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> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin You're citing a case where the defendant was

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Trayvon_Martin You're citing a case where the defendant was found not guilty of 2nd degree murder. How are you so sure it proves anything? Do you have a better handle on the situation than the jury did?

SwellJoe 12y ago
To me, it proves that racism is systemic, and not just a cultural problem. I have a hard time understanding the mindset of folks who can look at the Trayvon Martin case and say, "See, Zimmerman was found not guilty, which proves it was not racially motivated and that he did nothing wrong! Everything is fine, racism is dead. God bless America!" The fact that Zimmerman was found not guilty is the perfect example of how racist our nation remains. Had Martin been a white kid, Zimmerman would be in prison (possibly even facing the death penalty, since Zimmerman is Hispanic). Edit: I feel like I should be more clear here...Zimmerman's defense was the Stand Your Ground law. However, Zimmerman was the armed adult who stalked and approached an unarmed teenager; Martin was on his way home. In what bizzaro world does the jury, the police, and a whole lot of white Americans, live in that the aggressor could ever be interpreted as the kid? Even if Martin responded with force to the aggressive armed adult, the "Stand Your Ground" right belonged to Martin. Not the armed adult chasing him. If Martin had successfully defended himself from the psychopath chasing him, he'd likely be in jail today. Which is what a racist system and culture looks like.
- areyousure 12y ago
  In response to your edit: Zimmerman's defense did not invoke Florida's Stand Your Ground law.
  - SwellJoe 12y ago
    The reason police gave for not arresting Zimmerman at the scene was the Stand Your Ground law. If that wasn't the defense used, that's interesting, but doesn't alter the facts. An armed nutbag stalked an unarmed teenager who was walking home from the store. And, somehow, according to police, judge, and jury it was the teenager's fault he ended up dead and his killer walks free. Only in a deeply racist society is a guy with a gun given the right to kill children for no crime other than being black. The "suspicious" behavior that Zimmerman used to justify him grabbing his gun and chasing Martin: he was wearing a hoodie (it was raining and he was covering his head like any sane person would do), he was "looking around" (wearing a hood restricts your peripheral vision...I look around quite a bit, too, when I wear a hoodie), and he took a shortcut through someone's yard (something I did literally thousands of times in my childhood, without ever being murdered for it). Racism is alive and well.

SwellJoe 12y ago

To me, it proves that racism is systemic, and not just a cultural problem. I have a hard time understanding the mindset of folks who can look at the Trayvon Martin case and say, "See, Zimmerman was found not guilty, which proves it was not racially motivated and that he did nothing wrong! Everything is fine, racism is dead. God bless America!" The fact that Zimmerman was found not guilty is the perfect example of how racist our nation remains. Had Martin been a white kid, Zimmerman would be in prison (possibly even facing the death penalty, since Zimmerman is Hispanic). Edit: I feel like I should be more clear here...Zimmerman's defense was the Stand Your Ground law. However, Zimmerman was the armed adult who stalked and approached an unarmed teenager; Martin was on his way home. In what bizzaro world does the jury, the police, and a whole lot of white Americans, live in that the aggressor could ever be interpreted as the kid? Even if Martin responded with force to the aggressive armed adult, the "Stand Your Ground" right belonged to Martin. Not the armed adult chasing him. If Martin had successfully defended himself from the psychopath chasing him, he'd likely be in jail today. Which is what a racist system and culture looks like.

areyousure 12y ago
In response to your edit: Zimmerman's defense did not invoke Florida's Stand Your Ground law.
- SwellJoe 12y ago
  The reason police gave for not arresting Zimmerman at the scene was the Stand Your Ground law. If that wasn't the defense used, that's interesting, but doesn't alter the facts. An armed nutbag stalked an unarmed teenager who was walking home from the store. And, somehow, according to police, judge, and jury it was the teenager's fault he ended up dead and his killer walks free. Only in a deeply racist society is a guy with a gun given the right to kill children for no crime other than being black. The "suspicious" behavior that Zimmerman used to justify him grabbing his gun and chasing Martin: he was wearing a hoodie (it was raining and he was covering his head like any sane person would do), he was "looking around" (wearing a hood restricts your peripheral vision...I look around quite a bit, too, when I wear a hoodie), and he took a shortcut through someone's yard (something I did literally thousands of times in my childhood, without ever being murdered for it). Racism is alive and well.