... that the first media reports had very dishonestly edited Zimmerman's conversation with the 911 dispatcher;
This is true but it doesn't really matter.
It matters because the whole notion that Zimmerman was obsessed with Martin's race comes from the dishonest editing of the tapes. Zimmerman didn't even mention Martin's race until asked "what race is he?"
... He still followed Martin despite being expressly told not to.
True, but merely following someone does not constitute reasonable provocation to assault and battery.
How does being 17 years old or carrying skittles or iced tea make one incapable of launching an unprovoked physical attack on somebody else?
Because normally we don't expect 17-year-old kids to attack people, ...
???!!!
Sorry ... did you grow up in a very low-crime area? Teens just under the age of majority, if at all "bad," tend to commit a lot of minor crimes, precisely because they know that they won't do a lot of time if convicted of them.
... especially people older and bigger than them, ...
Zimmerman was about 30 lbs heavier than Martin, but also several inches shorter than Martin. Since Martin probably didn't know that Zimmerman was armed, it may well have looked like not too unreasonable a fight to start and expect to win.
... for no reason.
Ah, but if Martin was part of a "thug" culture -- as his Twitter account implies -- he had a "reason." Just not a very good reason.'
Zimmerman would have been "dissing" Martin by asking him questions and following him. Martin would have felt that his "street cred" was imperiled if he suffered such an insult without administering a beating to Zimmerman.
I would also like to repeat that I find it really strange that you think a 17-year-old attacking somebody for no reason is a more likely turn of events than a white guy (or I think he's half-Hispanic or something?) thinking a black kid is suspicious and so shooting him.
Because 17-year-olds are notoriously impulsive, because Martin's Twitter site indicated that he belonged to a thug culture, and because thug cultures are notoriously aggressive, and because people usually do not shoot other people for absolutely no motive other than "you're suspicious."
Oh, and Zimmerman is Hispanic, though to me that doesn't matter that much. Nor does it matter much to me that Martin was black -- if he'd belonged to one of the white criminal subcultures, I'd suspect that he started the fight for the exact same reasons.
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Re: The Sainted Martyr Treyvon Martin
Date: 2012-04-10 08:17 am (UTC)This is true but it doesn't really matter.
It matters because the whole notion that Zimmerman was obsessed with Martin's race comes from the dishonest editing of the tapes. Zimmerman didn't even mention Martin's race until asked "what race is he?"
... He still followed Martin despite being expressly told not to.
True, but merely following someone does not constitute reasonable provocation to assault and battery.
How does being 17 years old or carrying skittles or iced tea make one incapable of launching an unprovoked physical attack on somebody else?
Because normally we don't expect 17-year-old kids to attack people, ...
???!!!
Sorry ... did you grow up in a very low-crime area? Teens just under the age of majority, if at all "bad," tend to commit a lot of minor crimes, precisely because they know that they won't do a lot of time if convicted of them.
... especially people older and bigger than them, ...
Zimmerman was about 30 lbs heavier than Martin, but also several inches shorter than Martin. Since Martin probably didn't know that Zimmerman was armed, it may well have looked like not too unreasonable a fight to start and expect to win.
... for no reason.
Ah, but if Martin was part of a "thug" culture -- as his Twitter account implies -- he had a "reason." Just not a very good reason.'
Zimmerman would have been "dissing" Martin by asking him questions and following him. Martin would have felt that his "street cred" was imperiled if he suffered such an insult without administering a beating to Zimmerman.
I would also like to repeat that I find it really strange that you think a 17-year-old attacking somebody for no reason is a more likely turn of events than a white guy (or I think he's half-Hispanic or something?) thinking a black kid is suspicious and so shooting him.
Because 17-year-olds are notoriously impulsive, because Martin's Twitter site indicated that he belonged to a thug culture, and because thug cultures are notoriously aggressive, and because people usually do not shoot other people for absolutely no motive other than "you're suspicious."
Oh, and Zimmerman is Hispanic, though to me that doesn't matter that much. Nor does it matter much to me that Martin was black -- if he'd belonged to one of the white criminal subcultures, I'd suspect that he started the fight for the exact same reasons.