drawscore wrote:Jason, you seem to want to convict Zimmerman before all the facts are in. Drawscore
Why? Because Jay asked what stand your ground means and so I explained how it matters in the Zimmerman case under discussion? How else was I to explain its relevance
in this case?
However, yes... I believe he's guilty of manslaughter at the least, yes. As far as I can see, he came on like Rambo. If he had his ass kicked, it was his own fault.
And before you criticize me about my opinion of Zimmerman, I might point that many people have long since convicted Trayvon Martin of assault and battery. Even if this is the case (and not an example of the time-tested strategy of blaming the victim) and Trayvon Martin started the fight rather than Zimmerman, the last I knew assault and battery was
not a capital offense. Zimmerman may have resorted to using the gun for self-defense, but was he really getting beaten badly enough to resort to shooting Martin? He didn't seem all that badly hurt after the fracas if you'll recall.
If some joker came up to me with a gun and an attitude and started to give me the third degree, I might attack thinking *I* was acting in self defense... and I'm usually
very difficult to provoke into a fight. Remember, for an unarmed Trayvon to attack a guy with a gun, Zimmerman must have been in your face about it rather than sensibly talking to Trayvon from a safe distance... unless you think Trayvon was dumb enough to approach a stranger with a gun who was keeping *his* distance! So it seems to be that, at best, Zimmerman provoked the situation with unnecessary beligerence and then over-reacted (i.e. panicked) when things got out of hand, and then lied to cover his sorry ass. Judging from previous testimony, tis would seem to fit his character.
But... that's just MY opinion. Don't tell me you haven't formed one of your own, because that would make you almost unique as far as people who've heard of this case at all are concerned!
drawscore wrote:Of course, if you have been getting your news from NBC, or any of its subsidiaries, you might have missed the fact that NBC "selectively edited" the taped phone conversation between Zimmerman and the Sanford police, to make it appear Zimmerman was racist. That Zimmerman has filed a defamation suit against NBC, might also have gone past you.
How many GD times do I have to tell you that, unlike you, I DO NOT WATCH the news on television AT ALL?!? And no, I didn't miss the fact about the editing; that came out like what... two or three days at most after the event? So what? Do you think this is the ONLY taped conversation we have of Zimmerman and the things he said. If so, maybe you should stop watching FOX news and just read a GD newspaper! And the editing of that 911 call has NO bearing on the case, so really who gives a sweet damn about it? Yes, NBC was wrong to do that, but that's a separate issue and has absolutely
nothing to do with the subject at hand!
drawscore wrote: Besides, having followed this trial closely, I feel, as do several pundits on both sides of the aisle, that the prosecution has, so far, put on a "less than stellar" performance, and is damned lucky the judge didn't toss the case after the prosecution's presentation.
Oh, but the defense's knock-knock on the first day of the trial... that was perfectly fine with you I suppose.
drawscore wrote:Let's wait for all the facts to come out, before we rush to convict Zimmerman in the court of public opinion.
Fine, but tell us honestly... have YOU done this same thing concerning for
Trayvon Martin and his role in all this? Even if he was dumb enough to attack a man with a gun, can you honestly say he was the sole aggressor and that he deserved to die for an error in judgment? For all I or even you know, Martin might have thought Zimmerman that was a mugger or a child molester and was standing HIS ground! Also remember this: the worst Martin did was beat up Zimmerman. Zimmerman on the other hand shot Martin, an unarmed kid, dead. And showed no apparent remorse over it either (If I'd shot someone dead
even in self-defense, I'd be an emotional basket case. The fact that Zimmerman has apparently showed no concern at all troubles me... a LOT!)
So who really committed the more heinous act here?
drawscore wrote: However, because of the volatility of this case, my guess is that Zimmerman will be found guilty; allowed to remain free on bail while the case is appealed, and then, next year, when the public's attention is focused on the mid-term elections, the "guilty" verdict will be overturned on appeal, and will receive little or no notice in the media.
Which implies to me that you have in fact already formed your own opinion in this matter: i.e. that Trayvon Martin was a punk kid who deserved to be shot to death and that Zimmerman was justified in doing it, and that Zimmerman will virtually be a martyr rather than a scumbag who essentially shot first and asked questions later. Seems to me than you're no more unbiased in the matter than I am.
And I freely admit I
am biased to some extent; and - one way or the other - so are at least 90% of the people who know about this case and give a damn about it. And that includes you! But
I'm ready and willing to weigh all evidence that contradicts my current belief!
Are
you?!?
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...