Boy killed for walking while black

I've been lazy about posting this, waiting for someone else to do it. Ah, well.

17-year old Trayvon Martin, after buying candy and a can of iced tea, was gunned down by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman. George Zimmerman spotted the boy walking while he was in his SUV, called 911 to report suspicious behavior, disregarded advice against pursuing, ran after the boy while brandishing a gun, then shot him while he screamed for help. Police who arrived on the scene corrected witnesses who reported hearing the boy screaming, informing them that it was Zimmerman they heard. Zimmerman has yet to be charged with any crime.

Quote :

Police who arrived on the scene corrected witnesses who reported hearing the boy screaming,

WHAT

Quote :

Zimmerman has yet to be charged with any crime.

WHAT

Wait.

Didn't George Zimmerman used to be the pitching coach for the Yankees?

Cyberwulf wrote:

Quote :

Police who arrived on the scene corrected witnesses who reported hearing the boy screaming,

WHAT

Quote :

Zimmerman has yet to be charged with any crime.

WHAT

WHAT, indeed. The "WTF?" factor in this story is off the charts...

Quote :

On the evening of February 26, Trayvon Martin—an unarmed 17-year-old African American student—was confronted, shot, and killed near his home by George Zimmerman, a Latino neighborhood watch captain in the Orlando, Florida, suburb of Sanford.

Only in Florida would something unbelievable like this fucking happen.

This is fucking ridiculous.

Chris91 wrote:

Cyberwulf wrote:

Quote :

Police who arrived on the scene corrected witnesses who reported hearing the boy screaming,

WHAT

Quote :

Zimmerman has yet to be charged with any crime.

WHAT

WHAT, indeed. The "WTF?" factor in this story is off the charts...

Agreed. This is horrific. And terrifying.


Also isn't this usually where someone posts that gif of Bugs Bunny cutting Florida off and kicking it out to sea?

WD40 wrote:

Also isn't this usually where someone posts that gif of Bugs Bunny cutting Florida off and kicking it out to sea?

I actually had a google search open, and then I saw this post.

Here's a good article from ThinkProgress, recapping key facts about the case and the backgrounds of Trayvon and his attacker, with lots of links.

Oops.

TheHedonist wrote:

Oops.

I'm pleasantly surprised by that. I mean, they had a story. That's, like, one more than I would have expected!

I live and work here in Sanford. Pretty damn shameful.

This town has an ugly racial history, and so much for thinking things have changed. Last year the white son of a cop was not charged after sucker-punching a black homeless man.

Now we're disgraced again - twice over. First by this dirtbag who decided to play at being a cop, next by the cops themselves in letting him off. I'm holding out hope that the State Attorneys will decide to charge Zimmerman.

myeerah wrote:

TheHedonist wrote:

Oops.

I'm pleasantly surprised by that. I mean, they had a story. That's, like, one more than I would have expected!

Calling bullshit. At the very same time that article was posted (today around noon) I was watching Fox News cover the story.

And I imagine they haven't charged him with any specific crimes yet because they're unsure of EXACTLY what law he broke. Maybe he got out of the car, chased this guy down, and shot him with no provocation. That's at least second degree murder. Maybe he walked up to the man with his gun drawn, demanding to know what the kid was doing, the kid reacted by physically defending himself and got shot. That's most likely some degree of illegal, but possibly only manslaughter of some sort. Maybe he walked up to the guy with his pistol in an unseen holster, politely inquired as to what the fellow was doing, the kid was actually up to no good, reacted physically without any threatening presence or actions by Zimmerman, and at that point Zimmerman got his weapon out and shot him. That may be entirely legal.

So they're going to take their goddamn time and figure out EXACTLY what happened (at least as best they can) before proceeding, with the intent of avoiding any mistakes or misguided assumptions that could turn the whole thing into more of a clusterfuck than it was in the first place.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Calling bullshit. At the very same time that article was posted (today around noon) I was watching Fox News cover the story.

The article only claims to cover up to the time it was posted, and the numbers speak for themselves.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

And I imagine they haven't charged him with any specific crimes yet because they're unsure of EXACTLY what law he broke. Maybe he got out of the car, chased this guy down, and shot him with no provocation. That's at least second degree murder. Maybe he walked up to the man with his gun drawn, demanding to know what the kid was doing, the kid reacted by physically defending himself and got shot. That's most likely some degree of illegal, but possibly only manslaughter of some sort. Maybe he walked up to the guy with his pistol in an unseen holster, politely inquired as to what the fellow was doing, the kid was actually up to no good, reacted physically without any threatening presence or actions by Zimmerman, and at that point Zimmerman got his weapon out and shot him. That may be entirely legal.

So they're going to take their goddamn time and figure out EXACTLY what happened (at least as best they can) before proceeding, with the intent of avoiding any mistakes or misguided assumptions that could turn the whole thing into more of a clusterfuck than it was in the first place.

Now ask yourself: were their races reversed, would this have happened? And would that kind of care (which you are basically fabricating, btw) be taken in selecting the proper charge?

The thing of it is, this took place in a closed, gated community,which Treyvon''s family lived in. It was an interracial community, and several neighbors have said that everyone (including Zimmerman) knew Trayvon and his family.

Also, the community didn't have any sort of Community Watch Program in place. This was apparently a 'job' that Mr. Zimmerman took upon himself. The police had apparently had trouble with him calling them before about 'suspected dangerous individuals,' who were also members of the community and who, in all cases, were African-American.

And then there was the aforementioned fact that his son was not charged for nearly beating a black man to death, despite the fact that there was videotape of the incident.

I'm beginning to think the people who suggest we just cut Florida off from the US are right. But let the African-American people move away first. With any luck, the bigots left behind will turn their hate on each other, and Darwinism can solve the problem.

The Feds (DoJ, FBI and the U.S. Attorney) are going to investigate.

rachel wrote:

The Feds (DoJ, FBI and the U.S. Attorney) are going to investigate.

Good. Maybe some justice will be done after all.

rachel wrote:

The Feds (DoJ, FBI and the U.S. Attorney) are going to investigate.

Eric Holder will never hesitate to unnecessarily insert himself into ANY situation that may or may not pertain in some way to racism (unless, of course, the alleged perpetrators are black). Especially if it takes focus off ALL THE OTHER FUCK UPS he's managed.

Trayvon Martin: New details in George Zimmerman domestic-violence petitions

TheIan wrote:

Quote :

On the evening of February 26, Trayvon Martin—an unarmed 17-year-old African American student—was confronted, shot, and killed near his home by George Zimmerman, a Latino neighborhood watch captain in the Orlando, Florida, suburb of Sanford.

Only in Florida would something unbelievable like this fucking happen.

This is fucking ridiculous.

Actually, Ian, psychos like George Zimmerman aren't exactly a rare commodity in the other 49 states either. That said, I'll agree with you Florida seems to be a particularly fertile breeding ground for such people.

The stuff we know about already should've put Zimmerman up on charges (Following Martin in his car, blatantly ignoring the 911 dispatcher who told him not to pursue, getting out of his car to chase Martin down). This is like throwing yourself into traffic, then claiming you didn't cause the resultant pile-up.

It should be noted that the local police chief and the local state attorney have both left the case (The chief has taken a leave of absence for the duration and the DA recused himself from the case.)

For me, that ticks the "Why isn't Zimmerman in jail" needle over from "Racism" to "Cowardice."

But for a dose of Faith In Humanity: Here's the Miami Heat posing in hoodies in solidarity for Trayvon.


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

^
Lebron James: Even a bigger attention whore than Eric Holder.

Mikey, why the fuck are you concerned over people being attention whores when an innocent kid was murdered and no one did shit about it? You need to set your priorities straight.

Sports are Mikey's priorities.

That and trying WAAAAAAAAAY too hard to be edgy and hardcore.

Lovely


You know, on one hand a teenager got shot and died. On the other EVERYONE is using it to gain something for themselves.

Then there is this.


What does the previous suspension for a baggie of pot have to do with what happened that night?


According to this source, he is claiming that he called the police then went back to his car when Martin attacked him.