It's Watch!... Neighborhood Watch. Not shoot.

Without going back through the whole thread, I'm pretty sure that each of the assertions you cite were made as counterarguments. Not as free-floating statements of fact.

I'm further pretty sure that while there's a range of possibilities for how it might have happened, the PD and the county investigations were demonstrably deficient to the extent that the investigations were taken over by the state and the Feds.

And as to whether or not a government agency or a politician under siege by the press and public opinion would try to cover some ass, I can only rely on the behavior of every government and politician in recorded history.

 

Wow. Wish I hadn't made that post right before leaving the house.

I'm pretty insulted that you would try to put words in my mouth, and compare what I said to saying a rape victim deserved to be raped based on how she dressed.

I didn't say anything like that.

Let's try this again.

Unless Zimmerman purely went out looking to kill an African-American that night, or jumped Martin with no warning, and for no reason, I don't think you can compare him to a rapist.

Since Zimmerman has been a "community watch captain" for some time now, I don't think that's a likely scenario. He's called 911 a lot in the past. He's never killed someone before.

And, I think it's pretty clear there was a confrontation, and not just an execution. Witnesses have reported seeing them struggling. They differ on who was on top, who was screaming, etc. But it's pretty clear there was a confrontation.

And, I didn't say Martin necessarily did anything wrong. I'd bet Zimmerman did.

But, I did day, that Martin probably could have avoided the confrontation. It would take being the bigger person, the smarter person.

Maybe he was being "stalked". Maybe Zimmerman called him the N-word, called him a p***y, or called his mother a whore.

Now, in any of those situations, we might say he would be justified in giving Martin an ass whooping. But, maybe he could have also walked away.

Even load mouth assholes, looking for a confrontation, can often be calmed down. Cooler heads often can prevail.

In no way do I think Martin was "looking for it," was seeking trouble, or was itching for a confrontation.

But, a confrontation eventually happened, and Martin ended up dead. All I said, was that if he had acted differently, if he had avoided a confrontation, he might still be alive.

Avoiding a confrontation is a pro-active step. I'm not saying he was "wrong" to not do so, or that Zimmerman didn't "initiate" it.

All I said was that if he had taken steps to avoid the confrontation, he might be alive.

Is that really a controversial statement? Do you really disagree with that?

I know I've avoided confrontations in the past. The other guy might have been an asshole, and in the "wrong" but I was happy to avoid the potential trouble.

 

YF -- the rape analogy is an unfortunate one. But, given your line of reasoning here, you should know that on juries, women are much more difficult to persuade than men are that a rape occurred. It's those terms Rick linked to on the previous page. It's a defense mechanism whereby they tell themselves the victim did something wrong, and they'd never do that, so they'd never be the victim.

 

The one thing we do know is that he called 911 and was told to not follow Martin. Your assertion that Martin could have done something different is most definitely blame the victim mentality.

 

Not true. Zimmerman obviously could have avoided a confrontation -- at least early on.

That Zimmerman acted like an ass really isn't in doubt, is it? The question is whether he acted criminally.

I'm not blaming Martin at all. But, anyone knows that once they do get involved in a confrontation, all bets are off. You don't know what nut is armed.

I might give an asshole driver the finger, but I'm not going to pull over and get in a fight with him, even if he was in the wrong, and was looking for a confrontation.

 

This is passive aggressive bullshit.

 

yikes:

NBC News apologized for the way it edited the 911 conversation between George Zimmerman and a police dispatcher in the Trayvon Martin case.

NBC's "Today" show ran edited audio last week that appeared to reveal Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good ... he looks black."

But a transcript of the 911 call showed that Zimmerman actually said, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining, and he's just walking around, looking about."

The 911 handler responded, "OK, and this guy -- is he black, white or Hispanic?"

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/04/04/nbc-news-apologizes-for-editing-george-zimmerman-11-call/#ixzz1r6r2ngua

 

You're expecting the 17 year-old to have exercised the better judgment here? Seriously?

Only one of these two guys had a record of violence. And only one was carrying a gun.

 

Whatever. That night could have played out in any number of ways.

The way it played out resulted in Martin's death at the hands of Zimmerman. I wish it had played out differently.

I could have said that I wish Zimmerman had acted differently. I do wish that.

But, you change any one variable, and the night likely ends differently. Wishing Martin had done something, anything, to avoid and deflect a confrontation, is nothing like saying I blame him. I wish he was alive, that's why I wish he had done something differently.

 

That he was licensed to carry.

The plot thickens:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/02/zimmerman-family-member-calls-naacp-racists-says-there-will-be-blood-on-your-hands-if-george-is-hurt/

"The letter also described how Zimmerman was one of “very few” in Sanford, Fla., who spoke out publicly to condemn the “beating of the black homeless man Sherman Ware on December 4, 2010 by the son of a Sanford police officer.”

“Do you know the individual that stepped up when no one else in the black community would?” the family member wrote. “Do you know who spent tireless hours putting flyers on the cars of persons parked in the churches of the black community? Do you know who waited for the church‐goers to get out of church so that he could hand them fliers in an attempt to organize the black community against this horrible miscarriage of justice? Do you know who helped organize the City Hall meeting on January 8th, 2011 at Sanford City Hall??”

“That person was GEORGE ZIMMERMAN. Ironic isn’t it?

 

It's not "expecting".

Zimmerman was a Grade A pain in the ass. He liked playing cop. He probably got off on it.

 

So? What difference does the license make?