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Actually, punching in self-defense can put a literal take on the phrase "turn the other cheek". We can debate all we want about how Mr. FedEX should have responded. Stupid decision? Maybe. However, it was deemed legal.
Actually, punching in self-defense can put a literal take on the phrase "turn the other cheek". We can debate all we want about how Mr. FedEX should have responded. Stupid decision? Maybe. However, it was deemed legal.
Why was it stupid? He had a violent thug aggressor that he needed to respond immediately to. You can't just turn your back to thugs, they'll hit you in the back!
Why was it stupid? He had a violent thug aggressor that he needed to respond immediately to. You can't just turn your back to thugs, they'll hit you in the back!
Just like that POS in Florida who shot for attacking that man in the gas station for yelling at his girlfriend.
Wasn't it obvious? That particular poster would be in the hospital with a coronary if the race rolls were reversed.
And, no, you didn't read any statement by me being critical of what happened in this case. I wasn't there. I have no idea. However, most responses and opinions here are based on race, not actual events. As I said, if it were the other way around, this thread would be lit up like a supernova sun.
The OP is a race baiter. Not only would he have 50+ posts in this thread by now if the races were reversed, but what he was really hoping for here was for people to defend the dead White guy, or to be able to latch onto a philosophically inconsistent position by White posters.
I wish I could play poker with the OP, because he's the easiest poster to read on C-D.
Just like that POS in Florida who shot for attacking that man in the gas station for yelling at his girlfriend.
There was a thread somewhere on this forum and I sided with Drejka all over that thread.
Now did you think I was against Drejka because he was white and who he shot was black? I'm sorry but I have my principles, and I side with whose right.
Again, if this would have been two white people or two black people, it wouldn't have made the news. If it were a white person killing a black person with all other details being the same, the courts would have had a different opinion and the news media would have gone supernova.
After reading the short article again, my first impression is that details were left out purposely. It didn't say how fast the driver was going, it didn't say what may have provoked the outrageous response by the other guy (other than he was "a racist"). It didn't address a lot of things.
That being the case, no, the white guy didn't have any right to start swinging at the black guy or throw things at him. His yelling and screaming racist comments was certainly not appropriate. But did he actually have a reason to be angry at the driver for something other than being black? We DON'T know, because the journalist saw fit to exclude any other possible reason. Perhaps the driver was going 74 mph down a side street with kids playing on both sides. WE DON'T KNOW. So, perhaps the anger was justified... perhaps not. We'll never know, due to the incompetence of the journalist. What we do know is that the guy's response to whatever may have triggered him (other than he saw a black man in a FedEx truck) was inappropriate and excessive (at least we can assume, again due to journalistic incompetence).
Also (because it was purposely left out), we don't know why the driver stopped the truck. Was it because he stopped for a delivery? We don't know, thanks to the journalist. Or was it because he heard some moron screaming smack at him? Again, we are not told. If he stopped because some lunatic was screaming from the side of the road, I'd say that perhaps that was a bad decision. But that is a judgement call--my idea for that sort of thing is that it's generally not worth what is potentially going to happen if I do stop. If the driver was stopping to deliver something--part of his job--then that's a whole different matter. Again, we were not told that detail (I did not bother to hit the second link in the Post article--I shouldn't have to).
I often try to "put myself in their shoes" and try to decide what I may have done. If I were the driver and I was simply passing by and someone yelled, I'd probably give them the middle finger and drive on--that is unless I was driving recklessly. Then I'd probably have slowed down... but continued driving. If I had to make a stop, well perhaps I would have done exactly what that driver did. I don't know because I wasn't provided with the complete story in the article.
If I were the guy yelling, I wouldn't have been doing that in the way he did. I wouldn't have been yelling any racial slurs because that isn't me. Not my thing. On the other hand, if that driver was going way too fast or driving recklessly, I may have said SOMETHING... just not that. In a way it reminds me of a road crossing where I jog on a bike path each day. Motorists regularly go WAY too fast and one day someone will be killed there. Probably a woman with a baby stroller or a couple kids. I HAVE actually yelled at people to slow down. I've also given them the middle finger as they fly by. There is no excuse for driving 60+ in a 25 mph pedestrian crossing with warning signs everywhere. But my response to that has nothing to do with racism--I don't care if the knuckleheads are white, black, brown, or green.
Conclusion is that although the white guy was in the wrong with the racial slurs and in the wrong with throwing stuff at the driver and in the wrong for swinging a punch, we really don't know what sent him off the rails in the first place. We are firmly nudged (by the journalist) in the direction that it was simply racism--the guy saw a black man in a FedEx truck and went ballistic--but, I really question whether that was his only motivation or not. And I feel I'm justified in questioning that aspect because the journalist obviously left out any motivation (other than racism). Call me a skeptic, but I have a hard time believing there are many people who go off the rails simply because they see a black person. Such an individual would never have made it to adulthood outside of either prison or a mental institution.
Ultimately, I suppose I will have to trust that the law enforcement folks DID hear all the details and acted accordingly. It's just too bad that journalism cannot be journalism these days. That article was pathetic. Way too many loose ends and unsubstantiated conclusions.
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