Trayvon Martin Killing

[Wales2004]

Of all the things that I've read in this thread, this strikes me as the most hilarious.

Well now....Jimmy Carter said it so it must be true.

Based on the wording of the charges and the instructions given, their decision is applicable. The evidence didn't lead them all to believe that he was innocent. The GZ sympathizer is now saying the law needs to be changed because they had no choice.

Jimmy Carter has no idea what went on the jury room unless they videotaped their sessions and gave it to him. He probably thinks by speaking that his "goodwill" may cause people to "calm down."

It's been about eight years since Florida's Stand Your Ground Law has been in place and now there is some viable movement against it. I learned earlier that gang members have been using it to justify killing other gang members and walking as a result. I'm guessing the media and the residents didn't need to be too vocal about that since that's none of their business.

[AdelaideCate007]

It's hard not to let your feelings about race enter into it when the crime was so clearly committed because of Trayvon's race.

[Eric83]

*YAWN*

You've been trying to justify this murder at all costs lol. I've looked at the evidence and watched every day of the trial and I still think he is guilty. Just because we aren't blaminvg Trayvon for his death doesn't mean we are caught up in race but like the Martin attorney Benjamin Crump said to ignore the racial undertones in this case would be "intellectually dishonest".

BTW I am not saying youre wrong for thinkinv Zimmerman is innocent but your justification for this murder and blaming it on Trayvon wearing "gang" (which is preposterous) just boggles my mind. But I digress

Thank you.

[Eric83]

Oh my lord just read about that case... I seriously can't

[Ann_SS]

You never heard about the Abner Louima case? Never underestimate the depth of human depravity and racism. If Volpe and his colleagues had just beaten or killed Louima, they would have gotten away with it too. Ultimately, it was the sodomy that turned the city against them and spurred the federal case.

[Wales2004]

He may be a very smart man but I find it difficult to listen to him. And it may be nitpicking but I don't agree with it being "intellectually dishonest" mainly because that makes no sense to me.

People who believe that Geoirge Zimmerman is a racist must also believe that clothing isn't a factor. I don't believe that racists care how you look and what you're wearing if you're the race they hate.

Our society is dishonest in that we like to highlight the biases of others as though we have none of our own and are completely accepting of others. The difference between some of us and George Zimmerman is that we would not have followed Trayvon Martin and we definitely would not have killed him.

I know that if I look out my window and see someone I've never seen before walking at night in the rain, I'll be suspicious. Maybe more so than in the daytime. I'm more likely to mind my business unless I see obvious suspicious activity because I know what it's like to be in danger of law enforcement shooting you because of "well intentioned" neighbors.

[Eric83]

I may have heard about it back when it was first happening but didn't pay enough attention to the news to actually care. Reading the summary of events last night I was disgusted and mortified.

[marceline]

From The Onion:

“If I were a black teenager, I would wear a white t-shirt and khaki shorts at all times, even if it’s winter,” said 34-year-old claims adjuster Nick Delmar. “Then again, some psycho would probably think white T-shirts and khaki shorts were some sort of gang thing, kill the kid, say he thought the kid appeared to be violent and dangerous, and probably be found not guilty.”

http://www.theonion.com/articles/nation-throws-hands-up-tells-black-teenagers-to-do,33125/

The problem isn't that hoodies are gang wear so black kids should stop wearing them. The problem is that people who are ignorant and racist consider anything black kids wear to be gang wear.

[Wales2004]

I don't agree because I doubt that someone would try to claim that a suit and tie is gang wear unless it was a baggy suit perhaps or the suit was a "gang color."

My point is that it doesn't matter what a person wears when confronted by a racist. He's not going to say " I hate black people (or racial epithet) but this one is wearing proper clothing so I'll leave him alone." And why does he need to use gang attire as an excuse anyway? This is not your average everyday situation....contrary to what I keep hearing.

The people that are insistent that a hoodie was the cause of death are just being ridiculous, as far as I'm concerned.

And I'm also tired of women crying about how as mothers they fear for their child's life because he/she likes to wear hoodies. Who's the parent? Now if you don't buy your child hoodies and he/she finds one to wear after leaving the house in a different outfit that's another thing. But don't sit there and cry as if you are powerless when it comes to clothing. Kids need parents not hip mother-best friend. Maybe you can swing both depending on the child but when a parent allows a child to say "no" and let's it go because it's too tiring or hard to fight with junior then don't expect him to miraculously turn around all on his own.

While I've gone completely over the cliff, if America is not safe for black boys then save your child's life by taking him to whatever nation you think is safer. I just need to stop listening because I can't relate to any of that. I must be suffering from post-4th July fireworks because I thought the neighbors would end up burning down the place....that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

[SFK]

I don't think racism/prejudice is quite so cut and dry. There's perhaps a Kinsey-like scale. There are plenty of racist twits who regard blacks who dress and speak a certain way, or who perform "admirable acts" as a "credit to their race", for being among, "the good ones". I had a white roommate who dated a lot of black guys and is about to marry one (which she has no business doing) and although she was far from a cross burner, she spouted more than her fair share of racist ignorance (i.e., when calling to make sure her dad would be cool with her bringing her black now fiance home, "He's black but he's not ghetto, he's like the whitest black guy I know..."). So all blacks are "ghetto" by default? Yet you're so pressed to date black guys and you want to learn how to make them collard greens and you look forward to the attention you'll get pushing your beige baby around in her stroller in your little hick town? I find this kind of behaviour just as infuriating as that of the card carrying racist.

[marceline]

If young black men started gathering in groups in a suit and tie, that outfit would suddenly develop a negative connotation. Much like when men finally started working administrative/office jobs, typing became "word processing."

Wow. That's honestly one of the most callous things I've read in a long time.

Do you really think it's that easy for someone to move to another country? It's tough enough to relocate to another state if you don't have a job there. Just try moving to Canada without a job. Or what about Europe or Australia? Their immigration policies aren't exactly welcoming if you aren't a professional. I checked after the 2010 election.

I don't understand this kind of flippant mindset. Don't feel safe in your neighborhood? Move. Can't afford to move? Well it's your fault for not saving your money. Your minimum wage job doesn't pay you enough to save? Get another one. Don't have a car to get to a second job? You should save the money from your minimum wage job.

I get cynicism but this is misanthropy.

[Ann_SS]

And why the [!@#$%^&*] should African Americans leave this country so a bunch of racists can have their way? [!@#$%^&*] the racists. America does not belong to them. Let them go find their own racist country, a new Nazi nation, to live in.

I always remember the morning after I first heard about Trayvon, walking my dog through my diverse suburban neighborhood wearing a hoodie and passing white young and middle age people also wearing hoodies as they walked their dogs and jogged by. We all greeted each other without a second thought. I then passed by a ethnically diverse teenagers chatting and waiting on the school bus, most of them had on hoodies too, some with low hanging jeans. All, I could think was, who looks at these young people with all their lives ahead of them and assumes that they are violent criminals? The only answer I could come up with was, "someone with a very dark violent heart."

[alphanguy74]

That bullsh!t, and you know it. A matter of fact, young black men DO gather together in suits and ties and nobody thinks they are criminals or up to no good... you see them on street corners selling bean pies in every major city.

[Wales2004]

double post

[alphanguy74]

And when one of those kids rapes you, stabs you, and steals your purse, maybe you'll wake up and smell the bacon.