There's not a lot I can write that hasn't already been written in leading up to and after the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. This incident happened on February 26th but the wheels of justice are just now beginning to turn.
There's a lot to criticize such as an armed person on a neighborhood watch, the flexibility of a Stand-Your-Ground law, racial profiling, allowing the shooter to go home with his weapon, without a proper inquiry and on and on but this also puts America on trial.
I'll be honest, I don't own a gun but it doesn't bother me at all if it gives my friends and neighbors a peace of mind. It's when they feel they need to have laws to make it easy for them to carry openly at the local PTA or church service that I will disagree. I don't want to hold up Sanford, Florida as an example but the NRA is actively trying to influence legislators to pass Stand-Your -Ground laws in all 50 states. I remember several posters bragging about the type a weapon they possessed and depending on context ,it read like they would blow someone's head off for a $100 bicycle. I don't want to go back to the 19th century where everyone's packing. I don't want to disarm the general public because I agree, and then the criminals and police would be the only ones having guns. There has to be a happy medium because I think most of us don't prepare for a confrontation every time we go out to a restaurant. Last night I was reminded that our gun laws have gone to the extreme in making it much easier to purchase and carry guns, even after the Tucson, Arizona incident because legislators are scared of the NRA.
Several people questioned the Hate Law legislation but this is one case where it took federal intervention before the local and state authorities even thought about taking a second look. It took public outrage before the police chief voluntarily stepped down (wink *wink*) and the governor appointed a task force but Mr. Zimmerman is still in hiding with his weapon. He should at least be brought into protective custody and his gun confiscated. It's standard procedure for a police officer to be drug tested, weapon confiscated, and put on desk duty until internal affairs clears the officer of any wrongdoing. That's the least you can do when the victim is no longer able to give their side of the story. We would like to think that all shootings are justified the but the facts don't bear that out. The Sanford police could have avoided all this publicity if they would have done the basics and the same goes for the state of Florida.
We give a lot a lip service to freedom and liberty these days but why is a young black person with a hoodie walking down an American street with a container of tea and box of candy considered a suspect? At the very least Mr. Zimmerman called in this person to be question by police officers. I would like to think that I can go to local convenience store at 3:00 in the morning and not be stopped and questioned but I know my expectation of freedom won't be met each and every day. Even if Mr. Zimmerman had probable cause he had a 100 pound advantage over a 17- year old unarmed kid.Should we train our children not to put their hands into their waist bands when confronted?
We can only offer our condolences to the family of Trayvon Martin and hope that the state of Florida gets their act together but don't be surprised if Stand-Your- Ground comes up before the Texas legislature. We should at least hear testimony from those that point out what happens when you put too much power into the hands of nonprofessionals.
23 comments:
Sorry ,that's how misinformed I am,Texas is 1 of 25 has a Stand-Your-Ground law.
It's called the Castle Law in Texas...Florida just widen the scope of it.
It didn't take long for a couple of posters to make this about President Obama and reverse racism..IMO
The castle law in Texas protects a home, it was expanded to include vehicles though.
IMO, this Zimmerman guy in Florida sees himself as more important than he really is. He has called the police almost 50 times, they probably don't pay much attention to him anymore, and this time he went way to far.
From what I understand he is bi-racial himself Hispanic and white. That is no excuse for his actions, he definitely racial profiled Trayvon Martin and the local PD, at first, gave him a pass for some reason.
Now that the federal government is involved, let the chips fall where they may. However it does not help justice to be served by holding marches and protests, those only serve to further inflame the situation.
What have we learned? We've learned that there is more than one idiot Bush brother.
Legion
I saw where a lawyer said that the Stand-Your -Ground is the main framework for no real investigation of the shooter;remember Joe Horn?
I agree ,protests slowly build up hate.
That's the same way I see Zimmerman..Back in my say we would call them junior G-Men...or some of the guys our boss would leave in charge and it went to their head.
EA
and Jeb is the smart one...:-)
This morning I heard that the bill was passed with bipartisaan votes.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the young deceased physically scuffle with the shooter prior to becoming the shot?
The shooter was the pursuer no longer in a defensive position,had a 100# advantage,and a semi-automatic gun and NO legal authority.
I can't believe a simple poll over whether or how POTUS remarks over the Trayvon case were approiate ..would be shut down over racist remarks.
It was a reasonable question and those who were looking for an isssue found one when the president said " If he had a son,he would look like Trayvon."
When Pressident Clinton had the affair with Monica,I told a fellow coworker,the young lady was my daugher's age and a couple of weeks ago when we were discussing Rush Limbaugh verball assult on a young lady'I thought of my daughters...I thought of my grandsons when I heard of this miscarrigae of justice.......
I guess it was just a matter of time ,now Riverboat must of woke up this morning and thought it was time for some Muslim bashing....On a Sunday morning,no less...The local right wingers find it amusing but if the tables were reversed?
I've got to admire Vet43 for standing up for what's right...WWW remained us of the Ft. Hood incident by an American Muslim but forgot an American who killed 17 innocent civilians....Religion was not a factor in either.
They also forgot that we attacked Iraq for no reason at all ,displaced over 1M Iraqis and 78% of those detained in first month had to be let go because they were innocent but they became the new insurgents..
Gary White and PM Tasin would be proud of Riverboats's blog.
Everyone justs wants to be treated with respect. In my life I come in contact with the multi-millionaire client, the plant worker, the little gang wannabe and the incarcerated dealer. I travel both sides of town: black, hispanic and uppie anglos. I say howdy to everyone. I hold open the door for everyone: young, old, poor and much richer. And in return I receive thanks from the low-rider guy with his undies showing. I receive a warm nod from the black guy with gold teeth. And a smile comes from the beautiful lady. And at the end of the day, I feel real good and sleep with a clear conscience. What more can a man need in life?
Yes everyone wants to be treated with respect because that's a basic human trait.
I didn't want this blog to become a a black and white issue, others already have. I wanted to concentrate on the injustice and the law the puts too much power in people who shouldn't have it.
I wrote a blog not too long ago about Victoria being able to merge all the ethnicities without protests and discrimination.. I remember the desegregation of public schools and complying with the civil rights legislation that was passed without any problems. Isolated incidents of racism are normal because unfortunately we are all born with that racism gene...A lot of us grow out of it and don't have the need to label people or judge others on their mannerisms, dress, language, religion, politics,or any other trait that makes them different from us. ..In fact it's going to be a topic of a future blog.
Rest in peace Kylar Johnson.
Nothing else matters today.
What a sad and tragic day.
Amen.
Yes, RIP Kyler.
It's now SOP to do a little housekeeping before commenting on a serious subject. Words matter. It looks like they are rehashing old wars but some need reinforcements because they are battling without any real information. I know we cannot help but think that it's the same old' black/white issue but I will let others fight that battle. This blog was about shoddy police work and putting too much power into the hands of the unprofessional.
I find it reprehensible for someone under the disguise of Ed Post,Von Prien, GetSmart and several other anonymous names(same old Todd Jett), to rebuke a reporter and other posters for doing the same thing he does. He will even put up a blog to criticize our newspaper because his feelings were hurt but he will continue to slip by the monitors because he thinks the world needs his opinions... He will post pictures of black people that he thinks people should hate, like Congresswoman Sheila Jackson lee. She doesn't represent Victoria. He'll make the case with the links but he doesn't realize all are not stupid; we know racism when we see it. ... You have to be quick with him because most of his comments were deleted but I have a few good ones, saved for that special occasion.... Racism is a mental disease and we should be careful before we attach that label on any one because as I said yesterday, and we are all born with that gene but a lot of us grow out of it. There are some people who shouldn't be discussing the race issue because they are not credible and they certainly are not the standard bearers... I know credible is subjective but I thought I would post this because I see a very confrontational seven months coming up....I've tiptoed around the subject long enough...I would rather discuss the issues but I'm more than ready to change directions because being a shrinking violet is not in my DNA...I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and allow myths, bigotry, and misinformation dominate our forum without a fight. If I lose, I'll just a quit posting on the VA until the forum gets back to normal...One thing for certain, if I'm banned, I won't be coming back; too much pride for that.
From what I hear, the individual mandate will go down on ideological lines whereas Kennedy will join the four conservative judges to strike it down from the arguments I heard today. Some might say, it didn't take very long and it was a done deal from the start but and I'll wait for the final verdict.
Sorry, the individual mandate is going down on Constitutional grounds. Individuals have certain rights. Those rights include a right to be foolish (hoping someone else will correct your stupid choices). The other is a right to make your own individual choice and accept the positive or negative consequences of your choice. It is the second choice which the Founders established the Constitution protect.
Dale
Mike,
You will never get banned. Generally, you are a very civil posters. You make pretty good arguments. But more importantly, your views reflect those of the Editorial Board. And all of the characteristics listed above place you in favor with the Victoria Advocate management and staff. Keep on keeping on!
No need to be sorry,Dale, but I think it will lose 5-4 on ideological grounds.
It's a little more of than being foolish because those people that don't pay for their health care make caretakers and insurance companies charge us more for our insurance. Since healthcare is about 17% of GDP, it fits nicely in the commerce clause.
I have to admit the lawyer for the government was pretty crappy yesterday; even had Justice Ginsburg against him...lol
Since no one is denied health care if they get into an auto accident; how do they suffer the consequences of a bad choice?
Truth is that the president was never for an individual mandate but Congress never took up the constitutionality of such a measure. Yes, the conservative Heritage Foundation came up with the idea but that's no excuse. I've seen 4 videos of Mitt Romney making a good case for the individual mandate; the democrats should have used those...lol
Dale
I don't know whether my views reflect those of the editorial board because I don't always read them. They're not on my enemies list, if that's what you mean. As I've said before, I don't know much about local matters. That's not to say that I didn't agree with them on a topic. I've agreed with George Will and others on occasion.
I don't really think the monitors really care if I agree with the Editorial Board, if I resort to cursing, submitting lies about public officials or if i start being obnoxious to others.
There may come that time where I just can't take it any more and purposely do something that warrants getting banned. I'm usually not that barbaric but who knows what will happen in this current atmosphere where a lot of posters are in constant attack mode?
Thanks for your response.
BTW You'll find out that when you get to be 67 years old;you are less likely to be a follower..:-)
Is MobyD another version of Mr. Ed,GetSmart,Von Prien,Ed Post? Or is he the banned poster who's still whining about getting the boot?
1.This poster is as obsessed with race as the above.
2. Posts a right wing source Cal Thomas ...lol
3. I didn't read the cut & paste but I bet it's earth shaking.
4. Who's at fault the liberals? The liberal media?
5. I bet it has nothing to do with the race baiting Fox News entertainers
6. I written a list of the first responders who will give a thumbs up..lol
I wonder if this subject of RACE would have been as prevalent if John McCain would have been elected?
WOW!!!! There's talk that the conservative the Supreme Court judges will overthrow the whole health care bill... Of course that's just speculation but neither the liberals or Tea Party activists are willing to claim victory yet.
After the Bush v Gore,then Citizens United and now rumors of the health care being overturned; if this doesn't galvanize democrats; nothing will.... They will become a insignificant party.
Health care won't come up for another 17 years and that will mean about 816,000 will die because of lack of health insurance....The country will move Even further to the right because they have SCOTUS in their pocket...I don't think John Roberts will allow that but we'll see.
Rest in Peace Donald Mader
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