General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI'm detecting that the media is beginning to change the Trayvon Martin case narrative
to begin to TRY and elicit sympathy or at least understanding as to why George Zimmerman felt THREATENED and felt HE needed to need to defend himself by KILLING an unarmed teenager.
To me this change in the media narrative makes no difference at all. Trayvon was unarmed. He wasn't committing any crimes and was walking back to the place he was staying, and talking with his girlfriend on his cell phone. Neighborhood goon George Zimmerman saw another black person who he didn't feel should be walking the streets of his neighborhood and decided to pursue him even when 911 told him not to. So what if Zimmerman was bloodied up--Trayvon felt that he was defending himself from a stalker. End of story--Zimmerman should be arrested.
FarPoint
(12,179 posts)This is evil racism tactics from the NRA as well as other fundamental fascists groups.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)blm
(112,873 posts)close enough to grab them? Yes.
That should be the end of the "But he hit me" defense from the adult.
EFerrari
(163,986 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)The other thing we do know for certain is that the police failed to conduct a normal crime scene investigation, as though a priori they decided a crime hadn't been committed.
Vincardog
(20,234 posts)X_Digger
(18,585 posts)Call me cynical, but I have my suspicions.
Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)FSogol
(45,312 posts)It just goes to show that the media never truly gave a damn about Trayvon. They saw a good story that would bring in the ratings and now they're milking the hell out of it from all angles.
Rex
(65,616 posts)The only thing the M$M is good for is making money for their sponsors. News and facts come second. Political agenda is always first and foremost.
bobthedrummer
(26,083 posts)Yavin4
(35,310 posts)Or that the blood and/or broken nose occured after the incident?
What is it about this guy that everyone just accepts every word that he says as if it were the gospel truth?
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)The partial report they released does mention Zimmerman being treated on-scene by the local fire/rescue.
http://www.sanfordfl.gov/investigation/docs/Twin%20Lakes%20Shooting%20Initial%20Report.pdf
The Wielding Truth
(11,410 posts)IMO,neighborhood watch people should not carry guns.
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)The Wielding Truth
(11,410 posts)A good resource for your citizen patrol is the Community Policing Consortium (202-833-3305).They will work with your local cellular phone carrier to arrange for phones to be donated to your program.
Make sure your citizen patrol:
Undergoes training by law enforcement and have their support;
Works in teams;
Wears identifying clothing -t-shirts, caps, vests, .jackets-or reflective clothing or patches;
Never carries weapons of any kind e.g. guns, black jack, mace, baseball bat, or knives;
Never challenges anyone;
Always carries a pad and pencil, and a flashlight if it is dark;
Is courteous and helpful to residents of the area being patrolled: and
Keeps logs and files reports with the local law enforcement agency.
Remember that citizen patrols can take on extra duties, such as escort services, crowd and traffic control at community events, identifying neighborhood nuisance concerns, monitoring graffiti sites, checking on homebound residents, and reporting abandoned vehicles.
Baitball Blogger
(46,532 posts)If Trayvon saw the gun, he would have fought with every ounce of strength he had. For all he knew, Zimmerman was as redneck out to kill a black man.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)Then the media circus engine will entertain us with impassioned claims about how the police fabricated it.
This is way too predictable.
Proud Liberal Dem
(24,338 posts)The radio show I was listening to today mentioned something about Martin having been suspended from school for something but I had to wait for after the break to find out. I had also heard last week that Zimmerman might have uttered a racial slur under his breath at some point in the phone call. Hopefully, at the very least, this case gets a MUCH more thorough investigation than what it apparently initially received. If it is determined that Zimmerman acted outside the boundaries of the SYG law then he needs to be held accountable IMHO.
Atman
(31,464 posts)And then he could have whacked him over the head with that Snapple bottle! Those negroes are a wily sort...you have to watch out for them. Zimmerman was clearly a man afraid of candy and Snapple. The young black child in a hoodie "walking around, looking about" should have known that. It's his fault. His sister probably got raped for wearing a halter top and shorts, but that was her fault, too. Won't these negroes and women ever learn???
I hope I don't need to add the tag............
cindyperry2010
(846 posts)sharpton's response i do not think so he turned it back to where itshould be why not ask about mr. zimmerman and not trayvon because he is the one that is dead
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)I suggest ignoring it.
The grand jury that could indict George Zimmerman won't convene until April 10. Expect plenty of twists and surprises in the media until then, and beyond. They have to do something to sustain public interest.
If you think the media as a whole care one way or another, you have been duped.
DearAbby
(12,461 posts)I also find it strange the injuries Zimmerman suffered, no mention of being medically treated. No doctor, ER or even Police initial treatment of these injuries.
Wouldn't these injuries still be visible less than one month later? We will never know, no photographs were taken of Zimmerman proving his injuries, no medical reports via doctor or ER. Nothing noted in police report about Zimmerman taken to hospital treated for injuries and later released.
none of it adds up.
The Wielding Truth
(11,410 posts)Zimmerman was given first aid by the S.F.D..
Baitball Blogger
(46,532 posts)It's a lube job to sell the police's original story.
The newspapers will continue to hammer that point across each time his lawyer/friend has a media event.
We need to go back to the only point that mattered. Zimmerman lost his affirmative defense of self defense when he went into attack mode.
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)are starting to push back...they're in trouble also and they're trying to mitigate their own responsibility.
The Wielding Truth
(11,410 posts)Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)The media thinks they can talk facts into the story that aren't there.
Rightwing radio programs are going into their 2nd week of trashing Trayvon.
slackmaster
(60,567 posts)Most of what you read and hear will be bullshit until the grand jury returns an indictment, or says they aren't going to return an indictment. Then another round of media bullshit will begin.
GumboYaYa
(5,941 posts)Zimmerman and punched him and then was beating Zimmerman's head on the ground (which is what witnesses have apparently testified), then Zimmerman has a very good self defense argument. I could not say he was not justified in shooting Trayvon under those circumstances. And quite honestly, the cops will have handled the matter properly.
1620rock
(2,218 posts)Larkspur
(12,804 posts)There is no way that Trayvon was a threat to Zimmerman, especially after the dispatch caller told Zimmerman not to follow him. Zimmerman INITIATED the altercation by pursuing Trayvon.
If the situation was reversed, do you think that the white Sanford cops would have let Trayvon go? In states with the "castle" law, black home owners are still arrested, prosecuted and convicted of manslaughter when they kill white intruders.
Over the weekend, it was reported that the FBI are reviewing tapes of the 911 call that Trayvon made before he was killed. Hopefully, the FBI can piece together the events based upon the 911 calls.
nanabugg
(2,198 posts)who was interviewed. He seemed to making stuff up and some of it wasn't even relevant to the incident. No matter what, the kid was walking and Zimmerman was pursuing him.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)and surely he has no incentive to lie, does he? if zimmerman approached Trayvon, so far, the 911 tape and the call from Trayvon's girlfriend suggest he did, then he is guilty of murder. if he concocts a this tale about Trayvon initiating contact, then he can squirm out of a murder charge. given what this man did: profiled, stalked, probably confronted, and shot Trayvon...i don't believe a word he says.
rurallib
(62,328 posts)just like it does on most every issue.
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)This is what I just found over on my local paper's website, accompanying the story titled:
"Trayvon Martin attacked Zimmerman, new report says"
Hmmm, makes it look like a "gang banger" attacking an "upstanding citizen".
http://blog.sfgate.com/hottopics/2012/03/26/trayvon-martin-attacked-zimmerman-new-report-says/?tsp=1
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)Just like black people "looting" after Katrina and white people "foraging." It is BS!
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)how in the hell do you "attack" an armed man who profiled, stalked you? if he hit him, it was self-defense.
Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)If I see a man following me in his car, and then get out of that car to approach me I am thinking ONE thing: he's a rapist and or/he's going to try to kidnap/kill me. My defenses are UP, and if he gets within a few feet of me without a damned good reason he is going down as far and as fast as I can take him.
I have to laugh at Zimmerman's sorry excuse/explaination. For several years I was my Neighborhood's Watch leader -- for real -- we had the official signs, worked with the SFPD, had meetings, paperwork -- the REAL deal. The first thing we were told was that under NO circumstances were we to approach someone we suspected of engaging in suspicious/criminal behavior directly. We were ONLY to alert the authorities and keep an eye on the situation until they arrived. Period. End of story.
In the two years I was leader I never once went out "patrolling" in my vehicle and I sure as hell never packed a gun when out in my neighborhood. And my neighborhood is not crime free -- we have had assaults, we have had break-ins, and the house across from mine is a full-blown crack house. Hell, I have had a very high, naked man running around my intersection. I have had fights between dealer/customers. I have had drug fueled domestic fights. Have I ever once felt the need to do anything but contact the authorities when this shit has gone down? Hell. No.
But then I am not some cop wanna be with a hard-on for black men and an itchy trigger finger.
It is going to get very ugly as TPTB circle the wagons in the coming weeks.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)i spent my entire morning battling at HuffPo. the racists believe Trayvon had a propensity for violence, simply because he was Black. and hell yes: if some asshole had been following me and rushed towards me, i would do my best to kick his ass.
freepers and trolls believe zimmerman had some "right" to confront Trayvon, and Trayvon should have deferred to him. racism truly does make you crazy.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)maximusveritas
(2,915 posts)There may not be enough to convict Zimmerman in a court of law, but there was enough for the police to make an arrest and take this to the courts.
Indydem
(2,642 posts)(1)?A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force... SNIP
(2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force that was used was unlawful.
(3)?The court shall award reasonable attorneys fees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799/0776/Sections/0776.032.html
What exactly was their probable cause? The evidence provided to them at the scene was that it was self defense.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)why in the world would they just take his word for what happened? a witness said the police barely talked to her, and she been calling them trying to give a statement.
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)We don't run around arresting people and making up the cases later.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)why would they just take is word for it without investigating his claims? it doesn't make sense.
X_Digger
(18,585 posts)I'm just saying you don't arrest first and investigate later.
If Zimmerman's statement doesn't match the physical evidence, witness statements, 911 calls, etc- then that's probable cause to arrest.
The problem (as I see it) in this case, is that nobody saw whether or not Zimmerman grabbed, tackled, detained, or attacked Martin. That's the point where his self-defense claim folds.
Regarding Sanford PD's investigation, they have a long history of looking the other way when the victim of crime is black. That's why I'm happy to see the DoJ stepping in.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)they gave him his gun back and allowed him to keep the clothes he wearing. one witness said the police barely spoke to her that night...she finally decided to go public. yeah...the Sanford PD is most certainly not to be trusted.
apples and oranges
(1,451 posts)Maybe it would have been better if he stayed out of it. Now the right wing is twisting his words, and all of Zimmerman's friends are coming out the woodwork.
maryellen99
(3,778 posts)That she is pissed that Obama has taken an interest in the Martin case but doesn't care about the kids who die in Detroit. I was so tempted to write on her wall and ask her since when did she start caring about kids getting killed in Detroit?
NOLALady
(4,003 posts)How does she know that Obama does not care about the kids who die in Detroit.
maryellen99
(3,778 posts)Her wall is closed. I saw it on my moms FB page.
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)..
murielm99
(30,617 posts)Remember Rodney King.
This could end badly.
The only thing I can say is that we are a bit different these days. We are still in the middle of the Wisconsin fight and OWS. Maybe people are taking less BS than they did back then. Let's hope we can make some changes that stick.
marble falls
(56,029 posts)and a 116# 14 year old. Sounds like Trayvon walked into a gunfight armed with Skittles. Someone so needs to be in jail. I almost bet this ends up being a situation where the Federal Gov't goes after Kauffman for depriving the kid of his civil rights. This stand your ground law is beyond stupid. Any legislature and Governor who's sighned on to these laws need to be voted out.
tblue37
(64,860 posts)marble falls
(56,029 posts)and a 116# 17 year old. Sounds like Trayvon walked into a gunfight armed with Skittles. Someone so needs to be in jail. I almost bet this ends up being a situation where the Federal Gov't goes after Zimmerman for depriving the kid of his civil rights. This stand your ground law is beyond stupid. Any legislature and Governor who's signed on to these laws need to be voted out.
There better. Correct as well as true.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)i have no doubt that he would have been jailed that night, and would be in jail today.
underpants
(182,064 posts)against the poor