Re: Stand Your Ground I'm not saying it was right, but that rightly or not, Sanford PD thought SYG gave them an out and close the case as self defense.
Re: Stand Your Ground Actually, according to the affidavit from Trayvon's friend who was on the phone with him, the only thing he asked when cornered is " Why are you following me".? Still according to her: " Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again and he didn't answer the phone." Not much room for speculation there.
Re: Stand Your Ground This has been all over FB for days now. Glad to finally see it being discussed here.
Re: Stand Your Ground I don't know how many people have been to central FL - and I mean not just central in terms of north/south, but central east/west. it is surprisingly deep-South-ish. rebel flags, gun racks and pick-ups and all. coastal FL is touristy and fairly civilized, but you go in from the coast, and you're pretty much in the deep South.
Re: Stand Your Ground I'm too lazy to see if this particular floodgate has been opened yet, but if 1) Zimmerman only needs to claim that he felt danger 2) The burden is on the police to prove Zimmerman didn't feel he was in danger AND 3) Zimmerman is the sort of person who feels threatened by the sight of a black youth in his gated community, then the law essentially allows racists to shoot black youths because, hey, they probably do feel genuinely threatened by black youths. The point is, violence against blacks is supported by law. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Zimmerman will get his due. I hope the local police and the gated community (who allowed Zimmerman to lead the "community watch") get theirs.
Re: Stand Your Ground http://gawker.com/5894647/how-to-ge...-unarmed-black-teen-trayvon-martin-teaches-us outrage indeed... MAS
Re: Stand Your Ground Trucks are part of living in an area where people have large yards and good weather. My dad has a big truck and my mom had a smaller one until a few years ago (she bought it for me and Dad and my friends to haul her antiques around). Trucks got stereotyped like country/Western music (Why do they still call it "western" when every major star has a Southern accent?). I've owned two trucks in the distant past (Tracker ) and have owned three truck-grade (IOW, not luxury-style) SUVs. I don't know why anyone thinks any part of Florida is completely free of Deep South influence.
Re: Stand Your Ground Back in the mid 80's my parents bought a house in Palm Coast which is about 30 minutes north of Daytona. I went down with my brother to help move things in and settle the place. It took us exactly 2 hours to figure this out. We went out for beers after busting our asses all day and saw it and felt it when we walked in some local bar. We had one beer and split.
Re: Stand Your Ground Speculation: Z already determined that the ************** was up to no good and he was going to be the hero: speculation.
Re: Stand Your Ground Not you specifically but the general opinion here seems to be that trucks and country music mean it is ok to shoot (or drag) people with darker skin pigmentation. As a person that has lived in "the south" for 40+* years I reject the stereotype. * 40+ years and never attended a Klan meeting or any meeting associated with Aryans.
Re: Stand Your Ground You're a Texan. You don't count. No, seriously. I mean, we're talking unhelpful stereotypes here, but Texas is hybrid South/Southwest, unlike the Deep South (Gulf coast states plus Georgia and SC), which is the South-iest of all the southern states.
Re: Stand Your Ground you know what I mean dude. the truck by itself is nothing. it's when combined with gun racks in the back, jacked up with big tires, rebel flag or tribute to Dale Earnhardt in the back window, certain bumper stickers, camo paint scheme, etc. - am I painting a picture here?
Re: Stand Your Ground why do you have to throw in the Earnhardt stickers? I think you might be the prejudiced one here, not those poor truck owners. And I'm no fan of pick-ups. Your statement is no less ignorant than you are claiming those folks you've never met to be ......
Re: Stand Your Ground Yep. You're painting a picture of the car that Zimmerman was driving. Just not a very accurate one. I drive a truck. A 3/4 ton diesel with 4 wheel drive. I live in the south. I own a gun. I have never shot anyone. I do not have any desire to shoot anyone because of their skin color. FWIW, according to FBI statistcs, Colorado reported more hate crimes/population than Texas did in 2010. As did California and Michigan. Illinois had similar numbers. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/uc...agency-hate-crime-reporting-by-state-2010.xls
Re: Stand Your Ground dude, I'm actually a pretty big NASCAR fan. used to be an Earnhardt fan too. I'm just messin. my point is, central FL - which is where this incident occurred, is pretty racist.
Re: Stand Your Ground Well, I've been down there the last 7 Februarys and no one has called be a 'Jew boy.' Then again, I've been in the Boca Raton area. If those rednecks can deal with all the NYC Jewish folk, bless them.
Re: Stand Your Ground I see. I hope they're older than I think you are, or they aren't old enough to just be sweeping this under the rug. Repped! I've lived here as long as you have. And you're from Texas, wich isn't Deep South, but you still have Rick Perry and your whitewashed HS history textbooks. No different- just a bit craftier. Is there some way a redneck could identify you as Jewish? Do you walk around wearing a yarmulke, answering questions with questions? There are some Whites who can deal with Jews but not Black people. Just as there are some Latinos who'd curry favor with Whites by displaying unthreatening, middle-of-the-road politics in their presence.
Re: Stand Your Ground We tried to get the rest of you to take Perry the same way we got you to take Bush. I guess the country is catching on. Fool me once.... All history books are whitewashed but if you want to think ours are special that's fine. Neither point has anything to do with wanting to kill people because I'm pigmentally challenged.