17-yo Teen Trayvon Martin Shot to Death by Neighborhood Watch Captain #6

[tlcya]

Although Mr. H took me to task upthread earlier, and our opinions on whether GZ was within his rights under the law are obviously different, I still respect RH and value his input on this forum.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

Did you listen to the phone call of Trayvon with his girlfriend? The kid was scared for his life understandably. He had this big brut following him for no apparent reason. Poor Trayvon probably thought he was being attacked by some robber and Trayvon was the one defending himself. How is it possible for this story to get so twisted? There was no reason whatsoever to shoot an innocent 17 year old kid regardless of what color he was!!!!!!!!!!:banghead:

Poor Trayvon? Who was reported by an eyewitness to have been on top of GZ in a fight? Who gave GZ injuries to his nose and back of his head as noted in the police report? This has gotten twisted because people immediately ignore anything that doesn't paint GZ out to be the bad guy. We've heard conspiracy theories about GZ being covered for because his dad was a judge, it's just been silly. If Trayvon wanted to escape, he would have run home. I'm certain he could outrun the husky GZ.

 

[tlcya]

LOL from looking at the map he would have been on the street he lived on.

yeah, that one had me stymied when I read that particular account last week as well.

 

[Dr.Fessel]

Anyone think Zimmerman is happy his newer picture was released? I bet he wishes they had stuck with his old mugshot.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

I huge 240 lb bully packing a gun against a small 140 lb 17 year old kid and you think that's fair??? Did you listen to the 911 calls and the call between TM and his girlfriend? TM was just trying to defend himself. The witness said she heard a KID screaming for help until she heard the gun go off and then all was quiet. How sickening and pathetic for anyone to blame the victim here!

And how did this overweight "bully" catch the nimble athletic Trayvon? I don't think he was trying to defend himself, I think he started the fight and there is plenty of evidence to back that up. An eyewitness also reported GZ was asking for help.

 

[gxm]

I huge 240 lb bully packing a gun against a small 140 lb 17 year old kid and you think that's fair??? Did you listen to the 911 calls and the call between TM and his girlfriend? TM was just trying to defend himself. The witness said she heard a KID screaming for help until she heard the gun go off and then all was quiet. How sickening and pathetic for anyone to blame the victim here!

BBM.

How can one "listen" to the call between TM and his girlfriend? It was not recorded.

 

[mck16]

Oh good grief. GZ has yet to invent fictional characters (the nanny didn't do it) and, to the best of my knowledge, he stayed and waited for LE and his story hasn't changed much (if at all).

I entered this case with little sympathy for GZ. For one thing, the idea of an armed neighborhood watch captain scares the bejeezus out of me. And the shooting death of an unarmed teenager is gut-wrenching. It makes my heart hurt. But the resulting witch hunt sickens me as well. The lies and distortion of the few facts and evidence we have and then this whole "hoodie" fixation that the media started (IMO, insensitive and disrespectful)—such an evil circus this case has become. I just hope there's some way to rein it back in.

I agree with all you said. All teenagers wear hoodies too. Seeing a teen boy at night in a hoodie scares me regardless of race. I would also like to see a recent picture of the boy. The picture in the media is not of a 17 year old.

I heard this morning that the black panters had offered a 10,000 dollar reward to anyone who can find Zimmerman. This has gone way too far especially since the same thing happens all over every night. I am over it, I hope justice is served, but in a court of law and not on the streets. And Obama needs to take care of our country and get out of this. The news, the pres, all this has made it racial. I am so sorry for T's mother and father. Have they even had a funeral for him yet? jmo

 

[ziggy]

That's not true. I am a dual board certified criminal defense attorney, and until I wrote my blog the other night, I was unsure of the in and outs of the Stand Your Ground law. Especially since there are very few articles on what exactly t means.

Honestly, listening to many people here, it seems opinions are based on pure speculation so that they can continue to paint GZ as the bad guy.

After reading the information released by Sanford PD, I think GZ was completely within his rights to react the way he did.

I have to agree with you. I listened to the 911 tape the woman called in where you can hear the calls for help. If that is GZ calling for help, and he had the wounds that are reported, he may well have acted appropriately under the law.

If TM was attacking GZ simply for following him or watching him, that would be starting a confrontation as an aggressor.

 

[beach]

Mod Note:

WHOA.

Absolutely NO personal attacks will be tolerated.

Chill out and calm down.

I don't care how passionate anyone feels, you absolutely must post respectfully toward other members.

 

[HiHater]

I wish I had a visual of the path Trayvon was taking from the 7-11, and where George Zimmerman spotted him. It would also be good to see where Zimmerman's truck was parked in relation to where the actual shooting occurred.

It seems like Zimmerman got out of his truck to look for a street sign, but he ended up behind the condos and a good deal away from his truck.

If Trayvon was running away, and George Zimmerman was leaving as well, how did the two cross paths?

Chief Bill Lee (I believe) says Zimmerman asked Trayvon a question and was jumped. He also said that Zimmerman was headed back to his car. I'm wondering if he had actually started walking back to his car (would be evidenced by the distances mentioned above), or if Zimmerman simply claims to be headed back. Seems to me like Zimmerman went to where Trayvon was at, and not vice versa.

:twocents: :moo:

 

[ziggy]

I think it's a disservice to all communities to start wearing hoodies in support of TM. I agree with Mck16 - if I see a teen male with a hoodie on at night I don't care what color he is, I'm steering clear.

When we go to see a play, the costumes the characters wear help us identify who they are and what type of character they are. This isn't steroptypig. This is real life. If you don't want to be "identified" as the gansta/, then DON'T WEAR THE COSTUME. If you don't mind and don't care - fine. But complaining about it is stupid.

 

[tambo]

This claims that GZ states TM tried to take his gun from him.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-shooter-teenager-gun/story?id=16000239

I would have gone after the gun to if somebody was stalking me...if he did attack first, my guess is that he saw the gun and was scared #$#$@#$

common sense tells me that if someone is following me around in a car, and i try to dodge them and they catch up to me and i see a gun...i have every right to go after them and try to protect myself...I wouldn't run away, i would be afraid they would shoot me in the back, and i'm pretty sure i would do my best to disarm them...

zimmerman started this whole chain of events by following him, trayvon did not instigate any thing, he tried to get away, (i think thats pretty obvious from the 911 call and the girlfriend)

I wonder what would have happened if trayvon had gotten the gun and shot zimmerman, i'm assuming that he would have been protected under that law because he would have been standing his ground...but somehow, I just don't think that would have happened...

again with my common sense, if it was me and some guy following me with a gun, I would obviously think that person was up to no good...and i would fight like crazy....jmo...but i think that could very well be what happened...

 

[m00c0w]

I would have gone after the gun to if somebody was stalking me...if he did attack first, my guess is that he saw the gun and was scared #$#$@#$

common sense tells me that if someone is following me around in a car, and i try to dodge them and they catch up to me and i see a gun...i have every right to go after them and try to protect myself...I wouldn't run away, i would be afraid they would shoot me in the back, and i'm pretty sure i would do my best to disarm them...

zimmerman started this whole chain of events by following him, trayvon did not instigate any thing, he tried to get away, (i think thats pretty obvious from the 911 call and the girlfriend)

I wonder what would have happened if trayvon had gotten the gun and shot zimmerman, i'm assuming that he would have been protected under that law because he would have been standing his ground...but somehow, I just don't think that would have happened...

again with my common sense, if it was me and some guy following me with a gun, I would obviously think that person was up to no good...and i would fight like crazy....jmo...but i think that could very well be what happened...

This assumes that Martin saw the gun before he was on top of Zimmerman, beating him (as verified by an eyewitness). JMO

 

[wishuwerehere]

I agree with all you said. All teenagers wear hoodies too. Seeing a teen boy at night in a hoodie scares me regardless of race. I would also like to see a recent picture of the boy. The picture in the media is not of a 17 year old.

I heard this morning that the black panters had offered a 10,000 dollar reward to anyone who can find Zimmerman. This has gone way too far especially since the same thing happens all over every night. I am over it, I hope justice is served, but in a court of law and not on the streets. And Obama needs to take care of our country and get out of this. The news, the pres, all this has made it racial. I am so sorry for T's mother and father. Have they even had a funeral for him yet? jmo

BBM - I disagree. GZ is the one who made this racial. Just listen to his 911 call. IMO his 911 call is going to sink him in court.

But the media is sensationalizing the story, just like they do with everything else.

I am pleased to see the outpouring of peaceful protests around the country. Democracy in action.

jmo

 

[tlcya]

I agree with all you said. All teenagers wear hoodies too. Seeing a teen boy at night in a hoodie scares me regardless of race. I would also like to see a recent picture of the boy. The picture in the media is not of a 17 year old.

I heard this morning that the black panters had offered a 10,000 dollar reward to anyone who can find Zimmerman. This has gone way too far especially since the same thing happens all over every night. I am over it, I hope justice is served, but in a court of law and not on the streets. And Obama needs to take care of our country and get out of this. The news, the pres, all this has made it racial. I am so sorry for T's mother and father. Have they even had a funeral for him yet? jmo

BBM I agree with this. While I do think GZ overstepped his bounds that night and I do think he and he alone precipitated the confrontation that led to his shooting TM, I wish this hadn't become so much about race. I do not know if I believe GZ is a racist. I have not seen evidence of that and do not take a media enhanced tape claiming to contain racial slurs as gospel.

I think GZ was overzealous and is responsible for the wrongful death of TM. I believe the stand your ground law in Florida AS WRITTEN is a problem and offers far to much wiggle room.

I would hate to see this turn into something all about racism as I am not at all convinced that is what this case is about.

 

[gxm]

LOL from looking at the map he would have been on the street he lived on.

Maybe he was checking for block numbers? I have no idea. But I've lived in my neighborhood for almost two years and I don't know all the street names. I lived in the previous neighborhood for close to twenty years. Same thing. I'm one of those people who uses landmarks and time (not street names and distance). I only use street names when I'm following a map. Once I know how to get there, the map (and the street names) get tossed.

 

[LolaMoon08]

I personally believe that when Zimmerman caught back up with Trayvon and Trayvon asked "why are you following me", Zimmerman pulled out his gun and that is when the altercation started. We will never know if Trayvon punched him in the face or if when trying to keep the gun from shooting him, he elbowed Zimmerman.

IMO, Trayvon was the one defending himself and lost. I will never be convinced that this kid provoked or started an altercation unless he felt threatened.

I will always stand by my belief that Zimmerman went looking for Trayvon. Trayvon did not go looking for him.

 

[Horace Finklestein]

I would have gone after the gun to if somebody was stalking me...if he did attack first, my guess is that he saw the gun and was scared #$#$@#$

common sense tells me that if someone is following me around in a car, and i try to dodge them and they catch up to me and i see a gun...i have every right to go after them and try to protect myself...I wouldn't run away, i would be afraid they would shoot me in the back, and i'm pretty sure i would do my best to disarm them...

zimmerman started this whole chain of events by following him, trayvon did not instigate any thing, he tried to get away, (i think thats pretty obvious from the 911 call and the girlfriend)

I wonder what would have happened if trayvon had gotten the gun and shot zimmerman, i'm assuming that he would have been protected under that law because he would have been standing his ground...but somehow, I just don't think that would have happened...

again with my common sense, if it was me and some guy following me with a gun, I would obviously think that person was up to no good...and i would fight like crazy....jmo...but i think that could very well be what happened...

TM may well have instigated the fight.

 

[HiHater]

I think it's a disservice to all communities to start wearing hoodies in support of TM. I agree with Mck16 - if I see a teen male with a hoodie on at night I don't care what color he is, I'm steering clear.

When we go to see a play, the costumes the characters wear help us identify who they are and what type of character they are. This isn't steroptypig. This is real life. If you don't want to be "identified" as the gansta/, then DON'T WEAR THE COSTUME. If you don't mind and don't care - fine. But complaining about it is stupid.

What you just said is exactly why we see the hoodie protests. Hoodies are not "gansta" or wear. Thugs and gangsters wear all types of things, and I guarantee that a hoodie will never be the surest and clearest sign that allows you to identify a gangster or .

Imagine that, a woman wearing a short skirt must be a sl*t. How dare she show any type of cleavage; her self respect just went out the window. :waitasec:

This type of stereotyping based on "costumes" is a very outdated, and quite frankly ignorant, practice...

 

[LolaMoon08]

Maybe he was checking for block numbers? I have no idea. But I've lived in my neighborhood for almost two years and I don't know all the street names. I lived in the previous neighborhood for close to twenty years. Same thing. I'm one of those people who uses landmarks and time (not street names and distance). I only use street names when I'm following a map. Once I know how to get there, the map (and the street names) get tossed.

Have you taken it upon yourself to constantly patrol your neighborhood since 2009 looking for anything to call LE about? If I am not mistaken, there are only three streets in the entire complex. Zimmerman knew where he was. Trayvon didn't.