There have been plenty of cases where stand your ground has allowed gang members and drug dealers (as well as violent criminals) avoid prosecution. Doesn’t it make you all warm inside to know that Zimmerman is among great company?
Excuse me? How about "if you are someone who thinks all young black men in a hoodie offer grievous bodily harm to you, and you ignore police warnings to stand down and PURSUE such a person and shoot him, even if he is unarmed, you will go free. If you are not black and he is, of course. Since a woman in FLORIDA who shot into the air to scare off her abusive ex-husband (who was violating a restraining order) got 20 years. Oh, she’s black.And where on Earth do you get the idea that this was NOT a Stand Your Ground case? It was explicitly in the instructions to the jury.
“The law discourages persons from taking the law into their own hands. Still the law does permit men to defend themselves … And when violence is used for the purpose of repelling a wrong, the degree of violence must not be disproportioned to the wrong to be prevented, or it is not justified.”
“Stand your ground” laws take hundreds of years of common law experience, derived from the bigger head, and pervert it for the sake of a few seconds’ testosterone rush.
Okay folks, let’s see the REAL message in the Zimmerman case: If some “creepy looking cracker”, or ANYONE starts following you, especially if they get out of a vehicle to follow you down a sidewalk, pull out your MAC 10 and WASTE ‘EM!!! Don’t give them the chance to shoot you, don’t use fists or martial arts, don’t let ’em get that close to you!!
“Officer Serino, who took the stand again on Tuesday, said the expletives that Mr. Zimmerman used as he was pursuing Mr. Martin connoted ill will — a necessary component in a second-degree murder conviction. The police officers were also clearly disturbed that Mr. Zimmerman, a community watch volunteer, seemed to have pursued Mr. Martin on foot after a police operator had told him he need not do so.”Apology, please?
^I arrested hundreds of people, first years, we didn’t even carry guns. I never had to shoot anyone, even ARMED people, to affect an arrest. Having citizens “playing cop”, with guns, and no sense of responsibility for their actions, is, sadly, fostered by “stand your ground”, especially when placed so poorly in the hands, so to speak, of such as Zimmerman.
In combat, guns were a different thing.
As a “civilian” I also had “encounters” with violent people, who STARTED the incidents, mostly because I WAS a G.I. in “their” town, and they resented the military, had nothing to do with ’Nam actually.
Walking in Portland with my boss one night, we came upon to “gentlemen” of a different race, who might have had ill intent. I just greeted them with a friendly smile, and said" Hi guys, how’s it going this evening." They both sat back down on the bridge rail, smiled, and said “just fine, man”.
My boss asked, “What would you have done if they’d tried to mug us?” I quite honestly (given experience and training, NOT a “tough guy”) simply said, “Thrown them on the freeway.” My boss just meekly said, “oh”.
So, there IS something to say that is NOT BS, and is of value for all people who may find themselves in “uncomfortable” circumstance. The best way to avoid becoming a victim, is don’t behave, or act like one!!! In dealing with cougars and bears, or “hostile” people, standing your ground (no gun needed), and watching your posture and demeanor to appear confident, and by effect, “bigger than your are”, IS a powerful defense!! I’ve seen 5’3" women effectively use this technique.
Of course, there’s also the fact that if you don’t go looking for trouble, you’re less likely to find it.
DaveBNM almost 11 years ago
GOOGLE: Roderick Scott Rochester, NY.
Reverse situation, same outcome on a righteous shooting. Where’s the outrage?
d_legendary1 almost 11 years ago
There have been plenty of cases where stand your ground has allowed gang members and drug dealers (as well as violent criminals) avoid prosecution. Doesn’t it make you all warm inside to know that Zimmerman is among great company?
Motivemagus almost 11 years ago
Excuse me? How about "if you are someone who thinks all young black men in a hoodie offer grievous bodily harm to you, and you ignore police warnings to stand down and PURSUE such a person and shoot him, even if he is unarmed, you will go free. If you are not black and he is, of course. Since a woman in FLORIDA who shot into the air to scare off her abusive ex-husband (who was violating a restraining order) got 20 years. Oh, she’s black.And where on Earth do you get the idea that this was NOT a Stand Your Ground case? It was explicitly in the instructions to the jury.
charliekane almost 11 years ago
“The law discourages persons from taking the law into their own hands. Still the law does permit men to defend themselves … And when violence is used for the purpose of repelling a wrong, the degree of violence must not be disproportioned to the wrong to be prevented, or it is not justified.”
“Stand your ground” laws take hundreds of years of common law experience, derived from the bigger head, and pervert it for the sake of a few seconds’ testosterone rush.
Dtroutma almost 11 years ago
Okay folks, let’s see the REAL message in the Zimmerman case: If some “creepy looking cracker”, or ANYONE starts following you, especially if they get out of a vehicle to follow you down a sidewalk, pull out your MAC 10 and WASTE ‘EM!!! Don’t give them the chance to shoot you, don’t use fists or martial arts, don’t let ’em get that close to you!!
Motivemagus almost 11 years ago
“Officer Serino, who took the stand again on Tuesday, said the expletives that Mr. Zimmerman used as he was pursuing Mr. Martin connoted ill will — a necessary component in a second-degree murder conviction. The police officers were also clearly disturbed that Mr. Zimmerman, a community watch volunteer, seemed to have pursued Mr. Martin on foot after a police operator had told him he need not do so.”Apology, please?
Dtroutma almost 11 years ago
^I arrested hundreds of people, first years, we didn’t even carry guns. I never had to shoot anyone, even ARMED people, to affect an arrest. Having citizens “playing cop”, with guns, and no sense of responsibility for their actions, is, sadly, fostered by “stand your ground”, especially when placed so poorly in the hands, so to speak, of such as Zimmerman.
In combat, guns were a different thing.
As a “civilian” I also had “encounters” with violent people, who STARTED the incidents, mostly because I WAS a G.I. in “their” town, and they resented the military, had nothing to do with ’Nam actually.
Walking in Portland with my boss one night, we came upon to “gentlemen” of a different race, who might have had ill intent. I just greeted them with a friendly smile, and said" Hi guys, how’s it going this evening." They both sat back down on the bridge rail, smiled, and said “just fine, man”.
My boss asked, “What would you have done if they’d tried to mug us?” I quite honestly (given experience and training, NOT a “tough guy”) simply said, “Thrown them on the freeway.” My boss just meekly said, “oh”.
So, there IS something to say that is NOT BS, and is of value for all people who may find themselves in “uncomfortable” circumstance. The best way to avoid becoming a victim, is don’t behave, or act like one!!! In dealing with cougars and bears, or “hostile” people, standing your ground (no gun needed), and watching your posture and demeanor to appear confident, and by effect, “bigger than your are”, IS a powerful defense!! I’ve seen 5’3" women effectively use this technique.
Of course, there’s also the fact that if you don’t go looking for trouble, you’re less likely to find it.
cjr53 almost 11 years ago
Odd how many interpret Neighborhood Watch as Neighborhood Intervention.