Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am not so sure about that. There are a lot of guys out there who have some sort of 'hero' complex. They would love to be cops and carry guns and authority, but cannot pass the qualifications. So they protect citizens through volunteering in things like neighborhood watches. Unfortunately, they kill some of those citizens that they are supposed to be protecting every once in a while.
Don't they try, with psychological testing, to screen pyromaniacs out of qualifying for service of firemen, and mentally unbalanced people from being police officers? Can't they do the same with neighborhood watch people, especially in states where it is easy to obtain firearms?
I think neighborhood watch people have the best of intentions, probably, but there are just some who have these heroic images of themselves or feel bitter or are too quick to flare up or to confront.
It should not come to such a situation as this.
As Katiana pointed out (again) he was not scheduled to be on watch that night. I hesitate using the word "patrol" since the NW pamphlets usually say in the dos and don'ts section "you are not on patrol." They always emphasize that each volunteer should never follow an unidentified person. The brochures handed out at NW meetings and presentations are worded carefully so volunteers understand that they are not police officers and have no police authority. I once posted quotes from several of them on this board, since they are usually long files in .pdf format. All of them say that NW volunteers should never carry a gun. So, if GZ was acting as the NW captain that night, then he was breaking the rules of the NW group. If he was simply running errands, as he and his family said repeatedly, then he was acting as a private citizen. Regarding the law, since he has a concealed weapons permit, GZ was not doing anything illegal by being in possession of the 9mm gun.
Since NW is not a paid position, I'm not sure what you mean by screening volunteers. I understand that volunteers who work with children (i.e, Big Brothers and Big Sisters) are screened, but this was not a non-profit organization. It was simply a group formed by neighbors to keep an eye on their properties. In fact, there was no NW group at all before Zimmerman encouraged neighbors to form one and he was the person who contacted the local police so they could get that sign in front of the gate. I've posted many times that Wendy Dorival of the Sanford Police said she presented a slideshow in the fall of 2011 where about 20-25 people showed up, including GZ. There's probably more than 500 residents in that community. She asked if anyone wanted to be the NW captain and he volunteered. After that, he became the NW contact who was mentioned on newsletters sent to residents. Maybe someone from the Sanford PD should have checked his background but, as I said, a NW volunteer isn't a member of the police or even a security guard. It's not a job.
When the story about the shooting was first reported, local reporters began interviewing neighbors. I think it's ridiculous, but reporters always talk to neighbors after an incident. "I'm so surprised to learn justNancy was a regular poster on City-Data. She seemed so normal." I suppose people enjoy their 30 seconds of fame on the TV news. Some residents said he was a concerned neighbor and appreciated his vigilance and others said he was too aggressive and focused too much attention on Blacks in the area. To me, character assessments from one's neighbors aren't very reliable sources. Most of my neighbors have no idea who the heck I am, only a 60-ish White woman who looks harmless. No racial profiling here.
"I avoid this thread because its, well its lame. 17 year olds can and have served. We call the young man a child?" ...
Seems longer ago.
Though 'teen' is more accurate, 'child' is more innocence. Teens, from 13-19, can be loud-mouthed, assertive, smoke a little now and again, you know, things teens do. Your 'young man' I asssociate with males older than tm. I'm not sure there's a good way to describe 16/17 year-olds other than with the age. Anyway,...
Trayvon was an innocent, unarmed, just turned 17 year-old who did not deserve to die.
Can you please show me where I said that he deserved to die?
17. In many asian countries they consider you the next year older after your birthday. In other words Dec 28 I turned 49. On the 29th they look at me like I am 50. LOL
He wasn't 16 at heart because he had just turned 17 as some have said. He was 17 headed for 18 although that lap had just started.
I agree about the age thing 16/17 the age where young men are so easy to hate. Just starting to feel their oats, wanting to challenge authority at every turn. LOL 17 was the how old my own son was first time he ever talked back to me. LOL
Trayvon Martin had been 17 for THREE whole weeks; in every sense, he was still 16...no magic wisdom descends when one has a birthday. Many C-D posters are living proof of that fact.
So...he was alive for 17 years and 3 weeks,
but you contend he was, "in every sense," still 16?
It is irrelevant whether he was 16 or 17, but your logic amuses me.
So...he was alive for 17 years and 3 weeks,
but you contend he was, "in every sense," still 16?
It is irrelevant whether he was 16 or 17, but your logic amuses me.
Please point me to the psychological study which proves that experience and wisdom settle like a mantle on one's shoulders when they have a birthday. Can you honestly believe that he gained so much in three weeks?
Did Martin grow overnight? Did his IQ increase? Did he have more common sense or a better ability to use logic? If my logic amuses you, you can only guess what amusement your lack of knowledge regarding cerebral and psychological development provides me.
Please point me to the psychological study which proves that experience and wisdom settle like a mantle on one's shoulders when they have a birthday. Can you honestly believe that he gained so much in three weeks?
Did Martin grow overnight? Did his IQ increase? Did he have more common sense or a better ability to use logic? If my logic amuses you, you can only guess what amusement your lack of knowledge regarding cerebral and psychological development provides me.
That is not what I said at all.
All I said is that your convoluted logic ignores his biological age.
If a young man turns 21, how long must he wait
to drink, since he is, "in every sense," still 20?
That is not what I said at all.
All I said is that your convoluted logic ignores his biological age.
If a young man turns 21, how long must he wait
to drink, since he is, "in every sense," still 20?
You're gauging his age by a standard of time superimposed by humans; it has no bearing on the actualities of human development, whether physically, mentally, emotionally or psychologically. I'm saying that having a birthday doesn't come with wisdom and experience wrapped in a box and tied with a bow. What's not accurate in saying that Martin biologically lived 16 years and 3 weeks? It's true, with all that it implies. It also mattered to Zimmerman, who considered Martin a kid until he got on the stand and claimed that he'd thought Martin was but a couple of years younger than himself.
What's not accurate? He biologically lived 17 years and 3 weeks.
It doesn't matter anyway. What a dumb argument.
It only matters in a world where people insist that Martin was, by virtue of having been 17 for 3 weeks, a fully functioning adult. As JanND and justNancy have pointed out in this thread, there are many things that an adult can do that a 17 year-old cannot. Nor has Martin turned out to be the "hulking 6'3" thug" that many posters initially described, while Zimmerman isn't the "squeaky clean" hero portrayed by his father. And the thread goes on...
If a young man turns 21, how long must he wait
to drink, since he is, "in every sense," still 20?
What difference does it make? Trayvon Martin's photographs or how he's been portrayed in the media have absolutely nothing to do with George Zimmerman's innocence or guilt. The only thing that matters is what took place on February 26. Period. Yes, there were lots of pictures of the victim as a young child, but that's because the family had them available. Zimmerman's family apparently didn't have any recent photos. I mean, even Fox used his 2005 mug shot, the one where he was wearing an orange polo shirt that some mistook for a prison uniform. Eventually there was a picture from a past employer with him smiling in a suit. That doesn't look anything like the man who was arrested either. When 12 people sit down and listen to the evidence, I doubt if pictures that were in the newspaper or on TV will make a difference. I mean, the pictures of Casey Anthony grinding on the dance floor didn't seem to matter, did they?
I'm taking a risk writing this, but I really believe that when certain folks see pictures of a boy riding a horse or skiing with his family, they think "Oh, he's doing things normal people do, White middle class stuff, so he's probably okay." When we first heard about the shooting, someone I know said "I bet the kid was robbing the place." Then he saw those photos and said, "He looks like a nice kid." Racist much?
It only matters in a world where people insist that Martin was, by virtue of having been 17 for 3 weeks, a fully functioning adult. As JanND and justNancy have pointed out in this thread, there are many things that an adult can do that a 17 year-old cannot. Nor has Martin turned out to be the "hulking 6'3" thug" that many posters initially described, while Zimmerman isn't the "squeaky clean" hero portrayed by his father. And the thread goes on...
This could be your wildest post yet. By the time tm's suspensions were leaked, gz was the white, racist, racial profiling and slurring, 250 pound mugshot. Tm was 'slimm,' the baby-faced, baby sitting, car-washing, praying child skittles and iced tea..
I'm not positive where media reports of tm being 6'3" came from; might have been from his mother.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I suppose people enjoy their 30 seconds of fame on the TV news. Some residents said he was a concerned neighbor and appreciated his vigilance and others said he was too aggressive and focused too much attention on Blacks in the area. To me, character assessments from one's neighbors aren't very reliable sources. Most of my neighbors have no idea who the heck I am, only a 60-ish White woman who looks harmless. No racial profiling here. 
