Teens have been talking this way for a long time. To think otherwise is naive. Nothing here makes it ok for him to be stocked (or “followed”) by someone with a gun at night when he has done nothing wrong.
We can’t forget that Zimmerman has a shady past that is probably worse than some “naughty” words anyway. Besides. a 28 year old who can’t fend off a 17 year old without killing him isn’t much of a man anyway.
If you try to kill someone by pounding their head into the pavement, there is a pretty high probability that something bad is going to happen to you. Do most kids do that?
If he had stayed in his car and let the police handle it everyone would likely be alive. He was pushing 30. He should have acted in a smarter manner. I’ll grant some leeway and say that it was in an area with some crime… Ok. Call the cops and wait for THEM to take action. That’s what most people would do. That’s what the people I know would do. That’s why we have the police in the first place.
Also, if you’re running around at night with weapons there is a chance of something bad happening. Yeah, it might sound cynical, but in this world as it is I wouldn’t rule out confronting the guy if I was in Martin’s position. I can’t say 100% until I’m in that position, but I wouldn’t be very friendly toward someone following me at night when I haven’t done anything wrong. That much I do know.
Do I agree with the lynch party mentality or the freak show that this has turned into? No. I don’t think doing this to a 17 year old dead kid is very helpful either.
I guess it has been too long since I was a teenager, but it was not common for people to talk like that when I was his age. It was the rare exception, and generally the troublemakers.
Something else not reported much is that Zimmerman was a smaller person than Martin. And, physics has little to do with manliness.
Geez. Some guys on these blogs will go to any lengths to make this kid out to be a drugged out loser just because of the bad reporting by the media or some scumbag opportunist like Jesse Jackson, and some of those darn old dirty words on twitter… And oh, he dared to confront a guy that was chasing him around with a weapon in the middle of the night.
It’s all his fault… He should have run home.. He should have done this… Or that. Lets just forget that the older guy (the ones who should be more wise) acted without thinking about what could happen should things go wrong. Of course he didn’t do that because he was in superhero mode. Or Dirty Harry mode. Maybe he called and reported someone before and they “got away” so HE will take care of it this time and bring in the evil doer all by himself. I lose sympathy for Zimmerman’s position when he needlessly takes the law into his own hands. If he was calling the cops and Martin came to his truck and busted out his truck window and tried to attack him or something I would be more sympathetic.
I don’t care if Martin was doing some marijuana or not. That stuff is no worse than alcohol, which destroy’s many lives and kills many every year. It costed my dad his leg and nearly his life after 40+ years of alcohol abuse.
This wouldn’t have happened had the oldest man acted wise.
Zimmerman is charged with 2nd degree murder. The circumstances do not even come close to matching that definition. He should be released immediately.
Second-degree murder is ordinarily defined as 1) an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable “heat of passion” or 2) a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender’s obvious lack of concern for human life. Second-degree murder may best be viewed as the middle ground between first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter .
*For example, Dan comes home to find his wife in bed with Victor. At a stoplight the next day, Dan sees Victor riding in the passenger seat of a nearby car. Dan pulls out a gun and fires three shots into the car, missing Victor but killing the driver of the car.*
I don’t think he will be convicted. That still doesn’t change that he didn’t think about the consequences just as Martin probably didn’t. Martin is not blameless. I’m not an anti gun person by any means, but this should be a lesson to people to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. Very little in this world is actually free… There are consequences for most things that you do. And I’ve seen people that argue that Zimmerman was perfectly within his right to “watch” Martin. But there are consequences.
In regards to the slang and bad language… It’s sad that these kids become so influenced by gangster rap. It looks like that probably happened here. It’s not like these rappers or music execs care though. It’s all about the money.
The kid should have been in school, then there would have been no scuffle. His parents did a crappy job and want to blame someone else for having raised a moron.
I expect a near 30 year old man who carries a weapon to act responsible with that weapon. I expect people to let the cops do what they’re paid to do. I expect grown men to understand how their actions can effect others. I don’t think that is unreasonable at all.
RE: I expect a near 30 year old man who carries a weapon to act responsible with that weapon
I expect a 17 year old with another human’s skull in his hands to act responsibly with that skull. I expect a 17 year old with another human’s nose at the end of his fist to act responsibly with that fist.
I expect a near 30 year old man who carries a weapon to act responsible with that weapon. I expect people to let the cops do what they’re paid to do. I expect grown men to understand how their actions can effect others. I don’t think that is unreasonable at all.
There’s a sinister tone of racism in the implication that a 17 year-old black person has no control over his own actions.
I expect a 28 year old man to make wiser choices than a 17 year old teen. I think it’s common sense to expect that. If he can’t even manage to that he surely shouldn’t be patrolling neighborhoods with weapon in tow.
Racism? I haven’t even mentioned the race of anyone in this thread.
I expect a 28 year old to do whatever it takes to stop a drugged out violent teenager from killing him. It would be incredibly irresponsible to do otherwise.
RE: I expect a 28 year old man to make wiser choices than a 17 year old teen.
I expect a 17 year old with another human’s skull in his hands to act responsibly with that skull. I expect a 17 year old with another human’s nose at the end of his fist to act responsibly with that fist.
I expect any human to defend themselves. Zimmerman did not draw first blood, or second blood, or third blood… Martin had a duty to call police if he felt threatened.
There…double standard reduced back to single standard.
Brian’s problem is that he lives in his mind in this fantasy world he has acquired from watching Hollywood movies. The hero and the villain fight for 5 minutes on-screen, smash each other’s heads into pipes and sustain other horrendous injuries yet keep fighting unaffected. In the real world, in a fight for life, usually one of the two individuals involved ends up dead within a matter of seconds. In fact, death can occur by being pushed over and landing head first onto concrete. It doesn’t take all that much.
Rummel told police that “Horn had not pushed him or taken a swing at him first. He said when he punched Horn, Horn fell back onto the concrete and struck his head. He said that Horn appeared to land on his head with all his weight and that it was the loudest sound he ever heard,” according to Marks’ affidavit.
This has nothing to do with the point that if Zimmerman had stayed in his truck no fight would have happened in the first place.
One night I came home and found the door to my converted apartment open. I didn’t run in with a weapon to see who was in there. I phoned the cops from a pay phone (remember those?) and waited for them to arrive. If Zimmerman had thought like that Martin would still be alive.
If you live your life in cowardly fear, you will never get involved in anything.”
That has nothing to do with this. We’re not talking about skydiving or something. We’re talking about a man who was following/stalking a teen at night without thinking of how he might react.
Zimmerman wasn’t “Stalking” Martin. He was following and observing, and reporting to the authorities…trying to get them to come address the situation. There is really nothing wrong, and everything right with what he was doing. When he got out of his vehicle, it was because he lost sight of the little darling. Not to confront him. Then Trayvon appeared, and attacked him. Your version of what he was doing is the fantasy version invented by a race baiting media. The audio log, photographs taken immediately following, and eyewitness reports supported Zimmerman’s version of events. Harvard Law’s Alan Dershowitz (a liberal), gave very good advice about this:
Do you even care what it must have been like from Martin’s point of view? What it’s like being followed around at night by some stranger? How about looking at things from that point of view?
It’s pretty sad when you can’t even walk home with a bag of candy.
He could have called in a report in his truck and sat in his truck and waited because to Martin this guy is going to be a strange man chasing him around a neighborhood.
What’s pathetic is you running down a 17 year old dead teen into the ground because you hate the media and Obama. F him… He is dead right? So it doesn’t matter if you use him to trash Obama Even though there are plenty of other ways to trash Obama without using a dead teenager to do it.
If Obama had half a brain, he would have Holder file charges against the prosecutor – for violating Zimmerman’s civil rights. His poll numbers would go up 10 points overnight.
I actually care about a teen that was shot and killed. Some people obviously don’t. To some people this teen is just fodder to use so that they can trash someone else.
If you bang someone’s head against the pavement, bad things are going to happen to you. You strike me as being extremely racist, believing that black kids can’t control themselves.
Yeah, I’m sitting here defending a dead teen being smeared because I’m racist. That makes a whole lot of sense. No, if I was racist I wouldn’t care that this black teen is dead.
You make the egregious error of thinking the people that don’t think like you don’t care about Trayvon Martin. How unthinking, selfish, and egotistical you are.you are.
You make the egregious error of thinking the people that don’t think like you don’t care about Trayvon Martin. How unthinking, selfish, and egotistical you are.you are.”
Martin is being used as fodder to attack someone else.
I think this was a tragic event that took place with both sides making mistakes. And as I said above, I don’t think Zimmerman will get convicted of murder. But I think Zimmerman could have used better judgement. I expect a 28 year old to do that.
As far as we know, Martin wasn’t doing anything wrong that night. Yet, he has a truck following him around late at night. People don’t usually do that. If I’m in Martin’s place I’m thinking somebody is trying to do me harm. Martin made some poor choices. But I would be thinking about defending myself from what I perceive to be a threat. Maybe I would decide to run, or maybe I would decide to confront the stranger. Can’t say unless I’m in that position 100%. But I can understand why Martin would confront Zimmerman.
Thats not what i meant Andy. Brian was exaggerating. I was referring to his softening everything, acting like there was no reason at all for what Zimmerman did. I think what happened was very tragic and sad. But Zimmerman looking out for people was more masculine than some in America will understand. Many Americans are masculinity phobic, especially in the media, even Fox.
It may well have been that the reason Martin didn’t walk on the sidewalk and instead, in between the houses is he way checking them out, looking in windows, seeing who had security company stickers in the windows, and what they had inside. It may well have been that Zimmerman’s instincts about Martin were right.
I’l still have never heard an explanation why Martin had a bag of jewelry at school. I could understand having a few pieces of jewelry–the “bling”. But a bag of jewelry? How could he get that?
I can see both sides. If I were walking down the street and figured out that I was being followed, I might confront the person, being the hothead that I am. On the other hand, if there were a rash of robberies in my neighborhood and I saw some suspicious guy hanging around at night, I might confront the person. Neither of them smart choices, but that is water under the bridge in this case. Given what we know subsequently occurred, Zimmerman had no choice but to defend himself.
My point is Martin had no idea who was following him and why. The guy could have been a mugger or serial killer for all Martin knew.
I bet if you had a 17 year old daughter and some guy was following her around at nights you wouldn’t just tell her “Honey, it’s ok… He is just watching you. Don’t worry about it.”
If there was genuine cause for concern I would ask my son or daughter to call the police and if attacked run away. As opposed to oh, I don’t know… bash the stranger’s head into the road. But call me crazy.
I disagree with the fantasy proposition that if you’re in a fight for your life, the older guy somehow has to act more reasonably than the younger guy even if the younger guy is attacking him.
“If there was genuine cause for concern I would ask my son or daughter to call the police and if attacked run away. As opposed to oh, I don’t know… bash the stranger’s head into the road. But call me crazy.”
There were marks on Zimmerman’s face from several punches too. Autopsy said Martin had bloody knuckles.
”
In any other place where a person “has a right to be,” that person has “no duty to retreat” if attacked and may “meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
Martin had every right to suspect that a strange guy in a truck following him around late at night would be out to do him harm.
And remember, I don’t think George should be convicted of murder. Nor do I think he deserves to be lynched or anything like that. But I do think Martin had plenty of right to suspect that harm was about to come to him. That’s why I prefer people to leave it up to police to do their jobs. They have cars that people know and understand who they are.
– It establishes that law-abiding residents *and visitors* may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may use* defensive* force, including deadly force, against the intruder.
– In any other place where a person ?has a right to be,? that person has ?no duty to retreat? if attacked and may ?meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.?
Zimmerman did not break into a residence or attack anyone. Try using your brain, Brian
What are you talking about? Zimmerman did not attack him. You are a nutcase.”
Martin had every right to believe a stranger following him around at night would be out to do him harm. It’s a position that plenty of people that believe Zimmerman is innocent of the charges can at least sympathize with. Simply put, many think like Ock and the people that I know that have your attitude toward this tend to fall closer to the racist way of thinking.
I slightly miss read what I posted a tad bit. Which happens. You have done it a few times here.
If Martin was afraid all he had to do was go inside his dad’s house. He didn’t. His “girlfriend”, who said she shouted at him on the phone, over and over, to go inside his dad’s house, said he was right in front of his dad’s house but wouldn’t go in. Instead he went to confront Zimmerman.
I think Brian can’t grasp who Trayvon Martin really is.
RE: I think the results would have been different had it been a cop instead of Zimmerman
Strangely, thousands of dead police officers killed in the line of duty would agree with you. All their training and they still ended up dead. You think Zimmerman had a better chance than any of those well trained officers?
You want to discuss everything except the fact that Martin was trying to kill Zimmerman when he was shot. The kid was a violent idiot and paid the price.
RE: There is no reason to believe martin would knowingly assault a cop
Brian.
Of course there is no reason to believe that Martin, or any particular individual, would knowingly assault a cop. Tautology.
Yet my nephew has been shot five times in the line of duty, and is knowingly assaulted dozens of times per year by particular individuals. He used lethal force once in the line of duty, and did everything possible to avoid doing so. I am sure the dead man’s family feels otherwise.
Yet my nephew has been shot five times in the line of duty, and is knowingly assaulted dozens of times per year by particular individuals. He used lethal force once in the line of duty, and did everything possible to avoid doing so. I am sure the dead man’s family feels otherwise.”
So you’re assuming he would have assaulted a cop because he is black and liked certain
music? Is that what you’re getting around to suggesting? Just asking.
What I am getting at is that your assumptions are not truth, and should be challenged. We can’t say for certain whether any individual would or would not assault a police officer. You express certainty, I express uncertainty.
The readers are free to review my posts and determine whether I ever brought race into the discussion. I am sorry that my neutral language led you to ask such a question.
Violence is not the monopoly of any race, creed, religion or other demographic that seems to so divide us.
you appear to sympathize with criminals. Why is that? Is it more of that far left politics that undercuts decency in America in order to erode and weaken? Or maybe you have been brain washed to think that erosion is actually strength. Are you a product of far left political brain washing?
I appreciate what you have added. Feel free to challenge what you will.
The readers are free to review my posts and determine whether I ever brought race into the discussion. I am sorry that my neutral language led you to ask such a question”
Funny… I wasn’t the one brought race into this thread either.
What I was responding to was this:
“particular individuals.”
What you meant by that. If I took more out of that than what was intended that is my mistake. I apologize.
“We can’t say for certain whether any individual would or would not assault a police officer. You express certainty, I express uncertainty.”
We can say that most people walking down the street do not. I have no reason to believe Martin would assault a cop. What I do have reason to believe that Martin felt threatened by an unknown man following him.
I’m not asking anyone to find Zimmerman guilty of murder. I’m saying it would have helped if Zimmerman had taken into consideration what reaction his actions might cause. I carry a weapon in my house. I don’t in public. I surely wouldn’t follow people at night with a weapon.
We’re all in agreement that there shouldn’t be a murder conviction. I feel sympathy for both of the parties involved. Zimmerman doesn’t deserve a 1800’s style lynching and it’s sad when young people die when it didn’t need to happen.
Brian says:
June 8, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Martin had every right to suspect that a strange guy in a truck following him around late at night would be out to do him harm.
===================================
Brian, its was 7 o’clock
Martin’s “girlfriend”said he ran away until he got to his fathers house. Then it was about 2 minutes later she said he said he saw “him” coming. She yelled at Martin over and over to get into his “da’s” house. He said he wouldn’t. Instead he said he wanted to go see who “he” was. Tell me why he had ample time to get away from someone following him yet he chose to wait for the guy and then go see what was going on? It’s pretty clear he wasn’t too afraid.
If The Founding fathers would have stayed in their truck no fight would have happened in the first place. You would have celebrated the queen’s jubilee. The patriotic song would be ‘Rule, Britannia!, Britannia rules the waves’. If ………………………the world would be a beautiful place.
Check this out if you haven’t seen it. Game over. The kid was a druggie thug. “Trayvon Martin Shooting – A year of drug use culminates in predictable violence…”
He is portrayed as an angel in the media. The is how an angel talks? This is how the president would want his son would talk?
So what? He’s was foolish kid.
Teens have been talking this way for a long time. To think otherwise is naive. Nothing here makes it ok for him to be stocked (or “followed”) by someone with a gun at night when he has done nothing wrong.
We can’t forget that Zimmerman has a shady past that is probably worse than some “naughty” words anyway. Besides. a 28 year old who can’t fend off a 17 year old without killing him isn’t much of a man anyway.
If you try to kill someone by pounding their head into the pavement, there is a pretty high probability that something bad is going to happen to you. Do most kids do that?
If he had stayed in his car and let the police handle it everyone would likely be alive. He was pushing 30. He should have acted in a smarter manner. I’ll grant some leeway and say that it was in an area with some crime… Ok. Call the cops and wait for THEM to take action. That’s what most people would do. That’s what the people I know would do. That’s why we have the police in the first place.
Also, if you’re running around at night with weapons there is a chance of something bad happening. Yeah, it might sound cynical, but in this world as it is I wouldn’t rule out confronting the guy if I was in Martin’s position. I can’t say 100% until I’m in that position, but I wouldn’t be very friendly toward someone following me at night when I haven’t done anything wrong. That much I do know.
Do I agree with the lynch party mentality or the freak show that this has turned into? No. I don’t think doing this to a 17 year old dead kid is very helpful either.
Do you think the President of the United States should be making racist comments about people he knows nothing about?
I guess it has been too long since I was a teenager, but it was not common for people to talk like that when I was his age. It was the rare exception, and generally the troublemakers.
Something else not reported much is that Zimmerman was a smaller person than Martin. And, physics has little to do with manliness.
Also, THC was found in Martin’s blood and he was in possession of ingredients for “lean,” so Zimmerman’s concerns were not unfounded.
I had a karate instructor who was about 5′-6″ weighed perhaps 120 pounds, and bragged that he could kill someone with one kick.
Geez. Some guys on these blogs will go to any lengths to make this kid out to be a drugged out loser just because of the bad reporting by the media or some scumbag opportunist like Jesse Jackson, and some of those darn old dirty words on twitter… And oh, he dared to confront a guy that was chasing him around with a weapon in the middle of the night.
It’s all his fault… He should have run home.. He should have done this… Or that. Lets just forget that the older guy (the ones who should be more wise) acted without thinking about what could happen should things go wrong. Of course he didn’t do that because he was in superhero mode. Or Dirty Harry mode. Maybe he called and reported someone before and they “got away” so HE will take care of it this time and bring in the evil doer all by himself. I lose sympathy for Zimmerman’s position when he needlessly takes the law into his own hands. If he was calling the cops and Martin came to his truck and busted out his truck window and tried to attack him or something I would be more sympathetic.
I don’t care if Martin was doing some marijuana or not. That stuff is no worse than alcohol, which destroy’s many lives and kills many every year. It costed my dad his leg and nearly his life after 40+ years of alcohol abuse.
This wouldn’t have happened had the oldest man acted wise.
Zimmerman is charged with 2nd degree murder. The circumstances do not even come close to matching that definition. He should be released immediately.
Second Degree Murder Definition – FindLaw
I don’t think he will be convicted. That still doesn’t change that he didn’t think about the consequences just as Martin probably didn’t. Martin is not blameless. I’m not an anti gun person by any means, but this should be a lesson to people to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. Very little in this world is actually free… There are consequences for most things that you do. And I’ve seen people that argue that Zimmerman was perfectly within his right to “watch” Martin. But there are consequences.
The lesson is, don’t try to kill people by banging their head against the pavement.
The lesson is to act like an adult and act responsible. That didn’t happen here.
If someone is banging your head against the pavement, the only responsible thing is to do is whatever it takes to make them stop.
In regards to the slang and bad language… It’s sad that these kids become so influenced by gangster rap. It looks like that probably happened here. It’s not like these rappers or music execs care though. It’s all about the money.
There would have been no scuffle if Zimmerman had waited for the cops to do their jobs.
When seconds count, help is just minutes away.
Brian says:
June 7, 2012 at 6:30 pm
If you’d just shut up and go away, nobody will be forced to call you a dumbass.
Stark Dickflüssig says:
June 7, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Brian says:
June 7, 2012 at 6:30 pm
There would have been no scuffle if Zimmerman had waited for the cops to do their jobs.
If you’d just shut up and go away, nobody will be forced to call you a dumbass.”
I don’t care what you think of me. Not in the slightest.
The kid should have been in school, then there would have been no scuffle. His parents did a crappy job and want to blame someone else for having raised a moron.
If you’d simply stop posting inane drivel, no-one would be forced to think of you as an idiot.
I expect a near 30 year old man who carries a weapon to act responsible with that weapon. I expect people to let the cops do what they’re paid to do. I expect grown men to understand how their actions can effect others. I don’t think that is unreasonable at all.
That last message was a response to Stark “Dick”.
Who is 30? You make Zimmerman worse than he is and Martin better than he is. You are clearly biased. Wake up Brian.
RE: I expect a near 30 year old man who carries a weapon to act responsible with that weapon
I expect a 17 year old with another human’s skull in his hands to act responsibly with that skull. I expect a 17 year old with another human’s nose at the end of his fist to act responsibly with that fist.
I don’t think he should have commented at all.
Exactly. Obama is an emotional cripple and is unfit to be president.
Brian says:
June 7, 2012 at 7:11 pm
There’s a sinister tone of racism in the implication that a 17 year-old black person has no control over his own actions.
Jesus…
I expect a 28 year old man to make wiser choices than a 17 year old teen. I think it’s common sense to expect that. If he can’t even manage to that he surely shouldn’t be patrolling neighborhoods with weapon in tow.
Racism? I haven’t even mentioned the race of anyone in this thread.
You’ve just back up the dump truck full of stupid and engaged the hoist and there’s no stopping you is there?
Why do you oppose the right of self defense? Why do you keep implying that a black person has no self control? Racist much?
I expect a 28 year old to do whatever it takes to stop a drugged out violent teenager from killing him. It would be incredibly irresponsible to do otherwise.
RE: I expect a 28 year old man to make wiser choices than a 17 year old teen.
I expect a 17 year old with another human’s skull in his hands to act responsibly with that skull. I expect a 17 year old with another human’s nose at the end of his fist to act responsibly with that fist.
I expect any human to defend themselves. Zimmerman did not draw first blood, or second blood, or third blood… Martin had a duty to call police if he felt threatened.
There…double standard reduced back to single standard.
What is it Steven said….
“When seconds count, help is just minutes away.”
http://i.gifreply.com/jttfb.gif
There is just no getting through to you.
Brian’s problem is that he lives in his mind in this fantasy world he has acquired from watching Hollywood movies. The hero and the villain fight for 5 minutes on-screen, smash each other’s heads into pipes and sustain other horrendous injuries yet keep fighting unaffected. In the real world, in a fight for life, usually one of the two individuals involved ends up dead within a matter of seconds. In fact, death can occur by being pushed over and landing head first onto concrete. It doesn’t take all that much.
Brian would do well to read this article and do a little thinking.
http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/man-pleads-guilty-to-fatal-punching-outside-missoula-party/article_d1b7cf94-0bdd-11e1-911e-001cc4c03286.html
Rummel told police that “Horn had not pushed him or taken a swing at him first. He said when he punched Horn, Horn fell back onto the concrete and struck his head. He said that Horn appeared to land on his head with all his weight and that it was the loudest sound he ever heard,” according to Marks’ affidavit.
Seriously?
This has nothing to do with the point that if Zimmerman had stayed in his truck no fight would have happened in the first place.
One night I came home and found the door to my converted apartment open. I didn’t run in with a weapon to see who was in there. I phoned the cops from a pay phone (remember those?) and waited for them to arrive. If Zimmerman had thought like that Martin would still be alive.
Zimmerman was out there to stop a rash of robberies in the neighborhood. Most people prefer to stay victims.
This time he chose to be Harry Callahan. Oh wait… Callahan was an actual cop in the film. So I’ll say Charles Bronson.
Either way, next time I go to FL I’ll keep in mind that wearing a hooded shirt is a bad idea. Some wannabe cop might chase me down at night.
I recommend that you don’t pound anyone’s head against the pavement.
Unless I have some Vigilante chasing me around with a gun at night for I can’t see anything like that coming close happening.
If you think you see someone chasing you with a gun, running towards them and starting a fist fight would be pretty stupid.
Obviously that didn’t happen.
Just trying to help you learn how to think rationally – for a change.
If Zimmerman wasn’t doing what he was supposed to be doing none of this would happened. Very true.
That’s funny… I don’t remember hearing this dispatcher telling him to get out of his truck.
Did the dispatcher tell the kid to get kicked out of school?
That has nothing to do with it. Him getting kicked out of school didn’t cause GZ to needlessly get out of his truck with that weapon.
But hey, he is just another drugged up thug dead, right?
Or maybe a thug in training as someone else on another board call him.
If Zimmerman didn’t have the weapon, he would likely be dead.
If he had stayed in his truck everyone would be alive and nobody likely would have got hurt.
If you live your life in cowardly fear, you will never get involved in anything.
Zimmerman was trying to stop a crime spree in his neighborhood.
If you live your life in cowardly fear, you will never get involved in anything.”
That has nothing to do with this. We’re not talking about skydiving or something. We’re talking about a man who was following/stalking a teen at night without thinking of how he might react.
If you try to kill someone by pounding their head against the sidewalk, you can pretty much figure that the rest of your life is ruined.
I have three teenagers, who were raised to be civil human beings.
Zimmerman wasn’t “Stalking” Martin. He was following and observing, and reporting to the authorities…trying to get them to come address the situation. There is really nothing wrong, and everything right with what he was doing. When he got out of his vehicle, it was because he lost sight of the little darling. Not to confront him. Then Trayvon appeared, and attacked him. Your version of what he was doing is the fantasy version invented by a race baiting media. The audio log, photographs taken immediately following, and eyewitness reports supported Zimmerman’s version of events. Harvard Law’s Alan Dershowitz (a liberal), gave very good advice about this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4fr5QwG63M
Do you even care what it must have been like from Martin’s point of view? What it’s like being followed around at night by some stranger? How about looking at things from that point of view?
It’s pretty sad when you can’t even walk home with a bag of candy.
He could have called in a report in his truck and sat in his truck and waited because to Martin this guy is going to be a strange man chasing him around a neighborhood.
Pathetic.
What’s pathetic is you running down a 17 year old dead teen into the ground because you hate the media and Obama. F him… He is dead right? So it doesn’t matter if you use him to trash Obama Even though there are plenty of other ways to trash Obama without using a dead teenager to do it.
If Obama had half a brain, he would have Holder file charges against the prosecutor – for violating Zimmerman’s civil rights. His poll numbers would go up 10 points overnight.
You are a nutcase, Brian.
Party extremist are usually nutcases.
I actually care about a teen that was shot and killed. Some people obviously don’t. To some people this teen is just fodder to use so that they can trash someone else.
If you bang someone’s head against the pavement, bad things are going to happen to you. Deal with it.
Yeah, and if you chase people around at night with a gun bad things might happen. Too bad George didn’t care about that.
Yes, most property crimes are committed at night.
If you bang someone’s head against the pavement, bad things are going to happen to you. You strike me as being extremely racist, believing that black kids can’t control themselves.
Martin was walking home with a bag of skittles.
Yeah, I’m sitting here defending a dead teen being smeared because I’m racist. That makes a whole lot of sense. No, if I was racist I wouldn’t care that this black teen is dead.
Don’t bang people’s heads against the sidewalk.
Brian,
Are you masculinity-phobic?
What does caring about a dead teen have to do with masculinity?
You are exaggerating the character of both. You are making the more masculine look in the wrong.
And I think your mind is weak and afraid.
You make the egregious error of thinking the people that don’t think like you don’t care about Trayvon Martin. How unthinking, selfish, and egotistical you are.you are.
I still haven’t heard a good explanation why Trayvon Martin had a bag of jewelry at school.
You make the egregious error of thinking the people that don’t think like you don’t care about Trayvon Martin. How unthinking, selfish, and egotistical you are.you are.”
Martin is being used as fodder to attack someone else.
I think this was a tragic event that took place with both sides making mistakes. And as I said above, I don’t think Zimmerman will get convicted of murder. But I think Zimmerman could have used better judgement. I expect a 28 year old to do that.
As far as we know, Martin wasn’t doing anything wrong that night. Yet, he has a truck following him around late at night. People don’t usually do that. If I’m in Martin’s place I’m thinking somebody is trying to do me harm. Martin made some poor choices. But I would be thinking about defending myself from what I perceive to be a threat. Maybe I would decide to run, or maybe I would decide to confront the stranger. Can’t say unless I’m in that position 100%. But I can understand why Martin would confront Zimmerman.
Banging someone’s head against the sidewalk is very wrong, and very stupid It got him killed.
Since when is shooting an unarmed man masculine?
Thats not what i meant Andy. Brian was exaggerating. I was referring to his softening everything, acting like there was no reason at all for what Zimmerman did. I think what happened was very tragic and sad. But Zimmerman looking out for people was more masculine than some in America will understand. Many Americans are masculinity phobic, especially in the media, even Fox.
It may well have been that the reason Martin didn’t walk on the sidewalk and instead, in between the houses is he way checking them out, looking in windows, seeing who had security company stickers in the windows, and what they had inside. It may well have been that Zimmerman’s instincts about Martin were right.
I’l still have never heard an explanation why Martin had a bag of jewelry at school. I could understand having a few pieces of jewelry–the “bling”. But a bag of jewelry? How could he get that?
Brian,
You do what those that altered the photo of Trayvon Martin do: you make him look like something he’s not.
Look at the photos:
http://www.riehlworldview.com/carnivorous_conservative/2012/03/why-was-trayvon-martin-photo-altered.html
See yourself doing what they did?
Brian
do you see how they feminized the photo?
I don’t care about the media and what they’re doing.
But you are doing the same as the media did with the photos.
I can see both sides. If I were walking down the street and figured out that I was being followed, I might confront the person, being the hothead that I am. On the other hand, if there were a rash of robberies in my neighborhood and I saw some suspicious guy hanging around at night, I might confront the person. Neither of them smart choices, but that is water under the bridge in this case. Given what we know subsequently occurred, Zimmerman had no choice but to defend himself.
Trayvon Martin did not stick to the sidewalks. He walked between houses. Why would one do that?
I think Brian’s point is that if you don’t like being followed in a public place, you have the right to attack that person, or something like that.
My point is Martin had no idea who was following him and why. The guy could have been a mugger or serial killer for all Martin knew.
I bet if you had a 17 year old daughter and some guy was following her around at nights you wouldn’t just tell her “Honey, it’s ok… He is just watching you. Don’t worry about it.”
If there was genuine cause for concern I would ask my son or daughter to call the police and if attacked run away. As opposed to oh, I don’t know… bash the stranger’s head into the road. But call me crazy.
The situation isn’t totally the same. In this case you would have more time to think about your options.
Even if we don’t 100% agree, Ock seems to get it for the most part.
I disagree with the fantasy proposition that if you’re in a fight for your life, the older guy somehow has to act more reasonably than the younger guy even if the younger guy is attacking him.
Following him? He was heading back to his SUV when Martin jumped him.
Will Nitschke says:
June 8, 2012 at 10:00 am
“If there was genuine cause for concern I would ask my son or daughter to call the police and if attacked run away. As opposed to oh, I don’t know… bash the stranger’s head into the road. But call me crazy.”
There were marks on Zimmerman’s face from several punches too. Autopsy said Martin had bloody knuckles.
“Following him? He was heading back to his SUV when Martin jumped him.”
Yes, was following him.
http://www.cfif.org/htdocs/freedomline/current/in_our_opinion/florida-self-defense-law.htm
”
In any other place where a person “has a right to be,” that person has “no duty to retreat” if attacked and may “meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.”
Martin had every right to suspect that a strange guy in a truck following him around late at night would be out to do him harm.
And remember, I don’t think George should be convicted of murder. Nor do I think he deserves to be lynched or anything like that. But I do think Martin had plenty of right to suspect that harm was about to come to him. That’s why I prefer people to leave it up to police to do their jobs. They have cars that people know and understand who they are.
– It establishes that law-abiding residents *and visitors* may legally presume the threat of bodily harm or death from anyone who breaks into a residence or occupied vehicle and may use* defensive* force, including deadly force, against the intruder.
– In any other place where a person ?has a right to be,? that person has ?no duty to retreat? if attacked and may ?meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.?
Zimmerman did not break into a residence or attack anyone. Try using your brain, Brian
What are you talking about? Zimmerman did not attack him. You are a nutcase.
What are you talking about? Zimmerman did not attack him. You are a nutcase.”
Martin had every right to believe a stranger following him around at night would be out to do him harm. It’s a position that plenty of people that believe Zimmerman is innocent of the charges can at least sympathize with. Simply put, many think like Ock and the people that I know that have your attitude toward this tend to fall closer to the racist way of thinking.
I slightly miss read what I posted a tad bit. Which happens. You have done it a few times here.
If Martin was afraid all he had to do was go inside his dad’s house. He didn’t. His “girlfriend”, who said she shouted at him on the phone, over and over, to go inside his dad’s house, said he was right in front of his dad’s house but wouldn’t go in. Instead he went to confront Zimmerman.
I think Brian can’t grasp who Trayvon Martin really is.
And I do agree violence in black culture, particularly in rap music, but not found just there, was a strong factor in how Martin acted.
I think the results would have been different had it been a cop instead of Zimmerman.
RE: I think the results would have been different had it been a cop instead of Zimmerman
Strangely, thousands of dead police officers killed in the line of duty would agree with you. All their training and they still ended up dead. You think Zimmerman had a better chance than any of those well trained officers?
Officers Down By Year
http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/year.html
There is no reason to believe martin would knowingly assault a cop. In fact, it was Zimmerman who was once arrested after a confrontation with a cop.
You want to discuss everything except the fact that Martin was trying to kill Zimmerman when he was shot. The kid was a violent idiot and paid the price.
RE: There is no reason to believe martin would knowingly assault a cop
Brian.
Of course there is no reason to believe that Martin, or any particular individual, would knowingly assault a cop. Tautology.
Yet my nephew has been shot five times in the line of duty, and is knowingly assaulted dozens of times per year by particular individuals. He used lethal force once in the line of duty, and did everything possible to avoid doing so. I am sure the dead man’s family feels otherwise.
Yet my nephew has been shot five times in the line of duty, and is knowingly assaulted dozens of times per year by particular individuals. He used lethal force once in the line of duty, and did everything possible to avoid doing so. I am sure the dead man’s family feels otherwise.”
So you’re assuming he would have assaulted a cop because he is black and liked certain
music? Is that what you’re getting around to suggesting? Just asking.
Brian,
What I am getting at is that your assumptions are not truth, and should be challenged. We can’t say for certain whether any individual would or would not assault a police officer. You express certainty, I express uncertainty.
The readers are free to review my posts and determine whether I ever brought race into the discussion. I am sorry that my neutral language led you to ask such a question.
Violence is not the monopoly of any race, creed, religion or other demographic that seems to so divide us.
May you have a most excellent day
Brian
you appear to sympathize with criminals. Why is that? Is it more of that far left politics that undercuts decency in America in order to erode and weaken? Or maybe you have been brain washed to think that erosion is actually strength. Are you a product of far left political brain washing?
I appreciate what you have added. Feel free to challenge what you will.
The readers are free to review my posts and determine whether I ever brought race into the discussion. I am sorry that my neutral language led you to ask such a question”
Funny… I wasn’t the one brought race into this thread either.
What I was responding to was this:
“particular individuals.”
What you meant by that. If I took more out of that than what was intended that is my mistake. I apologize.
“We can’t say for certain whether any individual would or would not assault a police officer. You express certainty, I express uncertainty.”
We can say that most people walking down the street do not. I have no reason to believe Martin would assault a cop. What I do have reason to believe that Martin felt threatened by an unknown man following him.
I’m not asking anyone to find Zimmerman guilty of murder. I’m saying it would have helped if Zimmerman had taken into consideration what reaction his actions might cause. I carry a weapon in my house. I don’t in public. I surely wouldn’t follow people at night with a weapon.
We’re all in agreement that there shouldn’t be a murder conviction. I feel sympathy for both of the parties involved. Zimmerman doesn’t deserve a 1800’s style lynching and it’s sad when young people die when it didn’t need to happen.
The vast majority of violent crime in the US is committed by minorities. Everyone in law enforcement understands this.
Brian says:
June 8, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Martin had every right to suspect that a strange guy in a truck following him around late at night would be out to do him harm.
===================================
Brian, its was 7 o’clock
I don’t know anyone who would assume “all is well” in Martin’s situation.
Brian,
Martin’s “girlfriend”said he ran away until he got to his fathers house. Then it was about 2 minutes later she said he said he saw “him” coming. She yelled at Martin over and over to get into his “da’s” house. He said he wouldn’t. Instead he said he wanted to go see who “he” was. Tell me why he had ample time to get away from someone following him yet he chose to wait for the guy and then go see what was going on? It’s pretty clear he wasn’t too afraid.
If The Founding fathers would have stayed in their truck no fight would have happened in the first place. You would have celebrated the queen’s jubilee. The patriotic song would be ‘Rule, Britannia!, Britannia rules the waves’. If ………………………the world would be a beautiful place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nKJFjYkHg
If can change history
Check this out if you haven’t seen it. Game over. The kid was a druggie thug. “Trayvon Martin Shooting – A year of drug use culminates in predictable violence…”
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/24/update-26-part-2-trayvon-martin-shooting-a-year-of-drug-use-culminates-in-predictable-violence/
More:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/24/update-26-part-2-trayvon-martin-shooting-a-year-of-drug-use-culminates-in-predictable-violence/
This case is a joke. Zimmerman easily wins with self-defense OR Stand Your Ground either way.
Sorry – meant this link on the second one.
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2012/05/26/interesting-development-trayvon-martin-quid-pro-quo-at-the-7-11/
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZMQRXr3Ers&w=560&h=315%5D
hope this embed works. Here is the timeline based on the known facts. Not good for the Trayvon ‘story’.
Trayvon Martin’s”girlfriend” gives he story:
22 minute interview with State Attorney
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVTM8sqz4k