Zimmerman, Part Whatever, Or It's Still Not A Good Idea to Chase After People With A Gun.

I'm on record as saying that I don't believe Zimmerman's version of events. I'm also on record as saying that a jury might decide that "reasonable doubt" means buying Zimmerman's version. Apparently they did. I'm generally in agreement with Ta-Nehisi Coates on this - the prosecution had a tough row to hoe, and they didn't get it done. I'm not sure that means that the jury "got it right" but that's a quibble.

There is a saying in gun circles, "better to be judged by twelve than carried by six." It seems that Zimmerman is to be a poster child for that saying, and it reflects the fact that juries are reluctant to convict in self-defense cases. It is also, unfortunately, used all too often in gun-shop bullshit sessions in which questionable advice, legal and tactical, is offered up. I suspect that even as I write this, some people are going to use this case as a reason to do questionable things.

Some of those questionable things are going to get people killed, and not just kids carrying candy. I mean, what if Martin had been a real Gangsta Thugz (tm) and not just playing one in Zimmerman's mind? What if, instead of catching a fist in the nose, Zimmerman had caught a shiv in the gut? The same lack of witnesses that helped Zimmerman would have helped The Real Thug walk away scot-free.

The moral of the story - be careful who you go chasing after with a gun. Bad shit can happen.