If an Afro-American teenager cannot walk home without being profiled

[malaise]

stalked, called 'the suspect', attacked and shot in the heart and the paranoid racist, pathological liar and wanna be cop can walk, forget every discussion about post-racial America.
Zimmerman is guilty

[MrScorpio]

1. Damn Skippy! nt

[bettyellen]

2. it blew my mind after they called the "home invasion" woman.....

how many people that made Zimmerman look correct in profiling Trayvon. It made me think he was doing this whole thing to have an excuse to talk to his cute blonde neighbor some more. They discussed it 20 times- but didn't discuss that the guy was caught?!?! WTF? I think he loved his neighbors living in fear. It validated his hobby.

Also- the victim there took the Zim route and didn't acknowledge that her bell was rung. The burglars were ringing her bell- looking for an empty house, not a woman to terrorize. That she wouldn't call out "what's up" but instead hid upstairs made things much much worse for her. Similar to GZ. They never even knew she was there. I didn't know that. I know burglars are bad- but deliberate home invaders are a whole other animal.

[Nevernose]

5. Zimmerman once called the police on a "suspicious" guy

For ringing his doorbell. His sister heard the doorbell, peeked out the window from upstairs, and didn't recognize the person ringing the doorbell. She then called George on the phone -- who apparently was downstairs, in the same house -- and rather than go to the door and say, "Who is it?", he called the police to report suspicious doorbell ringing.

If someone reading this doesn't believe me, they can look it up on his multiple 311/911 calls.

[bettyellen]

6. if you are that frightened where you live- you need to ask Daddy to rent you a

different place to live, LOL. What assholes. He's going to end up shooting a Jehovah's witness or lost pizza delivery dude someday.
Assholes like him are why the police aren't there fast enough when you really need them.

[Nevernose]

9. He DID call the police on the pizza dude!

He ordered a pizza and then decided he wasn't hungry, and called 911 when the pizza guy demanded his money!

On a similar note, he called 911 to report his landlord for harassment because George didn't pay his rent.

[bettyellen]

12. what a moronic, entitled asshole. And grifter to boot. With Dad paying rent, he had

racked up 25-30K in credit debt. He secretly payed that with money donated for his defense. Boy was his lawyer gob smacked.

[John2]

14. Well, isn't

another example of a depraved mind? You did read about his incident with that motorist didn't you? I think the man has an obsession and needs medical help. He will do it again. It is better to lock him up and give him some help. And I definitely wouldn't allow him to get a badge, where he could legally use the law to kill people.

[SaveAmerica]

27. What happened with the motorist?

[bettyellen]

42. he started a car chase after someone threw gum out the window! and then lied to cops and said

the guy spit on his car.... again, no good explanation- random he said she said altercations. For that he tailgaited someone and drove as if it he was going to ram him or something.
GZ is always very angry because OTHER people did something wrong, out of the blue.
the pizza and landlord stories are freaky, jeeze.

[SaveAmerica]

45. And no regard for his dangerous bahavior to get the 'bad guy'

Thanks for the info.

[bettyellen]

47. every scrape he's gotten into- the other persons fault for some wild reason....

the domestic abuse, she calls it in- he says it was her. Always worked for him before.

[malaise]

7. I thought I was the only one who wondered about that

I also wondered if the neighbor and her husband didn't move out because of Zimmerman. He clearly wanted to be the neighborhood hero.
Even so, it gave none of them the right to decide that every black teenager including people staying at the complex) was a criminal.

[bettyellen]

10. to me it showed how much it was about his ego- and not what was going on...

because that perp- who ran to the back of TTL... was caught. Time to stop obsessing about everyone walking in that direction. But that would put a cramp in GZ's socializing with pretty blondes.
I wondered if she was fed up with him- 20 conversations? WTF? They didn't know each other till it happened. I'd be creeped out if I were her.

[malaise]

13. They moved out

Just saying!

[bettyellen]

16. this whole thing is heartbreaking. I hope those crying jurors were not crying out of

guilt and stress because they were leaning to acquittal. I had that feeling about a few of GZ friends - crying on the stand for no reason = had no idea how stressful it was to lie on national TV like that.

[targetpractice]

29. Zimmerman is a narcissist… He feeds off the attention...

You are right… Narcissists like to find folks with a problem, so they can install themselves as the solution.

[Ohio Joe]

3. It really is just that simple

Blatant and open racism has become the norm in teabagger America.

[malaise]

8. Which is why ignorance and racism are so visible on RW message boards

The 'morans' are parading their ignorance and calling the lady an activist judge.
When racism is the dominant theme, knowledge of the law does not matter.

[Ohio Joe]

15. They show it on almost every post... Not just on RW boards either...

Look at the comments on any article on the web... If they allow comments. I am not certain how it became ok to be openly racist but the right is reveling in it.

[malaise]

18. And even more frightening

the editors are allowing those racist comments. They really hate the idea of an African-American President

[Carolina]

4. K&R!

Bravo, well and succinctly put, and so true.

The picture of Trayvon on the ground, dead, shows a kid... not the menacing thug the shameless defense and that lying SOB Zimmerman depicted.

[malaise]

11. I made hubby look at that photo

He said that Trayvon is any one of our nieces or nephews in America.

[treestar]

17. And was the girlfriend of his father black?

Because that means black people lived in the friggin' neighborhood. So the profiling is even more inexcusable, if that is possible.

[malaise]

19. The statement is that even if you live here we can profile you

which is beyond frightening.

[John2]

20. What surprised

me, only one person that called 911 even knew who George Zimmerman was, according to them. In that case, George Zimmerman would be a suspicious person if he followed them at night.

[treestar]

22. True, unless the neighborhood generally knew him as "neighborhood watchman"

than parking a car and getting out of it to follow a teenager - very suspicious.

[world wide wally]

31. How about the neighborhood bullshitter psycho wannabe sgt Friday?

You forgot that part.

[treestar]

55. Did the neighbors know him as that?

Not sure why you directed that at me.

[world wide wally]

61. Just a general Comment. Not directed at you at all.

My point being: what would you think of a grown man who pretends to be Wyatt Earp and basically appoints himself as the "neighborhood watch". I know that I would think he was borderline certifiable (after I finished rolling mt eyes)

[TBF]

21. I can't get past him getting out of the car.

If he wanted to be an asshole and call the police based on a kid walking while black, I guess he could do that. But to get out of his car, hunt someone down & shoot them is beyond the pale. He had to decide whether to stay in the car or get out, whether to take a gun with him or not. He thought about all that and decided what he wanted to do. I would call that pre-meditated murder.

[MissDeeds]

34. I agree

He wanted a confrontation, he sought it out. There was absolutely no reason for him to leave his vehicle; once he did, he was the aggressor. Trayvon was 'armed' with iced tea and Skittles and had done absolutely nothing wrong. If the jury has one ounce of common sense, they will not be able to get past the simple fact that Zimmerman left his vehicle in pursuit of a kid simply walking home. God this gives me chills - it's open season on innocent people walking home.

[Octafish]

23. I can't call him 'guilty' until the jury results come in, but what you said is spot-on, malaise.

The defense made out like the victim was the perpetrator, the "suspect." Whether the jury falls for it remains to be seen, but there is no post-racial America. People, on the whole, still judge one another "by the color of their skin, not by the content of their character." That should be obvious to anyone watching the coverage on Corporate McPravda or reading about it on DU.

And that is the shame of today. President Obama tried to get things moving in a new direction by sitting down for a public beer with the Harvard prof and the Cambridge cop, but the dialogue -- and events -- outran him.

[malaise]

26. Well said Octafish

I remember how ReTHUGs and M$Greedia attacked him after that racist attack of the Harvard Professor

[pipi_k]

24. According to this...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Did_Trayvon_Martin_live_in_gated_community_where_he_was_shot

he did not live in that community.

He was, basically, a stranger. His actual residence was Miami, where he was on two week suspension for marijuana residue being found in a baggie in his backpack. He was visiting his father, who was visiting his fiancee, who did live in that neighborhood.

OK so we have a kid who isn't known to Zimmerman. We have some break-ins. Perhaps the burglars were black, perhaps they weren't.

At first glance, he was likely profiled as being someone Zimmerman didn't know, who appeared to Z to be acting suspiciously.

After that, who knows the actual truth of what happened and why...

[malaise]

28. So if my sister in Miami has a family reunion and all over nephews visit

from everywhere, does that give any neighbor the right to profile them, stalk them, follow them and shoot them in the heart because that neighbor believes all Afro-American teenagers are suspects.
By the way I don't give a flying fuck about marijuana residue being found in a baggie - more white teenagers use ganja than Afro-Americans.

[pipi_k]

44. I don't care about

the marijuana, either. It was only included because it explains why he was not in his own neighborhood.

OK, so his being there was not reason for him to be killed.

But that wasn't your question.

Your question was, why was he being profiled.

I answered it. He was being profiled because he was in a neighborhood where break-ins had happened and Zimmerman didn't know him.

[malaise]

53. So because some racist wanna be cop doesn't know an Afro-American teenager

He can stalk, attack and kill him because there are break-ins in the neighborhood.
I'd better warn my nephews.

[displacedtexan]

57. The United Fucking States of America is his neighborhood.

aNd he had visited his father's fiancee there several times.

And everyone GZ called about "looked suspicious."

I hope random people start calling 911 about "suspicious" white people in their neighborhoods and those "driving funny."

I'm a white woman who's lived in mixed neighborhoods most of my life, and all you have to do is smile and say hello. It's not difficult to treat people like they're equal to you because they are, damn it.

Edited to add: I'm not yelling at you; I'm yelling at all of those who think some people don't have the right to walk down their streets.

[The Magistrate]

30. For Zimmerman, Ma'am, Being Black is Acting Suspiciously

That is the sole ground for suspicion he had.

You know that, I know that --- hell, even Zimmerman knows that.

[pipi_k]

46. Actually,

I don't know that.

And I resent your telling me what I "know".

And I think it's a bit presumptuous to insist that Zimmerman knew being black was suspicion enough.

If that's what you think...well, there's nothing I can do about it.

It would never occur to me that someone's color is reason to suspect him or her of anything.

[The Magistrate]

48. I Made the Courteous Assumption, Ma'am, You Were Sentient: I Apologize

For the other, regarding Zimmerman's knowledge: pound sand.

[displacedtexan]

58. OMG, I love you. Will you marry me?

Oops, I forgot I'm happily married already. But I still love you.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

63. Nobody can lob a righteous burn like The Magistrate.

and he uses such big words!

[JoePhilly]

37. Zimmerman wasn't going to let "the suspect" get away this time.

That's what happened.

[pipi_k]

49. Wow...

Since you were there, why the hell didn't you contact the prosecutor?

Such irrefutable evidence would have been invaluable in convicting Z.

If Zimmerman isn't convicted of something, it will be the fault of everyone here who KNOWS what happened, but never appeared as a witness for the State of Florida!

[JoePhilly]

56. Zimmy refers to Martin as "the suspect"

Repeatedly when talking to the police. It's in the transcripts. One need not to have been there to know this. It is a fact.

Same for Zimmy's concern about other "suspects" getting away in th past. He says it.

And this time the "suspect" did not get away. He is dead.

[ajk2821]

41. How would he know that?

How would George know about the residue? He couldn't know that. He had one fact available: African American teen walking in neighborhood.

[pipi_k]

50. Who said he knew?

He didn't even know why Trayvon Martin was in the neighborhood in the first place.

And actually, he had two facts available...

Person he doesn't know walking in the rain in the dark...a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood.

I'll even go so far as to speculate a bit...

being winter, and dark, it's quite possible Trayvon could have been peering inside windows as he passed them. Just out of curiosity. I do it myself, from the passenger seat while riding around. I like looking in people's homes. Not sure I'd do it while walking around, but driving or riding by...it's something to look at.

If someone is walking around doing that, I could see where the act could be misinterpreted by someone looking for suspicious behavior because of prior burglaries.

So many really awful things in life happen as a result of misunderstandings like that.

[mentalsolstice]

54. Let's just imagine that Trayvon was one of the suspected burglars...

Or closely fit the physical description of one of the burglars. It still does not give Zimmerman the right to get out of his car and act as judge, jury and executioner. In this country, burglary is not a capital crime. Best to call 911, and let LEOs sort it out.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. What pisses me off is how the media narrative is now, "The blacks are going to riot"...

...if Zimmerman gets off.

This backs up the whole "they're savages" narrative.

I know a FOX News viewing asshole who was so convinced Romney was going to win in a landslide that he left the country because he really believed every major city would be in flames.

[kalisto2010]

32. Savages

You're 100% correct. What the media fails to realize is there's been numerous cases where unarmed Black Men were shot and killed by police and there was virtually no investigation and no charges filed. I didn't see the angry Black Horde riot and burn down the city. More riots in this country are caused by college kids after sporting events than there is due to racial tension.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

40. That's because blacks are now (gasp) "mixing" with whites....

They have "white" jobs too. They even have homes in "white only" areas.

[Maximumnegro]

33. Afro-American?

Oh wow, that's showing your age...

[Posteritatis]

36. That's your takeaway from that post, really? (nt)

[Maximumnegro]

52. Yeah, that about sums it up.

Feel free to add anything I might have missed. Thanks.

[bettyellen]

43. Says the poster who calls themselves WHUT?

[Maximumnegro]

51. If *African-Americans* called themselves

MaximumNegros, that would be pretty frickin' awesome.

But seriously I don't think I've heard Afro-American since grade school.

[Iliyah]

35. I just saw the pic of TM's body

and he did not look like a gangsa. He was wearing a sweet shirt with a hood and fitting pants. OMG, a teenage boy walking from the store going home.

[SHRED]

38. I have concerns

The prosecution team is not all that skilled in my view.

[Warpy]

39. I just don't want every neighborhood patrolled by swaggering gun thugs with god complexes

which is exactly what we'll get if that plug-ugly walks. It will be open season on anybody the gunners don't like, especially teenagers.

[Duckwraps]

59. Yeah know Malaise

there are some Hispanic and Black neighborhoods that profile or object to "Whitey" strolling threw them. I hope we are not in denial about that.

[displacedtexan]

60. Let's talk about how "suspicious" GZ looked that night.

hE looked like there was "something wrong with him." He was likely driving with his headlights off (which he did regularly and freaked the neighbors out when he was playing patrolboy; check the complaints against him). He had a shaved head and that "scary looking mustache and that "weird" line of beard hair like Walter White had for a while. He was following in the dark, and he pulled ahead and got between TM and the next street, which meant that TM had to go around him, then GZ told the dispatcher "He's coming toward me." Duh.

Anyway, GZ's behavior that night was entirely "suspicious."

[malaise]

65. I am still shaking my head

I cannot believe this - even for Florida

[Generic Other]

64. No justice in Florida

I feel so badly for Trayvon's mother.

[malaise]

66. Al Gore knows that too well