[mortpes]

Nicholas Lindsey.

[AksarbeN]

Anyone can claim in fear for their life and simply kill another person. Makes little sense when there was no valid purpose for Zimmerman to have personally confronted the young man, he simply could have stayed in his car and if needed drove away. Zimmerman had no fear of anything, he had already called 911 to report the young man who was doing nothing wrong, there was no crime in progress to report.

[tiluha]

Originally Posted by AksarbeN

Anyone can claim in fear for their life and simply kill another person. Makes little sense when there was no valid purpose for Zimmerman to have personally confronted the young man, he simply could have stayed in his car and if needed drove away. Zimmerman had no fear of anything, he had already called 911 to report the young man who was doing nothing wrong, there was no crime in progress to report.

Welcome to FLoRiDuH

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days-in-Florida

You cannot just go around arresting people because you do not like what happened.

You can't just go around instigating a provocation just to shoot someone either. Or can you?

[AksarbeN]

Who would have thought that a few soft state gun laws would come to this,,,,, people being killed for no reason!

[Cruzincat]

Zimmerman's actions may have been over the top, but I can't believe some of the posts here that are stating there is no reason for him to be suspicious of someone walking through his neigborhood in the rain wering a hoodie. Why have a neighborhood watch program at all? Usually it is a result of having had recent crime issues. A hoodie can be more than a fashion statement. It is also a method to hide one's identity to the casual observer. If the bad guys were wearing bandannas around their faces like in the old west, would you let your kid wear banannas while walking around your neighbor hood at night in the rain? It's not against the law, sure, but would it be the smart thing to do, to emulate a thug in an area where thugs have been reported?

If Zimmerman overstepped his "authority" (if there was any authority) and it can be proven then have at him. But keep an open mind to the circumstances and hope that the whole truth comes out.

[Gatornation]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

Zimmerman's actions may have been over the top, but I can't believe some of the posts here that are stating there is no reason for him to be suspicious of someone walking through his neigborhood in the rain wering a hoodie. Why have a neighborhood watch program at all? Usually it is a result of having had recent crime issues. A hoodie can be more than a fashion statement. It is also a method to hide one's identity to the casual observer. If the bad guys were wearing bandannas around their faces like in the old west, would you let your kid wear banannas while walking around your neighbor hood at night in the rain? It's not against the law, sure, but would it be the smart thing to do, to emulate a thug in an area where thugs have been reported?

If Zimmerman overstepped his "authority" (if there was any authority) and it can be proven then have at him. But keep an open mind to the circumstances and hope that the whole truth comes out.

The most he should have done was call cops and watch from a distance.

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

Zimmerman's actions may have been over the top, but I can't believe some of the posts here that are stating there is no reason for him to be suspicious of someone walking through his neigborhood in the rain wering a hoodie. Why have a neighborhood watch program at all? Usually it is a result of having had recent crime issues. A hoodie can be more than a fashion statement. It is also a method to hide one's identity to the casual observer. If the bad guys were wearing bandannas around their faces like in the old west, would you let your kid wear banannas while walking around your neighbor hood at night in the rain? It's not against the law, sure, but would it be the smart thing to do, to emulate a thug in an area where thugs have been reported?

If Zimmerman overstepped his "authority" (if there was any authority) and it can be proven then have at him. But keep an open mind to the circumstances and hope that the whole truth comes out.

He overstepped his authority the second he (on his own against warning from the 911 dispatcher) decided to pursue. You, me or anyone can be suspicious of anyone at any given time. That DOES NOT give us the RIGHT or AUTHORITY to question, confront, or detain someone and most certainly don't have the right to kill when the kid was already neutralized on the ground.

So he would have been better off walking in the rain without a hoodie? Keeping that hoodie on could've also help repel some of the water from running directly onto his face and eyes. Having recent incidents of crime and the institution of a neighborhood watch is never an excuse to become a "vigilante" and this is why the proper authorities equipped to handle these situations should have been present to confront the teen. Who's to say this young kid didn't see this man as a threat after being confronted, tried to defend himself and as a result the gun was pulled, the kid begged for his life and he was ultimately gunned down amid a bunch of 911 calls capturing the boy's plea and subsequent shot(s) and a few witness that actually watched the situation unfold.

Just as you mentioned bandanas from a historical perspective (which I totally understand) and even their current applications involving unscrupulous activity, where I come from only 4 types of people sit in cars:

1)Jons
2)Dealers
3)Addicts
4)Killers

Let's all be honest. How many people would be leery of a person sitting in their car at night in the rain looking at you? Does that mean that whenever I see someone sitting in a car, I should presume they fall into one of the aforementioned categories? How many people would keep a watchful eye on that person to make sure he didn't do anything rash? How many people would run if someone (that you didn't know on a rainy night) suddenly decided to follow you? How many people would give two squats if this man identified himself as the neighborhood watch captain? People tell lies. What if this grown man (after following this boy) decided to put his hands on him to get his attention and the boy reacted with violence because here's a weirdo touching him (for whatever reason) on a rainy night and that's when everything took a turn for the worse.

All this happened because someone with no authority thought they had some power and that assumption made then entire situation go sour.

[Spring Hillian]

Zimmerman was wrong. The stand your ground law isnt going to help him as his life was nowhere near endangered. The guy was obviously looking for trouble and he made it happen.

[BlondeLocks]

Originally Posted by HeartofFlorida

He overstepped his authority the second he (on his own against warning from the 911 dispatcher) decided to pursue. You, me or anyone can be suspicious of anyone at any given time. That DOES NOT give us the RIGHT or AUTHORITY to question, confront, or detain someone and most certainly don't have the right to kill when the kid was already neutralized on the ground.

So he would have been better off walking in the rain without a hoodie? Keeping that hoodie on could've also help repel some of the water from running directly onto his face and eyes. Having recent incidents of crime and the institution of a neighborhood watch is never an excuse to become a "vigilante" and this is why the proper authorities equipped to handle these situations should have been present to confront the teen. Who's to say this young kid didn't see this man as a threat after being confronted, tried to defend himself and as a result the gun was pulled, the kid begged for his life and he was ultimately gunned down amid a bunch of 911 calls capturing the boy's plea and subsequent shot(s) and a few witness that actually watched the situation unfold.

Just as you mentioned bandanas from a historical perspective (which I totally understand) and even their current applications involving unscrupulous activity, where I come from only 4 types of people sit in cars:

1)Jons
2)Dealers
3)Addicts
4)Killers

Let's all be honest. How many people would be leery of a person sitting in their car at night in the rain looking at you? Does that mean that whenever I see someone sitting in a car, I should presume they fall into one of the aforementioned categories? How many people would keep a watchful eye on that person to make sure he didn't do anything rash? How many people would run if someone (that you didn't know on a rainy night) suddenly decided to follow you? How many people would give two squats if this man identified himself as the neighborhood watch captain? People tell lies. What if this grown man (after following this boy) decided to put his hands on him to get his attention and the boy reacted with violence because here's a weirdo touching him (for whatever reason) on a rainy night and that's when everything took a turn for the worse.

All this happened because someone with no authority thought they had some power and that assumption made then entire situation go sour.

I agree wholeheartedly ...