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For the ones that continually support Zimmerman, would you have stayed in the truck or no?
Me personally, I would've stayed in the damn truck. Call the police, waited, continued monitoring the situation if I was truly concerned, but I would've stayed in the truck. When you try to be a hero and resolve situations yourself (especially when you aren't a professional), you're literally opening the door to unnecessary conflicts. If TM had've walked over to my truck, pulled me out of my window and beat my head against a sidewalk, then I would've shot him. But that's not what happened.
Also, would you randomly follow someone and be surprised if they got aggresive with you? Would you tailgate someone on the highway for miles and then be offended when they give you the bird? I'm just not sure how people continue to overlook that ZM started the confrontation.
Though I never would have left the truck, I don't live in a high crime neighborhood where some of my prior calls to police were too late for them to catch the bad guys. Chances are I'd have followed as far as I could in my car, then stopped, but who knows.
I'm pretty sure that in TM's position, once I ran, I'd be gone. You probably don't believe he circled back to confront GZ. I do, but either way, the legal issue never was whether GZ made a wise decision by following TM.
Though I never would have left the truck, I don't live in a high crime neighborhood where some of my prior calls to police were too late for them to catch the bad guys. Chances are I'd have followed as far as I could in my car, then stopped, but who knows.
I'm pretty sure that in TM's position, once I ran, I'd be gone. You probably don't believe he circled back to confront GZ. I do, but either way, the legal issue never was whether GZ made a wise decision by following TM.
That part of Sanford is far from being a high crime neighborhood...
That part of Sanford is far from being a high crime neighborhood...
GZ's particular neighborhood or apartment complex had a big increase in crime, as was proven at the trial. That was the main reason for involving the SPD in beginning a NW program.
Doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but it is the buzz man Zimmerman that the press lives for. He will not do any time and enjoy life. No big deal. He is a free man. Enjoy the day, there are more important issues going on than something as tiny as throwing a wine bottle.
Yeah, he is really "enjoying life" and making it enjoyable for others and will never have a job.. but he is a "free man".. free to continue causing problems. Just wait, he will do something again, hopefully that will put him away. Then, one day, in his prison cell...he will crack.. admitting what really happened that night. That will be the most free he will feel.
As "tiny as throwing a wine bottle" (at another person)...
I cannot tell if these posts are tongue in cheek or serious
In my view, the money sent by people to help in his defense was probably prompted due to how the media, race baiters, and even the POTUS/AG were all aligning together against him.
I am no fan of Zimmerman, and his actions since the Martin incident seem to indicate he is troubled. However that trouble could also be exacerbated by what he went through during the trial, and everything related to him becoming a targeted man.
How would any of us deal with killing another human being in self defense, then finding out that you were going to be public enemy #1 that might be sent to prison (i.e. a death sentence for all intent and purpose)?
You do know he had run in's with the law, Way before TM right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucario
He should have thought of that before he started a fight with a kid.
This
He could of just stayed in the car, but nope!
To quote GZ "They always get away"
I understand you're a man, as I am. And while I do respect your principles, I feel like it's not my place to involve myself in certain situations. For me, an ass parking in a handicap spot is not my concern because it doesn't harm anyone. A woman being assaulted right in front of me is another story. A burning building with a crying baby is another story. Some dude walking down the street in a hoodie at night time, whatever. As long as he doesn't have a ski mask on too, he probably won't trip my radar.
Zimmerman is a wannabe, because he stopped a crime that didn't even happen. From reading your posts throughout the forum, you seem like you're way more intelligent than him, and I don't think you would have confronted the kid when there was no issue to confront him for.
It is hard for me to argue with someone who is complimenting and empathizing with me. So all I can do is say thank you for the kind words.
I will note that while I do not put idiots parking in handicapped spaces on par with women in distress or a baby in a burning building(good example). But, it does get to me.
Part of the reason is that I know several people in wheelchairs and/or with disabilities that genuinely need those spaces. When some young punk to wrapped up in his own little world, or not raised properly zips into one of those spaces, it immediately makes me think of all the people who might genuinely need to park there. Heck I would park half a block away in the rain before it would even cross my mind to park there. At worst I might drop off a passenger there for 20 seconds and then immediately back out and find a regular space.
Anyway let me tell a quick story for people to appreciate something they may never have considered, just as I hadn't. A guy who regularly plays wheelchair tennis at a local park was out on the court one day, and I noticed he was not in a handicapped spot. I asked him why, and he told me this great story;
He said that although he is in a wheelchair, he does not consider himself handicapped when compared to other people. At first I just thought he was meaning that he had a great outlook on life, and didn't see being in a wheelchair defining who he was. To a small degree he did mean that, but was not the crux of his point.
He said he has friends and knew others who were much more in need of the spaces. He went on to say that as long as the regular spaces were large enough for him to open his passenger door, slide his wheelchair out, and then slide into it, he was ok. He went on to say that some people are so disabled they need all the extra space a handicapped space provides because they come in vans with hydraulic lifts on the side, and they cannot park and get out otherwise. Some use controls that move their motorized chairs, and if they cannot use their lifts, they cannot get out of their vehicles.
So here is a guy who rightfully has the need to use one of those spaces, yet he tries to avoid using them whenever he can for people who need them more.
I'll tell you what, that story effected me in a very positive way, but it also made me even more acutely aware of the lack of consideration of these losers. So when I see them, I do call the police (there is a special number in my city for reporting it), but I still take the time to confront the person because rarely will the PSA or LEO arrive in time. In most cases after I confront them, they will just hop back into their car and move, but sometimes it has not been so pleasant.
As to Zimmerman, while I do not know what was in his mind or heart, he probably is a wannabe as you put it. He therefore might have been willing to confront someone due to having a gun, where he wouldn't have otherwise.
However keep in mind that not everyone is like that, and maybe he isn't either. When I have seen a stranger walking though my immediate neighborhood, I have either kept an eye on them, or even used it as an excuse to walk my dog in their direction until they leave. I have also verbally engaged them to get a feel of what they are up to, especially if they look out of place. If they took off running, I'd suspect they were up to no good, and do many of the same things Zimmerman did.
I rarely have my CCW with me in my own front yard, as my neighborhood is reasonably safe, but leaving or coming home in that situation I might be armed.
However I act the same whether I have it or not. It is not as if I have no fear of getting into something I cannot handle, but the CCW is only for life and death situations one might encounter. More times than not, I don't even know I am wearing it because it gets to be like a watch that you don't feel if you have a comfortable holster.
My point is that the public doesn't know me from Adam, and if I were to get myself into a life and death situation, and pulled my CCW as a last resort, they wouldn't know that I would have gotten myself involved without a firearm just as easily.
Heck if I had the benefit of foresight, and I suspected I would need to be armed for the situation I was going to get into, I'd try to find a reason not to go. Yet I am not wired to avoid confrontation if something wrong is occurring that I can help with. I don't think we have a neighborhood watch, none that I know about. However I doubt I would even be a part of one officially because that is not my thing. However I believe everyone should be on alert to help their fellow neighbors, not just close the curtains and turn a blind eye.
God willing, I will never need to use deadly force against another person, whether it be with a weapon or my own hands. Who would want that on your conscious.
You do know he had run in's with the law, Way before TM right?
This
He could of just stayed in the car, but nope!
To quote GZ "They always get away"
Yes, but it does not have a bearing on my comment you quoted, regarding him possibly having gotten worse and being adversely effected by the whole ordeal. Sure Martin got the worst of it, but it has been no walk in the park for Zimmerman either.
As to your second comment quoting another poster, sure if he stayed in his truck neither of them would have likely been hurt.
That said, even if you do not have crime as a common occurrence in your neighborhood(like Zimmerman did), you probably have something in your life that never seems to get resolved, and the offender always seems to get away with it. Maybe it is waiting in line going to work to make a left hand turn. The line is always long, and you patiently wait your turn. Yet every morning you see cars skip the line, then jump in front when the traffic starts moving.
Eventually you get fed up, call the police, and request they put a watch order at that traffic control. If you are lucky they might show up for one shift, but nothing after that, and you must deal with the issue every day of your life.
My point is not to conflate an annoying traffic problem with burglary in a neighborhood. However those who seemed to be inclined to empathize with Martin(typically overlooking his faults in the situation), rarely empathize with what Zimmerman was thinking.
Sure he thinks differently than you and many others, I get that. However there are normal people out there who understand his frustration, especially when his neighbors/family/friends homes are being broken into.
He had apparently done the right thing in your mind previous times, only to wait for the police to arrive well after the person reported was long gone. If you read my previous post about handicapped parking violators typically getting away prior to LE arrival, you can see how people such as myself think/feel/act.
So while Zimmerman may very well be a loser in life, his actions that night were not so out of the norm (for the situation) that people such as myself can empathize with his thoughts.
Ever think of it that way?
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