Ted Rall for April 02, 2012
Transcript:
The killing of an unarmed teenager in Florida. Afghanistan is prompting angry demands for the arrest of the vigilante who shot him. (Man: Not only did the cops not arrest the killer, they're on his side!) A self-appointed neighborhood watchman noticed Trayvon Martin because of his clothes, appearance and location, then targeted him. (Man: Looks like a terrorist.) (Barack Obama: Take him out.) Claiming the right to stand his ground against a perceived theoretical threat, the attacker acted without fear of arrest. Once again, an innocent young man falls victim to racist profilers who kill with impunity.
pcolli almost 12 years ago
Justice? Innocent until proven guilty?
g.iangoodson almost 12 years ago
Polluting the jury-pool?
walruscarver2000 almost 12 years ago
Now you’ve done it! You woke up all the nutcases. Don’t you know anyone wearing a hoody is up to no good???
Bilword almost 12 years ago
ain’t it the truth
ScullyUFO almost 12 years ago
One of the posters above accidentally understood Mr. Rall.
zoidknight almost 12 years ago
Because the NAACP and the Black Panthers declared it racist for anyone to defend themselves against law breakers of colored origin.
ransomdstone almost 12 years ago
With each new cartoon TR proves again that he is an idiot.
k8giggles almost 12 years ago
@Pemigewasset People often will rise (or fall) to expectations set upon them by others, and crime and poverty are not unique to any subset of our society. We lose something fundamental to our humanity if we take such a derivative stance as suspecting folks of wrong doing simply because of what they’re wearing on their head (whether hoodie or turban).
As a nation and as an individual, the moral high ground is lost once it is decided to take preemptive action using deadly force. Even in the “best” case scenario (and it’s really hard to consider any possibility in the case good), there are unconscionable actions that need to be answered for. I hope I’m never in such a situation, but if I ever shoot someone in self-defense, I expect to be taken into custody—even if I didn’t kill the person.
While there are occasions when deadly force is necessary no one should be able to use it with complete impunity.
ggauss Premium Member almost 12 years ago
I have four hoodies and I’m 72. Am I in danger?
walruscarver2000 almost 12 years ago
Apparently the law as written says in effect that I can kill anyone I THINK is a danger to me, then it’s up to the state to prove I was wrong. Further, the law is so written that it favors the killer. By their logic, it would appear that I could go to Florida, kill anyone, and claim I felt threatened by him since I THOUGHT he might decide to shoot me too if I walked thru his area armed with an ice tea..“Blessed are the lawmakers for they shall confuse the issue.”
Tue Elung-Jensen almost 12 years ago
Yes… its obviously the same case and same conditions.
Kylop almost 12 years ago
Its the skittles. They’re just so…..threatening
Dtroutma almost 12 years ago
I am reminded of the same event as Baslim, as well as three 2,000 pound bombs dropped on a restaurant in Baghdad because a guy with a mustache sat down to dinner.
The real issue is our “national moral compass” has been spinning like a top for a long time, but especially since “change” arrived; in 1981!
fuzzeebc almost 12 years ago
So if Zimmerman wasn’t arrested, why was he videotaped walking into the police station WEARING HANDCUFFS?
mcasenl almost 12 years ago
Thank you, Mr. Zimmerman
pam Miner almost 12 years ago
It seems to only matter if it happens to be your own kid.Anymore there are very few people who believe they are their brothers keeper.IF Zimmerman had children of his own he might have thought on this a little harder.
rockngolfer almost 12 years ago
I want to post a list of laws passed in FL and backed by the NRA.Now, I am all for having guns in the hands of responsible people (like me) but this is too much.Florida gun laws: Setting the pace in U.S.
SB 436 | 2005 | Stand Your Ground law allows people who feel they are in grave danger to use deadly force to protect themselves.
HB 687 | 2006 | Gives public records exemption to concealed carry weapon license holders, allowing people to own guns anonymously.
HB 503 | 2008 | Allows gun owners to bring a firearm to work, as long as it is locked inside a car.
SB 948 | 2008 | Increases time-length of concealed gun license from five to seven years.
HB 315 | 2010 | Prohibits adoption agencies from requiring prospective adoptive parents to disclose information about gun ownership.
HB 155 | 2011 | Prohibits medical practitioners from asking patients about whether or not they own a gun.
HB 5601 | 2012 | Reduces the maximum fees for concealed weapons license from $85 to $70.
CS/HB 463 | 2012 | Allows people under the age of 21 to obtain a gun license if they have military experience.
rockngolfer almost 12 years ago
BTW one reason Zimmerman wasn’t arrested is because if he was arrested and found not guilty he could sue the police department.
Norton99 almost 12 years ago
No, there wouldn’t, because the shooter would have arrested immediately.
DGH10 almost 12 years ago
My, My My. How sad his brain is………
38lowell almost 12 years ago
Just put an arab checkered turban on a muslim or anyone
in an airport or in Times Square, or anywhere & walkaround this country for a while & see what happens. How
about a jewish yamulka? OK in New York. How about
Detroit? When in Rome be like a Roman. Otherwise, how to
become a victim, like the East Indian in AZ with a turban
that got shot after 9/11. Why tweak the tail of the tiger. Tell
me about the uniform of the Black Panthers? What does it
say? How about the White Tigers-would they be outlawed?
Of course, both only want to see justice, otherwise why
would they exist? How about the Blonde Teddy Bears? We
want justice for the Blonde Teddy Bears!! Are you
intimidated by their names…uniforms? Just fantasies. Or
Girl & Boy scouts…intimidated? Remember, the Lone
Ranger wore a mask! What does a shirt/poster with Che’s
picture tell you? Intimidated? Don’t see any shirts with Dick
Tracey on them, or any other hero or crime stopper (if there
are any). Not even at Income Tax time. Where’s a shirt with
Alfred E. Neumann, Kermit, or your pet dog? How
confrontational can that be? Remove polarization with
some ball games. Put folks to work. NOW!
Dtroutma almost 12 years ago
Even “stand your ground” is NOT actually a total “get out of jail free card”. Well, as long as you shoot the right victim. Which, had our “Hispanic” dude been shot by a REAL “white guy”, would the REAL “white guy” have walked in Florida??? “Miami Vice” would have made shooting anyone okay as long as the shooter looked like Don Johnson.
charles116 almost 12 years ago
What does one kid have to do with all other kids in the world. Nothing. Why the Right Wingnuts have embraced this murder as some kind of ‘cause’ never ceases to amaze me.
charles116 almost 12 years ago
Most nuts claim to hear voices in their head, ZImmerman hears the theme for ROCKY 24/7.