Just like old times, Tyral.
Tyral wrote:
Fuck me, some of you people clearly read, like, one news site and that's it. Here are some facts for you, since you were too lazy to look this shit up:
Okay.
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Zimmerman's neighborhood had been repeatedly hit by burglaries and vandalism, including one home invasion, during the months leading up to this incident. All of the incidents were reported as being perpetrated by young African American males. In only a few incidents were any arrests made. It got to the point that the community was having repeated meetings on the matter, and the police had been called to the area dozens of times since January. Zimmerman was approached to head up the neighborhood watch, since he was the only one who volunteered to be involved when his neighbors asked.
Unless you're preparing to excuse either racism or vigilantism, I don't see anything that actually helps Zimmerman's case yet. Where are we going here? Remember this is not an assault case; this is murder, of an unarmed juvenile. Being head of the neighborhood watch is not a fucking 007 license, and even Bond couldn't point-blank-execute minors without an unbelievably good reason -- hint: he has to do better than "the kid was really tall."
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This sheds an enormous amount of light onto why Zimmerman "profiled" Martin. First, Martin wasn't a local, he was visiting. Second, Martin was out, at night, in the rain, and according to Zimmerman had peered into one or two empty homes (many homes in the area were empty due to foreclosure). Third, he fit the profile of kids who had been committing crimes in the area. So, some of you who are flipping your shit over Zimmerman "stalking" Martin or whatever, you need to understand the background of the situation before you go making rush judgements.
I know this is a little-known fact in some parts of the States, but in check this out -- it is
totally, perfectly legal to walk around at night while black. Even in the rain! I know, it's nuts, but they totally allow 'em to run loose after sundown outside of the deep, deep south.
Please describe the profile Martin fit when Zimmerman "profiled" him. I don't feel that this part of your argument is specific enough.
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Once you take his motivation out of the equation, the rest of these ridiculous theories begin to fall apart. Zimmerman's account of what happened matches up with the timeline of the 911 call. Zimmerman claims that he lost Martin and was returning to his vehicle when Martin approached him from behind, said something to him, and attacked him. There is nothing in evidence to dispute that; in fact, it's far more likely than the account Martin's girlfriend gives. The most reliable witness to altercation saw Martin on top of Zimmerman. The cuts, bruises, and broken nose are all indicative of Zimmerman being pummeled by Martin.
You can't take his motivation out of the equation; it's a murder investigation, you don't get to make a decision based on only the simple or convenient parts of the evidence, because this case is not being tried in a trailer park in Oklahoma.
What, was that witness one of
these witnesses? The ones who can't seem to keep their story straight when questioned twice, ten minutes apart? Maybe it was the one who went from "He was punching Zimmerman MMA style" to "maybe he just pinned him, and maybe Trayvon was the one calling for help, but he was definitely on top"? (I'm not even paraphrasing. Read the article.)
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Zimmerman claims he only shot Martin when Martin realized that Zimmerman had a gun and tried to grab it. Martin, who has been listed as anywhere between 6' and 6'3" (the latter by his own family) wasn't some little kid; Zimmerman had every right to be afraid for his life at that point, even if he did confront Martin. Again, there are no witnesses to the actual confrontation: no one, including Martin's girlfriend (who is as unreliable and biased as a witness can possibly be) knows for a fact whom confronted whom that night. We will literally never know what exactly happened, and the best we can go off is the evidence presented, which all points to Zimmerman telling the truth.
The "Stand Your Ground" Law
does not protect you if you deliberately place yourself in peril of your own life, then kill someone to extricate yourself. Martin's girlfriend, for all her myriad faults, has at least not changed her entire goddamn story (so far -- I mean, she certainly fits the profile).
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Some of you really, really want this to be about race. This despite the fact that Zimmerman himself is a minority, that he has worked with young African Americans as a mentor, and that everyone who knows him says that he is not the least bit racist. Some of you have clearly made up your minds; I understand that, because when I first read the news reports, I thought the fact that he hadn't been arrested was some shady shit. But as we've seen more and more info come out, I've come to realize that the media totally screwed the pooch on this one, and did their best to paint a man as guilty without first waiting to find out what really happened.
Sometimes it's about race. You think minorities can't hate each other? Hell, introduce an Eritrean native and any other African native and see if they shake hands. And they're both black! Mind-blowing, I know. It's like America's not all there is or some shit, right??
The media doesn't decide this case. When a jury of his peers makes a decision, I'll abide by it. So far they haven't done that, so this is just a lively debate.
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I don't post here often anymore. But I do keep tabs on the board, especially on hot-button topics like this one. And it's very frustrating to see so many people I think of as educated and intelligent giving in to the same blind ridiculousness I see elsewhere. Knock it the fuck off. You sound just as retarded as the "birthers" I keep seeing post everywhere.
Aaaand, nothing there to fight.