WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Bobby Rush has donned a hoodie during a speech on the House floor deploring the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, receiving a reprimand for violating rules on wearing hats in the House chamber.
The Illinois Democrat spoke out against racial profiling and, as he removed his suit coat and pulled the hood on the sweatshirt he was wearing underneath over his head, said that "just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum."
Rush was interrupted by the presiding officer, Mississippi Republican Gregg Harper, who reminded him that the wearing of hats was not allowed and "members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor."
On Tuesday the 17-year-old Martin's parents spoke on Capitol Hill at a Democratic-sponsored panel on racial profiling.
Quote: The fresh claims are likely to be seized upon by supporters of George Zimmerman who say
It is a shame that with all of the news (real and unreal) floating around that ANYBODY has chosen a side yet.
Quote: A fringe group, the New Black Panther Party, has offered a $10,000 reward for his 'capture.'
If true, they should be arrested.
Quote: Mr Crump said: ‘If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is completely irrelevant. What does it have to do with killing their son?’
Some people made this whole thing about an innocent boy being gunned down by a convicted criminal from the beginning.. Martin's character is every bit as relevant as Zimmermans if they want to try this in the court of public opinion.
Quote: Rev Al Sharpton gave city leaders a petition with 2 million signatures of people calling for Zimmerman to be locked up.
Based on what? I'm sure if they had enough to arrest him, he would have been arrested by now. I'm sure that even in little old Sanford Florida, they realize the magnitude of what they are facing and really do not want to rush into anything just to appease public opinion on either side.. I feel for them because no matter how this plays out, they can't win.
Quote: The boy's mother and father joined the rally, where they called for justice.
Do they really want justice? Do the Zimmerman supporters really want justice? Or will justice only be served if their side wins?
Quote: Trayvon, 6-foot-3 and 140 pounds, then reportedly climbed on top of the 250-pound Zimmerman and bashed his head into the sidewalk several times
Seems like that would be pretty easy to prove or disprove.
Quote: 'If that was a racial epithet that preceded the attack on Trayvon Martin, we definitely have a hate crime,' said Drexel University law professor Donald Tibbs.
I still hate that law.
Quote: In an interview which aired on Dateline NBC Sunday night, Mary Cutcher said that she and her roommate ran out after hearing the shot.
Who hears a gun shot and then runs outside toward it unless you are an officer or armed to protect somebody? Who does that?
I know that there is nothing I can do to stop the media circus that this has/will become... I just hope calmer heads prevail and we let the law do it's job and in the end, I just hope they get it right.
Spike Lee wasn't the first to retweet the erroneous address on Twitter blindly accepted by many as that of George Zimmerman, the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last month. But the filmmaker's message -- sent last week to his 240,000 Twitter followers -- was the most viral.
Elaine McClain, 70, the owner of the misidentified house in Sanford, Florida, and her husband David McClain, 72, tell news outlets they're now "living in fear." The address spread on Twitter, accompanied by threats of violence, and the couple are now staying at a hotel "to avoid the spotlight and possible danger," reports the Orlando Sentinel.
Oh, and Mrs. McClain? She reportedly has a heart condition. Awesome.
So how did this happen? As The Smoking Gun breaks it down, Marcus Davonne Higgins, the 33-year-old Los Angeles man behind the bad address, confused McClain's son, George W. Zimmerman, who once lived at the address, with George Michael Zimmerman, the man who killed Martin. Higgins then blasted the address to the Twitter accounts of Will Smith, 50 Cent, LeBron James, as well as to Lee. But Lee is the only one who retweeted it.
The great big "WRONG!" here isn't the bad address, or whether Lee should research the info before he retweets. And as regrettable as it is, Lee can't be held accountable for giving conservative pundit Michelle Malkin more fuel for Trayvon Martin race baiting on her Twitter "news" site Twitchy. It's this: Celebrities have no business using their position of power and popularity on Twitter to incite a mob.
We decry it when members of 4chan's /b/board broadcast the phone number, address and other identifying info about young girls suddenly popular on the Internet. Here in the West, we're horrified by stories of China's Internet mob, "mobilized to root out, expose and shame people they perceive to be exhibiting corrupt or immoral behavior," sometimes resulting in real-world violence. It's equally not OK for U.S. celebrities to do the same.
We saw this to a lesser degree last week when Alec Baldwin mustered a Twitter army against someone he claimed was harassing his girlfriend on the Internet. When a celebrity directs his fanatic legion against a person outside a position of power, that's straight-up bullying.
Posting on Twitter, Baldwin gave out the handle of the alleged harasser, @scarfacemadam, whom he said "has entered the twitter-verse ONLY to harass my girlfriend" in a way "that is borderline threatening." He asked users to "go to her address and read just a few of her posts, and give her your notice of her behavior."
While many of the Twitter attacks against @scarfacemadam didn't compare to the jillions of ugly death threats tweeted by Justin Bieber fans on any given day, they weren't pretty. As we noted then, if the troll harassing his GF really is as bad as he claimed, then it's way to fuel a psycho stalker, Alec Baldwin! Conversely, if the troll was just your run-of-the-mill Internet jerk (with or without diagnosable mental issues), then Baldwin just sent thousands of people in that troll's direction.
As it turned out, the kerfuffle faded fast soon after the @scarfacemadam account went dormant. It could've been worse. It wasn't.
In Lee's case however, helping chum Twitter could've resulted in violence -- against an innocent elderly couple or a man yet to face the justice system -– as well as a jail sentence for any Lee fans who took his retweet to heart.
Not sure if he has done it yet or not, but Lee needs to be held accountable in some fashion; apologize and call off the dogs on Twitter, FaceBook, and through TV media. If I were these folks, I would get a lawyer.
Quote: Not sure if he has done it yet or not, but Lee needs to be held accountable in some fashion; apologize and call off the dogs on Twitter, FaceBook, and through TV media. If I were these folks, I would get a lawyer.
This is a sad situation, but not over Trayvon, it's bigger than that.
I side with Zimmerman.
I don't agree with Zim following him around, but I don't agree for a moment this 6'3" "kid" was in fear for his life.
The "kid" was a thug punk, so I guess Mr. President would be raising a thug. He has all kinds of crap in his background. I mean, just because it didn't drop in your face doesn't mean it isn't there.
R.I.P. Treyvon
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Quote: I don't agree with Zim following him around, but I don't agree for a moment this 6'3" "kid" was in fear for his life.
He was being followed around by an older adult male with a loaded gun. I'd be in fear of my life if I saw his gun.
Quote: The "kid" was a thug punk, so I guess Mr. President would be raising a thug. He has all kinds of crap in his background. I mean, just because it didn't drop in your face doesn't mean it isn't there.
Are you saying he deserved to be shot because of bad decisions he may have made in his past?
I gotta tell you honestly ........ I had a gun stuck in my face once mane years ago, and it changed my perspective on some things .......
If I saw someone following me around in a vehicle ...... not identified in any way ....... just driving slow ..... watching me ....... then the guy gets out of his car and starts following me on foot ...... I'm gonna be highly concerned.
Moreover, in today's world, where kids are abducted, and just plain killed for no good reason by insane people ....... I would think that a kid in a situation like this would have every reason to be worried.
We have neighborhood watches in this area, and most of them have identifying markings on the vehicles, like magnetic signs, or they have a flashing yellow light on top ...... stuff like that. I think that's a great idea. Hell, if there was a neighborhood watch in the area that I didn;t know about, and I saw a vehicle driving through my neighborhood, driving really slowly ...... acting suspiciously ........ I would probably call the police myself.
As far as the kid being a thug punk ..... maybe ... maybe not. Regardless, that doesn't mean that he should have been shot dead for walking home from the store. e
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
I suggest you (and everyone else for that matter) listen to the 911 calls. I think they have skewed what happened one all sides of this story. All I know is a young man is dead and a bunch of people are running around trying to use this tragedy for personal gain.
I posted a link to the calls as well as the official statement from the City of Samford.
This is a sad situation, but not over Trayvon, it's bigger than that.
I side with Zimmerman.
I don't agree with Zim following him around, but I don't agree for a moment this 6'3" "kid" was in fear for his life.
The "kid" was a thug punk, so I guess Mr. President would be raising a thug. He has all kinds of crap in his background. I mean, just because it didn't drop in your face doesn't mean it isn't there.
R.I.P. Treyvon
What do we know about Zimmerman? I had heard (have not confirmed it) that he had made something like 39 911 calls. There is some evidence that Treyvon did attack him while he was walking away but not only was Zimmerman following him at one point I think I was able to hear a racial slur while he was talking on the phone with 911. I do not know what transpired during the time Zimmerman seemed to head back to his truck to the time the fight began.
I have some opinions after listening to the 911 calls and the official statement. I do not feel comfortable sharing them at this time.
I've been trying to think (more generally) about what "stand your ground" might be, and I've come up with this as my litmus test:
"If the other party could also have legitimately claimed a "stand your ground" defense, then it is not a legitimate "stand your ground" defense"
That is - in any disagreement, "stand your ground" should never apply to both parties -- it might very well apply to neither party (e.g. a drunken bar fight), but there should never be a situation where both sides did nothing to provoke a fight, but then felt "legitimately threatened".
I don't know all the details of this case, of course - but from the little I have heard, Martin had at least as much claim to a stand your ground defense as Zimmerman had - thus rendering zimmerman's claim illegitimate.
As for those who said "it's ok, because Martin punched him first" -- by the same standard as above, Zimmerman had already been following Martin -- if Martin had turned around and shot him at that point ("some guy was creepily following me, and then got out of his car and ran after me") - there would already be a very strong "stand your ground" argument for Martin, regardless of what transpired next.
It's ridiculous to think that "stand your ground" could be a defense when you shoot somebody, but not if you punch them in the face.
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:33-34
J/C, This is for all you Zimmerman sympathizers ... u know.. the ones that believe poor old George was taken out of his car, beaten by a 17 year old kid and then HAD to shoot the kid.. it was self defense!!..LMAO!.. Well look at the tape of old george: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
OMG... George looks so clean to have been in a fight, broken nose, grass stains..etc.. Walking fine and ready to come up with a good story! And then the crack police and State's attorney down there in Florida, or what one might call the "Stooges": http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-...ory?id=16011674
WOW... you mean they had cops that did not believe good old George but the state Attorney waived them off!.. Tisk, Tisk... maybe that cop saw beyond the hoodie, race and just looked at the facts or missing facts....Nah! Lets just blame Trayvon, you know he was suspended from school!!... Like that is relevant to the case! A minor suspended from school.. that is some important info!.. Kinda like a call to police..Hummm
So...what if the investigation shows that Treyvon was on top of Zimmerman... after punching Zimmerman in the face and slamming his head on the sidewalk...and Zimmerman pulled out his gun and shot Treyvon at very, very close range while on his back on the ground?
But the investigation also shows that Zimmerman was waiving his gun at Treyvon prior to Treyvon jumping on Zimmerman and trying to disarm Zimmerman?
Who was standing their ground?
In the end, my concern is that our President himself chimed in on the case...when scarce facts were available...and made the issue racially charged by saying that his main message is to Treyvon's parents...and that if he (Obama) had a son, he'd look like Treyvon. That's Obama's MAIN message?
What did Obama mean by that?
Why did the media call Zimmerman a "white-hispanic"? That's a new one.
Why did the media show pictures of Treyvon as a 12 year old when he was 17 when he was shot?
No matter the verdict, this is a bad situation and a tragedy in that someone is now dead...someone who should not be dead no matter the situation...and a trigger man's life is over...regardless of whether he is guilty or innocent.
I'd prefer that everyone cool their jets until the investigation is complete. Unfortunately...it's too late for that.
To my mind. this sounds awfully familiar to the Duke LaCrosse (alleged) rape case. By that I mean that too many people jumped to conclusions too early...and the facts in the (alleged) rape case never got the attention - after the facts came out - that the initial hype and outrage received.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Bobby Rush has donned a hoodie during a speech on the House floor deploring the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, receiving a reprimand for violating rules on wearing hats in the House chamber.
The Illinois Democrat spoke out against racial profiling and, as he removed his suit coat and pulled the hood on the sweatshirt he was wearing underneath over his head, said that "just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum."
Rush was interrupted by the presiding officer, Mississippi Republican Gregg Harper, who reminded him that the wearing of hats was not allowed and "members need to remove their hoods or leave the floor."
On Tuesday the 17-year-old Martin's parents spoke on Capitol Hill at a Democratic-sponsored panel on racial profiling.
Welcome to Barnum and Bailey's Congressional Circus....where the clowns have no shame. First we have a college student speaking as an expert on mandatory taxpayer funded birth control, now we have the Martin parents speaking on racial profiling along with a hoodie wearing congressman. What a frickin' embarassment these liberals are. (Cue for the "republicans do it too so it's OK" crowd.)
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
I wonder if guys like Wade and LeBron would of worn hoodies for a photoshoot if it had been a Hispanic teenager, or I don't know, a White kid?
The only thing that bothers me is that everyone that cries for JUSTICE! just assumes that justice means Zimmerman being locked away for the rest of his life, or possibly put to death...
Regardless of what actually happened, Not that anyone will ever know...
EDIT: Actually I was wrong, The mother trademarking her sons name REALLY bothers me...
Am I the only one that pronounces hyperbole "Hyper-bowl" instead of "hy-per-bo-le"?
I'd prefer that everyone cool their jets until the investigation is complete. Unfortunately...it's too late for that.
To my mind. this sounds awfully familiar to the Duke LaCrosse (alleged) rape case. By that I mean that too many people jumped to conclusions too early...and the facts in the (alleged) rape case never got the attention - after the facts came out - that the initial hype and outrage received.
I agree, now that I have seen more people get involved in this case, I feel a lot better about it.
It's not going to simply be swept under the rug by the police, like the impression I was given a couple weeks ago (and what pissed me off so much about it).
But remembering the Duke Lax case, I want to see what the evidence is and hear what a prosecutor says happened and a defender say happened. Things are being done and now we have to be patient and find out what the story is. Unfortunately, Martin is dead, so we don't get to hear his side of the story.
I remember with the Duke lacrosse case, a guy from my town was involved (not one of the main three guys though), he was just a player at the house. Well he wrote a letter to the local paper that said, relax, we aren't allowed to say anything, just give us our time and you'll see that people have things totally mixed up. Very smart kid and star player for the crosstown rival team (lacrosse is very big in CT). I didn't know the guy personally, but my ex-gf who I was dating at the time did (same class), she didn't speak that highly of him but said she didn't think he'd be part of something like that. So, I read the article and decided to see where things ended up. And the DA got fired and the kids were found totally innocent. And the accuser ended up killing someone a few years later......... lol
One thing I will say is remembering when I was in high school, there were three situations where I can remember being followed, two were false alarms and another was a store owner directing the cops to my house (lol). But I was always furious and ready to fight. And never was I expecting to get shot. I wouldn't be surprised if Martin had the same emotions
Quote: So...what if the investigation shows that Treyvon was on top of Zimmerman... after punching Zimmerman in the face and slamming his head on the sidewalk...and Zimmerman pulled out his gun and shot Treyvon at very, very close range while on his back on the ground?
But the investigation also shows that Zimmerman was waiving his gun at Treyvon prior to Treyvon jumping on Zimmerman and trying to disarm Zimmerman?
Who was standing their ground?
Exactly -- my argument is that nobody should be able to use "stand your ground" in that situation. (situation where Zimmerman flashed a gun, Martin punched Zimmerman, and then Zimmerman fired).
Now maybe that is rough on somebody who isn't able to respond when they started a fight, and then it got out of control --- but the alternative is this:
I can (legally) kill anybody I want. I just go and continually harass them (hell, even throw the first punch) and then as soon as they retaliate, I "feel scared for my life" and shoot them. If you can't charged Zimmerman (in the scenario above), then I'll get off every time. There's only one person alive who was there - and I don't even have to lie about what happened "they punched me, i have a bloody lip".
Maybe they can charge you with assault for throwing the first punch - but they certainly couldn't charge you with murder anymore - as long as the other guy retaliated at any point.
EDIT: Note that this doesn't mean you can never defend yourself if you've done anything wrong leading up to the event. It just means that if you initiated the confrontation in the first place - then you need to make a reasonable effort to withdrawl from the fight before using lethal force. So, in this case, maybe if Martin was really "holding down and punching zimmerman" then he would be ok to use force still -- nothing seems to point towards that though in this case, and additionally Zimmerman is about twice Martin's size, and had self-defense training.
Last edited by Lyuokdea; 03/29/1212:56 AM.
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:33-34
Quote: Zimmerman is about twice Martin's size, and had self-defense training.
This can sometimes be a factor but not always. The big guy doesn't always win, there's some ridiculously tough little guys out there, and Martin is a tall guy. Plus, a sucker punch can make that kind of thing null and void (if that was the case)
That being said, looking at the videos of Zimmerman at the police station from CNN, I see no signs of injuries. There's just so many conflicting stories in this case. I am very eager to see what is said in court.
Quote: This can sometimes be a factor but not always. The big guy doesn't always win, there's some ridiculously tough little guys out there, and Martin is a tall guy. Plus, a sucker punch can make that kind of thing null and void (if that was the case)
Yeah - I didn't mean to say it was impossible - it just seems unlikely in this situation (to me anyway) that Zimmerman was getting the crap beaten out of him. As you said, most images seem to show him with barely a scratch -- not that i'm a doctor.
The hearing will be intersting - as will the FBI closing up their investigation.
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:33-34
the only thing I can say is have you (meaning anyone) ever been on the ground with no one is sight getting the crap beat out of you? I have its scary as heck. Was walking out of as bar got jumped and there was no one except me I was on the ground and lost my front teeth over that, was lucky the guy got up thought I was knocked out cold. Had a freind was jumped downtown put in a hospital for a week Put your self in this shoes and when your on the ground being beat down with no help in sight ask yourself "What would I do?"
If you need 3 years to be a winner you got here 2 years to early. Get it done Browns.
I've also been attacked - though not near that violently...
I suppose, I'd put a high standard on people who are licensed to carry a gun in public - just like I would if they were a police officer carrying a weapon.
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:33-34
Like I said, not jumping to conclusions -- conclusions are the jury's job. I'm just trying to create a consistent framework for how laws like this could work.
Last edited by Lyuokdea; 03/29/1201:32 AM.
"When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 19:33-34
Quote: Put your self in this shoes and when your on the ground being beat down with no help in sight ask yourself "What would I do?"
Oh, I agree.
But from that video I saw on CNN, if it was taken just a little while after this incident, I don't see any signs of the scuffle at all.
If the video is taken awhile from the incident, okay. But from what I saw, I see no signs of a broken nose, of grass stains, any damage to the back of the head. I've seen guys who've gotten beaten up, Zimmerman doesn't look like he got beat up. He's wearing a red jacket or whatever, which I imagine was what he wore the night of the incident. Where's the grass stains?
Quote: J/C, This is for all you Zimmerman sympathizers ... u know.. the ones that believe poor old George was taken out of his car, beaten by a 17 year old kid and then HAD to shoot the kid.. it was self defense!!..LMAO!.. Well look at the tape of old george: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
OMG... George looks so clean to have been in a fight, broken nose, grass stains..etc.. Walking fine and ready to come up with a good story! And then the crack police and State's attorney down there in Florida, or what one might call the "Stooges": http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-...ory?id=16011674
WOW... you mean they had cops that did not believe good old George but the state Attorney waived them off!.. Tisk, Tisk... maybe that cop saw beyond the hoodie, race and just looked at the facts or missing facts....Nah! Lets just blame Trayvon, you know he was suspended from school!!... Like that is relevant to the case! A minor suspended from school.. that is some important info!.. Kinda like a call to police..Hummm
I'm not sure who you are talking about. Maybe a general comment? I do not think that the video of him is very conclusive due to the distance from the camera. Hopefully pictures were taken with conclusive evidence or lack there of.
From what I have been able to find out there is not enough info to make a strong opinion of what happened. On the 911 call he is told that he doesn't need to follow the kid. To me it sounds like he is jogging after him right after he was told that. The wind sounds stop and he seems to catch his breath.Maybe he stopped? He does speak of meeting the cops at his truck which is back the way he came. Zimmerman comments about losing visual contact. He also mentions that Martin did turn and come towards him.
What I don't know is if Zimmerman turned back around and confronted him or if Martin came up and hit him from behind. If he went back to following Martin I believe Martin had every right to protect himself if he felt he was in danger. After all he was being stalked. We also know that at least one point during the altercation Martin did have the upper hand. I have to wonder how and when Zimmerman was able to pull the gun.
I do not think that Zimmerman should have ever been allowed to have a gun license. He had a couple of issues with anger which resulted in an arrest and another where his fiance and him both files restraining orders.
The thing that is the most bothersome is all the calls for him to be arrested based on a lack of knowledge of the case. I still don't know if he is white or Hispanic. This case is way too volatile and the community leaders (as well as those who have come in and stirred things up) to try and restore some sanity. We have a bounty out on the guys head for crying out loud.
Like I said, not jumping to conclusions -- conclusions are the jury's job. I'm just trying to create a consistent framework for how laws like this could work.
Thanks for the link. I'm still not sure how old the pics are of him in his football uniform. This might never even go to trial. It all hinges on what the Justice Dept. finds. I did jump to a conclusion right away when I saw the picture that is still being used. You know, the one where he is 12.
It's a tough world when you cannot say exactly what you feel, but it's also a world where we consider others before we speak. That's responsible free speech.
However...
Wanna know how I feel? Well, I saw this today when it first aired. The message here speaks for itself... "I care about ALL the children..."
Owned.
***Gordon, I really didn't think you could be this stOOpid, but you exceeded my expectations. Wussy. Manziel, see Josh Gordon. Dumbass.***
I agree....the vid DognDC posted...that doesn't show crap, as in you can't use that to say the guy didn't look beat up enough
And let's all quit talking stupid stuff about how nobody can be charged with murder because of stand your ground laws.
Here is what I know.
I don't know what happened out there for sure, but I'll share my thoughts in a moment.
I know a "kid" is dead.
I know the President should have never said a word on this case...he is using the dead kid for his gain.
Here is the only law that needs to come about. Anybody acting as a security agent needs to be identified as such, as in a uniform of some sort.
Here is how I see it happening:
Zimmerman started to follow on foot....dumb...I agree with that.
The "kid" didn't like that, so he confronted Zimmerman....not the actions of one who is fearful....surely Martin could run faster than the chubby Zimmerman and surely not that far away from the house where everything could be explained.
Zimmerman says he is security for the hood.
Martin says BS, and attacks. As it turns out he attacks a guy with a weapon.
Martin dead.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
Quote: I don't agree with Zim following him around, but I don't agree for a moment this 6'3" "kid" was in fear for his life.
He was being followed around by an older adult male with a loaded gun. I'd be in fear of my life if I saw his gun.
I doubt Trayvon ever saw the gun until the moment it was being used, it's not like it was exposed on his hip like a cop. He had a "Concealed Weapons Permit" which means just that, it is concealed, and doesn't/shouldn't come out exposed unless he was planning on using it.
Note: This is not a comment declaring either Zimmerman or Martin guilty, just correcting what appeared to me a misconception.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
Pdog and others, I know that the video is not a clear, close up of Old George but it DOES NOT SHOW someone who had been in a fight!.. THere is no blood on his shirt from his so- called "broken nose". Grass stains, yea right! He hoped out that car like anyone else ... other than not being arrested. But apparently, a few cops did not believe his grand story about fearing for his life, after he confronts the kids, follows him and from that point, there is no info on what happened other than what Zimmerman says!
Your right about what Zimmerman says about the accounts of the situation. But then again, Zimmerman has to come up with a story that shows self defense! You said, we know at some point, Martin had the upper hand, how do we know this? Taking everything out that the shooter stated, there are two women WITNESSES that state they saw Zimmerman over the boys body after the gunshots!
Zimmerman = scared punk Neighborhood watch captain with a gun that has to shoot a kid with skittles and Ice tea! .. Yup that is the so called great work that he did, thinking that he was following someone stealing and ends up killing a kid going home!!.. Off to jail you go!
Its hard to tell for sure one way or the other, but it does look like there is a cut or bruise or something on the back near the top of his head...again hard to tell though.
Did they take him into custody immediately when they arrived? I was under the impression that they didn't. He may have had the chance to go home, get cleaned up or change. I don't know, just asking/speculating.
Your right about what Zimmerman says about the accounts of the situation. But then again, Zimmerman has to come up with a story that shows self defense! You said, we know at some point, Martin had the upper hand, how do we know this?
From the early reports there was a 911 collaer that reported this as the struggle began outside their window.
Quote:
"The guy on the bottom who had a red sweater on was yelling to me: 'help, help…and I told him to stop and I was calling 911," he said.
Trayvon Martin was in a hoodie; Zimmerman was in red. LINK
What we still don't know is who started the physical confrontation.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
What an embarrassment is that woman? Who votes for someone like that?
There is more evidence of racism in that clip - and in Obama's comment about Treyvon being black - than I have seen evidence of a race issue in the shooting incident.
It's disgusting to have elected officials behave like this...same for the hoodie-wearing congressman.
How about you folks get the facts before rushing to PUBLICALLY-DECLARED judgement?
Quote: J/C, This is for all you Zimmerman sympathizers ... u know.. the ones that believe poor old George was taken out of his car, beaten by a 17 year old kid and then HAD to shoot the kid.. it was self defense!!..LMAO!.. Well look at the tape of old george: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/28/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
OMG... George looks so clean to have been in a fight, broken nose, grass stains..etc.. Walking fine and ready to come up with a good story! And then the crack police and State's attorney down there in Florida, or what one might call the "Stooges": http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-...ory?id=16011674
WOW... you mean they had cops that did not believe good old George but the state Attorney waived them off!.. Tisk, Tisk... maybe that cop saw beyond the hoodie, race and just looked at the facts or missing facts....Nah! Lets just blame Trayvon, you know he was suspended from school!!... Like that is relevant to the case! A minor suspended from school.. that is some important info!.. Kinda like a call to police..Hummm
For every Trayvon Martin incident, 9 black people are killed by other black people... (93.7% of blacks killed are killed by other blacks as of 2007 which is the most recent data I could find) it's a shame nobody in congress wears a hoodie over that... it's a shame Rev. Al never shows up over that.
So even if we could raise awareness, rid our society of white on black racism, clean up all that kind of hatred (which we should)... for every black person that saves, 9 other black people are still going to die... and nobody is going to stand in congress in a hoodie over it.
If Zimmerman is wrong, let him pay... If Zimmerman is right, let him go... I don't really care one way or the other, I just want the legal system to get it right.. unfortunately large portions of society have already adjudicated this one in their own mind and they don't want "justice".. they want a predetermined outcome.. this is going to get worse before it gets better.
During the 911 call it is pretty clear to me that he uses a racial slur in regards to blacks getting away with things. Certainly not enough to convict him but it is another piece of the puzzle that gives me pause.
I know it isn't very concrete, either, but his appearance there just makes it smell fishy. If you were in fear for your life to the point of shooting someone, all the while claiming you had your head being banged to the concrete, you'd think first aid isn't going to take away bruises. cuts, and skin irritation from the confrontation (which he instigated) within that short of a window. An enhanced look would be pretty damn interesting, but there's smoke. Also, looking at Zimmerman, he doesn't appear like the fat, impotent, vigilante cowboy wanna-be from other photos I'd seen. Guy looks more built and has a 100 lbs. and 10 years on Treyvon; I'm a little skeptical he gets his ass completely handed to him by a skinny 150 lbs. dope-smokin' highschooler.
I just can't feel too sorry for Zimmerman for the profiling and excess legwork he put in to make this an issue in the first place. It's an unnecessary death that he at least shares responsibility in, and for that I just hope he doesn't walk completely.
Even just getting a charge from this FL state statute, something...
Quote: 782.11 Unnecessary killing to prevent unlawful act.—Whoever shall unnecessarily kill another, either while resisting an attempt by such other person to commit any felony, or to do any other unlawful act, or after such attempt shall have failed, shall be deemed guilty of manslaughter, a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084
Politicians are puppets, y'all. Let's get Geppetto!
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