George Zimmerman

[LACE]

its the right call imo, not enough for a conviction. doesnt mean the dude isnt a scumbag tho

True, not enough for second degree murder, but manslaughter... I think they could have at least given him manslaughter.

yeah i thought they were too aggressive in going for second degree. To me there were too many unknowns to lock the guy up for 30 years or whatever it would have been on manslaughter, but i thought it was gonna be 50/50.

inb4 Ehbs is a racist

I already called you a racist you can't say inb4

[lovelydivot]

white tara - green tara - come on - doesn't matter....please

[Terpit]

[Muncey]

[lovelydivot]

What is this -Oprah on a social engineering conspiracy...


still mad - still need that drink....

[deadly_habit]

While I was pissed about the Zimmerman case verdict, I find it incredibly fucked up that the Justice Dept is intervening now that the verdict has been handed out.
Then again with all the rights violations the Federal Gov't has done under these last 2 administrations, going for a double jeopardy violation doesn't really come as a surprise anymore.

[wub]

Ye gods

Also,biggups to the genius who managed to use the wrong form of 'buy' in his racial slur

[magma]

Whether GZ was legally justified in the level of force he used is a sideshow - the important conversation here seems to be at which point we're reasonably allowed to allow fear of a stranger to divert our course towards violent confrontation.

The result yesterday absolves George Zimmerman of two pretty notable things:

1. Engaging an innocent stranger on the street because of their gender, age, attire and skin colour without even a badge to show for it. If Trayvon had satisfied even one of the following conditions (Female, White, Adult, Not-Wearing-A-Hoody) then it's extremely unlikely that GZ would've felt any need to leave his car. GZ was even advised by the police not to engage Martin. The verdict demonstrates that America still thinks it's ok to be more scared of a young, black male than anything else you might come across on the street... it's even ok to ignore the advice of police because you might be so afraid of what might happen if you just let him go about his day.

2. Using deadly force as part of Neighbourhood Watch 'duty'. Had GZ not been walking around with a handgun there seems to be little chance this would've been anything more than a scuffle. Perhaps without the confidence of being armed GZ would've just let Trayvon carry on home without stalking and confronting him. Perhaps having the "Well, if all else fails I've got my gun" mentality alive in society isn't such a great idea after all? When an armed policeman shot and killed a guy who was faaaaaaaar dodgier than a kid carrying Skittles and Iced Tea in London the city burned for 3 nights - accepting that a Neighbourhood Watch man without even police academy training behind him can wander the streets with a hand-cannon and it not be his fault that someone gets shot is, well, it's just entirely alien. Zimmerman and a society that encourages neighbourhood vigilantism are to blame for this child's death.

America has some soul searching to do after this. I don't blame the justice system; it appears to have done its job... the problems are outdated and unfair laws stemming from a time when, because of their disenfranchisement from American society at large, young black men actually were (at least arguably) disproportionately intimidating. American society and its laws must keep pace with the progress Americans make every day... at a time when the President of the USA can say "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon", it is absolutely ridiculous that such a boy can be reasonably profiled, engaged and, as a result, killed for no crime other than walking to the shop to buy some sweets. It's a sad situation for both sides, of course - I don't think GZ was any sort of cross-burner, but to let him off is to say "yes, he should have been that afraid. We should stop and ask young black men why they've got the nerve to walk down the street and shelter from the rain. Accidents will happen around black kids because they're scary. Obama was an anomaly. You still ain't SHIT."

For the record, I would've put him down for Manslaughter. I don't think he meant to kill him, but I don't think he needed to even speak to him in the first place. The entire situation was down to a bad call by Zimmerman that escalated to a death because the weapon he had allowed it to escalate further than fists.

[Vodun]

I agree wit you 100%^^^

[wub]

it is absolutely ridiculous that such a boy can be reasonably profiled, engaged and, as a result, killed for no crime other than walking to the shop to buy some sweets. It's a sad situation for both sides, of course - I don't think GZ was any sort of cross-burner, but to let him off is to say "yes, he should have been that afraid. We should stop and ask young black men why they've got the nerve to walk down the street and shelter from the rain. Accidents will happen around black kids because they're scary. Obama was an anomaly. You still ain't SHIT."

[garethom]

***RACIST NONSENSE MEGAPOST***

Ye gods

Also,biggups to the genius who managed to use the wrong form of 'buy' in his racial slur

Let's be fair though, there's been no shortage of stupid, racial remarks from both "sides" of this issue.

For the record, I would've put him down for Manslaughter. I don't think he meant to kill him, but I don't think he needed to even speak to him in the first place. The entire situation was down to a bad call by Zimmerman that escalated to a death because the weapon he had allowed it to escalate further than fists.

About it really.

[Crimsonghost]

Personally, I don't give a shit about this case. Nor do I know enough to make a accurate judgement (like 99% of people out there).

I am interested on hearing thoughts on the riots in oakland though. Personally, I think it's annoying bullshit. I had to drive through the aftermath this morning (as I do every morning), an it wasn't that bad, but still fucking stupid. Why harm local business over something that has no effect on you're life personally?

It really aggravates me because it feeds into the whole "this dumb ****** deserved to die" mentality of ignorance that Wub posted a few posts back. People see blacks doing dumb shit like this and think its ok to say that black deserve to die. That's not right at all. That also doesn't mean what's going on here is right ether. Thankfully the rest of the country managed to show there discontent for the verdict in a much more civilized and controlled manner.

[wub]

"You all saw him. He had a gun."

[titchbit]

It all comes down to money for defense contractors. With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the defense contractors are going out of business, so they lobbied the Republicans to militarize the border. The immigration bill that the House will be considering soon will, if passed, create the most militarized border in history - more than the DMZ in North Korea (no, not mala and coki ), more than the Berlin Wall, and more than the Great Wall of China. Funniest part is that immigration with Mexico is at net zero. We're going crazy over a problem we don't even have. Shows just how narcissistic this country is, navel gazing like that.

And the immigration bill even specifies which companies the government will have to buy equipment from, and even specifies which specific equipment. It's lobbied as fuck. It's all just a charade to put more money into the hands of defense contractors and "create jobs". It's the Republican's fucked up version of a stimulus program. Not the good kind of stimulus - that builds schools and bridges, the kind that build guns, takes lives, and fear mongers. That's the Republican trademark.

[SCope13]

I don't disagree with you dubunked, but that has what exactly to do with Zimmerman?

[titchbit]

responding to wub's video. that is why we "arm little countries and then blow the shit out of them".

[wub]

responding to wub's video. that is why we "arm little countries and then blow the shit out of them".

Tbh that's not why I was posting that video. It was metaphorical...aggressor looking for a reason to attack, going so far as to provoke the opponent into doing something.

[titchbit]

I was just going off on a tangent.

[lloydnoise]

big up Magma

[wub]

.