And the cops told him not to folow him or persue him in anyway.

He was walking around with a some skittles, cokacola while talking to his girlfriend


The older man was stalking Treyvon, it would be kind of scary to be walking around in your town getting stalked. Needless to say, in this screwed up world the older man probally wont go to jail.....

Trayvon was wearing a hoodie, it was dark outside....how could Zimmerman even tell what Trayvon's skin color was anyways? The only reason people think this was racism was because the feds stepped in condemning the situation before the police report was done.

Self defense... all the kid had was a bag of Skittles. SKITTLES. He had nothing to attack him with! What's he gonna do, chuck Skittles at him til he's dead????

Quoth inSein:

I don't believe it was self defense. I think it was racial profiling, though.
Even if it wasn't, though...
There was no reason he should have shot Trayvon. And if it was for the color of his skin... That could have just as easily been my sister. Or my brother. Or any of my classmates. He needs to be arrested. He did wrong. He messed up.

You actually believe is was a racist act? Please look at the facts instead of just listening to the race-baiters. It was an awful situation, but you are looking for racism where none exists.

I don't believe it was self defense. I think it was racial profiling, though.
Even if it wasn't, though...
There was no reason he should have shot Trayvon. And if it was for the color of his skin... That could have just as easily been my sister. Or my brother. Or any of my classmates. He needs to be arrested. He did wrong. He messed up.

(woop) reason, obviously has problems, and should be contained. Frankly, Zimmerman deserves punishment. As they used to commit in certain countries, an eye for an eye. That would cover the "damage".

Hm. Zimmerman and his brother are quite figuratively "full 'o baloney". The fact that his brother claimed zimmerman's nose was swollen was a blatant lie. Do I think trayvon deserved it? No. Does Zimmerman deserve to be taken into custody and convicted of murder? Indeed I do. When someone shoots someone for no discernible reas

Quoth Nope.avi:

Nips, I'm quite aware that you didn't make it out as a race issue. I was more referencing Metalhearts earlier comments. Next time, try actually reading our comments before thinking we're attacking you, instead of immediately getting angry and butthurt.

Kingpin, I know about that law. I'm actually not stupid. It still doesn't change my opinion that he was a bit hasty in his decision.

I did read all the comments, but you didn't really say you were reffering to him before. Honest mistake. So.

I think this was just a inconvenient distraction for other matters. Crime occurs all the time. Just because racism may or may not be involved, it`s a big story. Last week, a local teacher who lives in New York(My state) was murdered, leaving a baby orphan.

She was tricked by an acquaintance and his wife to help with car troubles. As she arrived, she was yanked out of her car and strangled, leaving a young child, roughly 2 or 3, in the van.

The couple brought thebody home and stripped her naked, with rape/molestation likely. Afterwards, the body was thrown into a river.

Though gruesome and scary, I`m sure it did not leave the New England area.

As for the crime, I think there was error on both sides.

Quoth Nope.avi:

Kingpin, I know about that law. I'm actually not stupid. It still doesn't change my opinion that he was a bit hasty in his decision.

I'm not saying he wasn't being hasty, and I'm not trying to change your opinion. I'm just trying to point out the fault in that law.

Nips, I'm quite aware that you didn't make it out as a race issue. I was more referencing Metalhearts earlier comments. Next time, try actually reading our comments before thinking we're attacking you, instead of immediately getting angry and butthurt.

Kingpin, I know about that law. I'm actually not stupid. It still doesn't change my opinion that he was a bit hasty in his decision.

Quoth Haruspex:

Quoth Nope.avi:If you're making this out to be a race issue, get out. You've fed in to the blatant media bias fed to you.

I don't usually rant about the entirety of media this way, but every media outlet covering this story has blown it out of proportion one way or another.

Hull pretty much nailed down anything I could say though, so I'll end with this: We do not have all of the facts. In my opinion, Zimmerman was a bit hasty in his decision. That is merely my opinion though.

In order to make an actual judgement, you must look at only the facts and detatch yourself from influential bias.


I was actually coming in to say this exact same thing. I am glad someone beat me to it as mine was not as family friendly as this was.

Seriously, this blog has nothing to do with racial matter. I just wanted people's opinions. I mean really. Read what it says...

Quoth EpicArtifex:

It seems to me that it is time for me to apply what I have affectionately dubbed 'The Twilight Saga Principle.'

In other words, the "Everyone says it's bad but I'm not gonna bash it til I know about it," principle.

Are you saying that Zimmerman and Martin were outside late at night because they were looking to suck blood from some sweet, sweet necks?

Quoth Nope.avi:

If you're making this out to be a race issue, get out. You've fed in to the blatant media bias fed to you.

I don't usually rant about the entirety of media this way, but every media outlet covering this story has blown it out of proportion one way or another.

Hull pretty much nailed down anything I could say though, so I'll end with this: We do not have all of the facts. In my opinion, Zimmerman was a bit hasty in his decision. That is merely my opinion though.

In order to make an actual judgement, you must look at only the facts and detatch yourself from influential bias.

I was actually coming in to say this exact same thing. I am glad someone beat me to it as mine was not as family friendly as this was.

It seems to me that it is time for me to apply what I have affectionately dubbed 'The Twilight Saga Principle.'

In other words, the "Everyone says it's bad but I'm not gonna bash it til I know about it," principle.

Quoth Nope.avi:

Hull pretty much nailed down anything I could say though, so I'll end with this: We do not have all of the facts. In my opinion, Zimmerman was a bit hasty in his decision. That is merely my opinion though.

The stand your ground law gave him the right to make a hasty decision.

Quoth Nope.avi:

If you're making this out to be a race issue, get out. You've fed in to the blatant media bias fed to you.

I don't usually rant about the entirety of media this way, but every media outlet covering this story has blown it out of proportion one way or another.

Hull pretty much nailed down anything I could say though, so I'll end with this: We do not have all of the facts. In my opinion, Zimmerman was a bit hasty in his decision. That is merely my opinion though.

In order to make an actual judgement, you must look at only the facts and detatch yourself from influential bias.

I wasn't making this out of race.All I said was that, 'racial differences' is one of the things that people point out in cases like these. I simply stated that I wanted other people's opinions about this case.

I dont think its right to kill anyone! I dont even believe in the death penalty! If Zimmerman really was using self defense, then he could have at least tried to avoid killing. What did the man do that triggered Zimmerman to defend himself?

If you're making this out to be a race issue, get out. You've fed in to the blatant media bias fed to you.

I don't usually rant about the entirety of media this way, but every media outlet covering this story has blown it out of proportion one way or another.

Hull pretty much nailed down anything I could say though, so I'll end with this: We do not have all of the facts. In my opinion, Zimmerman was a bit hasty in his decision. That is merely my opinion though.

In order to make an actual judgement, you must look at only the facts and detatch yourself from influential bias.

FFFFFF totally screwed up the reply XD MY BAD.

Quoth OmniOmega:

Quoth Ninfreakquote]Man... It may be just me but have us humans gotten more violent and gained more bloodlust (not sure if that's the right word...) over the years? I mean really. All these murders and wars and assaults. >>" Can I travel back in time to where everybody got along? Maybe I could become part of a First Nations group. The Metis sound quite nice.

Mmmmm. Pemmican.

(Christian Perspective)
According to the Bible, violence started right after creation. adam and eves children, cain and abel started it. cain killed abel because he was jealous that God didnt take his offering.

sorry if double post again[/quote]

(I never studied the bible so thanks ^^"")
Makes sense though, but I'm just saying like the amount is increasing and etc

Quoth Ninfreak:

Man... It may be just me but have us humans gotten more violent and gained more bloodlust (not sure if that's the right word...) over the years? I mean really. All these murders and wars and assaults. >>" Can I travel back in time to where everybody got along? Maybe I could become part of a First Nations group. The Metis sound quite nice.

Mmmmm. Pemmican.

(Christian Perspective)
According to the Bible, violence started right after creation. adam and eves children, cain and abel started it. cain killed abel because he was jealous that God didnt take his offering.

sorry if double post again

Man... It may be just me but have us humans gotten more violent and gained more bloodlust (not sure if that's the right word...) over the years? I mean really. All these murders and wars and assaults. >>" Can I travel back in time to where everybody got along? Maybe I could become part of a First Nations group. The Metis sound quite nice.

Mmmmm. Pemmican.

Quoth OmniOmega:

Rascism.
DIDN'T ROSA PARKS SOLVE THIS DANG PROBLEM...WHO KNOWS HOW MANY YEARS AGO?

/RageFail

It's not really about racism..but racism will ALWAYS continue no matter what. Terrible, but true.

Rascism.
DIDN'T ROSA PARKS SOLVE THIS DANG PROBLEM...WHO KNOWS HOW MANY YEARS AGO?

/RageFail

HullBreach's comment was longer than the blog! XD

We talked about this in Religion class today... but Hull totally opened my eyes there. He has an interesting point.

Quoth MetalHeart:

I guess you're right... but it doesn't feel safe to allow this guy to get away. If this does not get dealt with, most likely the same event will happen again soon enough.

Even if Zimmerman is not charged, I doubt he will "get away". He has been branded for life as a murderer by the court of public opinion. Just look at other people exonerated in the past for murder who have been branded: O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony, etc. They will forever be known as murderers, even though they were not convicted.

Also, he has to live with the fact that he took a human life. Until he one day dies, this will haunt him. I've heard numerous cases of soldiers who have killed on the battlefield - and even mothers who have had abortions - who have committed suicide over the pain they feel afterwards. So, that night not only took Martin's life, but it took any chance at life that Zimmerman had.

I guess you're right... but it doesn't feel safe to allow this guy to get away. If this does not get dealt with, most likely the same event will happen again soon enough.

Quoth Nips09:

Eh, I don't know why people always look at the racial profile [I wouldn't know how to word it better] of a case to make it seem so terrible. It's always, "White man kills a black man. White man found innocent" You'd think that's terrible and unjust, right? And then there's the, "Black man kills a white man. He's found guilty" and portrayed as despicable. But what it really comes down to is people killing people for stupid things. Human kind has made it this far, but why are such despicable things i.e. murder happening? Color shouldn't matter but I guess picking out the backgrounds and races happen naturally.

I completely agree. There is nothing to indicate racial motivation at all in this entire fiasco. The only reason people see it as a racial issue is because the famous race-baiters, Jackson and Sharpton, are looking for personal gain by making it a racial issue. From the original 9-1-1 tape, Zimmerman couldn't even tell the ethnicity of Martin due to darkness, bad weather, and the hoodie. Zimmerman has Black relatives, too, so it's obvious that he is no racist. It is ignorant to think he is.

Zimmerman was obviously very wrong to go against the 9-1-1 dispatcher and continue tailing Martin. He set himself up for a situation that led to the death of a 17 year old young man. Was it murder or self-defense? I don't know. Was it a tragedy? Obviously.

We don't want to see anyone killed for any reason. It's heartbreaking, but it's not a civil rights issue. If the media and race-baiters are so intent on looking at skin color, why do they ignore the recent story in Missouri of a group of black men brutally attacking a White man? What about all the murders in Chicago by Black gang members against each other? We heard about the White soldier murder all the Afghanis, but why are the media not reporting on Afghanis retaliating and massacring White soldiers?

Let me tell you why this Martin/Zimmerman story is such a big deal for the media when all other horrific tragedies are bypassed. I am going to be politically-incorrect here, so this may offend some. Others may feel the same way, but they are afraid to say it.

1. This is an election year with a Black president, so popularizing the death of a Black teen is political capital. Personally injecting himself into the story is an attempt by Obama to rise in the polls.
2. There are many politicians who want to see guns banned in every shape and form from law-abiding citizens, so they use this story to demonize gun use. They gloss over the statistics that show cities with guns banned have the highest murder rates because an armed populace scares government.
3. The media have run out of fodder for the Limbaugh/Fluke story, so they want to draw the public to another story to boost their own ad revenue. They can capitalize on Martin/Zimmerman for their personal gain, so they will.
4. Many people still see this nation through colors instead of as a melting pot of individuals with equal capabilities. Dividing the populace makes them easier to control.

I am waiting to see what the court system decides to do with Zimmerman. They have more facts than the dumb masses (Don't say that too fast!) who legislate from their couches. If they proceed to press charges and find him guilty of murder, then he is a murderer. If they do not pursue charges, or if he his found not guilty in a court of law, then he is not a murderer. It's as simple as that.

Eh, I don't know why people always look at the racial profile [I wouldn't know how to word it better] of a case to make it seem so terrible. It's always, "White man kills a black man. White man found innocent" You'd think that's terrible and unjust, right? And then there's the, "Black man kills a white man. He's found guilty" and portrayed as despicable. But what it really comes down to is people killing people for stupid things. Human kind has made it this far, but why are such despicable things i.e. murder happening? Color shouldn't matter but I guess picking out the backgrounds and races happen naturally.

This is basically the same situation with Emmett Till, look up the story if you don't know it. Here's a basic summary...

Emmett Till was a African American 14 year old boy when he passed away because two white men kidnapped and murdered Till. After reportedly flirting with a white woman. These men took Till to a barn, beat him and gouged one of his eyes out before just shooting him in the head and then disposing his body in a river with a 70-pound cotton gin fan weighing him down deep in the river. They found his parts of his body in the river and Till's Mother decides to have a Open-Casket funeral. People fainted and cried but this was the most horrifying image you can ever see. Then there was a trial. Gill's Uncle was a witness of the kidnapping, he has stood up and said "THEY KILLED MY NEPHEW". The price was large but it worked. These men were later found innocent after the trial and even made money telling how they killed this boy in the media.

So... this may be 1955... but I see no change. I will let the law take it's course in taking care of Martin's case... but if nothing is changed. Then there is no difference in this story.

Quoth Mr.Bond:

Sometimes, you half to see it plainly with no details.

A grown person stalked, then shot a child. The only thing missing is the molestion in the middle of the two.

huh?

Sometimes, you half to see it plainly with no details.

A grown person stalked, then shot a child. The only thing missing is the molestion in the middle of the two.

Quoth MetalHeart:

The murder was over a month ago, the police haven't done much over the time. Martin was like any other teen, but he was innocent young man. Zimmerman said he used self-defense because he thought Trayvon was up to no good with his goody up. All he was trying to do, was go home and watch the NBA All-Star game on T.V. The media didn't catch up on the story until two weeks after the All-Star game, so the police and the court law had enough time to find a decent or appropriate punishment for this pointless murder attempt to kill someone.

When it comes down to it, we don't know all the facts that the investigators know. There is a reason charges were not filed; thus, there was a killing, but no murder was determined. Until Zimmerman is found guilty, he is presumed innocent.

The media waited to report on this story because they were foaming at the mouths over the Sandra Fluke / Rush Limbaugh non-story to polarize the American people during an election year. Now, they have moved onto their next big story, which is unfortunately to taint both the life of Zimmerman and the memory of Martin.

Without all the facts, we should not jump to conclusions. We should, however, learn from this situation so that if we are ever faced by a similar dilemma as both men, we will remove ourselves from the scene before someone is injured or killed.

*hoody up

The murder was over a month ago, the police haven't done much over the time. Martin was like any other teen, but he was innocent young man. Zimmerman said he used self-defense because he thought Trayvon was up to no good with his goody up. All he was trying to do, was go home and watch the NBA All-Star game on T.V. The media didn't catch up on the story until two weeks after the All-Star game, so the police and the court law had enough time to find a decent or appropriate punishment for this pointless murder attempt to kill someone.

As a former Florida resident, let me put some perspective into this situation:

Florida has Stand Your Ground and Castle Doctrine laws. These laws allow an individual to use any force necessary to defend oneself when in danger. Because of evidence provided by 9-1-1 tapes, witnesses, and Zimmerman's testimony, no charges have been filed.

Should charges be brought against Zimmerman, he would only be found guilty of murder or manslaughter in a court of law if it can be determined without a reasonable doubt that he was not in danger. Injuries he sustained and witness reports of him screaming and being straddled by Martin make such a verdict doubtful.

Here is a rundown of what we know about the whole situation, broken down by Zimmerman and Martin:

George Zimmerman
- He is of mixed Hispanic/White background and has relatives of many mixed ethnicities, including Black, so racial motivation is very doubtful.
- After he reported a suspicious-looking individual in his neighborhood (in his view) to 9-1-1, he continued tailing Martin after being told to not do so by the dispatcher.
- No one knows what he did between the time of the 9-1-1 call and when a witness saw Martin straddling him on a sidewalk, so anything he says cannot be corroborated.
- He had injuries to his face and the back of his head, consistent with his own testimony and that of at least one witness.
- He has a legal permit for carrying a concealed weapon.

Trayvon Martin
- He was unarmed and had just begun returning from a convenience store with Skittles and canned Tea, which corroborates the reason relatives gave for his trip.
- He has been suspended from school 3 times, including drug possession and vandalism. He also has spoken of committing violent acts in his Twitter account and on FaceBook. Although this says nothing of the night of his death, it does tell something about his character.

Beyond those bullet points, no one can fully be sure what happened that night. It is obviously a very sad situation that should never have happened. No one knows who the aggressor was, and no one knows for sure if it was Martin or Zimmerman who started the altercation.

What I find frustrating is the blatant media bias in this situation. They should have let the police do their jobs instead of jumping to conclusions and making a mockery of the lives of both Martin and Zimmerman.

It's 2012... for goodness sake!

Racism doesn't end here!

In Trayvon's honor, I ate Skittles, drunk Iced Tea, and put my hoodie up for Trayvon. He was my age. It's not fair that there's no justice of why this criminal is not arrested or dealt with appropriately!

R.I.P. Trayvon Martin