# Are you Team Trayvon or Team Zimmerman? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 26, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881 "2012-03-26T21:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 26
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/501 "2012-03-29T16:59:53Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Because this is like trial in the court of public opinion Um, no. It is trial in the court of public opinion. And carries all the weight of the court of public opinion. If speculation on this case bothers you that much, why the fuck are you reading these threads? If you want to freak yourself out, may I recommend the _Goosebumps_ series? ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/502 "2012-03-29T17:00:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Well, the little bastard had it coming, didn’t he? Be happy he’s dead, because that will show kids to stay in school. What? Is that a little “reverse” racism I hear in that statement? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/503 "2012-03-29T17:02:56Z")
> [@Schyler](#): > > What? Is that a little “reverse” racism I hear in that statement? If it is it’s because your grandkids AutoTuned it or the dementia is starting early today. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/504 "2012-03-29T17:03:47Z")
Maybe. Are the voices in your head having an argument? ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/505 "2012-03-29T17:09:58Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > Um, no. It is trial in the court of public opinion. And carries all the weight of the court of public opinion. If speculation on this case bothers you that much, why the fuck are you reading these threads? If you want to freak yourself out, may I recommend the _Goosebumps_ series? I don’t know what your precise issue with me is. It is the pit, you’re right, but you do seem like you’re being a bitch to me because…why again? Because I think a it is a good idea to know a few more facts before firmly deciding? Because I think some of you sound like an angry mob that won’t listen to reason? If you could just pretend to have some objectiveness, it might help. OK, we disagree. You want to jump, jump. But, your attitude towards me is a bit telling. ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/506 "2012-03-29T17:13:37Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > Well why do you discount Zimmerman’s story and the reported corroborating injuries and witness statement? > > And why do you assume that Martin had no reason to suddenly turn violent? People suddenly turn violent all the time in this country. Especially 17 year old’s whose hormones are out of whack. At 6’2" according to CNN and 160 (a football player) vs Zimmerman’s 5’8" at 190 (CNN) and paunchy it would probably be a pretty even match. Common sense\> It doesn’t mean he deserved to be killed, but the jury gets to decide. The legal system sucks sometimes, but without some rules there would be total chaos and none of us would be allowed to sit at our computers throwing stones. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/507 "2012-03-29T17:16:37Z")
\*\*BBJ: \*\*You carry a gun. Apparently, you felt that was relevant. Why? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/508 "2012-03-29T17:16:37Z")
Remember the scene with the little black kid standing over the bed holding a butcher knife and screaming “MSICAR! MSICAR!”? For weeks afterward, I couldn’t sleep without Fox News on the TV. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/509 "2012-03-29T17:19:28Z")
> [@Schyler](#): > > It doesn’t mean he deserved to be killed, but the jury gets to decide. What jury? Until people spoke up, there was going to be no investigation and no charges. ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/510 "2012-03-29T17:20:39Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > If it is it’s because your grandkids AutoTuned it or the dementia is starting early today. The day discrimination ends is when boths sides (both) stop using terms like you did in your original post. YOU called him that N word. Hello! You called me demented (discriminated against me) because I’m older than you. Clean up your own back yard first. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/511 "2012-03-29T17:24:08Z")
No one is discriminating against you. Fucktards aren’t a protected class. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/512 "2012-03-29T17:26:22Z")
> [@Schyler](#): > > YOU called him that N word. Bastard? ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/513 "2012-03-29T17:26:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, shit, **Randy!** You’ve already poisoned the well. You claim > > Not only do you put words in my mouth and take them out again, you do it in advance ! > > But here’s the thing: the police here have been very forthcoming it terms of leaking “information” that makes them look better. Such as it is. And a photo of a battered Zimmerman would be pretty major, don’t you think? And you say you believe such a photo exists. Said so here: > > And yet it isn’t before us. Now, if you want to claim that they have such a photo, but are totally committed to not releasing half-assed info, fine. Go ahead. But that stands in glaring contradiction to all of the leaked stories which are attributed to “authorities” and “sources in the police department”. > > My suspicion is that no such photo has been leaked because no such photo exists. Or maybe that “authorities” and “sources in the police department” stories don’t exist either. ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/514 "2012-03-29T17:28:06Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > No one is discriminating against you. Fucktards aren’t a protected class. Age discrimination is against the law too, or maybe you’re too busy creating nasty words to have read about it. ---
**Author:** ![Schyler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Schyler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schyler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/515 "2012-03-29T17:29:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Maybe. Are the voices in your head having an argument? Right back at you. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/516 "2012-03-29T17:29:52Z")
I don’t know how old you are. I only know you’re a fucktard (a word which I didn’t create, I just use appropriately). ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/517 "2012-03-29T17:30:05Z")
I don’t suffer from age discrimination, except when I meet hot young women and they call me “sir”. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/518 "2012-03-29T17:30:46Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > \*\*BBJ: \*\*You carry a gun. Apparently, you felt that was relevant. Why? I gotta run after this one, but I think it colors how I view the SYG law and accept what the results of its application are. I don’t see a lot of gun/anti gun fighting on this, but I think it does help to explain why I might be so “wait and see.” Also, in CC class, they teach you if you pull out your gun you have to be willing to use it. So, I could see myself in a situation where I killed someone based on self defense. It would eat me up say nothing of what it would do to the person I shot. But, to live with myself, for me, it would have to be in very clear self defense. Out in public, it might mean that it would have to be someone threatening me with a knife or gun, but at home, it might mean someone broke in through a window in the middle of the night. Those are the standards I set for myself though. That said, Zimmerman was stupid for following. I am 100% with that opinion right now. Also, as I said in other thread, I don’t know how the SYG law works into civil cases, if at all, but I would pretty much be happy to find Zimmerman civilly liable for wrongful death using a negligence standard. But/for Zimmerman following Trayvon, this doesn’t happen. But on a criminal level we have to evaluate the situation using facts and the SYG law. ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/519 "2012-03-29T17:31:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > WTF is\* that \*supposed to mean? The “claim” he was “just out to get a snack”? Huh? What? Perhaps this [blog post](http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/03/sourcing-narrative-facts-in-the-martin-case/) will shed some light on your question. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881/520 "2012-03-29T17:31:44Z")
> [@Schyler](#): > > Right back at you. Ah! The old “I’m rubber; you’re glue” argument. He’s got you there, **elucidator** , I don’t see how you can wriggle out of this one. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-team-trayvon-or-team-zimmerman/616881.md?page=27)