“I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
I hate coming to conclusions until I’ve heard all the facts, but sometimes a piece of a story is just too irresistible to refrain from commenting about it.
Trayvon Martin killer George Zimmerman took the stand in his bail hearing. In a legally unnecessary apology to Trayvon’s family, he said of the boy, “I did not know if he was armed or not.”
Good grief. Why in the world would his attorneys allow him to say that?
If George didn’t know Trayvon was armed, the less reason there is to shoot him. Even if true, that didn’t have to come out now, and it only makes George look worse not better.
Certainly there are situations where an unarmed man (boy, rather) can be shot in self-defense.
However, George may have poisoned his own jury pool. If I’m the prosecution or Trayvon’s family, I’m keeping in the public ear as long as I can George’s admission that he did not know if the boy was armed, and still shot him.
The picture released today of the bloody back of George Zimmerman's head lends credibility to the claim that Trayvon banged George’s head on the ground.
Now, what I’m about to write may come from a certain cultural background, and it also may not vitiate George’s claim of self-defense, but here it goes: George Zimmerman should have taken his beating like a man and shouldn’t have shot a boy.
The facts that have come out so far (granted they could change) are that George Zimmerman targeted the boy, not the other way around. George was being a bully. If the boy started beating up the bully, then the bully should have at least expected that he could lose the fight, since the police advised him that they didn’t need him following Trayvon. That Trayvon could have kicked George’s rear-end is exactly WHY the police told him they didn’t need him to follow Trayvon.
A fair conclusion is that when George’s “neighborhood watch muscles” failed him, he cowardly went for his gun and shot an unarmed boy.
If he legitimately thought the boy was going to kill him that could change my mind. But until that evidence comes out, George Zimmerman is a punk who shot a boy he did not conclude was armed.
And he has a lousy lawyer.
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Comments:
Dec '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
A 28 year old following a 17 year old and saying who knows what provocative things to him is grounds for that.
If Zimmerman were a pedophile, wouldn't we all be applauding Treyvon for banging his head into the ground?
Children are taught that weird looking adults following them are not to be taken lightly. · 1 minute ago
So, basically you have no point except prejudice and innuendo. Got it.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Basil Fawlty
Tommy De Seno
Tommy De Seno
Who called him a racist? · 0 minutes ago
A bully will definately call the police in anticipation of starting a fight - it's called an alibi. · 4 minutes ago
I yield. [Comment redacted]
Don't take from me - talk to a cop about that then call him stupid when he tells you the same thing.
Edited on April 21, 2012 at 12:50amOct '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
A 28 year old following a 17 year old and saying who knows what provocative things to him is grounds for that.
If Zimmerman were a pedophile, wouldn't we all be applauding Treyvon for banging his head into the ground?
Children are taught that weird looking adults following them are not to be taken lightly. · 1 minute ago
First of all, a 17-year-old, while obviously not an adult, is most certainly not a child.
Secondly, is Zimmerman a pedophile? No? Then stop writing "Zimmerman" and "pedophile" in the same sentence. You might as well ask, "If Zimmerman were a velociraptor, wouldn't we all be applauding Traybon for banging his head into the ground?" Uh, yeah, maybe. But he's not.
Jul '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
I gotta go home and pick out head lice which is more productive than arguing with a trial lawyer( I dated one long ago). I bet the facts in the end support manslaughter or acquittal. We shall see.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Guruforhire
Tommy De Seno
A 28 year old following a 17 year old and saying who knows what provocative things to him is grounds for that.
If Zimmerman were a pedophile, wouldn't we all be applauding Treyvon for banging his head into the ground?
Children are taught that weird looking adults following them are not to be taken lightly. · 1 minute ago
So, basically you have no point except prejudice and innuendo. Got it. · 1 minute ago
The original point was that Zimmerman's lawyer made life tougher on his client today.
The rest is just a side bar.
We'll all hold our final opinions until the trial.
In the mean time, if I pick a fight with your kid, and he starts to win, if I shoot him dead, I'll expect your support.
Oct '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
We'll get to it someday - when that "f'ing coon" tape is played in Court. · 5 minutes ago
Edited 4 minutes ago
Are you kidding? Not even the prosecutor thinks he said that.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Albert Arthur
Tommy De Seno
A 28 year old following a 17 year old and saying who knows what provocative things to him is grounds for that.
If Zimmerman were a pedophile, wouldn't we all be applauding Treyvon for banging his head into the ground?
Children are taught that weird looking adults following them are not to be taken lightly. · 1 minute ago
First of all, a 17-year-old, while obviously not an adult, is most certainly not a child.
Secondly, is Zimmerman a pedophile? No? Then stop writing "Zimmerman" and "pedophile" in the same sentence. You might as well ask, "If Zimmerman were a velociraptor, wouldn't we all be applauding Traybon for banging his head into the ground?" Uh, yeah, maybe. But he's not. · 1 minute ago
Did Treyvon know that?
What do you teach your kids about weird guys following them. Assume the best about humanity?
Mar '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
Basil Fawlty
Tommy De Seno
Who called him a racist? · 4 minutes ago
Sorry. You must have missed it. · 0 minutes ago
We'll get to it someday - when that "f'ing coon" tape is played in Court. · 2 minutes ago
Edited 2 minutes ago
You mean the "f'ing cold" tape?
Oct '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
Did Treyvon know that?
What do you teach your kids about weird guys following them. Assume the best about humanity? · 1 minute ago
So you think it's totally fine to assume that Martin thought Zimmerman was a pedophile, but totally ridiculous to assume that Zimmerman thought Martin was a criminal. Ooooookay.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Albert Arthur
Tommy De Seno
We'll get to it someday - when that "f'ing coon" tape is played in Court. · 5 minutes ago
Edited 4 minutes ago
Are you kidding? Not even the prosecutor thinks he said that. · 1 minute ago
His friend did, enough to give an explanation of why he said it.
Don't give up on the prosecution so early - my bet is that makes it into evidence.
Plus is it really hard to believe? Zimmerman's own nickname he put on his MySpace page was "datniggy." If he calls himself that, is it so hard to believe he would call someone else a coon?
Nov '10
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
For my part I think you are pretty dead on, Tony. When the story was first hitting the news I was frustrated by the media's assumption of guilt. I am now frustrated by many conservative's assumption of innocence. Now before someone calls me stupid because I don't get that you are presumed innocent, what I mean is that just because the media assumed Zimmerman guilty and just because whomever it was doctored the 911 call doesn't mean that Zimmerman is in fact not guilty.
The point here is that just because you got beat up, you don't shoot the kid. And yes, he's a kid. Anyone who's parented a 17 year old knows he's a kid.
Zimmerman may yet be vindicated. We may find he did act out of a racist motivation, brought to the surface by the adrenaline rush of the situation. We may yet find out just about anything. I think that is primarily Tony's point, that and Zimmerman's lawyer does in fact seem to be someone's cousin Vinny.
Edited on April 21, 2012 at 12:47amRe: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Albert Arthur
Tommy De Seno
Did Treyvon know that?
What do you teach your kids about weird guys following them. Assume the best about humanity? · 1 minute ago
So you think it's totally fine to assume that Martin thought Zimmerman was a pedophile, but totally ridiculous to assume that Zimmerman thought Martin was a criminal. Ooooookay. · 1 minute ago
Martin wasn't following Zimmerman. Don't lose sight of who the aggressor was here.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Basil Fawlty
Tommy De Seno
Basil Fawlty
Tommy De Seno
Who called him a racist? · 4 minutes ago
Sorry. You must have missed it. · 0 minutes ago
We'll get to it someday - when that "f'ing coon" tape is played in Court. · 2 minutes ago
Edited 2 minutes ago
You mean the "f'ing cold" tape? · 3 minutes ago
Freezing in Florida that day?
Mar '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
Albert Arthur
Tommy De Seno
A 28 year old following a 17 year old and saying who knows what provocative things to him is grounds for that.
If Zimmerman were a pedophile, wouldn't we all be applauding Treyvon for banging his head into the ground?
Children are taught that weird looking adults following them are not to be taken lightly. · 1 minute ago
First of all, a 17-year-old, while obviously not an adult, is most certainly not a child.
Secondly, is Zimmerman a pedophile? No? Then stop writing "Zimmerman" and "pedophile" in the same sentence. You might as well ask, "If Zimmerman were a velociraptor, wouldn't we all be applauding Traybon for banging his head into the ground?" Uh, yeah, maybe. But he's not. · 1 minute ago
Did Treyvon know that?
What do you teach your kids about weird guys following them. Assume the best about humanity? · 1 minute ago
How strange to find Ricochet's most ardent supporter of gay rights engaging in such blatant homophobia.
Feb '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Tommy De Seno
The kid had no criminal record. He made a tweet about a friend who hit a bus driver and suddenly you have him being the head of the Bloods?
He wasn't a kid. He was 17 and old enough to understand right and wrong. Plus, he was also old enough to be serving in the US military at that age, as I did.
From what I've heard of his life the only reason he didn't have a criminal record is because public schools and the juvenile justice system are utter abject failures.
And I don't allege he was a successful gangbanger. Only that he was making an effort, which Zimmerman cut short.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Basil Fawlty
Tommy De Seno
Albert Arthur
Tommy De Seno
A 28 year old following a 17 year old and saying who knows what provocative things to him is grounds for that.
If Zimmerman were a pedophile, wouldn't we all be applauding Treyvon for banging his head into the ground?
Children are taught that weird looking adults following them are not to be taken lightly. · 1 minute ago
First of all, a 17-year-old, while obviously not an adult, is most certainly not a child.
Secondly, is Zimmerman a pedophile? No? Then stop writing "Zimmerman" and "pedophile" in the same sentence. You might as well ask, "If Zimmerman were a velociraptor, wouldn't we all be applauding Traybon for banging his head into the ground?" Uh, yeah, maybe. But he's not. · 1 minute ago
Did Treyvon know that?
What do you teach your kids about weird guys following them. Assume the best about humanity? · 1 minute ago
How strange to find Ricochet's most ardent supporter of gay rights engaging in such blatant homophobia. · 1 minute ago
You're going to pull a muscle stretching that far.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Xennady
Tommy De Seno
The kid had no criminal record. He made a tweet about a friend who hit a bus driver and suddenly you have him being the head of the Bloods?
He wasn't a kid. He was 17 and old enough to understand right and wrong. Plus, he was also old enough to be serving in the US military at that age, as I did.
From what I've heard of his life the only reason he didn't have a criminal record is because public schools and the juvenile justice system are utter abject failures.
And I don't allege he was a successfulgangbanger. Only that he was making an effort, which Zimmerman cut short. · 2 minutes ago
Don't think you know what a gangbanger is.
And your fear of ...skittles... is showing.
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
This is fun, but I have to go. Tonight I have sign-ups for the youth football program I run.
You need not remind me not to shoot any of the registrants, no matter how many skittles they brandish in my direction.
Feb '11
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Ken Owsley:
The point here is that just because you got beat up, you don't shoot the kid. And yes, he's a kid. Anyone who's parented a 17 year old knows he's a kid.
Zimmerman didn't get "beat up".
That implies the beating stopped.
He was physically pinned to the ground getting actively assaulted when he shot his attacker.
That's a different matter from getting beat up or simply losing a fight.
May '10
Re: “I did not know if he was armed or not.” That, and George Zimmerman’s Lawyer Might Be An Idiot
Xennady
I conclude from that exactly what I stated: Zimmerman defended himself against a deliberate unprovoked attack by a wannabe gangbanger thug.
I wouldn't call it unprovoked. Zimmerman was stalking him.
Zimmerman also outweighed Martin by 30 lbs., yet he was unable to defend himself without resorting to his gun? He was in mortal fear -- not just fear, which I take as one of Tommy's points -- of Martin?