Unarmed teen gets shot by overzealous neighborhood watch (Florida!)UPDATE: Z Arrested

[Thor Simpson]

Originally Posted by covenant

With what culture did it originate?

Those hooded bastards in the Lord of the Rings that are always after Frodo! Sorry, but if you're just checking it out and then a Nazgûl comes after you and starts bashing your head against the concrete, you have a gun... seriously, what are you going to do?

[Schloob1]

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man

I agree. How dare this family not send photos of their murdered kid thuggin' out in front of a webcam to the media. Because, goddamnit, that's what a bunch of people on the internet want to see. Really, really selfish of his family.

They can provide whatever photos they want of their son, just as long as they are actually relevant to the case at hand. Sorry, but pictures that are of a child from say over 6 years ago are not. If they have "nice" looking photos of him at his current age, by all means use them. For all we know they possibly did, and anyways it is more with the media that I have the issue with of using such outdated photos to promote such a possible bias.

[RoyalTea]

Originally Posted by Schloob1

Because at least then you are providing an actual picture of what the person looks like currently. Answer me this obvious question. Say a 16-17 year old invidual is kidnapped for example. Do the parents provide the media with a recent picture taken in the last year or say one from over 6 years ago? Of course the recent. Simple fact is the other pictures have been provided to show this sweet, innocent, saint of a young child who has been shot down in cold blood basically. While I am no way going 1 way or other on this I am just always put off by the obvious bias that is put out there in how individuals get portrayed in order to possibly sway the way people view them. It obviously works, because where I work many women in particular have been swayed by them showing the younger pictures and saying how "nice" of a boy he appears to be, etc.

Don't you think the incentive for the family of the kidnapping victim is to show what the child looks like now because it might aid in the search?

[Rockmjd23]

Originally Posted by grundle

According to the police report, he was shot and killed by a man who was trying to protect his head from being bashed into the concrete.

Perhaps the police report was wrong. Perhaps not. I hope the truth gets proven.

This is probably a case where both sides did stupid shit that they shouldn't have done, and that caused the death of an unarmed teenager.

[CRM114]

Probably covered before but the pic of Zimmerman in the orange jumpsuit is old, right? Because the dude in the video has way less hair.

[Buttmunker]

Listen - the problem here isn't black, or white, or skin color of any kind. The problem is Zimmerman owning a hand-gun. Let's face it: it's easier to shoot somebody than it is to beat the shit out of them.

Trayvon was a skinny kid, and Zimmerman had some weight going for him, and could have easily immobilized Trayvon without too much damage. But Zimmerman is the real punk in this scenario, because if you're going to be "a big man," don't bring a gun.

Zimmerman deserves prison for the rest of his life. Unless you're a cop-on-duty, if you're carrying a hand-gun to a confrontation that you think will end up physical, it is premeditated murder in the first degree. End of story - no trial necessary, but by all means, waste money and have one, since its the constitutional thing to do.

[grundle]

Originally Posted by grundle

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1375083.html

"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said


http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/29/se...ed-identified/

Second Trayvon Martin Twitter feed identified

03/29/2012

The Daily Caller has identified a second Twitter handle that was used by the late Trayvon Martin during the last weeks of 2011. Tweeting in December under the name “T33ZY TAUGHT M3,” Martin sent a message that read, “Plzz shoot da #mf dat lied 2 u!”


This image is the photograph the late Trayvon Martin used to represent his Twitter identity in late 2011, under the screen name "T33ZY_TAUGHT_M3." Although the Twitter account was deleted, The Daily Caller retrieved it from the social analytics website PeopleBrowsr. The upper-arm tattoo in the image matches one in a close-up photograph on Martin's MySpace page. (Image: Twitter)

It’s unclear who Martin intended the message for, or whether he intended it to be taken literally.

The photo Martin chose to represent himself on Twitter as “T33ZY TAUGHT M3″ depicts him in a black Polo cap, looking into the camera and extending his middle finger. The photo’s file name on Twitter’s server indicates that it was taken on the afternoon of June 17, 2010.

At least one website issued a retraction this week after mistakenly linking Martin to a middle-finger-salute image on a Facebook account corresponding to a Georgia teenager who shares Martin’s name. This image, however, was uploaded to Twitter by the teen himself.

On Tuesday TheDC published 152 pages of Martin’s Twitter activity that were retrieved using the social analytics product PeopleBrowsr.

Additional searches via the same website yielded the Twitter handle “T33ZY TAUGHT M3,” whose activity spanned just one month and ended shortly before Martin began tweeting as “NO_LIMIT_NIGGA.” His Twitter activity under that newer screen name began with the tweet: “NEW NAME, NEW BACKGROUND, NEW TWEETCON, I MAKE CHANGS B4 NEW YEARS!”

Although The Daily Caller has not confirmed with Martin’s family that the earlier Twitter handle belonged to the 17-year-old, there is significant evidence for the conclusion.

A basic Google search for “@T33ZY_TAUGHT_M3″ on Wednesday indicated that corresponds to a defunct Twitter account once used by someone named “Tray.” The same name, entered into the Google Images search engine, generated the photo of Martin flipping off the camera.

Upper-arm tattoos visible in that photo match those depicted in the Trayvon Martin’s MySpace page, which TheDC has also identified. That account includes numerous features, including photos of family members, indicating that it belonged to the slain teen.

[Groucho]

Originally Posted by RoyalTea

Don't you think the incentive for the family of the kidnapping victim is to show what the child looks like now because it might aid in the search?

You'd think that, but it doesn't always happen. Take for instance the recent story about the child who was kidnapped as a baby (8 years ago) and only recently found. The family didn't bother putting out updated photos as the baby aged, which probably would have aided greatly in the search and resulted in a much speedier recovery.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by Schloob1

They can provide whatever photos they want of their son, just as long as they are actually relevant to the case at hand. Sorry, but pictures that are of a child from say over 6 years ago are not. If they have "nice" looking photos of him at his current age, by all means use them. For all we know they possibly did, and anyways it is more with the media that I have the issue with of using such outdated photos to promote such a possible bias.

yeah, fuck the media for picking such an outdated picture from their Treyvon Martin photo book!

[CRM114]

Originally Posted by jfoobar

Please see post #493. The "stand your ground" law in Florida has no relevance to this case at all and media reports implying the contrary are irresponsible, at the very least.

In other words, if you believe Zimmerman, and he was actually assaulted first, it would be pure self defense. But if you don't believe Zimmerman, and the kid merely seemed as if he was going to attack and got shot, the Stand Your Ground rule would apply, right?

So its a stretch to say it has no relevance unless you buy the murderer's story.

[majorjoe23]

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man

I think they lightened the picture to generate sympathy, because people with lighter skin are better than people with darker skin.

Shit, you're from Utah... you know all about that.

With his eggshell skin tone, Groucho is actually the darkest person in Utah.

[grundle]

The mainstream media has just released this image, which was taken by a security camera just seconds before the shooting:

Spoiler:

[Thor Simpson]

Originally Posted by Buttmunker

if you're carrying a hand-gun to a confrontation that you think will end up physical, it is premeditated murder in the first degree. End of story - no trial necessary, but by all means, waste money and have one, since its the constitutional thing to do.

That's absurd for a number of reasons.

1) How can we possibly assess whether he thought pursuing would end up in a physical confrontation?

2) Other people in this country are armed. Including criminals.

3) We still have no idea who actually initiated the physical attack.

If Zimmerman drew his gun early on, he never would have ended up on his back. I do think it's pretty clear that he didn't approach this situation with the intention to kill. Things got out of hand in a way he didn't anticipate. That doesn't make the killing justified or unjustified. But it does matter.

[TheBigDave]

Originally Posted by CRM114

Probably covered before but the pic of Zimmerman in the orange jumpsuit is old, right? Because the dude in the video has way less hair.

The orange jumpsuit pic is the mugshot from his 2005 arrest. He was around 20-21 at the time.

Is it a jumpsuit or just an orange shirt?

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/george-...075347786.html

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by TheBigDave

Is it a jumpsuit or just an orange shirt?

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/george-...075347786.html

It's an orange polo.

[Schloob1]

Originally Posted by Rockmjd23

This is probably a case where both sides did stupid shit that they shouldn't have done, and that caused the death of an unarmed teenager.

This has been my thought all along actually. Both parties in some way shape or form did things that should not have been done that lead to the needless death of one of those individuals unfortunately.

[RoyalTea]

Originally Posted by Groucho

You'd think that, but it doesn't always happen. Take for instance the recent story about the child who was kidnapped as a baby (8 years ago) and only recently found. The family didn't bother putting out updated photos as the baby aged, which probably would have aided greatly in the search and resulted in a much speedier recovery.

I didn't hear about this. I don't want to pass judgment without all the facts, but this family sounds stupid.

[draven31]

I keep saying, Zimmerman never should have got out of his car with a loaded firearm. He escalated things far beyond what was appropriate.

I'm thinking Zimmerman wanted to catch somebody, anybody while on "patrol". He sees a young black male and thinks he's got to be doing something wrong.

I do think he should be charged. The homicide detective thought so. Do I think he will be charged? Have no idea. At least they need to get this before a grand jury so all the evidence can be looked at. We hear new stuff everyday.

[CRM114]

Originally Posted by TheBigDave

The orange jumpsuit pic is the mugshot from his 2005 arrest. He was around 20-21 at the time.

Is it a jumpsuit or just an orange shirt?

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/george-...075347786.html

Interesting. So what's the problem with the youngster Martin photo? Those two photos were released together. Martin's photo was probably more recent.

[Schloob1]

Originally Posted by CRM114

Interesting. So what's the problem with the youngster Martin photo? Those two photos were released together. Martin's photo was probably more recent.

Barely more recent, that photo is said to be at least 5 years old. And obviously children change in appearance a lot more than say an adult would during the same time period.

[zoomgirl]

Originally Posted by covenant

With what culture did it originate?

Did what originate? No where in my post did I say anything about the ORIGIN of anything. I was referring to the generalization that that wearing gold teeth, having tatoos, and wearing baggy pants and hoodies IS NOT LIMITED to black people or their culture.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by zoomgirl

Did what originate? No where in my post did I say anything about the ORIGIN of anything. I was referring to the generalization that that wearing gold teeth, having tatoos, and wearing baggy pants and hoodies IS NOT LIMITED to black people or their culture.

Yeah, but it's usually only black people that are automatically assumed to be gangsters when they wear those styles.

[zoomgirl]

Originally Posted by draven31

I keep saying, Zimmerman never should have got out of his car with a loaded firearm. He escalated things far beyond what was appropriate.

I'm thinking Zimmerman wanted to catch somebody, anybody while on "patrol". He sees a young black male and thinks he's got to be doing something wrong.

I do think he should be charged. The homicide detective thought so. Do I think he will be charged? Have no idea. At least they need to get this before a grand jury so all the evidence can be looked at. We hear new stuff everyday.

I agree. Perhaps if Trayvon had jumped on his car or dragged him threw the window I would be more sympathatic toward Zimmerman and his " I was in fear of my life" theory. We can all go in circles about this, we will just have to wait and see what happens.

[cpgator]

Originally Posted by draven31

I keep saying, Zimmerman never should have got out of his car with a loaded firearm. He escalated things far beyond what was appropriate.

He had a concealed weapon permit and probably carried the gun daily. Meaning everytime he got out of his car, he was carrying a loaded firearm. I don't see why you can't get past this part. Some people carry a weapon - get over it.

[PopcornTreeCt]

Originally Posted by Thor Simpson

Those hooded bastards in the Lord of the Rings that are always after Frodo! Sorry, but if you're just checking it out and then a Nazgûl comes after you and starts bashing your head against the concrete, you have a gun... seriously, what are you going to do?

As big as that is, I think it's still too small for Precious.