Jen Sorensen for July 23, 2013

No one can say for sure that Zimmerman shot Martin because or profiling, but no one can say for sure that he didn’t. What we do know for sure is that black men are treated differently by the system.http://www.youthlaw.org/publications/yln/2012/apr_jun_2012/new_national_data_shows_racial_disparities_in_school_discipline/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324432004578304463789858002.html

Nicely done, Jen Sorenson.

Actually, the police, the jury and even the FBI have said this had nothing to do with race. Yet, The Great Divider feels the need to make Trayvon being shot while attacking Zimmerman the main concern of blacks in America. As if White errr….Hispanic men are shooting blacks by the thousands because of racist Americans.I think there are MUCH bigger issues that need to be addressed in the black community.(e.g. Those aren’t Zimmermans killing black youth daily in his hometown of Chicago).

As were some 50% of Americans, now and in the past. Your point? After all, pot smoking is supposed to make you more peaceful (some would even say a peaceful zombie) not less, as both parties in this sad affair were (that is Zimmerman and Martin)!!

I took Obama’s comments to mean he was casing houses to burgle 35 years ago. That’s what Martin’s record indicates that he was doing.

When an unarmed black kid in Florida gets shot by someone who is not black (and pursued him against police recommendations), the shooter gets off.When a black woman shoots into the air to scare off her abusive ex-husband violating his restraining order, she gets 20 years. Also in Florida.

Here’s something I don’t understand. Some people argue that the Black community needs to do more to work on their own issues — and to an extent I agree. (I agree to the extent that this expectation is not used to allow others to pretend that there is no racism in the US.) So the Black community says, yes, let’s work on improving ourselves, for example by making sure that our children are educated. So they set up The United Negro College Fund. And then some people (some of the same people who said the Black community should work on its own issues) say that’s a racist organization. It feels as if the Black community is damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

Oh boy, Jen has struck a nerve. Look at the cons froth at the mouth. LOL!

“Martin had two ingredients to make a drug craze called “lean”.. Look it up. It’s a shame, the kid died of stupidity.”This is what happens when stupid white guys with no clue about black culture, try to find evidence of Martin being a thug. Martin quoted rap lyrics & movies, & posted pictures of himself trying to look tough. Pretty typical behavior for a teenage boy. Latest outright lie going around the Karl Rove Email List is that Martin had liver damage from drug use. Pure BS.http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/15032951-rightwing-site-wnd-spreads-misinformation-about-trayvon-martin

there is a certain number of white folks (see above) who don’t get it.never will

“The kid died of fear and a vigilante’s bullet.”

Nicely put.

“And one of the German citizens may have posted a picture of the concentration camps and ended WW2 before it started.”

The concentration camps were established after concentration ghettos. The world war had already started long before these were established. What was also long established before the war started was the prejudice and hatred shown against Jews in Germany & Austria, evidenced by the steady stream of many Jews already fleeing those 2 countries’ persecution to other nations, before the war started “officially” Sept 1st, ‘39, or America’s official start of Dec 7th, ‘41. Nothing was done despite clear evidence. I don’t get the analogy. I call Godwin’s Law.

" Unfortunately that couldn’t be entered into evidence."Yeah, all kinds of things couldn’t be entered into evidence. Between that & the judge’s instructions, It makes the jury decision more understandable. But, not more acceptable.

Yes, but the insults also describe their overall philosophy. I’m just fleshing these people out so you can get a clear picture in your mind of who they really are, deep down: people not the least bit interested in debate. “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster”, as Nietzsche said; so I become what they are to draw blood, that’s all. Sometimes I write clearly and cogently; when I do, I learn it makes no difference, they’re still just people who like to argue nonsense. So, it depends on how I’m feeling that day as to how I approach them.

“The kid died because he thought he was jumping an unarmed crazy ass cracker who he was going to teach not to follow him.”Take out the word “unarmed” & you may actually be on the path to reality. At least you admit that from Martin’s point of view, he was the one being followed & possibly in danger. None of us know how truthful Zimmerman has been with his account. The evidence supports his claim that Martin threw the first punch & had him on the ground, but that’s it.Did Martin attack him thinking he was unarmed, or because Martin saw Zimmerman’s gun & thought he was about to be dragged off to some pervert’s basement? Was Zimmerman too busy trying to pull his gun to otherwise defend himself for a couple seconds? That would explain why Martin had a momentary advantage against a man who otherwise should have been more than a match.

“If you are black the law comes down hard on you. All of the time.So you are saying whites just get off when it comes to crime? That is a racist statement.”Go look at my post at the top of the page. Blacks get harsher punishments for the same offenses, starting at a very early age. That’s not being racist, that’s stating the facts.

For God’s sake, Tigger. If you’ll recall, the issue with O.J. Simpson’s case all along was not whether a black man would receive a fair trial, but whether a rich celebrity could be convicted of anything. Part of the reason Simpson was acquitted was that his celebrity ensured it; another was prosecutorial missteps; another was the defense team’s playing of the “race card” vis á vis Det. Furman, discrediting his testimony in the eyes of the jury; another was the pathetically inept Judge Ito; another was the ungodly amount of time spent prosecuting Simpson with a sequestered jury. Simpson could have been recorded on tape standing over his wife’s dead body and saying, “Oh my God! What have I done!” and he probably would have been acquitted in Los Angeles. Why? Because he was a rich celebrity and a sports hero; which makes his case stand very far apart from your typical black defendant, who has no resources for decent representation in court and a strong chance of being convicted of the crime he’d been charged with.

“His Skin color was not known until Mr. Martin attacked Mr. Zimmerman.”Except you don’t know that, nor do you know who attacked who. All you have to go by are statements made by the guy who followed a person and killed him.

At the end of the day you and I are not so far apart on what we believe, Night-Gaunt. That you want to remain pure I can respect, and I mean that sincerely; but laying out a reasonable argument here, clearly and simply, and expecting a response from the right wingers on this page that isn’t abusive or infantile is just a fantasy. So, if by battling monsters I should become a monster, that is true only here at GoComics. I can live with my sarcasm and occasional belittling of them because I get it in return. Fair is fair. If the right-wingers here can dish it out, but not be able to handle themselves when it’s smeared all over their faces in payback, then they have a problem, not me. Their core racism is dangerous, and it colors nearly every post they make; where Obama, Trayvon Martin, Stand Your Ground, and other hot button topics are mentioned, their positions are so old and Gothic you can hang bells in them. So, I’ll keep trying to make my positions clear, but clarity is lost on them. In the meantime I can certainly poke holes in their tiny arguments for my own amusement.

“YOU ARE RIGHT!! Just look at O.J.”One wealthy celebrity, literally getting away with murder, does not refute the facts.

“Really? Explain why OJ was acquitted of a Double Murder?”Money for good attorneys who could keep a lot of evidence from being considered. Did you think that was a just verdict? I didn’t.

“The Prosecution found zero proof Zimmerman ‘Profiled’ Mr. Martin as you claim.”Where did I claim that? It’s nearly impossible to prove in court.I suspect Martin’s skin color was a factor in why Zimmerman paid attention to him, but I don;t believe it was the only factor. I believe Zimmerman saw him wandering aimlessly & wrongly assumed he was up to no good. Given the recent break ins, I won’t fault Zimmerman for calling 911. I do fault him for getting out of his car & running after Martin with a loaded gun.

Tigger: Zimmerman identified Martin’s race in his first call to the 911 operator before he got out to follow the kid. It’s amazing how many people ignored all the evidence.

Little miss happy to be alive.

Even though all your words are in English, don’t assume you can string them together randomly and communicate with others. You’re making absolutely no sense.

Conservegov: thanks for taking the time to prove what I said was absolutely correct. Zimmerman had clearly “Profiled” before he made the call, and the 911 dispatcher just confirmed it, didn’t “initiate” the observation.

P.S., I also listened to the inflection and tone of voice for dispatcher and Zimmerman, that’s as important as the “words”. Yes, before onguard steps up, I was trained, by both university courses, the FBI, and several other police agencies and the military how to conduct interrogations, and observe characteristics and patterns, vocal, visual, voluntary and involuntary.

FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) provides training by, and to, a number of agencies. I knew I could count on the “usual suspects” to display their ignorance, again. (And inability to read complete sentences, or whole statements, is of course, the basis for all their commentaries on subjects they know nothing about.)

If Zimmerman had a problem with race why was he mentoring young black teens? Something our President cannot say he did. The only one using racial slurs that night was Trayvon, just minutes before he atttacked Zimmerman. Racial Profiling? No, just stupidity.

love this.

You are dumb

^churchie: I was an NPS law enforcement officer, and a sworn Deputy Sheriff in California, requiring also their certification. I also had a minor in law enforcement in college (including interview and interrogation), and had training in the Army as well after ’Nam in numerous issues related to riot control.

The “course catalogue” (as well as programs and course requirements) at FLETC has changed over the years, and that disaster called “Homeland Security” where “W” add THIRTY THREE NEW DEPARTMENTS to further confuse law enforcement at the federal level, did come long after my stints in and with several agencies. Also, OJT included training and working with Border Patrol and “other folks”

Did travel with Jung Hi Park, President of South Korea on one of his trips to the U.S. while visiting our area, and HIS security people ARE a very interesting group. They much appreciated that I’d spent some time alongside their Tiger Division guys in ’Nam.

Over the time I’ve been on these pages, and attacked on nearly every post where I’ve tried to relate real-world experiences to give folks an idea of what the “real world” is actually about, it’s been interesting that the predominant case in attacks from “righties” is: they’ve never had ANY experience in the REAL world, and depend on Faux, Beck, Hannity, and Rush for their “background information and facts” even when even those are gained “second hand”, and are false. They constantly try to pick silly “arguments” based on what they’ve heard, believe in your latest case, and admirably in your current case, actually do some research to check out, even if now out of context.

Conversely, those in the center or left, accept and appreciate examples of what the real world is like, and often have their own REAL experiences to call upon to confirm “reality”.

Will be in your area next week, and having to adapt to humidity and the high air pressure at sea level, both of which are “uncomfortable” for folks who live high and dry.

Great cartoon Jen, Right on! And half the comments posted here attest to your insight.