In a disgusting if not surprising development, George Zimmerman has been found not guilty of killing Trayvon Martin. For coverage, see here.
Discuss, post links, etc below.
EDIT: This is a troll-free thread. If you’re coming here to gloat over the verdict, to use the verdict as an excuse to trash women or feminism, or post racist garbage, don’t. If you want to argue that the verdict was just and/or we live in a post-racial society, go somewhere else. None of us are in the mood for that bullshit.
P.S. I really feel that Zimmer was just out to blast someone that night: irrespective or race or size. He was just in a trigger-happy mood and the kid just happened to be the 1 he caught.
Sure, he totally would have shot a white kid. Riiiiiiight.
And if he had shot a white kid, the end result would have been just the same, of course.
And here’s the Florida gas station shooting story.
So. Much. Rage.
Do you? That’s nice. Go away now.
@ cloudiah
See, this is one of the reasons why the idea of people carrying guns around all the time bothers me. I think it’s really easy for that to lead to a mindset where they feel like, well, they have a gun, therefore if they feel “threatened” they’re entitled to use it. And bigotry leads to people feeling threatened by all kinds of not-actually-threatening things.
@Cassandra- I totally agree with you! And this is why I believe America would only be a safer place if the citizens were disarmed or at least a legislation that made it illegal to carry a firearm outside of your home. Simple; problem solved!
But the piece of crap shit that America has called the constitution is a stymie towards a safer America. Americans are too fucking obsessed with guns.
It fucking…and he’ll get away with it too, and Florida might as well just hang a sign saying open season on young black men. *is ranting about the gas station shooting*
Here, I promised plec and the cories, and they finally delivered — http://instagram.com/p/by4691I9n_/
The cories top out at just over 2″, that’s how small new plec is (at some point, preferably not derailing this thread, I’m gonn a need help naming him? her?…won’t be able to tell for at least a few more months)
To badly paraphrase the folks at Shakesville, these people who carry concealed because they “feel” like they’re in danger are putting the rest of us in ACTUAL danger. FFS.
UGH. My dad made a good comment on fb about how neighborhood watches are just that- people watching and my cousin’s husband had to comment. Apparently if you don’t want your neighborhood to go to shit you have to take matters into your own hands and question the “thug” (yes he used that word). Trayvon could have “changed the outcome” by using his “big boy words” when confronted by Zimmerman instead of “posing as a macho bad ass and resorting to violence”. At least my dad liked the comments I made (and stole from here) and the link to pecuniums site. The moral of this story is: Brain Bleach.
http://sociorocketnewsen.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/b933853c.gif?w=232&h=200
Fuck! Walking home with skittles and tea, some stranger follows you in a car, gets out, and starts treating you like you’re there to rob him. And you’re the one who’s supposed to use his “big boy words”?!?
When, you know, the you here is 17 year old you, and the stranger is 28? 29? (I remember he’s just a hair older than me, but not exactly how much so)
And yeah, white, 28 this Saturday, don’t carry but have access to plenty of gun, and you know what? Brining one to go ask some kid walking down the street why he’s there? The moment he left his house Zimmerman was in the wrong. He’s the one who needed to use his “big boy words” instead of assuming black kid, recent burgelries, SUSPECT!! MIGHT BE DANGEROUS!! I’M GONNA GO STOP HIM!!
Seriously, there is no world in which I can manage to get inside Zimmerman’s head…the scared teenage Martin? Sorta, but as I said, I’m white…but I get the gendered shit, so different fears but similar enough perhaps? In any case, he had every reason to be scared, and Zimmerman had none besides his prejudices.
And I guess “posing as a macho bad ass” is a capital offense now? That’s certainly bad news for Facebook users.
I actually have a concealed carry permit. I got it because I used to carry a lot in wilderness areas for various reasons (although I don’t really anymore as I found it to be just extra weight; now I only carry if I’m way out in the back country on horseback, as I want the option of humane euthanasia if my horse suffers a catastrophic injury). I also love to shoot and own a variety of guns.
And even I am scared of like 80% of the people I’ve met who have concealed carry permits. The permits are way too easy to get and many of the people who have them are paranoid and way overestimate the likelihood that they’ll be attacked. And yeah, rather than actually assessing threat in the situation, they’re informed by their prejudices. They also often aren’t that great at shooting or gun safety.
Gun culture in the US is really scary to me, even as a gun owner, and cases like this are exactly why. If you feel the need to carry a gun with you all the time because of the minute chance of something violent happening, then you’re paranoid and a threat to those around you as far as I’m concerned.
I should have said that concealed carry permits are way too easy to get *in many states.* The actual regulations vary a lot and they can be nearly impossible to get in some places. In my state, all you have to do is take a short, simple course that doesn’t even really test your proficiency all that well, and then undergo a criminal background check. That’s it.
@Argenti and Katz
THANK YOU. Beagle kisses and human internet hugs for you.
I’m going to stop arguing with him cause I don’t think he’ll stop and it makes my brain go ouch.
@AK
Yeah, this guy has a permit to carry concealed as well. I am glad I don’t live in the same state as him.
@cloudiah:
(from the article)
Oh for fuck’s sake. “There are no comparisons to the Trayvon Martin case, my client is actually much less guilty than Zimmerman was.” Shooting up a car full of teenagers is just fine as long as you feel bad about it afterwards.
Zimmerman’s trial was really simple for me. Zimmerman knew he had a weapon and pursued Trayvon, putting himself into a situation where he knew there could be a confrontation. You can’t claim self-defence in a situation you put yourself in. People argue that Trayvon initiated because following is not a crime, but come on. It’s late at night, and some stranger is following you around in a truck in a town known to have a neighborhood watch. You’re black. In that case it’s perfectly reasonable to interpret following as something dangerous.
Are black people stalked by some random dude late at night just supposed to give up and do whatever the guy wants? Is that what it takes to not make it legal to shoot you? It’s unreasonable to say you should lead the guy back to your house and ignore him.
This is really, really fucked up. Especially since I thought it was the clearest thing in the world.
This is making me cry and cry and cry.
http://wearenottrayvonmartin.tumblr.com/
And my father is ranting about how Obama is going to violate double jeopardy to retry Zimmerman because obviously the jury was racially biased.
And everyone protesting him getting his gun back are idiots, wtf is “going to kill another man of color” (now there’s a phrase I never thought I’d hear him say!)
Now he’s claiming race wasn’t a factor.
Goddamned you coffee hurry up! TIMER! Yes!
As I’ve already stated, Zimmer was out to shoot someone that night, irrespective of race or size. It was just 1 of those nights.
[video deleted by DF]
@Argenti, I’ve heard a lot of complaining about the double jeopardy thing too and I just have to shake my head since they so obviously do not understand what double jeopardy is.
Fuck off, Kenny, and take your PUA bullshit with you.
Who fucking thinks it is appropriate to post a video about “Game” on an open thread about Trayvon Martin’s murder? A douchey asshat, that’s who. I’ve emailed David.
AK — I just checked, and yep, looks like pressing federal charges is totally legal. And I kinda hope he does it (of course, this is a catch-22, regardless what Obama does here, the racists will have a field day…MoC PoTUS “abusing” power!!11!!)
Fuck it, Obama will catch shit for it, but at the end of the day, he’ll still be a living MoC, which is more than one can say for Martin. And I doubt federal self-defense laws look so kindly on stalking, starting a fight, and then shooting to kill (and yes, the to kill part is important, Marissa Alexander did not shoot to kill, Zimmerman did)
socialkenny, don’t post PUA shit in this thread; I deleted your video.
It’s not Double Jeopardy: they are different offenses.
It’s pretty much a no-win no matter how it’s sliced. The only good outcome would have been a conviction the first time.
The Dunn case? He’s likely to go down. He says there was a shotgun: there wasn’t. He left the scene, checked into a hotel, ordered pizza, went home, told lies.