Trayvon Martin

[NaTaS+ 958]

But when a white person kills a black person it's a bigger deal?

 

 

 

Good post, just had a chance to read it. I agree with your post in most aspects. I think Zimmerman is actually latino/hispanic. I still feel that there is a ton of racial tension to this.

 

Edited March 29, 2012 by NaTaS

[BucD+ 648]

Agreed.

 

More and more crap gets released just adding another twist to it. Not to mention that dumb fuck, Spike Lee.

 

Getting out of hand.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Yeah, the situation is getting out of control. I really hope this never goes to trial, because what a fucking spectacle that would be.

[NaTaS+ 958]

As the world sits back and points their finger at the US laughing.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

My big question is why isnt somebody charging him ? If you claim self defense and indeed it was that is fine and he was within his right to protect his home but two things standout on this.

 

Listening to tape excerpts he said, " I am following him." At which point the dispatcher told him to cease and desist. He did not and a man lost his life, how in the fuck is that self defense, I am sure if the kid had a gun as soo as Zimmerman pulled his than trayvon would have pulled his. No other gun was found. Second even if Trayvon did have a gun then if the dude would have just stayed in his damn car would this have ever happened ? No. It was not self defense if you get out with even the slightest inkling that violence may ensue.

 

The second is the dude needs to learn his place. You are the leader of a Community watch, you are to ovserve and report. Not observe, follow, call 911, continue to follow, and then shoot. If he was that concerned then he needed to go to his house, lock the door, call 911 and provide the most accurate description you can and last known location. Mission complete.

 

What evidence do you need other than the 911 tapes he followed him and shot him, self defense is out the window is it not ?

[Guest Phailadelphia]

My big question is why isnt somebody charging him ? If you claim self defense and indeed it was that is fine and he was within his right to protect his home but two things standout on this.

 

Listening to tape excerpts he said, " I am following him." At which point the dispatcher told him to cease and desist. He did not and a man lost his life, how in the fuck is that self defense, I am sure if the kid had a gun as soo as Zimmerman pulled his than trayvon would have pulled his. No other gun was found. Second even if Trayvon did have a gun then if the dude would have just stayed in his damn car would this have ever happened ? No. It was not self defense if you get out with even the slightest inkling that violence may ensue.

 

The second is the dude needs to learn his place. You are the leader of a Community watch, you are to ovserve and report. Not observe, follow, call 911, continue to follow, and then shoot. If he was that concerned then he needed to go to his house, lock the door, call 911 and provide the most accurate description you can and last known location. Mission complete.

 

What evidence do you need other than the 911 tapes he followed him and shot him, self defense is out the window is it not ?

 

Word. And they released video of Zimmerman being checked into the local PD. He claimed Martin was slamming his head against concrete and what not but there isn't any visible head trauma in the videos. He doesn't even look roughed up.

[Duck Fallas 209]

Just as a preface: I have not now, nor do I plan on ever; 1) Taking any sort of criminal justice courses and 2) Really giving more than a half shit about this case...that being said: I shall play the devil's advocate role that I love.

 

1) If I see someone, regardless of race, walking around my neighborhood at night, I am going to be suspicious. More so if I happen to live in a high-crime area. I have a duty to protect my home and family as well as the homes of my friends and neighbors. It is called being a neighbor.

 

2) In order to give the police solid information on suspicious people, I would certainly follow them, even if instructed otherwise. Simply following them is often enough to dissuade any criminal activity.

 

3) I would even go so far as to get their attention and let them know that I see them and that they are being watched until they reach their destination or leave my neighborhood.

 

4) If the person I am following starts to act tough and feigns an act of aggression, I am going to do whatever I can to protect myself. If all goes well, the person won't have even had a chance to harm me physically.

 

 

As previously stated; the reason this person has not been charged with a crime is that there likely was NO CRIME committed. Sure it sucks that a child is dead, but that shit happens every fucking minute of every fucking day. This god damn nation has bigger shit to worry about.

 

...and now, let the neg-repping commence...

[NaTaS+ 958]

Rapper Plies shirt:

 

What if the roles were reversed? You think a white artist/rapper would get away with this?

[Omerta+ 1,206]

Rapper Plies shirt:

 

What if the roles were reversed? You think a white artist/rapper would get away with this?

That has got to be one of the tannest "crackers" I have ever seen....just sayin.

 

Second hell no a white artist would not get away with that, and that is the kind of idiotic behavior that still makes racism commonplace. And I am not saying it is only on one side or the other. We will always have some racist inbred hick who says, "The south will rise again." And some dumb racist black guy who is saying white people are still trying to keep us down.

 

Maybe instead of this big pity party that people want to throw themselves into blaming things on social climate take a look at yourself and ask yourself is it race or is it just me wanting to look for a way out for the shit show I have created for myself with nobody else's help. If more people were willing to take responsibility I think racism would all but evaporate. Sometimes life does not deal you a fair hand, that is life.

 

If people want to attach race to this then fine, but if it was a white guy people would just be saying wrong place wrong time. Is it a tragedy that he got shot ? Of course it is. Is this guy guilty ? I dont know but if I was a juror I would lean towards yes since he had a chance to avoid the situation and leave the kid the hell alone.

 

And plies has always been an idiot in my opinion because he likes to take such staunch political views, but sorry if you are an idiot and just because you are entitled to them does not mean you should exercise them. If you want to be political great, but become educated.

 

The america we live in today wants to say that racism only goes one way well that is complete horseshit, I am Irish and my grandpa likes to tell stories of how his grandpa was turned down because he was irish and they would rather hire a black guy. And even when the irish did get hired it was half of what anybody made. I am not sure if it is comforting for people to cry racism or what have you but truly racist people make up the minority. I like I am sure many of you have friends who are black, and many of them are aware that it goes both ways. It is just that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and there are people like rush limbaugh and spike lee who want to always say it is the "other" side that is the issue. It is fucking disgusting, I think stupidity should come with a jail sentence.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

Just as a preface: I have not now, nor do I plan on ever; 1) Taking any sort of criminal justice courses and 2) Really giving more than a half shit about this case...that being said: I shall play the devil's advocate role that I love.

 

1) If I see someone, regardless of race, walking around my neighborhood at night, I am going to be suspicious. More so if I happen to live in a high-crime area. I have a duty to protect my home and family as well as the homes of my friends and neighbors. It is called being a neighbor.

 

2) In order to give the police solid information on suspicious people, I would certainly follow them, even if instructed otherwise. Simply following them is often enough to dissuade any criminal activity.

 

3) I would even go so far as to get their attention and let them know that I see them and that they are being watched until they reach their destination or leave my neighborhood.

 

4) If the person I am following starts to act tough and feigns an act of aggression, I am going to do whatever I can to protect myself. If all goes well, the person won't have even had a chance to harm me physically.

 

 

As previously stated; the reason this person has not been charged with a crime is that there likely was NO CRIME committed. Sure it sucks that a child is dead, but that shit happens every fucking minute of every fucking day. This god damn nation has bigger shit to worry about.

 

...and now, let the neg-repping commence...

 

I will go point by point on this, I am not insulting you or anything or your ideas on being a neighbor because I do believe that in a perfect world communities would band together to lighten the load. Without further ado...

 

1.) Yes you have every right to protect your neighborhood and you household. That said no gun was found on this kid. So really what would you be protecting them from ? Getting litter int their yard from his skittle wrapper? If you are following the kid and he is aware you have eyes on him I seriously doubt he is going to attempt a burglary with you in your car right there. And as a part of protecting your family I am a firm believer that if lethal force is justified then use it. However Trayvon was gunned down with no means of defending himself, when Zimmerman was taken to the police station it does not look as though he had been beaten at all. So again with what was said what is it you were protecting people from ? A kid that was armed with skittles and iced tea which is all that was ever found. I cant believe that a man with a gun had no further alternative than to shoot someone with no means of lethal force themselves, especially considering that guns have quite a bit longer effective reach than punches.

 

2.) Yes by all means follow them....IN YOU CAR. Where you are safe so as to not get injured. Second in the Army as with self defense if you initiate contact now you have become the agressor. Sure follow him in your car and make your presence known to dissuade any wrong doing. Although you dont know if that was going to take place you dont know, you are GUESSING. So if you want to say hey dont do anything stupid fine, he may tell you to fuck off which he has the right to do since you are being presumptuous you can expect less than a friendly greeting. If you asked him what he was doing and he said getting out of the rain (if that is indeed the case) then ask him if you would like to call him a cab in the efforts of being neighborly. If you wont pay the ten bucks to get the kid a cab then you dont want to be neighborly nor is getting him out of the neighborhood a priority.

 

3.) Was answered in the previous two.

 

4.)I am sure that if you roll down a car window and asked me where I was going when I was just walking to a friends for the superbowl, I would reply, "Going to a friends house to watch the SB." If you then asked me well does he live around here I would reply, "Yeah he lives....." Any question outside of that is none of your damn business and I would tell you that. It is a gathering among friends and during a break in the action I decided I would likes some skittles. You have no business asking me what I am doing after I had answered the first two questions. You are not a cop or any sort of being in a position of power so what gives you the right to antagonize people. You also have the advantage of being in a car if things go south you can definitely get away fast enough to avoid bodily harm. If you are on the street what protection do you have. Also in any class you have taken about strangers as a kid the instructors as well as common sense tells you to get to a well lit area. If the person who owns the house comes out I will explain the situation because at least now there is a record of what has happened in case anything happens. And I would ask them to call the police. Who the hell is going to call the police on themselves if they are about to rob a joint.

 

I am also assuming you dont live on a private island (I could be wrong) but if you do not then it is likely you have houses next to you. If my friend lives 6 blocks away I may have to walk past your house, you do not own the sidewalks and can not tell me when in where to be if I have an invite from someone who lives there.

 

And he may not have committed a crime but a lot of things look weird when you follow an unarmed man and then someone dies and you claim self defense.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Just fyi.

 

This case has a lot of stuff that is... weird.

 

The photos that were originally released of Zimmerman are not the ones as he went into the police station, apparently, and these photos do show that he was roughed up a bit.

 

NBC made him look racist, by seeming to show that he volunteered the information that the guy was black. Not so. The dispatcher for the 9-1-1 call specifically asked Zimmerman whether the suspect was white, black, or hispanic, but this question is cut out in NBC's initial release.

 

ABC's photos, which were picked up by major newspaper outlets, have a picture of Trayvon when he was 13- four years prior to the shooting- and a photo of Zimmerman that looks like a mug shot. This says nothing about his guilt or innocence one way or the other, but it is certainly playing at the heart-strings of those who read/watch about this case. The media should let the police and the judicial system do their job. We are innocent until proven guilty in this country.

 

Finally, several members of the black community in Zimmerman's town have stepped forward to say the guy is not racist. A few years back, a white cop beat a black guy to death, and it was Zimmerman who went around trying to motivate the community into staging a protest or something, just to get some answers and/or justice for the victim in this case.

 

He may still be guilty- but let's not rush to judgment and potentially sentence an innocent man to death, especially not without all the facts and because of edited photos/transcripts.

Edited April 10, 2012 by Thanatos19

[Guest Phailadelphia]

Zimmerman's attorneys have withdrawn legal counsel because they have lost contact with Zimmerman.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Rapper Plies shirt:

 

What if the roles were reversed? You think a white artist/rapper would get away with this?

 

Oh, are you kidding? There'd be riots if a white artist ever wore something remotely close to that.

[Vin+ 3,121]

NBC made him look racist, by seeming to show that he volunteered the information that the guy was black. Not so. The dispatcher for the 9-1-1 call specifically asked Zimmerman whether the suspect was white, black, or hispanic, but this question is cut out in NBC's initial release.

I'm surprised this wasn't made into a bigger issue. Nobody really seemed to care when the info was released.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

I'm surprised this wasn't made into a bigger issue. Nobody really seemed to care when the info was released.

 

People already know what they want to believe in. They just need some information to set them in that direction, doesn't matter whether it's true or not.

 

"Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push."

[Thanatos 2,847]

People already know what they want to believe in. They just need some information to set them in that direction, doesn't matter whether it's true or not.

 

"Madness is like gravity. All it takes is a little push."

 

Exactly. It doesn't fit the storyline.

 

Half the people I talk to about this still think Zimmerman was white. When I said he was a hispanic, their comeback was "Well, he's a white hispanic."

 

...

 

Really?

 

The more I read about this the more I think it wasn't an issue of race at all. The guy may have simply been an idiot, but he wasn't racially profiling.

[Mathias 394]

Criminal charges to be announced at 6PM ET tonight.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

Exactly. It doesn't fit the storyline.

 

Half the people I talk to about this still think Zimmerman was white. When I said he was a hispanic, their comeback was "Well, he's a white hispanic."

 

...

 

Really?

 

The more I read about this the more I think it wasn't an issue of race at all. The guy may have simply been an idiot, but he wasn't racially profiling.

 

I dont think it is race at all for him at least, he actually has a good track record of interacting with young black people in his community.

[Thanatos 2,847]

I dont think it is race at all for him at least, he actually has a good track record of interacting with young black people in his community.

 

Yup. It is very interesting how we pounced on this story. What made the news media make a big ruckus out of this tragedy, and not of, say, the 40 people who were killed in Chicago over St. Patrick's Day weekend? Including a 6-year-old child who was caught in the crossfire between gangs?

 

I do think it's because they thought they could make this one about race and the one in Chicago they couldn't do so, since the shooter and the victim in that case were both black. And it's terrible. They're both horrible tragedies, but the media really needs to quit playing the race card. Morgan Freeman was completely correct on that count.

 

What happened in Florida was a 17-year-old was killed by a 28-year-old in what was probably a vigilante attempt at keeping the 28-year-old's neighborhood safe.

 

What happened in Chicago was a 6-year-old being killed by a 21-year-old in a gang war. They're both equally tragic. The color of the shooter and victim's skin should have nothing to do with the story.

[blotsfan 2,112]

Just as a preface: I have not now, nor do I plan on ever; 1) Taking any sort of criminal justice courses and 2) Really giving more than a half shit about this case...that being said: I shall play the devil's advocate role that I love.

 

1) If I see someone, regardless of race, walking around my neighborhood at night, I am going to be suspicious. More so if I happen to live in a high-crime area. I have a duty to protect my home and family as well as the homes of my friends and neighbors. It is called being a neighbor.

 

2) In order to give the police solid information on suspicious people, I would certainly follow them, even if instructed otherwise. Simply following them is often enough to dissuade any criminal activity.

 

3) I would even go so far as to get their attention and let them know that I see them and that they are being watched until they reach their destination or leave my neighborhood.

 

4) If the person I am following starts to act tough and feigns an act of aggression, I am going to do whatever I can to protect myself. If all goes well, the person won't have even had a chance to harm me physically.

 

 

As previously stated; the reason this person has not been charged with a crime is that there likely was NO CRIME committed. Sure it sucks that a child is dead, but that shit happens every fucking minute of every fucking day. This god damn nation has bigger shit to worry about.

 

...and now, let the neg-repping commence...

1) it was 7 pm. Not exactly night. You're basically assuming that anyone that you don't know personally is a criminal.

 

2)Theres a reason they're the police and you aren't. You can keep following them, but don't act like deliberately disobeying the police is the right thing to do.

 

3)So basically you're gonna be yelling and trying to intimidate anyone that passes by you even though the cops told you to stop.

 

4)And when you act like a nutjob and try to intimidate random passerbys, when someone responds to you, you will shoot them immediately.

 

Thank goodness you live in Seattle because I wouldn't want to live anywhere near you.

[Omerta+ 1,206]

Yup. It is very interesting how we pounced on this story. What made the news media make a big ruckus out of this tragedy, and not of, say, the 40 people who were killed in Chicago over St. Patrick's Day weekend? Including a 6-year-old child who was caught in the crossfire between gangs?

 

I do think it's because they thought they could make this one about race and the one in Chicago they couldn't do so, since the shooter and the victim in that case were both black. And it's terrible. They're both horrible tragedies, but the media really needs to quit playing the race card. Morgan Freeman was completely correct on that count.

 

What happened in Florida was a 17-year-old was killed by a 28-year-old in what was probably a vigilante attempt at keeping the 28-year-old's neighborhood safe.

 

What happened in Chicago was a 6-year-old being killed by a 21-year-old in a gang war. They're both equally tragic. The color of the shooter and victim's skin should have nothing to do with the story.

 

And this is true the media acts as if they are socially motivated about an injustice but that is rarely the case. I mean the whole fair trial thing in this country is getting harder and harder to have in this country. The media muckrakers like to make sure that everybody goes into a courtroom that is biased. These people do not live under a rock and it is almost impossible to have an unbiased jury.

 

The boy that was killed in Chicago is an equal tragedy I just think that in a gang war though it is harder to put a face on it.

 

I will say regardless of whether it was to protect his neighborhood it was not his job to take the law into his own hands. In my opinion it was murder plain and simple. You are going to have to show me that he was in fear of his laugh, which if that was the case he needs to stay the hell in his car and drive on or walk away.

[Thanatos 2,847]

And this is true the media acts as if they are socially motivated about an injustice but that is rarely the case. I mean the whole fair trial thing in this country is getting harder and harder to have in this country. The media muckrakers like to make sure that everybody goes into a courtroom that is biased. These people do not live under a rock and it is almost impossible to have an unbiased jury.

 

The boy that was killed in Chicago is an equal tragedy I just think that in a gang war though it is harder to put a face on it.

 

I will say regardless of whether it was to protect his neighborhood it was not his job to take the law into his own hands. In my opinion it was murder plain and simple. You are going to have to show me that he was in fear of his laugh, which if that was the case he needs to stay the hell in his car and drive on or walk away.

 

Agreed entirely. It just wasn't racially motivated, as the media tried to spin it at first. Hell, didn't Al Sharpton get in on it?

 

The problem is Florida's self-defense law. It's gonna be awfully hard to convict him beyond a doubt when we have no witnesses. It just seems very strange to me that a 28-year old with a gun could honestly feel threatened by a 17-year-old with no weapon at all. That would be where I would press, I think.

[NaTaS+ 958]

Zimmerman charged with 2nd-degree murder

 

via CBS News

 

 

 

(CBS/AP) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The neighborhood watch volunteer who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was arrested and charged with second-degree murder Wednesday after months of mounting tensions and protests across the country.

 

George Zimmerman, 28, could get up to life in prison if convicted in the slaying of the unarmed black teenager.

 

Special prosecutor Angela Corey announced the charges but would not discuss how she arrived at them or disclose other details of her investigation, saying: "That's why we try cases in court."

 

Second-degree murder is typically brought in cases when there is a fight or other confrontation that results in death and but does involve a premeditated plan to kill.

 

Corey would not disclose Zimmerman's whereabouts for his safety but said that he will be in court within 24 hours.

 

Zimmerman has also hired a new lawyer, former prosecutor Mark O'Mara, after his previous attorneys resigned on Tuesday. O'Mara said: "I'm expecting a lot of work and hopefully justice in the end."

 

Before the announcement, the parents of Martin said charges against Zimmerman would start the healing process, but they won't stop fighting until he's convicted.

 

Zimmerman's shooting of the unarmed black teenager Feb. 26 brought demands from black leaders for his arrest and set off a furious nationwide debate over race and self-defense that reached all the way to the White House.

 

The 28-year-old Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, said the teenager attacked him. Martin's family argued Zimmerman was the aggressor.

 

On Tuesday, Zimmerman's lawyers announced they were withdrawing from the case because they hadn't heard from him since Sunday and didn't know where he was. They portrayed his mental state as fragile.

 

 

 

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Not sure they can make 2nd degree murder stick in court, but we'll see. Either way, this will be a big public spectacle, and OJ 2.0 if Zimmerman gets off clean.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Not sure they can make 2nd degree murder stick in court, but we'll see. Either way, this will be a big public spectacle, and OJ 2.0 if Zimmerman gets off clean.

 

I disagree.

 

Anyone else also heard that the defense has TWO eyewitnesses that both are willing to testify Trayvon was on top of Zimmerman and beating him by slamming his head repeatedly into the ground?

 

If that is correct, I'd be hard-pressed to convict the guy myself.

 

Oh yeah, and the reason why he's in hiding? The Black Panthers put out a bounty on his head, "Dead or Alive."