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On certain sites, I've been asked "what evidence do you have that suggests George Zimmerman wasn't defending himself?" Now, I will admit that there is no 3rd party who saw everything, and if one came forward at this late date I would look askance at them. I have always maintained that this was not murder or racially-biased, but manslaughter. (You don't call the cops prior to murdering somebody.)
But I don't believe George Zimmerman's story. I think, much like the case in Georgia where a couple was confronted at gunpoint by neighbors and then arrested and forced to spend the night in jail when they tried to move into the home they had just purchased, I think Zimmerman meant well.
Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and Zimmerman's over-eagerness and aggressive desire to catch a "punk who always got away" ended up getting somebody dead.
Zimmerman got out of his truck, not to find a street sign, but, as he told the dispatcher, to follow Martin. He wasn't afraid of Martin, he was angry at him for making him get out into that cold and wet night. Zimmerman assumed Martin was trying to get away, and so when the two finally met, I don't believe Zimmerman said "I don't have a problem with you." More likely, Zimmerman asked what you or I would have asked of a suspicious person in the neighborhood, "who are you?"
I don't believe that Martin, Gangsta Thugz (tm) or not, would just punch a grown man in the face for "dissing" him. There was some altercation, physical or otherwise, prior to the punch. The actual fight was brief - one or two punches - and ended with a surprised and probably pissed Zimmerman on his back.
I don't believe that Zimmerman "forgot" he was carrying a gun. I think that Zimmerman, on his back and in pain because of a "thug," pulled his gun. There was a struggle for that gun, and we know what happened next.
Now, six jurors in Florida may disagree with me, and/or they may decide that reasonable doubt means that they can't convict. And I may be wrong, and Zimmerman's story is the Gospel truth. All I can say is, to believe self-defense, you have to believe Zimmerman. I see no particular reason to do so. To believe Zimmerman's story, you have to believe two people would both do things that don't make any sense.
But I don't believe George Zimmerman's story. I think, much like the case in Georgia where a couple was confronted at gunpoint by neighbors and then arrested and forced to spend the night in jail when they tried to move into the home they had just purchased, I think Zimmerman meant well.
Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and Zimmerman's over-eagerness and aggressive desire to catch a "punk who always got away" ended up getting somebody dead.
Zimmerman got out of his truck, not to find a street sign, but, as he told the dispatcher, to follow Martin. He wasn't afraid of Martin, he was angry at him for making him get out into that cold and wet night. Zimmerman assumed Martin was trying to get away, and so when the two finally met, I don't believe Zimmerman said "I don't have a problem with you." More likely, Zimmerman asked what you or I would have asked of a suspicious person in the neighborhood, "who are you?"
I don't believe that Martin, Gangsta Thugz (tm) or not, would just punch a grown man in the face for "dissing" him. There was some altercation, physical or otherwise, prior to the punch. The actual fight was brief - one or two punches - and ended with a surprised and probably pissed Zimmerman on his back.
I don't believe that Zimmerman "forgot" he was carrying a gun. I think that Zimmerman, on his back and in pain because of a "thug," pulled his gun. There was a struggle for that gun, and we know what happened next.
Now, six jurors in Florida may disagree with me, and/or they may decide that reasonable doubt means that they can't convict. And I may be wrong, and Zimmerman's story is the Gospel truth. All I can say is, to believe self-defense, you have to believe Zimmerman. I see no particular reason to do so. To believe Zimmerman's story, you have to believe two people would both do things that don't make any sense.
