Little-Acorn
Gold Member
The whole Zimmerman/Martin episode happened, because Zimmerman was suspicious of Trayvon and followed him, and Trayvon didn't like it, challenged Zimmerman, and later attacked him.
Zimmerman's neighborhood had been burgled several times in the recent past, Zimmerman obviously didn't like it (probably a lot of people didn't like it), and so Zimmerman went on Neighborhood Watch.
I'm a white guy. Suppose there was a neighborhood that had been burgled several times, and when the perps had been caught or seen, they had turned out to be white guys. A couple months later on a rainy night, I go strolling through the neighborhood, looking at the houses. I don't live there, I'm a stranger to most people there. And I notice a guy is watching me. And as I walk along, I notice he starts strolling along after me.
How would I feel? I don't like being followed, and I don't much like people staring at me as though they were suspicious I were up to no good. All I'm doing is walking along a public sidewalk. OTOH, all the guy behind me is doing, is walking along the same public sidewalk.
Bu do you know what? Even though I don't like it, maybe I would say, "Well, I know they've been robbed a few times, I guess I can't blame them for being suspicious of a stranger, like me." And I'd probably just complete my stroll, get to wherever I was going, and knock on the door and greet the people I was going to visit (or drive away or whatever the conclusion was).
Would I turn on the guy following me, and challenge him, telling him to get off my a**? Probably not. It's not my neighborhood, and maybe it is his. And would I later jump out, slug him, knock him down, and start beating him? Of course not. Even if I didn't like being eyed or followed, I'd likely say, "Well, I guess I understand why they're doing it, they've been robbed in the past, and maybe they're nervous. I can understand that."
And what if most of the neighbors there were black, and were eyeing me and one of them following me? Is there a chance some of them might automatically not like a guy like me who isn't black? Yes, could be. But they would still have a legitimate reason to be suspicious of me.
When Trayvon didn't like being eyed and followed, that was understandable. But so was Zimmerman's actions in eying and following him - that was completely understandable too, given that the neighborhood had been burgled recently, several times. Zimmerman, in fact, did nothing wrong.
IT WAS TRAYVON WHO WAS WRONG, when Trayvon slugged Zimmerman, knocked him down, and started beating on him.
People keep saying that Zimmerman should have stayed home that night, or should have stayed in his car after calling the police.
But Zimmerman did nothing wrong. Trayvon was the one who did wrong. Then it went downhill from there.
And when Zimmerman was on his back with Trayvon on top of him raining blows down on him and saying, "You're going to die tonight, motherfucker", Zimmerman exercised justifiable self-defense in pulling his gun and firing.
Sorry guys. It was a tragic incident, and sure, it would have been better if both sides had exercised a little more restraint.
But Trayvon was the one who did wrong. Not Zimmerman.
And it was because of Trayvon's huge over-reaction, that everything went to hell. Not anything that Zimmerman did - Zimmerman's acts were not extreme, until after he was on his back and getting beaten repeatedly.
Zimmerman's neighborhood had been burgled several times in the recent past, Zimmerman obviously didn't like it (probably a lot of people didn't like it), and so Zimmerman went on Neighborhood Watch.
I'm a white guy. Suppose there was a neighborhood that had been burgled several times, and when the perps had been caught or seen, they had turned out to be white guys. A couple months later on a rainy night, I go strolling through the neighborhood, looking at the houses. I don't live there, I'm a stranger to most people there. And I notice a guy is watching me. And as I walk along, I notice he starts strolling along after me.
How would I feel? I don't like being followed, and I don't much like people staring at me as though they were suspicious I were up to no good. All I'm doing is walking along a public sidewalk. OTOH, all the guy behind me is doing, is walking along the same public sidewalk.
Bu do you know what? Even though I don't like it, maybe I would say, "Well, I know they've been robbed a few times, I guess I can't blame them for being suspicious of a stranger, like me." And I'd probably just complete my stroll, get to wherever I was going, and knock on the door and greet the people I was going to visit (or drive away or whatever the conclusion was).
Would I turn on the guy following me, and challenge him, telling him to get off my a**? Probably not. It's not my neighborhood, and maybe it is his. And would I later jump out, slug him, knock him down, and start beating him? Of course not. Even if I didn't like being eyed or followed, I'd likely say, "Well, I guess I understand why they're doing it, they've been robbed in the past, and maybe they're nervous. I can understand that."
And what if most of the neighbors there were black, and were eyeing me and one of them following me? Is there a chance some of them might automatically not like a guy like me who isn't black? Yes, could be. But they would still have a legitimate reason to be suspicious of me.
When Trayvon didn't like being eyed and followed, that was understandable. But so was Zimmerman's actions in eying and following him - that was completely understandable too, given that the neighborhood had been burgled recently, several times. Zimmerman, in fact, did nothing wrong.
IT WAS TRAYVON WHO WAS WRONG, when Trayvon slugged Zimmerman, knocked him down, and started beating on him.
People keep saying that Zimmerman should have stayed home that night, or should have stayed in his car after calling the police.
But Zimmerman did nothing wrong. Trayvon was the one who did wrong. Then it went downhill from there.
And when Zimmerman was on his back with Trayvon on top of him raining blows down on him and saying, "You're going to die tonight, motherfucker", Zimmerman exercised justifiable self-defense in pulling his gun and firing.
Sorry guys. It was a tragic incident, and sure, it would have been better if both sides had exercised a little more restraint.
But Trayvon was the one who did wrong. Not Zimmerman.
And it was because of Trayvon's huge over-reaction, that everything went to hell. Not anything that Zimmerman did - Zimmerman's acts were not extreme, until after he was on his back and getting beaten repeatedly.
