Rangerland Forum Information

[Kusand]

Anyone else been following the Trayvon Martin murder? What a fucking travesty that is. I can't believe Florida's laws make it likely this guy is going to walk.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archiv...killing/254776/

This post has been edited by Kusand: Mar 20 2012, 07:59 AM

[jburns]

He is not even quasi police. He is about as "police" as I am.

[HDH]

He is not even quasi police. He is about as "police" as I am.

But wasn't he in some type of uniform in a marked vehicle? Granted, it's NOT police, but at the same time the kid should know that he's in a "gated community" and if someone was following him he could have easily stopped and spoke to him. Why run?

I honestly don't know what Zimmerman was wearing so I'm asking sincerely.


(And in this case the shooter was as close to 100% as you can be....he followed the kid when he shouldn't have, he was carrying a gun when he shouldn't have, he engaged the kid when he shouldn't have, and he had that buff attitude, like he was going to save the world. I'm just saying that without the fleeing, this kid is PROBABALY alive today.)

[rightbug]

(I'm just saying that without the fleeing, this kid is PROBABALY alive today.)

The problem with this statement is that you are blaming the victim. Read his friend's account of their cell phone conversation -- It's heartbreaking:

"He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man," Martin's friend said. "I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run."

Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin. "Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man said, 'What are you doing here.' Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again and he didn't answer the phone."

This kid was a good kid and he was scared. He didn't want to run probably because he didn't want to provoke the guy. But what do you do when you're a kid being stalked by an adult? Saying that he'd still be alive if he hadn't run is laying some of the blame at his feet and that is entirely unjustified, if not fucked up, in a case like this. This kid's only crime was being black. That's some fucked up shit right there.

[HDH]

(I'm just saying that without the fleeing, this kid is PROBABALY alive today.)

The problem with this statement is that you are blaming the victim. Read his friend's account of their cell phone conversation -- It's heartbreaking:

"He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man," Martin's friend said. "I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run but he said he was not going to run."

Eventually he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin. "Trayvon said, 'What, are you following me for,' and the man said, 'What are you doing here.' Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again and he didn't answer the phone."

This kid was a good kid and he was scared. He didn't want to run probably because he didn't want to provoke the guy. But what do you do when you're a kid being stalked by an adult? Saying that he'd still be alive if he hadn't run is laying some of the blame at his feet and that is entirely unjustified, if not fucked up, in a case like this. This kid's only crime was being black. That's some fucked up shit right there.

Keep in mind, I'm ASSUMING this guy was in some kind of uniform. And I'm more referring to fleeing from police. If Zimmerman was in plain clothes following this kid with the attitude, it makes worse a situation where I DO believe he is at fault to begin with.

He wrongly confronted the kid, and he did so because he was black, but not necessarily because Zimmerman was a racist. He was a buff who thought he was going to be a hero and catch the bad guy WHO DID FIT THE PROFILE OF A RECENT CRIME PATTERN in that immediate vicinity.

[Kusand]

Keep in mind, I'm ASSUMING this guy was in some kind of uniform. And I'm more referring to fleeing from police. If Zimmerman was in plain clothes following this kid with the attitude, it makes worse a situation where I DO believe he is at fault to begin with.

I was starting to wonder where this "don't run" stuff was coming from. He was indeed plain clothes. I am/was quite boggled by the notion that people should be obligated to not run from a random person following them.