Monday, March 26, 2012

Who should stand their ground?

Recently, I took a break from my cleaning to catch up on current events.  Specifically the Trayvon Martin shooting.  Looking at the facts in the case, it seems pretty clear-cut.  A 17-year-old boy went out for some candy and tea.  While he was walking home, he was followed by a much older, larger man in a vehicle.  The man got out of the car, chased the boy, and confronted him.  There was a scuffle, and the man pulled a gun and shot the boy.  However, the police accepted the shooter's claim of self-defense because the dead boy "looked suspicious."  What looked suspicious about young Trayvon?  His hoodie?  Having lived in Florida for several years, it seems like the right thing to wear for a stroll to the grocery store in March.  His skin color?  Has it become illegal to go for a walk if you are black?  The fact that he reached in his waistband?  If I saw an armed man following and confronting me, I'd try to fake him out, too!
The shooter, George Zimmerman, invoked the "stand your ground" law.  But really, if the facts are correct, then Zimmerman was the aggressor.  It is completely illegal to pull a gun on someone who is just walking down the street.  Technically, Martin had every right to defend himself against Zimmerman.  Now, of course anyone with self-defense training would not try to physically defend themselves against an armed man (good chance you'll end up dead), but perhaps Trayvon Martin did not have the benefit of this wisdom.  So, if the facts are correct, I would say that there is enough evidence that Zimmerman should at least be arrested and indicted.

13 comments:

  1. Facts are not yet in. Its going to a grand jury for a reason. Please remember; Zimmerman had a concussion and a broken nose. Some sort of scuffle did happen. Zimmerman claims Martin tried grabbing his gun. Friends of Zimmerman say that the person you hear screaming in the 911 call is Zimmerman - not Martin. A witness says that Martin attacked Zimmerman. Martin is being made out to be an honors student - which he was. But he was also serving a suspension at the time for bringing marijuana to school.

    This case has been a classic case of the race card being played by the leftist media in order to rile things up. No one has been charge yet, a jury / judge has not yet made a decision, so to go out and throw accusations against a guy is wrong. Do you honestly think the story would have gotten the same level of attention if it had been black on black violence? Or black on white? It wouldnt have. Did you know that this St Patrick's day there were 26 black males killed in gun fights in Chicago alone? You probably didnt hear about it because it was black on black violence. A story of a black person being killed by a non black, suddenly its major news with everyone jumping to conclusions about racism.

    Let the grand jury make its decisions and then people can come out and yell what they want. Until then, the full story has not yet been heard, so its both uneducated and pointless to yell about Martin's innocence.

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  2. Sure. I would love to see a police report. It would indicate all injuries to both parties--if Zimmerman had a concussion and broken nose, a police report would have indicated that he had been transported to a hospital. (I should know, because I was hit by a car last summer. The police report indicated that I was the only injured party, and that an ambulance had transported me to an area hospital.)
    Again, let's take race out of the equation. A person was followed and confronted by a larger person. There is no doubt that Zimmerman's actions did at least provoke the scuffle.

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  3. > Looking at the facts in the case, it seems pretty clear-cut.

    To quote the great Al Bundy, "Uh, no Peg."

    Whoever gets their story out wins, at least until the Youtube video gets released. More and more accounts are coming forward from witnesses who say they saw Martin attacking Zimmerman. Zimmerman is claiming to have been hit first and shot in response. You can argue (correctly in my opinion) that killing someone for punching you in the nose is extreme but it's far different from a guy gunning someone down for wearing a hoodie.
    And once again, like he did when that white cop arrested a black professor who was being aggressive with him, Obama has shot his mouth off without knowing all the facts, or caring (so it seems)

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  4. Police reports are not always released to the public. However, according the Orlando Sentinel Zimmerman was jumped by Trayvon. They site a police report saying that Zimmerman lost Martin, went back to his car and was attacked from behind receiving a concussion and a broken nose. He shouted for help and then shot Martin. The Stanford police said the story was accurate. http://bit.ly/GT7Zra

    One more point, Zimmerman may have been stockier than Martin, (by less than 50 pounds) but Martin was some 5 inches taller than Zimmerman. Again, we do not know that Zimmerman provoked the scuffle. As neighborhood watch captain he followed a suspicious person walking through a gated community. He followed him and called the police. The police told him to back to his car, which he did. "After the killing, Zimmerman told police he was walking back to his SUV when Martin approached from behind and asked Zimmerman whether he had a problem. Zimmerman said no. Martin then said, “Well, you do now” and punched Zimmerman in the nose".

    Martin is not the angel his family, the media and Obama have made him out to be. He was serving a suspension for pot, had previously been suspended for graffiti and had been caught with a bag with womans jewelry and a flathead screwdriver. This case is all about race. Denying that is being blind to reality. Even the former head of the NAACP head thinks so. http://thedc.com/H5LgTk. The "cracker" tee shirts that are now being sold with pictures of Zimmerman confirm that as well.

    All in all, people should wait before passing judgement. With every day that passes, more details emerge and Zimmerman seems to have been acting in the right. Its very sad as the public has already passed judgement on him based on hearsay.

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  5. If I saw a guy twice my size following me with a gun, I'd go into some kind of aggressive pose! You can't outrun a bullet. Ultimately, Zimmerman provoked the attack by not minding his own business. He chose to follow Martin, and then pursue him on foot, with a sidearm.

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  6. "If I saw a guy twice my size following me with a gun, I'd go into some kind of aggressive pose". Zimmerman didnt go around waving his gun, it was concealed. Zimmerman is the neighborhood watch captain, it is his JOB to make sure the neighborhood is secure. He was attacked from behind by Martin who punched him in the nose and slammed his head into the pavement. If that is truly the case(which witnesses say it is), then Zimmerman had every right to use deadly force and good for him!

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  7. Given that Zimmerman was not wearing a badge, how would Martin have known that?

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  8. That is half the point of neighborhood watch, citizens looking out for each other. Zimmerman saw Martin, called the cops, they told him to go to his car, he lost Martin, went to his car and was suddenly attacked from behind. even if Martin had felt threatened, Zimmerman was leaving the scene and Martin should have not clocked him from behind.

    Simply put, your post is the epitome of the effects of the main stream media. You write "Looking at the facts in the case, it seems pretty clear-cut". Is it? Were you on the scene that you know the "facts"? You read / heard what an agenda pushing media wanted you to hear. In the time since you have posted this post, many more details on the story have come out; details that put Zimmerman in the right. That is the reason why people shouldnt go all "gung ho" before details are out...

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  9. And another eyewitness saw Zimmerman straddle Martin. Again, it goes back to "what would a reasonable person do"? There are a lot of unanswered questions. Did Zimmerman identify himself as Neighborhood Watch captain? Was either party intoxicated? (We'll never know about Zimmerman since no testing was done.) Why did Zimmerman leave the car? What transpired before the attack? Did Zimmerman go to the hospital? (With my accident, I had had a small laceration to my scalp that required three staples. Zimmerman's injuries, far more severe, would have resulted in a visit to the ER.)
    BTW, please drop in on the rest of my blog! Unless your only interest is this case.

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  10. There are definitely a lot of unanswered questions. The case will be going to a grand jury for a reason. However, until then, I see no reason to pass judgement on the man when no one yet knows the full story of what happened. (BTW, most of the questions you ask are adressed here. http://bit.ly/GRXP6Z)

    :-) I flipped through some other posts. This one just piqued my interest.

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  11. I said "indicted." The legal definition of "indicted" is "a grand jury has determined that there is enough evidence to proceed to trial." I'm not advocating warming up Ol' Sparky.

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  12. True, however, based on what the police observed at the scene, they felt that Zimmerman acted in self defense. he was therefore not arrested. A grand jury will be investigating the case to see if charges should be brought against him. You stated that you felt Zimmerman should be arrested. I dont think so. Police at the scene didnt think so and that was for a reason. What has changed since the altercation is that the main stream media as well as hate mongers like Al Sharpton have tried using this story as a rallying point against the white man and as a reason why we need Obama. Let the jury do its work, the evidence will be presented to them and they will determine whether or not Zimmerman should be arrested.

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