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Martin/Zimmerman Poll

MaggieD

MaggieD

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It'll take me a while to post it.

Okay, there aren't enough options...can only do 10. Here they are: Vote in your post.

  1. I think this was a tragic accident.
  2. I think Trayvon Martin probably got what was coming to him. It's a tragedy.
  3. I think Trayvon Martin was completely innocent and Zimmerman was an overzealous wanna' be copper.
  4. I think Zimmerman was a racist and Martin is dead because he was black.
  5. I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should go to jail.
  6. I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should not go to jail.
  7. I think both Z & M contributed to this event, and I think Zimmerman shouldn't go to jail.
  8. I think both Z & M contributed to this event, and I think Zimmerman should go to jail.

Please post your lean first and then pick your option along with your comments. I sure hope I thought of all of them. (This may be a mess. If so, I apologize.)
 
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I'm not a "pure" liberal, but I usually debate from that "side" so we can call me liberal for this exercise.

I'd say I've been moving from 5 to 6. I'm beginning to believe Z feels really terrible about this. That its making him miserable. Not that he's in trouble, but that he took Ms life.

For what I believe to be a tragedy of errors, barring "crocodile tears" or MAJOR new evidence, I don't know if jail is really appropriate. Especially if he is genuinely contrite.

At most whatever the minimum "poor judgement that resulted in a death" charge would be.
 
Zimmerman is an over-zealous man, who beat a cop, beat his ex-girlfriend, had a restraining order on him, was refused from the police academy, and was a self-appointed captain of a community watch teach team..of 1 person.

he is a wanna-be cop, who chose to follow someone in in car and on foot, in violation of SOP of neighborhood watch groups and the instructions of a teacher and the 911 dispatcher. upon coming up to Martin, he questioned why Martin was there.

Zimmerman had no business doing ANY of this. He should spend some time in prison.
 
8.

I think that Z set up a situation where M felt threatened. I think any honest person would at least acknowledge this much. From there, here is my view: Even if M responded unwisely, and even if he escalated the confrontation, Z is still partly responsible for the death of M. Whether there is a law or not that covers the responsibility I am describing, I don't know. But, there should be. You shouldn't be free to create a tense situation, and then walk away when you kill someone during it.

I think Z feels genuinely bad. He should. He is a dumb ****. I would like to know if he now thinks he should have pursued or not when M ran. When he did, I think M became justifiably paranoid. Z should have been aware of M's perspective: "Some guy is chasing me down for no reason!!" M wasn't trained to handle such a situation. But he didn't put himself in that situation, so he shouldn't be entirely expected to handle it well. Z wasn't trained either, but he chose the scenario.

I feel bad for Z. I've been dumb too. Sometimes dumb leads to consequences.
 
Dezaad said:
8.

I think that Z set up a situation where M felt threatened. I think any honest person would at least acknowledge this much. From there, here is my view: Even if M responded unwisely, and even if he escalated the confrontation, Z is still partly responsible for the death of M. Whether there is a law or not that covers the responsibility I am describing, I don't know. But, there should be. You shouldn't be free to create a tense situation, and then walk away when you kill someone during it.

I think Z feels genuinely bad. He should. He is a dumb ****. I would like to know if he now thinks he should have pursued or not when M ran. When he did, I think M became justifiably paranoid. Z should have been aware of M's perspective: "Some guy is chasing me down for no reason!!" M wasn't trained to handle such a situation. But he didn't put himself in that situation, so he shouldn't be entirely expected to handle it well. Z wasn't trained either, but he chose the scenario.

I feel bad for Z. I've been dumb too. Sometimes dumb leads to consequences.
Click to expand...

some folks here refuse to even acknowledge the possibility that Martin felt threatened by Zimmerman.
 
Thunder said:
some folks here refuse to even acknowledge the possibility that Martin felt threatened by Zimmerman.
Click to expand...

I just can't see how this can be honest.
 
I think as long as it is understood that Zimmerman acted incredibly badly and should be punished then that's fine. I really don't care if the guy's life has been hell because of this.
 
I guess I'm going with #3 & #5. We all draw on our own life experiences when we make decisions and these are mine.

  • I've been followed as a teen. I made a really bad decision on how to deal with it. There but for the grace of God go I.
    So....I don't think M should be held accountable for making a bad decision (if he did) on how to deal with someone who was following him. He was a kid. If Z hadn't placed him in the situation to begin with, M wouldn't have been forced into a position to decide how to deal with it.

  • I'm beginning to feel a little more compassion for Z. There are some doubt in my head about what his intent was. It could very well be that he made nothing more than a bad decision to follow M. Perhaps he was nothing more than a concerned citizen who made a really bad choice but the bottom line for me is this.........

  • I have a son. The idea that a man could follow my son and place him in a situation where he was killed because that man thought he looked suspicious frightens me, terrifies me. That part of me wants Z in prison forever.

I struggle getting beyond the fact that Z could have targeted my son. That part of me, the biggest part of me, wants Z in prison for a long, long time. I want a message sent far and wide that Z's behavior won't be tolerated....ever, anywhere.
 
based on the evidence, its very likely that Zimmerman indeed approached Martin and asked him "what are you doing here".

with a shaved head, and having followed Martin in a car and on foot, if Zimm did indeed approach him..he would have the right to resist him with force.

Zimmerman had no business going anywhere near Martin, let alone following him in his car and on foot.

he instigated the whole ****ing thing.
 
MaggieD said:
It'll take me a while to post it.

Okay, there aren't enough options...can only do 10. Here they are: Vote in your post.

  1. I think this was a tragic accident.
  2. I think Trayvon Martin probably got what was coming to him. It's a tragedy.
  3. I think Trayvon Martin was completely innocent and Zimmerman was an overzealous wanna' be copper.
  4. I think Zimmerman was a racist and Martin is dead because he was black.
  5. I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should go to jail.
  6. I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should not go to jail.
  7. I think both Z & M contributed to this event, and I think Zimmerman shouldn't go to jail.
  8. I think both Z & M contributed to this event, and I think Zimmerman should go to jail.

Please post your lean first and then pick your option along with your comments. I sure hope I thought of all of them. (This may be a mess. If so, I apologize.)
Click to expand...

I'll go with number 5...........
 
Thunder said:
based on the evidence, its very likely that Zimmerman indeed approached Martin and asked him "what are you doing here".

with a shaved head, and having followed Martin in a car and on foot, if Zimm did indeed approach him..he would have the right to resist him with force.

Zimmerman had no business going anywhere near Martin, let alone following him in his car and on foot.

he instigated the whole ****ing thing.
Click to expand...

What the hell makes you think you have the "right" to resist questioning with force? Walk away. No one that isnt a policeman has the right to detain you. Just walk away.

Your characterization of Zimmerman is off in any event. An UC was arresting an underage friend of Zimmermans and didnt do a very good job of identifying themselves and Zimmerman pushed him away from the underage suspect. If thats "beating" a cop, I suppose you can say he beat a cop.

While I would argue the GF beating as well, apparently she gave as good as she got and Zimmerman apparently grabbed her once or twice and slapped her once or twice. She slapped him repeatedly and tried to choke him and claw him according to their conflicting reports. I dont agree with Zimmerman in what he did. But I dont agree with your bull**** characterization assassination either.

Maggie----8.
 
I'll go with #5, I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should go to jail.

I think GZ started the event. TM may have gotten the upper hand temporarily and GZ got a scrape on his head, then he shot and killed TM. But at the end of the day, TM was not breaking any laws, GZ tracked down TM, and TM ended up dead at GZ hand. At trial, the jury will have the option to return a lesser verdict than murder 2, and I think GZ is guilty of something, maybe manslaughter, and GZ should do some jail time.

Here's the Florida definition of manslaughter:
Manslaughter by Act: Committing an act that was neither excusable, nor justified that resulted in the death of another person.
 
MaggieD said:
It'll take me a while to post it.

Okay, there aren't enough options...can only do 10. Here they are: Vote in your post.
  1. I think this was a tragic accident.
  2. I think Trayvon Martin probably got what was coming to him. It's a tragedy.
  3. I think Trayvon Martin was completely innocent and Zimmerman was an overzealous wanna' be copper.
  4. I think Zimmerman was a racist and Martin is dead because he was black.
  5. I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should go to jail.
  6. I think this was a tragic event for both Z & M which began with Z's decision to follow M. Z should not go to jail.
  7. I think both Z & M contributed to this event, and I think Zimmerman shouldn't go to jail.
  8. I think both Z & M contributed to this event, and I think Zimmerman should go to jail.
Please post your lean first and then pick your option along with your comments. I sure hope I thought of all of them. (This may be a mess. If so, I apologize.)
Click to expand...
#2, but it's not tragic. Hoodie deserved what he got. I don't know if Pants should go to jail, I don't have all the evidence to know. Even if Pants is guilty of a crime, the world is still a better place with Hoodie in the ground.
 
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