Let's talk about Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, and how unbelievably fucked up this all is

there it is

but i suppose the right would argue that those cases could only be used to carry burglary tools

Also, why the hats? What are they trying to hide? Clearly they are up to something.

leopard print pants are clearly for camoflauge as they commit illicit crimes in urban paris

morning tv talk shows were dominated by the current Zimmerman defense arguments (Martin attacked Zimmerman, broke his nose), and the appearance of George Oliver, Zimmerman's (African-American) friend. The CNN Headline News anchor did not bother to ask Zimmerman's pal why Zimmerman did not listen to the police on the phone telling him not to follow Martin.

The police claim to have witnesses (plural) that back up much of Zimmerman's account. And yet, per the Sentinal piece: "There is about a one-minute gap during which police say they're not sure what happened." I believe this one minute, conveniently, is the point at which Trayvon allegedly hit him first.

I still want to know how long the girlfriend was supposedly listening in, at what point she signed off and missed out, because a lot of this story so far is a jumble of her account and the police/Zimmerman account, with these new "witnesses" leaning toward the cop/Zimmerman account (ie, he followed but was jumped, Zimmerman was the one yelling for help/getting beat up, etc.).

According to that same story (http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-26/news/os-trayvon-martin-zimmerman-account-20120326_1_miami-schools-punch-unarmed-black-teenager), Zimmerman was coming back from the store in his SUV when he saw Trayvon, then supposedly called 911, left his car and followed him on foot. So I guess he wasn't just lurking in his living room, peeking out the blinds. He was out and about, which I suppose (in vigilante logic) means keeping an eye on his fantasy perp.

Yeah, this should all serve to set race relations in this country back a couple decades or so.

Zimmerman outweighed him by 50 pounds, his neighborhood watch group was not properly registered, he had a history of calling 911 pretty often, and he has his own documented past history regarding physical altercations.

I heard someone suggesting on a news program that they wrestled over the gun and they were implying that Martin somehow shot himself. Are their fingerprints? Did they ever find Martin's cellphone?

there

people people stop making shit up

the only eyewitness that saw trayvon attack george is george

anyway doesn't trayvon have a right to stand his ground? for all he knew zimmerman was gonna put him in his backyard sex dungeon

there is a not so fine line between testimony which is "consistent" with zimmerman's story and testimony that "corroborates" his story, but that distinction seems lost on a few people.

^ xpost exactly

Wanting to play lawyer when there is no case -- NO CHARGES FILED AGAINST ANYONE -- is dumber than failing to see that distinction.

Yeah, totes. There has been no under oath stuff in this entire mess yet.

pithy or no, this fake Will Smith tweet actually does say a lot about america in 2012:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bE-dRCKHeXM/T3BOhfbfg8I/AAAAAAAADwM/QzfKquTNcYo/s1600/Trayvon_WillSmith.jpg

x-post
A month has gone by since the incident, and the grand jury is not empaneled until April 10, and there's lots of history and related issues and emotion, so the fact that people want to play lawyer now seems very human and understandable to me

http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2012/03/new_orleans_cop_suspended_inde.html

new orleans cop that instigated an iffy traffic stop (in which two cops were shot and a young black man killed) makes some ill-advised and super racist online comments. under his own name.

two bits of context: a NO-based federal prosecutor resigned the other week after being exposed as a vehement and voluminous online commenter and the nopd shot another young black man (unarmed) during a "drug raid" (read: minor pot bust).

http://media.nola.com/crime_impact/photo/jason-giriorjpg-9a3ba54c5898648d.jpg

Have hair like a douchenozzle, act like one.

OK, come, only one racist shooting controversy at a time, please.

ugh yes, there is this awful blog run by a Chicago cop that has a comments section rife with racist cops and they are up in arms over that NOLA case, defending the douche

sorry, should have made clear: made some ill-advised and super racist online comments about trayvon martin.

If you can't be racist against a pot-smoking, hoodie-wearing, allegedly window-jimmying, up to no good goon who beats up innocent neighborhood watch folks who are just trying to keep their children safe, who can you be racist against?

Next thing you know you'll be telling me it's OK to stare longingly at white women. Which Trayvon might have been doing! At least, no one has suggested otherwise, and if you give me enough time I'm sure I can find a witness to back me up.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/26/craig-sonner-interview-lawrence-odonnell_n_1381578.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmaing5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D146809

bottom line is racism will keep continuing because daddies tell their kids that racism was something that happened in 1950s-60s but magically ended after Martin Luther King died so they grow up and they still see people decrying racism and they ask their parents why, if racism ended, and the dad says something ironic like "it's cos black ppl like to complain and want us to nanny them" and dude grows up and then subsequently has a kid (unplanned at age 22) and then 7-8 years later teaches his kid the same thing.

^^ a scene that is played out exactly like this in hundreds of households every year, no doubt

well for one it's the main reason I was critical of Affirmative Action when I was in high school. and I only had passively-prejudiced parents.

ohhhh, so that's the bottom line. got it.

excuse dumb question but am I right that Zimmerman still hasn't been arrested?

xpost rmde

kinder - yes not arrested and no indication that it will happen either

it isn't going to happen

unless the feds can build a hate crime case

If all that comes of this is "Stand Your Ground" getting repealed and Zimmerman being hounded absolutely everywhere he goes for the rest of his life, I guess I can accept that. I'll probably have to.

Thanks, got a bit confused with all the shitstorm when I encountered someone on facebook bringing in all that school suspension stuff into it and "it's become a highly one-sided story". smh.

Zimmerman not even arrested is going to embolden a hella large number of haters with guns in states with this stupid Stand Your Ground law. BWH (black with hoodie) is now a capital crime.

I keep thinking about this (amazing) novel: http://www.upne.com/1555533965.html

If all that comes of this is "Stand Your Ground" getting repealed and Zimmerman being hounded absolutely everywhere he goes for the rest of his life, I guess I can accept that. I'll probably have to.

I do not see a Republican Florida legislature repealing "Stand Your Ground" or any of the other largely conservative states doing so either. Some conservatives have said that Zimmerman's behavior as first described was not a proper use of "Stand Your Ground," but that does not mean they oppose the use of "Stand Your Ground" as they interpret it.

Is it bad to hope that this dude's life gets ruined so bad that he just eats his gun?

(I know, I know, it is bad, but god damnit.)

yeah, "refinement" more likely than appeal, if that

xps

appeal repeal

also, action against police & prosecutors seems more likely than murder or even manslaughter charges against zimmerman at this point, but i'm not holding my breath for either

I'd be vaguely surprised if there's any real repercussions for Zimmerman or anyone in law enforcement at this point.

It's splitting hairs, but while Zimmerman has not been arrested, he is most certainly not a free man, and I suspect is in fact is probably in police custody one way or the other.

Which is to say, there will be no real repercussions for the police, but there will be for Zimmerman, legal, extra-legal or otherwise.

Basically, if I were him, I'd start packing heat, just in case, you know, someone tried to punch him for being an asshole.

He'll have to start wearing a hoodie to avoid being recognized in public.

he should also dye his skin a mach darker hue to prevent being recognized.