Your perception of the facts is so screwed up as to deny any rational response. Please pause, take a moment to Google for the FULL non-embellished facts (not opinion or a write-up from some right-wingnut website or Rupert Murdoch property), read same, ponder same, then come back to the board and post.semperfiguy wrote:Has anybody on this forum actually taken a moment out to empathize with GZ...in other words...put yourself in his position and ask yourself what you would have done that night. First off, GZ didn't have to put himself in harm's way. He could easily have been sitting in his comfortable home that night, but he volunteered to participate in the Neighborhood Watch Program. He was obviously concerned about the continued crime in his community, so he made the sacrifice in an attempt to help reduce crime and protect his family and others in the community. To say that he was motivated to kill black people is sheer nonsense! So, he comes across TM and pursues him in spite of the 911 dispatcher's request to "stand down", which by the way was a request that he was not compelled to honor. He continued his pursuit because he "didn't want to see another one get away". He wasn't at all referring to black people, but rather was making a reference to burglars in general...as in "the robbers who had committed crimes before in the community and were not apprehended".
Unfortunately, one thing led to another and before he knew it TM was straddling his chest and beating the crap out of him. GZ was trying to work his way off the concrete and onto the grass to minimize the damage to his head from the beating. There's no doubt that he was in fear for his life and didn't know if he would be knocked unconscious by the next blow. Now, think for just a moment about what you would have done in a similar situation. TM has got the upper hand and GZ can't free himself....and suddenly for a split second in the struggle GZ has the opportunity to pull his gun and fire. Believe me...in a situation like that no one is going to be composed enough to take careful aim and fire a warning or a wounding shot...you're just going to take your best shot at the body. Unfortunately for TM it turned out to be a mortal wound.
I doubt very seriously that there is a single person on this forum that would have reacted any differently had TM been sitting on your chest that night! Absolutely both parties made horrific mistakes in judgment up to the point where the struggle ensued, but past that point GZ did exactly what I would have done had I been in his shoes that night!
Here's a link to all the court documents:
http://trayvon.axiomamnesia.com/documen ... l-circuit/