Such a waste of life. I don't fault D for pointing out the parking violation, but he should have let it rest after. Getting into an argument was foolish. Nevertheless, I feel M is responsible, because he assaulted D
Incidents like this are very rare. That's why we talk about it. Most people are reasonable and responsible. They have to be for our society to function.I remember pulling in to a Wal-mart and two ladies just left their shopping cart in a parking space I was going to use. I just shook my head, and that was enough to set the woman off and start yelling at me, but she then went and put her cart in the return area. Some people are so inconsiderate nowadays. Is it really worth it?
I just wish as the old Glen Campbell song says, we would all show a little kindness
Clearwater police chief: Stand your ground’ law needs significant improvements’
Published: July 23, 2018
Updated: July 23, 2018 at 03:08 PM
Clearwater police Chief Dan Slaughter said Florida's "stand your ground" law needs "significant improvements" days after a fatal shooting last week riled his community.
While the death of Markeis McGlockton, who was shot during a confrontation that started over a parking space, was just outside of the Clearwater Police Department's jurisdiction, Slaughter attended a vigil Sunday night at church within the city.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office investigated the incident, and Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced Friday that his agency would not arrest the shooter, Michael Drejka, because the encounter met criteria established under "stand your ground." The sheriff forwarded the case to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's office for a final determination.
[...]
The shooting occurred at the Circle A Food Store in a tiny enclave of unincorporated Pinellas County surrounded by the city of Clearwater, making it a matter of blocks that the decision of whether to arrest Drejka fell on Gualtieri, not Slaughter.
The chief wouldn't say Monday whether he would have made the same call, saying he hasn't "had the benefit of seeing all the evidence and the testimony and the statements."
But he did point out a couple aspects of the law he took issue with.
[...]
Gualtieri, too, zeroed in on those components of the law during a news conference Friday and emphasized he has to assess the situation in the eyes of the law.
[...]
"I am a firm believer in the adage that 'just because you can doesn't mean you should,'" he continued. "But I'll also say … I'm not going to substitute my judgement for Drejka's judgment sitting on the ground after having been slammed to the ground either."
[...]
A couple of things, it is not a "privileged action" to point out that an able bodied person is sitting in a handicapped spot. Only an a__hole would do that, and you'd have to be a bigger a__hole not to move when somebody called you out on it. Another thing, I don't know who told you he was yelling because the video seems to show he wasn't. The girlfriend said that he only said "You're in an f__king handicapped spot". What was her response to that? My guess was that it wasn't very pleasant. By the end of it MD may have been yelling but I strongly believe that the woman was the instigator. And again, would she have moved if a black person called her out? Same thing with MM, I doubt he would have reacted in the same manner if it had been a black guy. So racism goes both ways my friend.It is a privileged action to approach a stranger and yell at them for parking unlawfully; some groups of people would feel empowered to be able to do this and some groups of people would not.
It is a biased position to feel more in fear of your life because a person who pushed you is different from you.
Bias and privilege are more often than not unconscious. It is just a fact of the world and ignoring bias or acting like bias only has impact when it is conscious and willful does nothing to better the world we live in. No one here has enough facts to truly say what motivated the actions that day, but statistics do not lie and the history of D that has come out makes a strong case for at least an unconscious bias. I similarly believe a bias for the handicap was at play here; D has even said he was upset about the parking because of personal relations to handicapped persons. Not all bias is bad, but we have to see and acknowledge the bias to understand the full picture better.
Do you know if MD is handicapped? If he was, it certainly would be within his rights. In fact anybody in America has the right to do that, its called freedom of speech. <modsnipped>It is a privileged action to confront someone about something outside of your authority.
I've already stated this on this thread but I'll say it again. The Bill of Rights is between the government and private citizens. The government cannot curtail speech unless one of the exceptions applies. The Bill of Rights is not between private citizens. Freedom of speech has nothing to do with this. It is not a free-for-all to say whatever you want to whomever you want and face no consequences.Do you know if MD is handicapped? If he was, it certainly would be within his rights. In fact anybody in America has the right to do that, its called freedom of speech. <modsnipped>
That is all pure conjecture on your part. Not a fact in it. What would you do if the positions were reversed and there was a scary black man using foul language and yelling at your wife and child?A couple of things, it is not a "privileged action" to point out that an able bodied person is sitting in a handicapped spot. Only an a__hole would do that, and you'd have to be a bigger a__hole not to move when somebody called you out on it. Another thing, I don't know who told you he was yelling because the video seems to show he wasn't. The girlfriend said that he only said "You're in an f__king handicapped spot". What was her response to that? My guess was that it wasn't very pleasant. By the end of it MD may have been yelling but I strongly believe that the woman was the instigator. And again, would she have moved if a black person called her out? Same thing with MM, I doubt he would have reacted in the same manner if it had been a black guy. So racism goes both ways my friend.
The way I see it, if a person decides to live their life on the wrong side of the law, they risk something like this happening. Just like if you ignore traffic laws, it might not end up well for you. MM broke two laws in the span of a few minutes, one of which was probably a felony. Thats the chance he took and I really have very little sympathy for him. You talk about privilege yet you seem to ignore the fact that MM used his size to solve his problems. He slammed a man to the ground because his idiot of a wife wouldn't take her lumps and move to a space that she was actually entitled to be in. <modsnipped personalized comment>I've already stated this on this thread but I'll say it again. The Bill of Rights is between the government and private citizens. The government cannot curtail speech unless one of the exceptions applies. The Bill of Rights is not between private citizens. Freedom of speech has nothing to do with this. It is not a free-for-all to say whatever you want to whomever you want and face no consequences.
Anyway, if you can't see the privilege in this situation, then there is nothing I can do to explain it to you and I suggest we move on.
It wouldn't happen because we are not morons and would never park in a handicapped spot. In fact, I have a handicapped permit as my parents are quite elderly, yet I don't even use it because I can drop them right at the door and go park in a regular spot. Why risk taking a spot from SOMEONE WHO MIGHT ACTUALLY NEED IT? But if you are asking if I'd violently blindside a guy because he was yelling at my wife, the answer would be no, I'm a grownup.That is all pure conjecture on your part. Not a fact in it. What would you do if the positions were reversed and there was a scary black man using foul language and yelling at your wife and child?
Attorneys break the law?The way I see it, if a person decides to live their life on the wrong side of the law, they risk something like this happening. Just like if you ignore traffic laws, it might not end up well for you. MM broke two laws in the span of a few minutes, one of which was probably a felony. Thats the chance he took and I really have very little sympathy for him. You talk about privilege yet you seem to ignore the fact that MM used his size to solve his problems. He slammed a man to the ground because his idiot of a wife wouldn't take her lumps and move to a space that she was actually entitled to be in. Quit making excuses for people that break the law, but I see you're an attorney, thats just what you do.
What would you do?It wouldn't happen because we are not morons and would never park in a handicapped spot. In fact, I have a handicapped permit as my parents are quite elderly, yet I don't even use it because I can drop them right at the door and go park in a regular spot. Why risk taking a spot from SOMEONE WHO MIGHT ACTUALLY NEED IT? But if you are asking if I'd violently blindside a guy because he was yelling at my wife, the answer would be no, I'm a grownup.
And this is not conjecture, its based on what she said and what was shown on the video. We know he said that she was in a f__king handicapped spot as he was WALKING AWAY. The fact that he came back leads me to believe that she didn't say "sorry, I'll move". So what else could she possibly have said? Stop making excuses for these people.That is all pure conjecture on your part. Not a fact in it. What would you do if the positions were reversed and there was a scary black man using foul language and yelling at your wife and child?
And this is not conjecture, its based on what she said and what was shown on the video. We know he said that she was in a f__king handicapped spot as he was WALKING AWAY. The fact that he came back leads me to believe that she didn't say "sorry, I'll move". So what else could she possibly have said? Stop making excuses for these people.That is all pure conjecture on your part. Not a fact in it. What would you do if the positions were reversed and there was a scary black man using foul language and yelling at your wife and child?