George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder. There are so many things about this case that are off: - Why was he not arrested immediately and charged, given that he clearly was not injured? - Why have the prosecutors charged him with 2nd degree murder, knowing that with Florida's laws a judge is apt to throw it out before it sees the jury? Why not manslaughter? - How is a 'fair' trial ever going to occur, given the media saturation? - How are young black children supposed to be have now, knowing that just walking down the street can get you shot and it's within the law? Focus: I'd be interested to hear the board's thoughts on this case.
I have come to despise the way the media and the public at large has treated this case. While the specific guilt or innocence is highly relevant to Trayvon Martin's family, to Zimmerman and his family, and to those that knew them or involved in the case, to the rest of the country it's frankly irrelevant. What is relevant, and the thing that initially drew attention to the case, is how the system responded to the incident and the degree to which racism played a factor in that. The notion that the police would respond to a fatal shooting with "the shooter's story sounds legit," is really fucked up, and a national discussion on how race influences investigation and prosecution is called for. Unfortunately the media and the country at large have treated this like a gossip case, and is hyper focused on the persons of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, rather than the larger implications of law enforcement and the justice system.
I'm just plain confused about the whole thing. I haven't gone looking for any information about the case and have only seen that which I largely could not avoid. I hear that this is supposed be all racial and such, but Martin was black, Zimmerman is some sort of Hispanic. I thought we (whites) hated them both equally? Am I wrong? Have I been doing my racist bit wrong all along?
I agree with Aetius. It's high tension on both sides, with race-baiting opportunists on both sides sticking their nose into it when it's not warranted. Beneath all the nonsense, is a criminal investigation to be had. Personally, I think George Zimmerman was looking for an excuse to use his gun. So Treyvon Martin was walking back from a convenience store and all of a sudden attacked him? Why? And Zimmerman started following him beforehand? Again, why? Hopefully both sides will get to the bottom of this and justice will be had. Unfortunately, the Florida gun laws don't bode well for the prosecution. In Florida you can shoot someone if you feel "threatened." Well what does that mean? That's a subjective idea for each person. To say the Florida legislature fucked this one up is an understatement. As fucked up as it is, George Zimmerman may not have technically broken the law if he can prove he was threatened. At the end of the day, hopefully the idiots from the Black Panthers and the Nancy Graces of the world will shut the fuck up about it. As it stands, they're going to have a hell of a time finding a jury if it goes to trial.
This is why I hate the media, and why I hate having to sift through loads of bullshit online to get any real information. If you do a little googling, you'll find that Trayvon was suspended for 10 days from school for allegedly having a bag with a trace amount of pot. He allegedly punched out a bus driver. Zimmerman was getting the shit beaten out of him and someone witnessed the whole thing. You have a Harvard Law professor on MSNBC calling the arrest affidavit bullshit. Now, I'm not saying Zimmerman is innocent. For all I know, Trayvon got shot because Zimmerman didn't like the fact that he got his ass kicked in front of a witness. What I am saying is that this media circus needs to fucking stop. It's fucking unproductive. Or if there is going to be a media circus, why not having it for both sides? After all, a couple of black kids tossed some gasoline on a white kid and set him on fire. Edit: One more thing. He got caught with a bunch of women's jewelry and a screwdriver in his backpack. Is it possible Trayvon was casing homes in that gated community?
I actually think that Zimmerman is mentally unsound. Not flat-out criminally insane (and therefore not responsible for his actions), but paranoid and maybe suffering from some mental disorder. Hasn't he personally called 911, like, in excess of 20 times in the last year? I think he was keyed up and saw himself as a valiant protector of his community, and through his actions he caused the whole assault. Fun Fact: Personally, I think you can't trust anyone whose eyes are so close together. This comes back to that topic awhile back where we were discussing if the media has the right to publish every last detail and sensationalize a crime. They've certainly done that here, and now what? How are they going to get an unbiased jury in this case? And there's going to be a REAL problem if he's found not guilty or if the case is dismissed due to Florida's laws. Think "Rodney King and LA Riots" bad.
Since it's been such a controversial issue in the case, here's Florida's stand your ground law: I have no problem with the law as it is written. If someone threatens another person's life beyond a verbal warning they should have the right to use any means available to defend themselves. The last two words, forcible felony could be a slippery slope, but from what I understand this is limited to crimes such as rape, car jacking (including use of force), and kidnapping; in which case I feel like responding with deadly force is reasonable. As for the case itself, Zimmerman's story is incredibly difficult to believe. First off, why was he calling the police? What did the kid do that made him seem so suspicious? Then, Zimmerman claims that Martin flew into a murderous rage when he was confronted, but is very vague on indications as to what set Martin off. On top of all that, he had no reason to be disobeying police instructions when he doesn't see the kid carrying any weapons or threatening anyone. The guy belongs in jail. I won't say how much time because all the details aren't out, but there has to be something majorly wrong with you to spark a confrontation with a teenager and then shoot him to death. Regardless of how the law gets interpreted in the case, someone starting a fight with you is not a reason to murder. If Zimmerman's story was true he should have exhibited some very severe injuries. Does anyone know if a medical examiner has released a statement on that?
There are 300 million guns in America so there's no question most poeple handle them safely in one degree or another, but I think this is a clear-cut case of what happens when you arm morons. This was a macho rube who wanted to play Police-Man yet was probably too dumb to join a real force, whether it be shooting some "perp" who "looks suspicious" or just plain smashing their face through a plate-glass window and then calling for a citizen's arrest. I know that he lied in his statement saying he was attacked by this kid and recieved a broken nose and being smashed across the back of his head. When you break your nose, it pisses blood like a cathedral waterspout. In the video of him being arrested, NOTHING. He's walking in cuffs, but erect, alert, and not a single mark or blood spatter whatsoever. So the guy is a liar, to boot. The media blew this out of disgraceful proportion and every big mouth with a soap box made of money chimes in their opinion on how "we haven't explored all sides". Whatever they were, maybe the things known as "facts" should be discussed first before fifty Nancy Graces had to skidmark this whole circus with their blather. A kid got shot and it shouldn't have happened because an idiot carried a gun in a state with a law that basically says "Shoot First, Ask Questions Rarely". Let the actual investigators investigate.
God I had hoped this would be the last bastion I could go without hearing wild assumptions, false claims, preconceived notions, and fucking politics regarding this All American Clusterfuck. Guess I was wrong. This case will be much more exciting if it turns out the same way the last All American Clusterfuck went in Florida.
Why don't you fucking idiots let the facts cone out at trial. I have no clue if the man is guilty or not, because is all I know is conjecture from the media. It is apparent to me that the Canadians of the board watch some sort of sensational news casts showing one side of the story. What I find interesting, is that I didn't know wearing a hoodie was some sort of gang thing. When I'm not going to work in the winter, I wear a hoodie almost every day. And its not a gang thing. They just keep me warm. I guess I'm just an idiot.
It's important to remember that without the media there would have been no investigation at all. That's the real issue here. The investigation was bungled from the fucking get go. It may still be bungled with the arrest affidavit being a trumped up charge or the simple fact that the law as written allows him to walk based on the simple fact that dead men tell no tales. I also don't think that the pot in the bag, defacing the lockers, the screwdriver and women's jewelry, or "allegedly" punching a bus driver in the face are relevant. That is simply reaching for justification after the fact. Zimmerman knew none of this. None of it can be considered a real criminal history as he was never charged for any crimes. Okay, there is video of the lockers being defaced. Big fucking deal. I have defaced shit in my day. Doesn't mean I should be shot at a later date, because I was walking home from a convenience store with skittles and tea. The whole line of him casing the joint thing is pure conjecture. You can't blame the media for trying to blow this up into something it's not and then say "maybe he was casing the joint, because there was some jewelry in his backpack a while back." And there isn't a media circus based for the link you posted presumably because the police are doing their job. Come back with it in a month when the police have fucked it all up.
There are only two people besides any divine deity that know what happened. One of them is dead, everything else is conjecture right now.
What I take from this is only black people are allowed to shoot other balck people without a licence (badge)
Is it that cut and dried? I think we know the following: - Trayvon was walking home from the store, talking on his phone. - Zimmerman was in his car, driving up the road. - Trayvon's GF reports that he tells her he is being followed and is scared. - Zimmerman tells 911 he sees a suspicious person. - 911 operator advises Zimmerman not to leave his car. - Zimmerman leaves his car. - 911 call records screaming/yelling in the background. - Trayvon is shot dead. - Zimmerman appears on camera an hour later. He has no visible injuries, and his clothes are in disarray. This doesn't seem off to some of you?
With all the facts the media has been dragging out it's been difficult for me to see who is guilty or not. From what I've seen in the news is that Trayvon jumped Zimmerman from behind (provoked or not dosen't matter) and viciously beat him to the point where if Zimmerman hadn't stopped it the only way he could given his situation, I believe Zimmerman would eaither be in the hospital with critical injuries or dead. The same kind of thing happened to one of my friends, another guy got the better of him and proceeded to beat his head off the ground, and my friend almost died from internal bleeding. He was in the hospital for over 6 months because of it (doctors had to cut a chunk of his skull out to alleviate swelling, there was an infection too). If what happened to Zimmerman is the god's honest truth, then he had the right to defend his life using necessary force. It dosen't matter if it was provoked or not, no one deserves to be beaten to within an inch of their life for any reason. I was taught "sticks and stones" growing up, why couldn't Trayvon do the same? I do know if I was in Zimmermans shoes I would have done the same thing. What I do think is that race cards have been pulled, which is fucking bullshit. I don't think it has to do with a racial thing at all, and to have the NAACP and Sharpton up there calling this a hate crime is ridiculous. Ya, its a neighbourhood watch guy questioning a suspicious teenager not someone looking to kill a black person. Shit, I was a teenager too and a few times a cop car pulled up to me and a cop asked me what I was doing, where I was going and where I was comming from. This happened twice, and I didn't say "it's because I'm white isn't it? Stop racially profiling me." I just accepted the fact that some teenagers are shit disturbers and cause trouble, and if a crime happened in the area I was in or I was in a high crime area I've got nothing to hide so I'm glad I got questioned, it just goes to show someone is doing their job.
In one. I hope I don't have to explain this, but whether or not George Zimmerman is actually racist is basically irrelevant to the larger discussion. Don't worry, though, you have the option of ignoring that sort of thing.
For what it's worth, ABC News or whoever first showed the video is now saying that, when enhanced, you can see a gash on the back of Zimmerman's head. Personally, I can't see anything due to the glare that ol' Baldy's throwing off.
This is exactly why I posted the law. Where did you and Crown Royal get your interpretations? The law is not a license to murder in lack of any witnesses. Zimmerman should have multiples bruises. There should have been his blood all over the scene. He should have had at least a concussion if his head was slammed on the the sidewalk. If you kill in self defense there's evidence 99%+ of the time. If you're attacked with a weapon it's usually traceable back to the assailant. The real issue here is police incompetence (a week to interview witnesses, really?). If the police had done their job no one would be complaining about the stand your ground law.
Can someone shed some light on exactly what a "gated community" entails in this context, don't really have them in AUS. Was the kid trespassing by the mere fact he was there? Because if someone’s in my backyard behaving suspiciously and then want to have a bit of biff once confronted all bets are off. Also is it true that the photo of Tryvon being used by the media is a few years old? Just trying to get some perspective.
Back when I assumed Zimmerman was a retired Jew for a while before I saw his picture, I kept waiting for a thread to be made just because I wanted to see ballsack have a field day with it. (Maybe he hates Hispanics as well as Jews and black people, though. I just don't remember it.)