17y/o Killed By Neighborhood Watch/CHL

[Heartland Patriot]

Whither this guy was legally right or wrong, I hope all of you at least realize that he made some bad choices which have now brought national attention and have the potential to damage each of us who lawfully carries and does not make bad decisions.

All who carry have a responsibility to others who carry, who also have the responsibility. The right to carry was hard-won with a cost to many who fought the battle before us, and to us who have to protect it for the future. I will not have good feelings for any of our fellowship who callously or carelessly endangers the right to carry.

I may end up defending them from a legal standpoint, but I will not be made to feel good about it.

Sir, that is why I pointed out, in my message about not trusting Motherjones as a news source with any sort of credibility, that Mr. Z made a rash and foolhardy judgement to follow that teen. So, in that respect, I do agree with you, for certain. I've said it before, and I'll say it yet again: MY CHL is for the defense of myself, my loved ones/close friends, and perhaps others as the situation dictates...but I am NOT law enforcement, I have not been trained as law enforcement, and I have no combat experience, either. I will leave enforcement of the laws to those who are hired, trained, and paid to do that job. As far as "neighborhood watch" is concerned, the key word is "watch"...as in looking...not acting.

[Heartland Patriot]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... ml?hpid=z1

I retract any earlier comment I made about the WaPo showing any "journalistic integrity" compared to Motherjones (I still have no trust of them, however)...as VMI77 pointed out (and correctly it seems), it is a media-blitz to turn this into more than just one overzealous and foolhardy guy who turned a minor situation into a one with a tragic ending...anything to deflect attention in an election year...I imagine the government in Soviet Union must have enjoyed controlling the press like this.

[RPB]

Sanford police chief temporarily steps down
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-574 ... bsCarousel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[i8godzilla]

Sanford police chief temporarily steps down
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-574 ... bsCarousel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

With full pay and benefits?

[WildBill]

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

[speedsix]

...since about the time Z. put on his cape and mask and flew out of his ride to save the day from the evil Skittlesman...and we ain't seen nuttin' yet...

[Oldgringo]

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

Your are correct, this is becoming a national stinkeroo! I'll ask again, what if the players had both been white, both been black or Hispanic? Would we even have heard of it?

Sensationalism sold newspapers and it now sells TV air time. That said, something does smell about this happening, what is it? Is it about guns or what?

[WildBill]

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

Your are correct, this is becoming a national stinkeroo! I'll ask again, what if the players had both been white, both been black or Hispanic? Would we even have heard of it?

Sensationalism sold newspapers and it now sells TV air time. That said, something does smell about this happening, what is it? Is it about guns or what?

A simple answer is NO. It's playing out like a lynching.

[Ameer]

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

Your are correct, this is becoming a national stinkeroo! I'll ask again, what if the players had both been white, both been black or Hispanic? Would we even have heard of it?

Sensationalism sold newspapers and it now sells TV air time. That said, something does smell about this happening, what is it? Is it about guns or what?

A simple answer is NO. It's playing out like a lynching.

That's exactly the mob mentality that some "community organizers" are endorsing. Ironic, isn't it?

At this point, George Zimmerman should disappear to the best of his ability. It's starting to look like Obama and Holder will make sure Zimmerman can't get a fair trial. The mob wants blood. Obama wants votes.

[KingofChaos]

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

Your are correct, this is becoming a national stinkeroo! I'll ask again, what if the players had both been white, both been black or Hispanic? Would we even have heard of it?

Sensationalism sold newspapers and it now sells TV air time. That said, something does smell about this happening, what is it? Is it about guns or what?

Maybe not. But if Zimmerman had been black and Martin white I bet my house he'd have been arrested from the get go. Which is really what the outrage is about more so than the incident itself. When I first heard about the case my first thought was "Oh god, some idiot's going to ruin stand your ground for everyone". Though after reading through this thread, I'm a bit interested in how people would be responding if things happened exactly the same way, only Zimmerman was the one who ended up shot.

[sugar land dave]

Guys,

I wouldn't know MotherJones from FatherTime, but I do know that I am liking this incident less and less by the hour, and I didn't even know that was possible.

[Ameer]

[youtube][/youtube]

[Heartland Patriot]

This whole situation is getting out of hand.

Your are correct, this is becoming a national stinkeroo! I'll ask again, what if the players had both been white, both been black or Hispanic? Would we even have heard of it?

Sensationalism sold newspapers and it now sells TV air time. That said, something does smell about this happening, what is it? Is it about guns or what?

Maybe not. But if Zimmerman had been black and Martin white I bet my house he'd have been arrested from the get go. Which is really what the outrage is about more so than the incident itself. When I first heard about the case my first thought was "Oh god, some idiot's going to ruin stand your ground for everyone". Though after reading through this thread, I'm a bit interested in how people would be responding if things happened exactly the same way, only Zimmerman was the one who ended up shot.

Zimmerman handled things badly, no matter what else happened. I just wish this was being handled as a local crime in Florida instead of some opportunistic attempt by the media to possibly curtail hard-(re)earned self-defense rights, as well as certain politicians who will no doubt do their best to ride this to victory in the elections this fall. I think it was stated well earlier in regards to do people really think that a police department, knowing how crimes like this will appear, would not look at the evidence merely because of some alleged hatred of a racial group? REALLY? To me, that defies belief...one way or another, this whole thing stinks...I feel we, the American public at large, of ALL RACES, are being played for fools...

[Heartland Patriot]

[youtube][/youtube]

BINGO! That's what I'm getting at, thank you.

[KingofChaos]

Zimmerman handled things badly, no matter what else happened. I just wish this was being handled as a local crime in Florida instead of some opportunistic attempt by the media to possibly curtail hard-(re)earned self-defense rights, as well as certain politicians who will no doubt do their best to ride this to victory in the elections this fall. I think it was stated well earlier in regards to do people really think that a police department, knowing how crimes like this will appear, would not look at the evidence merely because of some alleged hatred of a racial group? REALLY? To me, that defies belief...one way or another, this whole thing stinks...I feel we, the American public at large, of ALL RACES, are being played for fools...

Oh it's definitely going to be used as a ploy for re-election. It's the only smart thing for a politician to do. But yes, I do think a police departments response could be different based on race. I'm not calling them hooded klansmen, or even consciously intolerant, but I do think it comes into play when people make decisions. The same way Zimmerman thought the boy was suspicious, maybe they'd be more suspicious of him, Zimmerman's, story if he was a black guy. In the real world, things like that happen. It's just life. It's much better to accept it, then to pretend like it doesn't happen. It's really not relevant, and that was more me thinking as I typed. Don't want to start another sidebar. That's already been done. Hopefully it all gets sorted out, and the ignorant ones calling for the curtailing of our rights don't gain any ground.