- Joined
- Aug 22, 2001
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- 19,316
I've had some time to brood on the topic and think about it. I didn't really follow the case that closely as in many ways there are much more important things going on in our world today, or I guess bigger things going on.
My understanding of the events is that TM was walking home when GZ spotted him, decided to be a vigilante despite having no reason to and went after TM, and taunted him. TM then went after GZ and attacked him, and was shot after some altercation. I recall that GZ had some bad wounds on the back of his head.
When I think of the scenario, removing any racial factors, as much as I dislike firearms, by the laws that exist there, GZ had a right to defend himself. I guess in short I agree (Sort of) with the courts decision.
I say sort of for a few reasons though. My understanding is that GZ went after TM for no real reason beyond racially profiling a young black man in a hoodie. If American media would want us to know the most dangerous thing in the world, it's not AIDs or a super robot tiger, but an African-American in a hoodie. Zimmerman clearly has some racial issues of his own, and had no problem profiling a young individual, and engaging in his own sense of justice.
To add to it (And again this is my understanding) Zimmerman taunted Martin. This where things get tricky for me to really empathize with Zimmerman on any level. Was Martin's retaliation appropriate? It is hard to say. I am not African-American, I do not know what it is like to be in that situation. Very few of in this thread do. I do not think his reaction was appropriate, considering our understanding of the situation. Still, perhaps the level of threat perceived by Trayvon was much more than I would have imagined. That part is hard for me to understand.
Once the violent altercation happened I see how Zimmerman had a right to save himself.
With that said, Zimmerman is a class A dipshit for putting himself in the situation. He goes after a complete stranger and starts saying things to them. This is what gets me about his character. It is as if he started poking a bear and then was surprised when the bear struck back. In addition, the zookeeper kept saying "do not poke the bear"
Both parties acted seemingly irrationally for one reason or another. One, an African American kid who was scared being chased by a white guy in Florida (the courts won't be a friend to Trayvon at that point) and acted rashly. Or the guy in his pick-up and gun who decided he can be a vigilante, because hey, he has his concealed justice on his side.
I think for me what is the bigger statement here is not the killing of an "innocent" young black man. Rather it is the amount of racial profiling that went on in Zimmerman's case. That speaks volumes to me. A black man can't wear a hoodie at night without being considered a criminal. That is the greater issue in this case. Zimmerman and many others really need to look inside and wonder why we would just instantly assume when we see a person like TM that he naturally is up to criminal behavior.
I guess add to that I have no doubt that if it TM was white and Zimmerman was black Zimmerman would have been guilty in 10 seconds. It also speaks volumes of the trust the African-American community has in the legal system.
This is why we need Robocop.
Or to give Florida to Cuba
My understanding of the events is that TM was walking home when GZ spotted him, decided to be a vigilante despite having no reason to and went after TM, and taunted him. TM then went after GZ and attacked him, and was shot after some altercation. I recall that GZ had some bad wounds on the back of his head.
When I think of the scenario, removing any racial factors, as much as I dislike firearms, by the laws that exist there, GZ had a right to defend himself. I guess in short I agree (Sort of) with the courts decision.
I say sort of for a few reasons though. My understanding is that GZ went after TM for no real reason beyond racially profiling a young black man in a hoodie. If American media would want us to know the most dangerous thing in the world, it's not AIDs or a super robot tiger, but an African-American in a hoodie. Zimmerman clearly has some racial issues of his own, and had no problem profiling a young individual, and engaging in his own sense of justice.
To add to it (And again this is my understanding) Zimmerman taunted Martin. This where things get tricky for me to really empathize with Zimmerman on any level. Was Martin's retaliation appropriate? It is hard to say. I am not African-American, I do not know what it is like to be in that situation. Very few of in this thread do. I do not think his reaction was appropriate, considering our understanding of the situation. Still, perhaps the level of threat perceived by Trayvon was much more than I would have imagined. That part is hard for me to understand.
Once the violent altercation happened I see how Zimmerman had a right to save himself.
With that said, Zimmerman is a class A dipshit for putting himself in the situation. He goes after a complete stranger and starts saying things to them. This is what gets me about his character. It is as if he started poking a bear and then was surprised when the bear struck back. In addition, the zookeeper kept saying "do not poke the bear"
Both parties acted seemingly irrationally for one reason or another. One, an African American kid who was scared being chased by a white guy in Florida (the courts won't be a friend to Trayvon at that point) and acted rashly. Or the guy in his pick-up and gun who decided he can be a vigilante, because hey, he has his concealed justice on his side.
I think for me what is the bigger statement here is not the killing of an "innocent" young black man. Rather it is the amount of racial profiling that went on in Zimmerman's case. That speaks volumes to me. A black man can't wear a hoodie at night without being considered a criminal. That is the greater issue in this case. Zimmerman and many others really need to look inside and wonder why we would just instantly assume when we see a person like TM that he naturally is up to criminal behavior.
I guess add to that I have no doubt that if it TM was white and Zimmerman was black Zimmerman would have been guilty in 10 seconds. It also speaks volumes of the trust the African-American community has in the legal system.
This is why we need Robocop.
Or to give Florida to Cuba
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