George Zimmerman

Do you believe George Zimmerman? I don't. He says "whatever... whenever."
I wonder how he will get a fair trial.

6/6/2012

Alice..

I've heard the tapes on the news when this all started, somehow I don't believe him ! He could have walked away like the 911 dispatcher told him to. The trial will be interesting ?

Cheers..Joe..

Joe
You said it right it will be very interesting. I don't see how it can be fair.

A young man would still be alive if he had simply followed the instructions: call in unusual activity.

That young man was not looking for trouble.

Those two things seem certain to me. The rest is unknown because the other witness is dead.

DK,

Well put:)

Florida has issued concealed weapon carry permits to about 4% of its residents, 3.4 million of which are elderly. That means that there are roungly 140,000 old people walking around armed and dangerous. So think next time before you push past a wheelchair to be first in line at Walmart.

I have always been for extended gun control. These are the results of allowing people to carry guns. I have only read of rare instances where a homeowner or a small store clerk has saved the day by having a gun.

A gun is a lethal weapon. To possess one should require a safety need, lengthy training, a physical and emotional examination and frequent renewal requirements.

My brother and his family once lived in a town in Georgia that required ts citizens to own a gun and have live ammunition available. I applauded their neighbors. The gun was a water pistol. The live ammunition? Their goldfish.

Ann

What DK said.

This is a text

Can't agree on this one folks. If I go out, I am armed. Make no mistake about it, I am not a victim.

Read the transcript of the Zimmerman 911 call. He had lost the kid and was headed back to his vehicle, and Martin came back and from what I can tell it was he who attaked Zimmerman. A neighborhood watch is supposed to report suspicious activity, and Zimmerman did that. I personally think he asked Martin who he was and maybe what he was doing and Martin became hostile.

Perhaps if Martin had just stopped and answered Zimmerman's questions none of this would have happened.

There had been multiple burglaries in the neighborhood by young black men, and I doubt if Zimmerman was looking for eldery white grandmothers.

It's a bad situation, but if someone was beating on me and slamming my head into the sidewalk, I'd shoot them and never think twice about it.

And to DK. From personal experience, sometimes the day, or the night, is saved by having a weapon handy.

I stopped a young black man from breaking into our home at about 1:30 AM one morning, and took a shot at him with a shotgun as he ran up the street.

Another time it was an older man, about midnight, and this time I didn't have a weapon. Luckily the police actually saw him trying to break into our window and arrested him. I went to my dad's house and got a shotgun, and then called and requested that they turn the guy loose and let him walk back up our street. They didn't do it. If they had, he would have been dead on the street when they found him the next time. I do not play around when my safety or the safety of my family is in the mix.

E.Don,
Respectfully, Why did Zimmerman get out of his vehicle?

Respectfully Don, we agree on many things, but I disagree with the “get even” or “revenge” mentality. Why do we have a police force if citizens take the law into their own hands?
At one time I too had guns in the house and the mentality that no one is going to mess with me. I’ve lived in areas were guns were prevalent and in areas where no guns were allowed except for licensed persons, primarily used for hunting. The areas without guns were the safest. I live in such an area now. There is the rare break-in, and the culprit is most often caught by the police.
The mentality you expressed reminds me of the Wild West. I thought we had advanced beyond that. Seems we’re regressing. I don’t want to live in an area where citizens take revenge or shoot to kill. I read much about Christianity and posts that espouse love while at the same time promoting actions of hate and revenge. “Nuke em” “Wipe them out!” This sounds more like frustration when an easy answer cannot be found. Instead of looking at the source of the problem and trying to resolve that, we tend to look for an easy solution. Is turning the other cheek another myth?

Self-defense and protecting loved ones is something we all accept. How we will react in a given situation is not something we can predict. We can express our opinions, however they may or may not be valid based on the circumstances and our values. Pulling a trigger is easy. Using physical force is not so easy.

Alice, the best I can tell Zimmerman got out of his vehicle to see what an unknown man was doing walking through the neighborhood. Which seems pretty normal to me for someone on the neighborhood watch.

Abe, still gotta disagree with you. I do believe in revenge, but I don't want to get even with anybody. When that kind of situation arises I want to get way ahead.

As far living in what you consider a "safe" place, you're only safe until someone decides to break into your home and take what they want, which may include your and your families lives. But let me say that while I think you're wrong, I just hope you're not dead wrong.

Transcript of Zimmerman’s 911 call. Dispatcher: Sanford Police Department. ... Zimmerman: Hey we've had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there's a real suspicious guy, uh, [near] Retreat View Circle, um, the best address I can give you is 111 Retreat View Circle. This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about. Dispatcher: OK, and this guy is he white, black, or Hispanic? Zimmerman: He looks black. Dispatcher: Did you see what he was wearing? Zimmerman: Yeah. A dark hoodie, like a grey hoodie, and either jeans or sweatpants and white tennis shoes. He's [unintelligible], he was just staring... Dispatcher: OK, he's just walking around the area... Zimmerman: ...looking at all the houses. Dispatcher: OK... Zimmerman: Now he's just staring at me. Dispatcher: OK--you said it's 1111 Retreat View? Or 111? Zimmerman: That's the clubhouse... Dispatcher: That's the clubhouse, do you know what the--he's near the clubhouse right now? Zimmerman: Yeah, now he's coming towards me. Dispatcher: OK. Zimmerman: He's got his hand in his waistband. And he's a black male. Dispatcher: How old would you say he looks? Zimmerman: He's got button on his shirt, late teens.


Zimmerman: Something’s wrong with him. Yup, he's coming to check me out, he's got something in his hands, I don't know what his deal is.



Dispatcher: Just let me know if he does anything ok



Zimmerman: How long until you get an officer over here?



Dispatcher: Yeah we've got someone on the way, just let me know if this guy does anything else.



Zimmerman: Okay. These assholes they always get away. When you come to the clubhouse you come straight in and make a left. Actually you would go past the clubhouse.



Dispatcher: So it's on the lefthand side from the clubhouse?



Zimmerman: No you go in straight through the entrance and then you make a left...uh you go straight in, don't turn, and make a left. Shit he's running.



Dispatcher: He's running? Which way is he running?



Zimmerman: Down towards the other entrance to the neighborhood.



Dispatcher: Which entrance is that that he's heading towards?



Zimmerman: The back entrance...fucking [unintelligible]



Dispatcher: Are you following him?



Zimmerman: Yeah



Dispatcher: Ok, we don't need you to do that.



Zimmerman: Ok



Dispatcher: Alright sir what is your name?



Zimmerman: George...He ran.



Dispatcher: Alright George what's your last name?



Zimmerman: Zimmerman



Dispatcher: And George what's the phone number you're calling from?



Zimmerman: [redacted by Mother Jones]



Dispatcher: Alright George we do have them on the way, do you want to meet with the officer when they get out there?



Zimmerman: Alright, where you going to meet with them at?



Zimmerman: If they come in through the gate, tell them to go straight past the club house, and uh, straight past the club house and make a left, and then they go past the mailboxes, that's my truck...[unintelligible]



Dispatcher: What address are you parked in front of?



Zimmerman: I don't know, it's a cut through so I don't know the address.



Dispatcher: Okay do you live in the area?



Zimmerman: Yeah, I...[unintelligible]



Dispatcher: What's your apartment number?



Zimmerman: It's a home it's 1950, oh crap I don't want to give it all out, I don't know where this kid is.



Dispatcher: Okay do you want to just meet with them right near the mailboxes then?



Zimmerman: Yeah that's fine.



Dispatcher: Alright George, I'll let them know to meet you around there okay?



Zimmerman: Actually could you have them call me and I'll tell them where I'm at?



Dispatcher: Okay, yeah that's no problem.



Zimmerman: Should I give you my number or you got it?



Dispatcher: Yeah I got it [redacted by Mother Jones]



Zimmerman: Yeah you got it.



Dispatcher: Okay no problem, I'll let them know to call you when you're in the area.



Zimmerman: Thanks. Dispatcher: You're welcome

If I understand what I read, the police were informed about the suspect and his location.

I return to Zimmerman. If he had no gun you can bet your boots he'd have obeyed the instructions not to pursue.
Trayvon was not on Zimmerman's property threatening his belongings or family members.
I think he felt safe with the gun and could have scared Trayvon into attacking him.

No one will ever know the whole truth, the only one alive to tell it is a confirmed, habitual liar.

Naturally, Zimmerman felt threatened by him. If I went after someone and followed him/her about, it would occur to me that they might feel afraid of me. I would remain in my vehicle with the doors locked.

Zimmerman was not afraid to leave the safety of his vehicle, because he had a gun.
How I see it.

Sorry Alice, I see it as a neighborhood watch guy doing what he was supposed to be doing. Martin attacked Zimmerman, and under the circumstances, I think the police made the right call the first time out.

How do you know Martin attacked Zimmerman?

That is what Zimmerman said--but he is a liar.

If the man was not in the act of committing a crime, why the fuss? Suspecting someone of what they might do is not cause to use force.
I'm not in a position to judge, nor do I know the truth. Hearsay is not truth. I'm basing my opinion on what was reported. I could be totally wrong. All I know is that if one was not carrying a gun, there would not have been a death by a gun.

None of us know what happened, and if they find Zimmerman guilty then I'm not all that concerned with what they do with him.

However, a neighborhood watch program has proven to be a deterrent to crime, and had it been me, I would also have been armed. If someone is on watch duty and doesn't at least try to find out what a strange man is doing walking around the streets, then he wouldn't be doing his job.

Remember that Martin was over 6 foot tall and weighed just a bit less than 200 pounds, so there is no way Zimmerman could have known his age.

In this time of increasing home invasions, especially when the victims are older and at home, I have no problem with taking out the people who would committ these crimes. Martin might not have been such a person, I don't know, but he did not have a lily white record. I think Zimmerman shouted at him, Martin was acting like many his age would have acted and was probably shouting back, and then it all got out of hand. I also think that if Zimmerman hadn't been armed, he would have been beaten to death. Do you guys really think that would have been better?

I think it would have been best if Zimmerman had remained in his vehicle.
Nobody would have been hurt. He had notified the police. He had done his duty.
I don't want anyone beaten to death or shot to death. I am opposed to killing.'