Admittedly this is armchair quarterbacking -- but one thing that repeatedly drilled into our heads was de-escalation and disparity of force. One does not bring a gun to a fistfight and not expect to end up in handfcuffs. It's coming out now that Martin was 6'3 and some 160'ish lbs.... so the size difference wasn't as dramatic as first portrayed. But I can't see Zimmerman claiming that he was in genuine fear for his life or at the very least, grave bodily harm... and then refuse a trip to the hospital afterwards. All this plus the Sanford PD did him no favors but not performing mandatory drug tests, assigning the wrong detective, et al. That would have at least been more ammo on Zimmerman's side.
This is a scenario that is straddling the line between completely unjustified and a really gray area. I know we don't get to pick and choose the times we have to defend ourselves, but -- knock on wood -- if it ever happens to me I'd like to think I'd be on a little more solid footing. All this could have been avoided had Zimmerman just called the cops like a good little neighborhood watch guy, stayed in his damn car and let le'Policia do their jobs. I'm not suggesting that we the common citizen cower before potential criminals, but for Christ's sake, pick and choose your battles a little more carefully.
I have this problem too. One, if he was really in an altercation involving serious bodily harm, why do we not have (a) police treating him at the scene, (b) EMTs treating him at the scene, (c) any record of him seeking medical attention after not getting either of those? So the justification for armed force seems to fall apart right there. Someone comes at me with a knife and I have a gun, sure, I'll shoot, because a good stab wound will kill me. A good bashing will too, but POINTING as opposed to FIRING a weapon would have been more appropriate. I'd like to know more about why Zimmerman felt the need to employ deadly force rather than use it as a deterrent, if he did feel in danger.
Malkin and a number of others have been using doctored and/or simply innacurate photos in the last few days, Business Insider even GRABBED A FEW FROM FUCKING STORMFRONT, THE WHITE SUPREMACIST FORUM, to use as "evidence" of a "clearer" picture of Martin when none of the photos they grabbed ended up being real. They removed them, but haven't even issued an apology for their journalistic incompetence. I will say this, Malkin had the decency to retract and apologize after finding out what she was doing. Shows laziness on her part to make sure the things she essentially reposts from colleagues are accurate, but enough integrity to retreat when that laziness produces predictable results.
Now, this bounty business on Zimmerman's head? Ridiculous. Just as I want to know what justification, legally and circumstantially, Zimmerman had for shooting, so too do I want due process for him so this doesn't become MORE of an embarrassment of our judicial system than it already is. The investigation on scene was a farce, the police failed miserably at follow-up which makes any of their statements thereafter subject to questionable credibility (whereas if we had a solid onsite investigation we might be more inclined to trust their statements).
On to the hoodie business. Hoodies are not merely gang attire. If they are, Mark Zuckerburg and several Apple executives I've met should be brought in for questioning. The fact that a black kid was wearing a hoodie in humid Florida weather is at best incidental, but mostly irrelevant. Zimmerman or any cop using that as an excuse for suspicion would be revealing they have no idea what "reasonable suspicion" is, because in any other case (let's say, a traffic stop by a cop who saw a black kid wearing a hoodie) would be laughed out of a judge's chambers. And to add to the "why warm clothing in humidity?" questions, I live in a college town---Tempe, AZ, to be precise. In summer I see idiot kids around 19 wearing everything from rednecks in flanel longsleeves to wannabe models in scarves, and yes, hoodies (on what seems like everyone these days)---in 110 degrees! Why? I dunno, fashion I guess, but I've always thought it stupid. I've NEVER though, thought "you know, maybe that indicates criminal activity", and even if it did, it wasn't for Zimmerman to follow up on.
Zimmerman placed himself in the scenario where danger was even possible when he followed this kid because of prejudicial profiling (black kid wearing hoodie = suspicious possible gang member) even after police told him not to. Even if he wanted to accost Martin and make sure he belonged in the neighborhood, he could have pulled up in his SUV and said "hey, I'm in neighborhood watch, haven't seen you around before, what's up?"---hell, that probably could have ended with Zimmerman giving the kid a ride to where he was going--but instead he followed Martin on foot which placed himself in a scenario where even IF Martin jumped him, shouldn't have been possible. The situation was further muddied AFTER the shooting took place by incompetent police work, which alone warrants the secondary investigations from state and federal authorities.
We have to wait for more facts to come out. I admit fully that liberal media is guilty of practically bombarding the airwaves with (1) racist questions that should wait until the facts are known and (2) pictures and sympathetic anecdotes about Martin that play up victimization without really giving an accurate picture. But the sudden reaction by alternative views, especially conservative sources, to say "he was dressed like a hoodlum!" or "he had once had a pot suspension!" is equally despicable because these anecdotes are equally irrelevant to the actual incident in question. He had a twitter account that had the n-word (actually, "*****") in it----and? What exactly does that have to do with this?
I'm not assuming Zimmerman's guilt yet because our justice system demands equal treatment under the law and innocence until guilt is proven, and Zimmerman, like anyone, deserves his day in court. But the fact that the huge legal loophole of the "Stand Your Ground" law made it so police justified such shoddy work and no arrest or detaining of Zimmerman until more facts could be found, is itself an embarrassment. Zimmerman was at best a fool, he made several actions that call his judgment and racial tolerance into question, but that doesn't answer the question of his guilt any more than Martin's suspension from school. The recent panel discussion on Sunday's "Meet the Press" was illuminating, the members came to a decent consensus that race and so forth had little to do with the immediate needs of the case so much as finding the facts and having a long-overdue competent investigation, and that the more pressing concerns are the legalities and police procedures in need of shaping up to prevent these mistakes--from all parties---happening again.
So here's where I stand: I think Zimmerman should be further questioned, possibly arrested for murder, so an indictment can be held and evidence be laid out as our law demands. Then both sides can be heard. I think Al Sharpton and liberal press should be ashamed of their attempts to take this story and turn it into ratings and attention gold just because of the victim's race, and the reaction from conservative media to use incidental evidence as justification for Zimmerman's story as equally shameful. And people should have a discussion over where this makes our legal system stand, whether laws that justify use of force are too broad, whether police need to follow more ironclad procedures to follow up on cases like this, and how communities need to better orient themselves to prevent this from happening between two residents of the same neighborhood. We need the facts, we need the discussion, but the way this has turned into a devolving, alternatively race-baiting and undignified screaming about the monstrousness of Zimmerman or the stereotyping of Martin, is the least productive use of our time possible.