Teenager shot/killed while Tweek's hero gets off free

[Sera]

I like how he keeps repeating that he's black and he looks suspicious. Could this be considered a hate crime?

I would imagine this is OBVIOUSLY a hate crime. He killed the kid because he was black! If that were a white kid this wouldn't have even been a 911 call. Hopefully the FBI will not have their heads in their asses.

edit: the deployment joke didn't fall flat, Leroy is just not that swift. They'll probably make the same excuses they do for soldiers who flip out and kill dozens of civilians overseas.

BTW the guy does look hispanic. I wonder if he has a military service record.

edit: yeah, he is hispanic. No news of military svc yet. http://communities.washingtontimes.c...media-tragedy/

No eyewitness has come forward to dispute or defend Zimmerman’s claim of self-defense. 911 tapes, while dramatic, are useless as eyewitness testimony, raising as many questions as they answer.

For the time being, it appears Florida law, which is all that counts, is on Zimmerman’s side.

Zimmerman is described as a "police wannabe," or "buff," as they are known in police circles. Too many of these people wind up injured or dead, in altercations they should have stayed out of, or, as in the case of Trayvon Martin, they kill someone.

It is way too easy to cry racism from behind computer screens and microphones. Unproven accusations of racism only fuel mass anger and rage, sometimes getting officials to move with careless haste. The Duke Lacrosse rape case is a memorable example of that.

Speed causes critical legal mistakes and missteps that could have severe consequences down the line. A guilty man can go free. An innocent man can go to prison.

There is a social media mob mentality forming to charge George Zimmerman with a crime. Arrest him, indict him, convict him. Do it now. The digital lynch mob cannot understand why Zimmerman is still walking the streets while Trayvon Martin lies in a grave. They neither understand nor care that investigations can take weeks, months, or years to obtain results.

What is the hurry? What good would it do to arrest Zimmerman and have him go free after a trial, or maybe not be tried if a judge tosses the case for lack of cause?

Prosecutors need more than a tragedy to bring a case into court. They need evidence, witnesses, and probable cause.

George Zimmerman and his ilk are nevertheless a problem. They want to play cops. They are vigilantes with over-developed imaginations and a thirst for drama. They see criminals around every corner, behind every tree, and under their beds.

They join ridiculous and useless “crime watch groups," roaming their neighborhoods to look for felonious behavior and hot action. They're like the people who run around with those cute little red berets, though the Guardian Angels, unlike Zimmerman, are not armed and do have training requirements.

Vigilante buffs see thieves, rapists, and vandals in every group of people not like them. If the cops can’t do their jobs, then dagnabit, they will.

When they take action, as they inevitably do, they cause nothing but headaches for law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges.

Does it matter?

Ideally? no. In reality? Yeah it probably will. Learn to separate yourself from what is and what should be. We all know what should be in this case. The discussion will ultimately be about what IS and why.

More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/op...on-martin.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...F4KS_blog.html

What we know is that the 17-year-old, visiting relatives in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., was on his way back to their house from 7-Eleven with an iced tea and a bag of Skittles. That’s when he caught the eye of George Zimmerman, a crime watch volunteer who called 911. Listening to that call made my blood run cold.

“Hey, we’ve had some break-ins in my neighborhood and there’s a real suspicious guy,” Zimmerman tells police before giving the address of where he is. “This guy looks like he’s up to no good or he’s on drugs or something.”

“These [expletive], they always get away,” Zimmerman says before getting out of his car to pursue Trayvon.

“Are you following him?” the police ask.

“Yes,” Zimmerman says. The officer on the phone tells him, “We don’t need you to do that.” But he did. In another 911 call, you can hear screaming for help and the fatal gunshot. Zimmerman brought a 9 mm handgun to the altercation. A scuffle ensued. Trayvon was fatally shot in the chest. His mother told the Associated Press yesterday, “(Zimmerman) was chasing him, he was following him, and my son was afraid. He didn’t know who this stranger was.”

You’ve heard me talk about the conversation my mom had with me before my first day at a predominantly white school. Reading about Trayvon reminded me of the list of the “don’ts” I received after my sheltered existence in Hazlet, N.J., was replaced with the reality of Newark when my mother remarried in the 1980s.

“Don’t run in public.” Lest someone think you’re suspicious.
“Don’t run while carrying anything in your hands.” Lest someone think you stole something.
“Don’t talk back to the police.” Lest you give them a reason to take you to jail or worse
There was also being mindful that you are being watched in stores. Watched turned to followed as I got older. To this day, if a sales person is overly attentive to what I might be looking for I leave the store. Never to return. And then there was keeping a distance of deniability from white women when walking on the street. Lest you be accused of any number of offenses, from trying to snatch her purse to sexual assault.

In the early 1990s, I saw a T-shirt for sale on Canal Street in New York that neatly and bluntly summed up my frustration with this situation: “No white lady I don't want your purse.”

I bolded that part because i found it particularly concerning. You know, Ryko never does any of these things. I always laugh and call him paranoid... but god, the world really is still stuck in the 1960s. How absolutely terrifying.

[Gekii]

so disgusting, hopefully no death sentence. this guy should live every horrible day in jail with inmates that heard what he did till he gets olde

[Chun Liroy]

Ideally? no. In reality? Yeah it probably will. Learn to separate yourself from what is and what should be. We all know what should be in this case. The discussion will ultimately be about what IS and why.

In the context of this forum, does it matter? No. As much as you want to paint me as immature (sorry for not picking up on some sort of political/military joke), but I know how to separate reality and ideal situations. In this case, it's quite sad that ideal is not reality.

[Sera]

In the context of this forum, does it matter? No. As much as you want to paint me as immature (sorry for not picking up on some sort of political/military joke), but I know how to separate reality and ideal situations. In this case, it's quite sad that ideal is not reality.

You may want to go back and read the politiforum rules. Jokes are allowed. He made a joke, you missed it & took it seriously. Move on.
It IS sad that ideal is not reality, but that is the case for SO MANY other situations besides this one. You took this to heart because an innocent young black boy was killed. I get that. But there are a million more other cases in which the ideal should be the way things are. That doesn't stop it from being moot to discuss it because that will never happen. Why sit here and masturbate to ideals when it's pointless? Better time spent discussing realistic perspectives.

Like what rushing this investigation could do to lead to letting this guy get off scot free.

[Chun Liroy]

You may want to go back and read the politiforum rules. Jokes are allowed. He made a joke, you missed it & took it seriously. Move on.
It IS sad that ideal is not reality, but that is the case for SO MANY other situations besides this one. You took this to heart because an innocent young black boy was killed. I get that. But there are a million more other cases in which the ideal should be the way things are. That doesn't stop it from being moot to discuss it because that will never happen. Why sit here and masturbate to ideals when it's pointless? Better time spent discussing realistic perspectives.

Like what rushing this investigation could do to lead to letting this guy get off scot free.

I never said he was wrong in making a joke, the only reason I took it seriously was BECAUSE i thought he was serious, and I did move on after I was told it was a joke. I never said it wasn't moot to discuss it because in reality... it's most likely not going to change a thing in the large scheme of things. I never really thought there would be much to discuss in this thread which is why I was unsure of putting it here. Just saw the update to this on reddit and thought the outcome is ridiculous (was gonna post about it a couple weeks ago, but I was banned ~.~).

[Corrderio]

I'm going to love hearing this pathetic lowlife's reasoning on why this was "self defense" when he goes to trial.

[Sera]

Especially since the kid was carrying skittles and an arizona tea

[MF Perm tha Fineass]

I never said he was wrong in making a joke, the only reason I took it seriously was BECAUSE i thought he was serious, and I did move on after I was told it was a joke. I never said it wasn't moot to discuss it because in reality... it's most likely not going to change a thing in the large scheme of things. I never really thought there would be much to discuss in this thread which is why I was unsure of putting it here. Just saw the update to this on reddit and thought the outcome is ridiculous (was gonna post about it a couple weeks ago, but I was banned ~.~).

poopdeck is the illegitimate spawn of spam. if you aint trollin you ain't poopin, bro

[Aristio]

Wish this guy would get the book thrown at him. I almost died a few years back due to a similar incident. Scared the piss out of me.

[Melena]

Does it matter?

For media yes. I guarantee if it was a white kid who got shot and killed, there would barely be mention of this.

[Indeed]

"These assholes, they always get away." Ironic. I like how he keeps repeating that he's black and he looks suspicious. Could this be considered a hate crime?

I only heard him say the kid was black twice. Once when asked, once when he seemed to be trying to provide more description of the kid but was clearly fucking around and distracted at the same time. Getting the gun out of his car? Either way, calling this a "hate crime" is a shade too much at this point.

Side note, so many in this forum are so quick to go immediately to race, god damn. Racism exists, but just immediately assuming racism before there are many details is just silly. I almost laughed out loud when the shooter turned out to be Hispanic. Way to assume white shooter in a white neighborhood.

[jmc]

Just saying it twice is not really that big of a deal on a 911 call.

Majority of calls, even non-emergency individuals will usually repeat race, age, problem multiple times anyways. Its actually quite annoying hearing "so and so stole my phone" 7 times, but not giving out a actual address.

I'd be more concerned about he guy saying "they always get away with this".

Who always gets away with it? What are they getting away with exactly? Since they "always" get away with it, you take matters into your own hands instead?

[Indeed]

Before that, he said there had been several break-ins in the area. I assumed he was referring to the criminals always getting away. He seemed pretty sure that the kid was about to pull some shit. I have no idea what motivates a person to just fucking shoot someone who just "looks suspicious," though. What kind of megatard doesn't just call 911 and wait for the police?

[Ghost_Wheel22]

Shouldn't have been shopping in a Castled warzone.

/k/ hasn't touched this oddly enough. Surprising since they do a lot of circle jerking with the self-defense stories with redguards involved.

[Sera]

Side note, so many in this forum are so quick to go immediately to race, god damn. Racism exists, but just immediately assuming racism before there are many details is just silly. I almost laughed out loud when the shooter turned out to be Hispanic. Way to assume white shooter in a white neighborhood.

And this is the part where I assume you're white just based on your post. Believe it or not, hispanics are amongst the MOST racist against blacks. Especially cubans & mexicans. Most people assume that if the ethnicity of the person in question is not white, it automatically means they're not racist. I promise you, some of the most racist people I have ever encountered have been chinese, hispanic and black.

Whitey ain't the only one who can get nasty toward other races.

[Sera]

Before that, he said there had been several break-ins in the area. I assumed he was referring to the criminals always getting away. He seemed pretty sure that the kid was about to pull some shit. I have no idea what motivates a person to just fucking shoot someone who just "looks suspicious," though. What kind of megatard doesn't just call 911 and wait for the police?

Come on now, he also said repeatedly that the guy looked like he was up to something and was "clearly on drugs" or something to that effect. The kid was carrying skittles. He was walking home from a trip to a convenience store. He hadn't robbed the store. He was carrying Arizona and CANDY. Seriously? Why did he CLEARLY seem to be on drugs/up to something?

Because he was black. Let's all stop acting like racial profiling isn't a thing just because some spic guy did it. My family is hispanic as fuck and they're all racists. He was a fucking racist freako who was clearly looking for a reason to put a bullet in a black dude. His trigger finger wasn't just itchy, it was HORNY.

I'd be more concerned about he guy saying "they always get away with this".

Who always gets away with it? What are they getting away with exactly? Since they "always" get away with it, you take matters into your own hands instead?

I missed this post. THIS is what's up. "They." They who? That's how you know this is some profiling shit.

[Shenrien]

White kids get shot in black neighborhoods all the time, what makes this any different? Roles got reverse is all I can see, both get blown under the radar, world keeps on spinning.

[Sera]

White kids get shot in black neighborhoods all the time, what makes this any different? Roles got reverse is all I can see, both get blown under the radar, world keeps on spinning.

White kids ("teens") get shot by gang members and shit, not neighborhood watch vigilante cop wannabes who are taking the law into their own hands based on preconceived notions. The difference is that the gang members get the electric chair for killing that nice innocent white boy and this guy gets to walk around in his neighborhood feeling like a badass because he valiantly capped an unarmed, innocent teenage boy for walking around while being black.

I agree with whoever posted earlier that he should not get the death penalty, but life in prison. And make sure EVERY prisoner there knows he's a child killer. Convicts LOVE child killers. He'll have a great time in the clink. He'll be very popular.

[Thiefami]

White kids get shot in black neighborhoods all the time

they do? All the time? Can I have some hard evidence of this?

[Sera]

Probably just mistaken identity, you know since all those white kids look just like their rival gang members