Imagine you are George Zimmerman

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Except for a dead kid.

The perfect murder?

I doubt it. His scenario sounds more reasonable than Zimmerman going hunting for random black kids with his gun.

 

[RR7]

that doesn't lend credence to him appearing suspicious.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

that doesn't lend credence to him appearing suspicious.

Perhaps Treyvon was scoping out places to break into. Past behavior could pave the way for future acts.

We don't know, it was a judgement call on Zimmerman's part. Looking into houses, cars, etc.

 

[MickZagger]

I stole candy from a store once when I was a kid. I'm glad the clerk didn't shoot me.

 

[MickZagger]

Perhaps Treyvon was scoping out places to break into. We don't know, it was a judgement call on Zimmerman's part. Looking into houses, cars, etc.

Life shouldn't be a judgement call for a rent-a-cop. Its silly he even had a gun for that job.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I stole candy from a store once when I was a kid. I'm glad the clerk didn't shoot me.

Did you attack him?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Life shouldn't be a judgement call for a rent-a-cop. Its silly he even had a gun for that job.

If you see suspicious behavior, you can call 911.

And there was no job. Apparently he was going to the store, according to his testimony, and happened to have his legal firearm on him.

 

[RR7]

Perhaps Treyvon was scoping out places to break into. Past behavior could pave the way for future acts.

We don't know, it was a judgement call on Zimmerman's part. Looking into houses, cars, etc.

Did Zimmerman say (yet) that he was looking into houses and cars? Seems like if he was doing that, he would say that, instead of just looking suspicious.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Did Zimmerman say (yet) that he was looking into houses and cars? Seems like if he was doing that, he would say that, instead of just looking suspicious.

Nope. I mentioned that as an example of suspicious behavior. But, Treyvon having previously been caught with "burglary tools" and a bunch of jewelry could be an indicator of this type of behavior. Perhaps Treyvon looked suspicious in the way he was going about when Zimmerman showed up, much more than just a case of him being black as the majority of people claim.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

Implications of burglary, which would probably provide some credence to Zimmerman's claim that he appeared suspicious.

wait....what? because someone may have committed a crime in the past, they look suspicious for the rest of their lives?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

wait....what? because someone may have committed a crime in the past, they look suspicious for the rest of their lives?

No, it could be an indicator of activities he partook in. It is possible he was scoping the scene out and this appeared suspicious to Zimmerman.

Zimmerman said he was acting suspiciously and that he appeared to be on drugs. We know he was found with items at school apparently not belonging to him and an item described as a burglary tool.

We also know that he was suspended most recently for a drug related offense.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

No, it could be an indicator of activities he partook in. It is possible he was scoping the scene out and this appeared suspicious to Zimmerman.

Zimmerman said he was acting suspiciously and that he appeared to be on drugs. We know he was found with items at school apparently not belonging to him and an item described as a burglary tool.

We also know that he was suspended most recently for a drug related offense.

dude, YOU do drugs.... give it a rest haha, as if that means anything

and now all of the sudden you are dealing with wild hypotheticals? i thought you were arguing that that was what the rest of the world was doing in being quick to condemn zimmerman in the first place...odd

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

hypotheticals? Treyvon's school and family released that information on the items found and drugs. At a minimum, it seems to match up with Zimmerman's hunches of suspicious activity and him being on drugs.

 

[STOMP]

wait....what? because someone may have committed a crime in the past, they look suspicious for the rest of their lives?

I'm going to use my burglary tool to put up a shelf later tonight

STOMP

 

[PapaG]

Imagine you are George Zimmerman?? How about imagine your are Barack Obama, so-called President of the USA, and you open your mouth and inflame racial tensions because a victim would look like your imaginary son?

Obama had no business commenting on this case. Will he comment on the 13 year-old white kid poured with gasoline and set on fire while being told "it's because you're white"?

Will he comment on the white Mississippi State student murdered in his dorm by three black men this weekend?

Will he comment on the elderly couple beaten and murdered by this guy?

I think Obama's handlers saw the name "George Zimmerman" and figured it was some toothless redneck in overalls huntin' some black folk. Turns out that Zimmerman is Hispanic, has numerous black people in his family, and even is a fundraiser for the local black church.

It sucks that this kid got shot, but witnesses say he was beating down Zimmerman, and Martin's own dad said it wasn't his son, but Zimmerman, crying out for help on the 9/11 tape. Witnesses corroborate this in the police report.

Basically, just a shitty and tragic situation that now got elevated to a race issue because "our" President saw an opportunity to yet again divide people. How anybody could say that Obama isn't the most divisive President of our lifetime would fascinate me.

 

[PapaG]

One would think that the fucking President would actually want to know what the police reports said before stoking the flames of a race riot before slinking off to South Korea for yet another "we're sorry that we've been successful as a nation" conference.

Moral of the story. Don't attack somebody, even if they're following you, because you never know if they may have a gun. Trayvon should have dialed 911 instead of attacking Zimmerman.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/26/MN0R1NQC9D.DTL

With a single punch, Trayvon Martin decked George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who eventually shot to death the unarmed 17-year-old, then climbed on top of Zimmerman and slammed his head into the sidewalk several times, leaving him bloody and battered, according to an account released Monday by authorities.

That is the account Zimmerman gave police, and much of it has been corroborated by witnesses, authorities say.

Zimmerman has not spoken publicly about what happened, but that night, Feb. 26, and in later meetings he described and re-enacted for police what he says happened.

Police disclosed to the Orlando Sentinel that there is about a one-minute gap, after Zimmerman called police and before he fatally shot Martin, during which police say they're not sure what happened.

In Zimmerman's version of events, he had stopped following Martin and had turned around and was walking back to his SUV when Martin approached him from behind. The two exchanged words, then Martin punched him in the nose, sending him to the ground, and began beating him.

Then, Zimmerman says, he began yelling for help.

Several witnesses heard those cries, and there has been a dispute about from whom they came: Zimmerman or Martin. Lawyers for Martin's family say it was Martin, but police say their evidence indicates it was Zimmerman. One witness was unequivocal that it was Zimmerman who was crying for help.

[Snip]

New background information on Martin emerged Monday. He had been suspended from Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School three times, most recently for possession of an empty bag with marijuana residue and a "marijuana pipe," according to a school's report obtained by the Miami Herald.

 

[jlprk]

PapaG says it's Obama's fault! And this guy actually posts his basketball opinions!

 

[Denny Crane]

wait....what? because someone may have committed a crime in the past, they look suspicious for the rest of their lives?

You look suspicious.

 

[bluefrog]

If I were Zimmerman I would get the fuck out of the country.

He's pretty much been convicted by the media, the Black Panther's have put a bounty on his capture and He's virtually lost his life. I'd take the first flight down to Peru and connect with family down there.

 

[crandc]

Chris, I usually find you a thoughtful & intelligent poster but I am puzzled. Why? Did you wonder what Jeffrey Dahmer felt? Casey Anthony (who is technically not guilty)?

I don't know what Zimmerman is thinking. Perhaps wondering why he's not a hero like the guys in the movie, white males who are heroes after killing someone dark skinned or with an accent. I honestly don't care.

Because we all make choices and have to take responsibility for them - that's one of the things that makes our species unique so far as we know. Zimmerman had choices. Neighborhood Watch are not supposed to go armed but he chose to pack heat. He saw a boy he did not know; he could have walked up to him and said hi, I'm Neighborhood Watch captain, what's up? and figured out it was just a kid getting a snack. He chose to be confrontational. He could have followed the advice of the 911 dispatcher. He chose to ignore it. No one forced him to do any of this.

You may have heard of the "Occam's razor" principle: Whatever requires the least special pleading is usually correct. Is it reasonable that a scared skinny boy with no history of getting in fights would assault a grown man 100 lbs heavier than him who was armed to boot? Or is it more likely that a man with a history of paranoia (40+ 911 calls!) and violence (one assault conviction and a domestic violence that was dropped when the woman was too scared to proceed) who was following the boy triggered (no pun intended) the confrontation? How likely is it that a person who now says he killed in self-defense would refuse medical care? If it was really self-defense wouldn't he want his supposed injuries documented by a doctor, photographed, recorded? Is it more likely that his so called injuries were so minor that they would not support a self defense claim?

I won't use up my typing finger on El Presidente. This little Limabaugh wannabe is the expert on anything and needs do no research or gather no information. He knows more about climate science than the world's climate scientists, more about evolution than 150 years of biological research, the world's expert on gays, Jews, African-Americans, voting patterns, and everything else and no data are going to get in the way of his bigotry.

Being a woman, the victim blaming is all too familiar. She would not have been raped had she not worn a short skirt, or had a drink, or went out, or stayed home, or brought Kobe Bryant food after hours in a hotel. Fact is, women are raped because they had the misfortune to meet up with a rapist. Trayvon was murdered because he had the misfortune to meet up with a killer. The fact that none of us are perfect human beings, that everyone has done something dumb or wrong in our lives is irrelevant. The rapist raped, the killer killed, the victim did not ask for it.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Yes, heaven forbid we look at this objectively when it's much easier to cry racism.

....

 

[PapaG]

PapaG says it's Obama's fault! And this guy actually posts his basketball opinions!

It's not Obama's fault that the kid died. It's well-established that it's Jeb Bush's fault.

 

[PapaG]

Yes, heaven forbid we look at this objectively when it's much easier to cry racism.

....

crandc is a perpetual victim, and has been since she started posting on ESPN in the late '90s. Quite obviously, this shooting has nothing to do with a white guy hunting down some black guy, based on all of the information, both firsthand accounts and by blacks who are sticking up for Zimmerman that know him.

The President basically put a bounty on this guy's head, and then disappears when the narrative doesn't fit the racist template he was trying to create. All but the true Obama sycophants should see this for what it is, and I can't imagine it's going to get him the votes he thought it would when he first read the name "George Zimmerman". The worst part about it is that his handlers planned this trip to Florida for one reason, and Obama only took one question after his little speech. Gee, what a surprise, it was about Trayvon Martin. I'm sure many of the media there were wondering who the hell that was, and why it was the only question Obama took from the media.

Well, it's not hard to figure out why, is it?

 

[PapaG]

Yes, heaven forbid we look at this objectively when it's much easier to cry racism.

....

Shut up Little Limbaugh. Clearly Zimmerman is a racist who just wants to shoot black kids with hoodies. :MARIS61:

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Shut up Little Limbaugh. Clearly Zimmerman is a racist who just wants to shoot black kids with hoodies. :MARIS61:

All the evidence suggests you are right:

1. Five year old pictures of treyvon
2. Skittles and iced tea
3. Hoodies... Ain't nothing wrong with that
4. Latino zimmerman is a cracka azz cracka




....

 

[porkchopexpress]

Imagine you are George Zimmerman?? How about imagine your are Barack Obama, so-called President of the USA, and you open your mouth and inflame racial tensions because a victim would look like your imaginary son?

Obama had no business commenting on this case. Will he comment on the 13 year-old white kid poured with gasoline and set on fire while being told "it's because you're white"?

Will he comment on the white Mississippi State student murdered in his dorm by three black men this weekend?

Will he comment on the elderly couple beaten and murdered by this guy?

I think Obama's handlers saw the name "George Zimmerman" and figured it was some toothless redneck in overalls huntin' some black folk. Turns out that Zimmerman is Hispanic, has numerous black people in his family, and even is a fundraiser for the local black church.

It sucks that this kid got shot, but witnesses say he was beating down Zimmerman, and Martin's own dad said it wasn't his son, but Zimmerman, crying out for help on the 9/11 tape. Witnesses corroborate this in the police report.

Basically, just a shitty and tragic situation that now got elevated to a race issue because "our" President saw an opportunity to yet again divide people. How anybody could say that Obama isn't the most divisive President of our lifetime would fascinate me.

I haven't read anything on the other cases, but I keep seeing people bring up this KC one in comments on this story. They are not the same situation at all. In one, the police are ACTIVELY searching for the suspects of a crime that did not end up in anyone being killed (not saying the crime wasn't horrible). The article you posted has a description of them and a hotline to call if you have any information. In the other case, the police KNOW who killed Trayvon. They KNOW he has a history of paranoia They KNOW he was warned/advised not to pursue. And they KNOW he didn't listen to their advice. They don't know anything else concretely. And yet they chose not to arrest or even question Zimmerman. And they wouldn't allow the parents to hear the 911 tapes because it may interfere with their investigation, the same one that was so cut and dry that they didn't question the man with the gun.

The fact that he Trayvon was killed is awful. It doesn't matter that he was suspended from school or that he may or may not have stolen jewelry before. He had a right to walk home in that neighborhood and it was Zimmerman's actions that escalated the situation. But the coverup/sweeping under the rug of the case is what everyone is upset with. If a black man shoots a white man, I expect justice. I also expect the same justice if the victim is black (or any other race).

 

[Denny Crane]

Maybe Zimmerman is innocent, maybe he's guilty. The basic fact that the kid was shot and killed demands an arrest and it's the courts' place to determine guilt/innocence and any penalty.

It can't be any simpler or obvious than that.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Maybe Zimmerman is innocent, maybe he's guilty. The basic fact that the kid was shot and killed demands an arrest and it's the courts' place to determine guilt/innocence and any penalty.

It can't be any simpler or obvious than that.

I thought you were against infinite detention.

There are no charges and the police had nothing to charge him with since he apparently acted out of self-defense. You said it yourself, maybe he's innocent, maybe he's guilty. And you say that they should arrest him anyway? Ridiculous and a gross violation of his civil rights.

They had to let him go, they conducted their investigation and it wasn't "closed" by any means by the time the media started running with it.

 

[TomBoerwinkle#1]

I can't prove it, obviously, but I suspect that Zimmerman wouldn't have been so aggressive (against the suggestion of the police dispatcher), if he hadn't been packing heat. I seriously doubt that the kid just turned and attacked without provocation. Zimmerman was part of a neighborhood watch group, not a neighborhood guerrilla militia guard. After notifying police of a "suspicious person" in his gated community, he should have stayed put in his car and let the cops handle the rest. I moved to Florida (by family necessity not because I wanted to) shorty before the Stand Your Ground law came into effect. At the time it was referred to as the Yee-Haw! law and I still feel that way. I can almost picture Zimmerman following this guy and haranguing him, feeling all Death Wish/Dirty Harry/Yippie-Kai-Yea, MF'er until the kid had enough and turned on him. Not an excuse for the kid turning but I think it was Zimmerman and his gun muscle that provoked an incident that probably would have ended peacefully with a little patience for the police to arrive. Admittedly, there is some speculation here but that's the best I can sort out. My 2 cents.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

According to Zimmerman's account, he had lost track of Martin, who then re-engaged him.