And I think pulling the race card is more dangerous and is done when the evidence you have isn't enough. There was a TON of physical and circumstantial evidence in this case especially concerning Dunn's actions (and inactions) after he left the scene making it clear that there was never any gun or gun-like thing and that he was never at any time afraid for his life. He shot those boys not because they were black but because they defied him in what he wanted, Davis talked back to him, and he became so enraged by that that he got his gun and let lose on them. Had they been white in the same circumstances playing music just as loud he would have done the same thing especially if they were average teenage boys that wore the same type of clothing and played the same type of music... it's not just black teenage boys that are considered "thugs" by people. Pretty much all the male teenagers where I live wear the same kind of clothes, play the same kind of music really loud and act the same way and most of them are white, and some people consider them to be "thuggish" because of it.
Dunn believes that EVERYONE is beneath him and for someone to defy him and talk back to him particularly a teenager was too much for him. I think it was their youth that was especially galling to him... that a young person would dare to stand up to him, the much older adult. I think he would also react violently were it a woman that defied him though probably not in public. Though he is clearly a bigot from his own words in his letters, their race didn't have anything to do with why he shot at them but because one of them made him so enraged for talking back to him and defying what he wanted them to do. He's the perfect example of a nut with a gun that goes LOOKING to get into an altercation with someone he thinks he could get away with using his gun on them. I don't see what he did as all that much different than the guy that shot someone in the movie theater not because his life was threatened but because he defied him, talked back to him and he had "gun muscles" that made him go LOOKING to get into an altercation with someone and pull a gun on them because they aren't capable of controlling that "gun muscle" impulse... they can't help themselves because they get so angry and can't control the impulse to use their gun.
I don't know why anyone thought that he shot them because they were black. He shot them because he was so enraged that one of them defied him and talked back to him, hence the independent witness that heard him say "you aren't going to talk to me that way" just before going for his gun.
As for the Zimmerman case, I do think Martin was racially profiled and the entire reason why Zimmerman followed him, BUT the court decided that his following Martin had nothing to do with what came after. And in the Zimmerman trial they did use his race in part for the reason why Zimmerman believed that he was up to no good and followed him. What the prosecution needed to do in that case was to hammer on all of Zimmerman's multiple stories and lies about what occurred, and they utterly failed in every possible way so much so that I will always be convinced that the case was thrown on purpose.
In the OJ Simpson case the race card was used on behalf of the defendant, and sadly it worked. And there was nothing at all about race coming into that case. After that case I think it's a mistake to wave the race card especially when there isn't evidence or scant evidence of race being a factor and especially when there is actual physical evidence to convict. Most people believe that using the race card means that your case is weak. And without compelling evidence that says that race was a significant factor I'm inclined to agree. This case had a TON of evidence both physical and circumstantial against Dunn, and THAT'S what thankfully was used against him, as it should. To have used race in THIS case would have been a red flag indicating that the prosecution didn't feel that all the evidence they DID have was enough. And in this case all that evidence was absolutely overwhelming with none of it having to do with race.
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