[roadtrip75]

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.

lol, impressive bold and caps

In reality, we all have the right to question and confront people.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by AustinTraveler

You're kidding, right? Neighborhood WATCH means just that...keep an eye out and call the police if you see someone/something suspicious. Zimmerman could have easily done that, but he didn't. He confronted the "suspicious" person and then shot him dead. Nobody would have known he even called the police if he had not confronted the victim. The police would have shown up, questioned the young man, determined that he was headed to his father's fiance's house, and that would have been that.

Is your post a joke? Are you unaware of the 911 call which clearly stated that the police are usually too slow to respond when black youths walk through this community (which is not enclosed) and steal property from homeowners?

Surely you aren't posting authoritatively on this subject without knowing the basic facts. Say it ain't so, Joe.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

He was also an "A" and "B" student in good standing otherwise. Does the fact that he was in trouble somehow make his death acceptable in your twisted sense of reality?

What do his grades have to do with anything? Yes, in my logical world a violent child would be more likely to initiate conflict.

This thread is a modern-day lynching. In the old days, a man would be lynched if the public thought he had committed a crime but the law had failed to punish him. I don't see any difference here. Nobody seems to care that this kid was acting suspiciously, that this community was plagued with black youth crime, that the kid appears to have attacked Zimmerman, etc. All that matters is that we have a rare white-on-black murder (in contrast to the much more common black-on-white murders).

[boxus]

Speculating:

-Zimmerman is going to need to prove he felt his life was at risk, I am failing to see how Zimmerman felt his life was at risk.

-The 911 call does say a lot, and Zimmerman would have much mroe credibility if not for that 911 call.

-Being suspcious is subjective and not a crime, what did Zimmerman actually see the victim doing that was suspicious? Walking is not a suspicious act unless you are reaching for an excuse.

-The area may have had a lot of crime committed by black youths, but it ends there, if this is the basis for Zimmerman's confrontation, it already states profiling. There are a lot of black youths, that does not mean all of them are criminals. I would not want to be profiled on the basis of what others do no more than black people do.

-The police are slow, well, that to is subjective, it is hard for the police to take urgency in

"Zimmerman: I see a black guy walking, he looks suspicious.
911: What is he doing?
Zimmerman: He is walking.
911: And?
Zimmerman: He is walking! And he is black! That means he is suspicious!"

And again, how did Zimmerman feel his life was threatened? Espcially when it is clear as day Zimmerman was the one pursuing. If he felt his life was in danger, he should have stayed in the car.

The victim is under no obligation to answer or stop for Zimmerman, Zimmerman of course has all rights to confront the victim and ask questions, just as someone stopping someone to ask directions, but the line ends there. If the victim rattled off some smart mouth remark, that is his business to do so, and Zimmerman's business to let it alone.

But again, all speculation, waiting for more thigns to come out, main thing is; why did Zimmerman feel his life was threatened?

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by tiluha

It was obvious to me by looking at his picture that at the very least he has Hispanic heritage, his "surname" Zimmerman is German. Regardless of this, he was (in my opinion and from what I heard on the 911 tapes) profiling which is considered racism.

I first read, in the papers, that he was
Jewish and Hispanic.

[goldengrain]

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.

My sixty something year old husband has a hoodie that is water resistant and he wears it in the rain. I think it is stretching it quite a bit to say a hoodie is suspicious attire. I have a hoodie. They protect your neck from the wind. There was no reason at all to think this kid was suspicious. He was just a normal kid and Zimmerman was riding around, looking for trouble because he thought 'they always get away with it'. He is a bully who was shown to resort to physical violence in the past. He should not have had a gun, in the first place.

There were witnesses all along this situation. Three heard a child screaming, not an old man. His girlfriend was on the phone when the lad expressed concern that someone was following him in a car. He was scared.

Zimmerman had been told by the police to stop following the kid, agreed, and then resumed to stalk the child.

Those are facts. Look at THAT with an open mind!

In most neighborhoods they would have held Zimmerman in jail because he killed a person. The police department needs some serious overhauling by the feds, in my opinion.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

What do his grades have to do with anything? Yes, in my logical world a violent child would be more likely to initiate conflict.

This thread is a modern-day lynching. In the old days, a man would be lynched if the public thought he had committed a crime but the law had failed to punish him. I don't see any difference here. Nobody seems to care that this kid was acting suspiciously, that this community was plagued with black youth crime, that the kid appears to have attacked Zimmerman, etc. All that matters is that we have a rare white-on-black murder (in contrast to the much more common black-on-white murders).

So in your mind, acting suspiciously and having the audacity to be the same skin color of others who had been problems in the area is reason enough to follow aggressively, aim a weapon at and shoot while having 911 on the line telling you to stand down and wait for police? Where did you read/hear that Martin attacked Zimmerman? There isn't any evidence of that at all. He retaliated out of fear for his life but obviously did not initiate. Was it the Iced Tea and Skittles he had clinched in either hand that offended you or would have made you fear for your life? And who attempts to diffuse an argument by saying it's a rare white-on-black murder???? Oh well you're right, "they're" (black folks) still ahead in the body count so they should give us one??? Please do us all a favor and turn off FauxNews, it's completely fried your sense of reasoning.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

What do his grades have to do with anything?

And you don't suppose there would be a mention of the white "A and B student" gunned down by a black vigilante? Don't even act like there's not a double standard.

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by likeminas

WoW, the 'mordern' and 'progressive' state of Florida does it again.

Great laws and race relations you got down there guys.
way to go

There is an author, Hiaasen, who says Florida is full of odd characters and strange events and he gets much inspiration for his novels from the newspapers in the state.

[goldengrain]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

What do his grades have to do with anything? Yes, in my logical world a violent child would be more likely to initiate conflict.

This thread is a modern-day lynching. In the old days, a man would be lynched if the public thought he had committed a crime but the law had failed to punish him. I don't see any difference here. Nobody seems to care that this kid was acting suspiciously, that this community was plagued with black youth crime, that the kid appears to have attacked Zimmerman, etc. All that matters is that we have a rare white-on-black murder (in contrast to the much more common black-on-white murders).

That comment is pulled out of - nowhere.
Nobody has even intimated that.

I heard that they had had a robbery recently.
Where do you get your information that the neighborhood was plagued by crime?
If so, would there not have been more folks joining Z's neighborhood watch? Truth is, he was the only one.