing?

It's long past my bedtime, so I won't address the "white on black," but do have something to say about Zimmerman being Hispanic: the surname Zimmerman is of German-Jewish origin (Zimmermann).

[Sandy Eggo]

Zimmerman is Latino/Hispanid not white and I would imagine he's been profiled by whites himself so why would he profile anyone?  Why is everyone insisting on making this a white on black thing?

This argument is illogical. Racism isn't exclusive to "white" people.

[Anne]

Okay. I'm going to play devil's advocate. Troll has a point. Since when do volunteer neighborhood watch people carry guns? Zimmerman got out of his car and followed a young black male wearing a hoodie who was talking on the phone after the police advised him not to, and ended up killing him.

Would he have done the same thing if the young male wearing the hoodie had been white?

Libby, I think he would, anyone walking around like that at night would be suspicious, especially in a neighborhood that had a problem with breakins. We will never know for sure because it didn't happen that way so speculation is useless. I think most people agree that he should not have left his car. As far as carrying a gun, a lot of people do on a regular basis.

[Anne]

It's long past my bedtime, so I won't address the "white on black," but do have something to say about Zimmerman being Hispanic: the surname Zimmerman is of German-Jewish origin (Zimmermann).

His mother is hispanic, so he is bi-racial, just like President Obama.

[Locutus]

Here's a link to a Wikipedia page that contains the audio file of the complete exchange Zimmerman had with the police dispatcher.   It lasts about 4 minutes and 11 seconds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trayvon_Martin_Shooting_Call1.ogg

[Henry Hawk]

Okay. I'm going to play devil's advocate. Troll has a point. Since when do volunteer neighborhood watch people carry guns?

I don't know the answer to that, do you?   I do know that it is not against the law to carry a gun, as long as you have a permit.  It is also not against the law to follow someone in such a manner as Zimmerman did. 

According to a Jury, he was attacked by Martin. 

The only reason this is BIG news, is because the Media made it this way.  This should have NEVER even went to court.  The original Chief of Police in Sanford said there was NOT enough evidence to take this to court.  He has been prove to be correct.  He was fired due to the public outrage spurred on by the Media, our POTUS, Black Panthers, Al Sharpton and such.  It is THEY who made this a "racial" thing.  They (the city of Sanford) hired a 'yes man' to take over the Chief of Police...to keep the media off of their backs.
That is the plain and simple truth.

[Locutus]

Again, I'll say that I would have acquitted Zimmerman based on the evidence had I been on the jury.  The state just didn't make the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, I find it a bit sickening that in the lead up to the trial, Zimmerman's supporters were saying that he's innocent until proven guilty, and that's true.  The bad thing is that Zimmerman expected to be presumed innocent by the public and the courts, but he didn't afford Trayvon Martin that same presumption on the night he profiled him (either racially, criminally, or both), followed him, confronted him, and ended up shooting him.  He presumed Martin to be guilty of a crime when all he was guilty of was buying Skittles and a drink.  And Trayvon Martin died because of it. 

Think about it. 

[Henry Hawk]

Again, I'll say that I would have acquitted Zimmerman based on the evidence had I been on the jury.  The state just didn't make the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, I find it a bit sickening that in the lead up to the trial, Zimmerman's supporters were saying that he's innocent until proven guilty, and that's true.  The bad thing is that Zimmerman expected to be presumed innocent by the public and the courts, but he didn't afford Trayvon Martin that same presumption on the night he profiled him (either racially, criminally, or both), followed him, confronted him, and ended up shooting him.  He presumed Martin to be guilty of a crime when all he was guilty of was buying Skittles and a drink.  And Trayvon Martin died because of it. 

Think about it. 

I completely understand you point.  As I have said several times before...I think the whole thing sucks!  I also fully believe that Zimmerman takes NO pleasure in the results of his actions...and will live with this for the rest of his life.

[Palehorse]

. . .  It is also not against the law to follow someone in such a manner as Zimmerman did.  .  .

Stalking. . .

Add to this the fact he was instructed NOT to get out of his vehicle by law enforcement, and you have yet another violation of the law. One which should have brought charges; disobeying a law enforcement officer.

[Locutus]

I completely understand you point.  As I have said several times before...I think the whole thing sucks!  I also fully believe that Zimmerman takes NO pleasure in the results of his actions...and will live with this for the rest of his life.

Possibly, but he did tell Sean Hannity one night that he didn't regret his actions, and that he wouldn't have done anything differently if he had the chance to do it over again.  Although that was before the trial, and he may have had legal reasons for answering in that manner, I think that speaks somewhat to his character.

[Palehorse]

Zimmerman is Latino/Hispanid not white and I would imagine he's been profiled by whites himself so why would he profile anyone?  Why is everyone insisting on making this a white on black thing?

Its a race thing. Blacks and Hispanics hold an incredible amount of animosity toward one another because of race.

Just ask the Black P-Stone Nation and Latin Kings.