# Duke Lacrosse, DSK, Trayvon Martin ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 27, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952 "2012-03-27T15:05:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/61 "2012-03-27T20:45:25Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > If it is successfully proven in court that Martin DID have Zimmerman on his back and was assaulting him, that could lead to Zimmerman walking. The case, whatever its outcome, might also lead to a serious increase in racial tensions between blacks and Hispanics. > [@Algher](#): > > If THAT happens, I wonder what the fallout will be (why yes, I do live in Southern California where we rioted for a few days after white cops initially walked from an assault charge on a black motorist). I just love how that innocuous phrase “black motorist” is used to describe a drunken felon with an arrest record as long as your arm leading the cops on a high speed chase for three miles, then getting out of the car screaming curses and threats. Is it at least conceivable that your “black motorist” might have done something to bring that trouble on himself? ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/62 "2012-03-27T20:50:13Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Do you imagine that there is any chance, any chance at all, that Zimmerman would have been following a white teenager? Seems unlikely to me, given my blind prejudices, but if you would like to offer that notion, please feel free. Given that The Idiot (as I refer to him) apparently mistook himself for Dirty Harry, yes, it’s entirely possible that he would have tried to harass and bully a white teenager. Some people can’t be trusted with even the minimal authority of a neighborhood watch captain. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/63 "2012-03-27T21:05:20Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > I just love how that innocuous phrase “black motorist” is used to describe a drunken felon with an arrest record as long as your arm leading the cops on a high speed chase for three miles, then getting out of the car screaming curses and threats. [King was acting strangely, but the police didn’t say anything about King screaming curses and threats when he got out of the car.](http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials24.htm) Perhaps you’re saying King screamed and cursed after being Tasered, and I can’t even begin to imagine why somebody would do a thing that. He’s lucky George Zimmerman wasn’t a cop in L.A. at the time. As for what happened after that, I suppose we could conceive of a situation in which King’s body became magnetized so the officers could not stop their clubs from hitting him a few dozen times each. Otherwise the most conceivable scenario is that King was a drunk driver and that he’s scum in general, and that the police beat the living shit out of him with clubs because they didn’t know when to stop and perhaps because they were pissed off. Or, since this thread is about Trayon Martin and George Zimmerman, maybe we can do this without reliving a case from 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/64 "2012-03-27T21:10:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Or, since this thread is about Trayon Martin and George Zimmerman, maybe we can do this without reliving a case from 20 years ago. Actually, my intention in starting this thread was not to have another thread about Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman specifically, but rather to look at (what I believe to be) a pattern of these types of cases tending to turn out to be less one-sided in favor of the MM than the initial and popularly accepted presentations. So I would say the Rodney King incident is a valid data point, although I’m not sure it fits the pattern too well. (You could also cite the Tawana Brawley case, possibly.) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/65 "2012-03-27T21:18:07Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Actually, my intention in starting this thread was not to have another thread about Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman specifically, but rather to look at (what I believe to be) a pattern of these types of cases tending to turn out to be less one-sided in favor of the MM than the initial and popularly accepted presentations. Ah, right. I guess I assumed the thread was moving on since there is no pattern. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/66 "2012-03-27T21:18:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > When people say things like this, I take it as an acknowledgement they don’t have a real argument. How silly of me that I didn’t realize I’m blind and clueless. Now that you’ve pointed this out, I’m overwhelmed. Most clueless people have no idea they are clueless…or wearing blinders. > [@Marley23](#): > > Do you think the Martin family is less upset knowing that their son was shot by a Hispanic man? Do you think it seems less outrageous to anyone that a Hispanic guy shot an unarmed black guy to death, the police didn’t care, and the family of the dead man had to do this much work to get anyone to notice? I don’t think so. What does any of this have to do with the matter we are discussing? But, since you brought it up, it appears the police [did care](http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/03/27/trayvon_martin_parents_in_d_c_george_zimmerman_says_he_was_attacked_.html). It was the Florida attorneys office that instructed the detective not to press charges. > [@Marley23](#): > > So it’s hard to find an actual convincing reason to believe this case would sell fewer newpapers or draw fewer page views if it had been correctly reported from the beginning that Zimmerman is Hispanic. This case became a national story because it touches on several controversial issues, one of which is race - in the form of Zimmerman evidently doing a little racial profiling and perhaps the police deciding not to look into this any further. It also touches on gun control issues and self defense laws. These are all issues that get a lot of attention on a regualr basis. It’s really not that difficult. Race has become the biggest issue in this story. Media outlets were quick to point out the race of both people involved before there was any indication that this shooting was race related. Any idea why that may be? I’ll give you a hint…stories that fit the narrative of a black person victimized by a white person sells papers. Haven’t you heard all the comparisons to Emmett Till? Been listening to Rev. Sharpton’s coverage? Stand your ground and gun control run a distant second and third to race. > [@Marley23](#): > > You’re right that, say, a Hispanic gangbanger shooting a black gangbanger wouldn’t be a national story. Since this is about a Hispanic neighborhood watch participant shooting a black man who was not committing any crime or doing much of anything other than drinking iced tea and eating some Skittles before their confrontation started, that’s a significant story. It’s unexpected, just like it’s unexpected that for several weeks there would be no criminal investigation into a situation like this. But I assume you’ll continue making unsupported assertions about what kind of coverage the story would be getting in other circumstances. All of those unexpected elements make this a classic local story. Race is what makes this a national story…and one that the President would comment on. Do you watch local news? There are stories like this every week that get covered on local news. The only thing unusual with regards to this story is the race (at first) of the perp and race of the unarmed victim. > [@Marley23](#): > > It’s possible race was a factor in what happened, so you do not get to dictate what matters and what doesn’t. Martin was not doing anything that sounds suspicious based on any description I’ve heard, and Zimmerman had a track record of calling the police about black guys (and smal children). For whatever it’s worth, I find it very hard to believe that there would be no investigation if a black man shot someone in a situation that even remotely resembles this one (as opposed to something clearer, like a break-in). Maybe I’m wrong. Either way, people are not only interested in this case because some of them thought a white guy pulled the trigger. Just because an issue involves race and black people does not mean it’s really all about white people. I’m not the one doing the dictating. The media is by virtue of deliberately, and for absolutely no reason at that point, telling us the race of both parties. Unless someone is on the run there is no reason to disclose their race unless you are aware that a crime is racially motivated. They were not aware at that point and are still not aware that this shooting was motivated by race. So, can you give me a good reason to mention race before all the facts are out? I think it is clear that Martin was not doing anything wrong. I understand there was a rash of break-ins by young black males recently in the neighborhood. That doesn’t make any of this right but it may help explain Zimmerman’s mindset…as opposed to just being a racist who wanted to shoot a black kid. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/67 "2012-03-27T21:36:35Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Most clueless people have no idea they are clueless…or wearing blinders. They certainly don’t. > [@](#): > > it appears the police [did care](http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/03/27/trayvon_martin_parents_in_d_c_george_zimmerman_says_he_was_attacked_.html). It was the Florida attorneys office that instructed the detective not to press charges. News to me. Alright, pretend I said prosecutors instead of police. It speaks to the same justice system issue. > [@](#): > > I’ll give you a hint…stories that fit the narrative of a black person victimized by a white person sells papers. Just to clarify, when you say “hint,” you mean “a made-up theory I will repeat over and over again without ever posting any evidence,” right? Because I don’t find your hints useful. They’re actually a waste of time. > [@](#): > > Haven’t you heard all the comparisons to Emmett Till? I have not heard a single one before this post. > [@](#): > > Been listening to Rev. Sharpton’s coverage? Why would I pay attention to Sharpton? > [@](#): > > Stand your ground and gun control run a distant second and third to race. That sounds like another “hint.” > [@](#): > > All of those unexpected elements make this a classic local story. Please explain why they make it a local story instead of a national one. There are laws like these in other states, and there was a broadly similar shooting in Wisconsin a week after Martin was killed. > [@](#): > > Do you watch local news? There are stories like this every week that get covered on local news. Not where I live. There are stories about shootings sometimes (and I’m not a regular watcher of the local news), but we don’t have a stand your ground law here. I’ve never heard of a story like this where I live. > [@](#): > > The only thing unusual with regards to this story is the race (at first) of the perp and race of the unarmed victim. Sounds like another “hint.” Show me a similar story. > [@](#): > > The media is by virtue of deliberately, and for absolutely no reason at that point, telling us the race of both parties. Damn the media for reporting facts! That’s not their job! > [@](#): > > Unless someone is on the run there is no reason to disclose their race unless you are aware that a crime is racially motivated. Crime? I don’t recall criminal charges being filed. Whether or not this _shooting_ is racially motivated is an open question, and there are indications race played a role in what happened. > [@](#): > > So, can you give me a good reason to mention race before all the facts are out? No reason is required because you don’t need to justify reporting facts. The press is under no obligation to withhold information because it has not been proved to be relevant. That’s essentially the opposite of reporting. > [@](#): > > I understand there was a rash of break-ins by young black males recently in the neighborhood. That doesn’t make any of this right but it may help explain Zimmerman’s mindset…as opposed to just being a racist who wanted to shoot a black kid. I’m aware of that, and I didn’t say he was a racist who wanted to shoot a black kid. I’ve been specific in saying what kind of role I think race may have played here. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/68 "2012-03-27T21:51:59Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > I find it interesting in this narrative that the PWM is hispanic. If Zimmerman had been shot by a white cop, we would be hearing of the racist attack on the hispanic. Because Zimmerman shot a black youth, the story does not fit the standard narrative, so his race has been de-emphasized (not ignored, just de-emphasized). > > If it is successfully proven in court that Martin DID have Zimmerman on his back and was assaulting him, that could lead to Zimmerman walking. If THAT happens, I wonder what the fallout will be (why yes, I do live in Southern California where we rioted for a few days after white cops initially walked from an assault charge on a black motorist). I presume you’re talking about fallout in the AA community; but, since you bring up his Latinoness (Latinity, Latinidad, whatever): How would the Latino community react, if Zimmerman were acquitted/convicted? ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/69 "2012-03-27T22:51:58Z")
**Marley23** - I just Googled “emmit till martin” and got a page of “Is Trayvon Martin this Generation’s Emmit Till” bits from across the country. I had already heard it on the radio and seen the reference online. Here are just a few of the first page bits: > **[Emmett Till in Sanford](https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/emmett-till-in-sanford)** > > The killing of Trayvon Martin nearly went down the memory hole. He had just turned seventeen when he was shot dead late last month in Sanford, Florida. His… > **[Is Trayvon Martin this generation's Emmett Till?](https://thegrio.com/2012/03/22/is-trayvon-martin-this-generations-emmett-till/)** > > OPINION - Trayvon Martin, not unlike Emmett Till, could potentially have a large impact on the nation's psyche... > **[Commentary: Trayvon Martin Is the Emmett Till of a New Generation](https://www.bet.com/article/zhd2kq/commentary-trayvon-martin-is-the-new-emmett-till)** > > The death of Trayvon Martin evokes memories of the 1950s killing of Emmett Till. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/70 "2012-03-27T22:53:07Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > I presume you’re talking about fallout in the AA community; but, since you bring up his Latinoness (Latinity, Latinidad, whatever): How would the Latino community react, if Zimmerman were acquitted/convicted? No clue - I have no idea what the Hispanic community is like in this part of Florida, how cohesive they are, if there is a “leader” that can rally the troops, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/71 "2012-03-27T23:26:27Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Did you read the recent story of those two black teens that doused a white 13 year old with gas and set him on fire while referring to him as “white boy”? I wonder why that story didn’t get more media attention. I did a search for this. I found a blurb saying that this happen in Kansas City and virtually no other information (this was a NY Daily News site) and a whole, whole lot (pages and pages) of message boards and blogs and political punditry sites discussing it. (nobody outraged by it, only that it did not get press coverage and the Zimmerman Martin thing _DID_), a link one of those discussions to a blurb on a British site. Do you have a link to the original Kansas City news item? Also, the blurbs seem to suggest that the kid is _recovering from 1st degree burns_. Meaning this kid did not die and did not suffer _serious_ injury. if true, are you still wondering why the press coverage would be less?? Mean and vicious? Yes. Scary? You betcha. As bad as getting shot and killed? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/72 "2012-03-27T23:47:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Please explain why they make it a local story instead of a national one. There are laws like these in other states, and there was a broadly similar shooting in Wisconsin a week after Martin was killed. I don’t think the Wisconsin case would have been national but for Trayvon Martin. Actually, I had not heard about it at all until you mentioned it. I wonder why it has not received the same level of reporting… > [@Marley23](#): > > Not where I live. There are stories about shootings sometimes (and I’m not a regular watcher of the local news), but we don’t have a stand your ground law here. I’ve never heard of a story like this where I live. [Here](http://news.yahoo.com/trayvon-martin-stand-ground-law-protected-other-shooters-164100787.html#next) is a list just from Florida. All victims were unarmed. I don’t remember any of them making national news (at least not anything like this case). What’s different? > [@Marley23](#): > > Sounds like another “hint.” Show me a similar story. Hint…See above > [@Marley23](#): > > Damn the media for reporting facts! That’s not their job! > [@Marley23](#): > > No reason is required because you don’t need to justify reporting facts. The press is under no obligation to withhold information because it has not been proved to be relevant. That’s essentially the opposite of reporting. Right. The media just happened to mention that a white male shot an unarmed black teen for no good reason…just stating the facts (wrong as they were). Your statement is actually the opposite of reporting. Reporting the race of the shooter and victim, for no good reason is basically reporting that the shooting was racially motivated. Wake up. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/73 "2012-03-27T23:57:27Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I did a search for this. I found a blurb saying that this happen in Kansas City and virtually no other information (this was a NY Daily News site) and a whole, whole lot (pages and pages) of message boards and blogs and political punditry sites discussing it. (nobody outraged by it, only that it did not get press coverage and the Zimmerman Martin thing _DID_), a link one of those discussions to a blurb on a British site. > > Do you have a link to the original Kansas City news item? > > Also, the blurbs seem to suggest that the kid is _recovering from 1st degree burns_. Meaning this kid did not die and did not suffer _serious_ injury. if true, are you still wondering why the press coverage would be less?? > > Mean and vicious? Yes. Scary? You betcha. As bad as getting shot and killed? Not so much. Here is the link: > **[Kansas City News, Weather and Sports - Missouri News - KMBC Channel 9](https://www.kmbc.com/)** > > Get the latest Kansas City news, sports and weather from KMBC. With the best local coverage and the top Missouri news stories, you can stay in the know. Of course it turned out to be better for the victim than for Trayvon but can you imagine the media coverage of the races were reversed and they were calling him racial slurs? Obama would demand that we do some “soul searching”, Sharpton, Jackson, etc. would be having rallies over there, and it would be all over the news. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/74 "2012-03-28T00:09:31Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > I don’t think the Wisconsin case would have been national but for Trayvon Martin. Actually, I had not heard about it at all until you mentioned it. I wonder why it has not received the same level of reporting… Perhaps because the shooter was not as clearly the aggressor in that case. > [@](#): > > [Here](http://news.yahoo.com/trayvon-martin-stand-ground-law-protected-other-shooters-164100787.html#next) is a list just from Florida. All victims were unarmed. I don’t remember any of them making national news (at least not anything like this case). What’s different? Unlike Martin, three of the five were committing crimes (robbery or assault) when they were shot. That’s a huge difference. The other two cases are tragic misunderstandings that are the result of a poorly-written law, but they are cases where a reasonable person might have thought a burglar was around: they victims were knocking on someone’s door in the middle of the night. Trayvon Martin was walking unarmed through someone else’s neighborhood. > [@](#): > > See above Two of these are similar to the shooting of Bo Morrison, but none are similar to Trayvon Martin- there’s no pursuit by the shooter. The shooters in those cases shot first and asked questions later but at least they could say they were in their own homes and had a reason to be worried about someone trying to break in. > [@](#): > > Reporting the race of the shooter and victim, for no good reason is basically reporting that the shooting was racially motivated. No, it really isn’t. It’s a fact, and journalism is not about withholding information. I am not sure how you think race would have stayed a secret when Trayvon Martin’s family was attempting publicly to draw attention to the case. > [@](#): > > Wake up. Like I said: the more often you post twaddle like “wake up” and “take your blinders off” and “get a clue,” the more it looks like you’re trying to win on bluster instead of logic. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/75 "2012-03-28T01:35:57Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Of course it turned out to be better for the victim than for Trayvon but can you imagine the media coverage of the races were reversed and they were calling him racial slurs? Obama would demand that we do some “soul searching”, Sharpton, Jackson, etc. would be having rallies over there, and it would be all over the news. Would they care? I don’t know. Do _you_ care? Obviously I cannot look into your heart, but I kinda have my doubts, as you, and the teeming millions in the messageboard\blogosphere only seem to bring it up to call attention away from the Zimmerman\Martin incident. And anyway, do we think we are gonna find people in the media, or on this board, who will _defend_ setting the kid on fire? Can we all not agree that setting a kid on fire is universally bad, with no real argument? That those who did it are scumbags and not heroes? Because I think we are all on the same page with that one. As opposed to the fire story, there are several reasons why the Zimmerman\Martin shooting has legs. 1. There was a racial element (as did the fire story) 2. There was a death 3. There was a questionable law in play 4. There are differences of opinion about what should be done, and what WAS done 5. And most importantly, from a media perspective, there was a tape of the 911 call to go batshit with. ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/76 "2012-03-28T02:24:48Z")
Of course, it’s interesting that the same people complaining about government power gone wild in the Duke case, who were sure that every single person in the police department and prosecutor’s office was in on a frame-up, are now demanding that the police narrative be trusted without question in Florida because the police are always right and that’s that. I wonder if there might be some other common factor deciding who they automatically side against, if it’s not the police…? ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/77 "2012-03-28T02:38:10Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > [King was acting strangely, but the police didn’t say anything about King screaming curses and threats when he got out of the car.](http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials24.htm) Perhaps you’re saying King screamed and cursed after being Tasered, and I can’t even begin to imagine why somebody would do a thing that. He’s lucky George Zimmerman wasn’t a cop in L.A. at the time. As for what happened after that, I suppose we could conceive of a situation in which King’s body became magnetized so the officers could not stop their clubs from hitting him a few dozen times each. Otherwise the most conceivable scenario is that King was a drunk driver and that he’s scum in general, and that the police beat the living shit out of him with clubs because they didn’t know when to stop and perhaps because they were pissed off. > > Or, since this thread is about Trayon Martin and George Zimmerman, maybe we can do this without reliving a case from 20 years ago. Well, yeah, ya got me there. King really was just an innocent black motorist and not a drunken thug running wild. Of course, it’s rather puzzling how drunken, violent black ex-cons who get stopped by the police always turn out to be innocent little lambs who never, ever did anything wrong. But I’ve actually had to live around beasts like Rodney King, so I guess that what keeps me from having the proper enlightened progressive attitude necessary to understand such mysteries. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/78 "2012-03-28T02:42:14Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > King really was just an innocent black motorist and not a drunken thug running wild. If you read that post, and I assume you did, you saw that I said he was driving drunk and that he’s scum. That doesn’t make it OK for the police to club the living shit out of him just for fun. The police have to follow the laws too - although if they’re following the laws in Florida evidently that’s not going to be much protection for anybody either. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/79 "2012-03-28T03:04:15Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > Also, the blurbs seem to suggest that the kid is _recovering from 1st degree burns_. Meaning this kid did not die and did not suffer _serious_ injury. if true, are you still wondering why the press coverage would be less?? > > Mean and vicious? Yes. Scary? You betcha. As bad as getting shot and killed? Not so much. Oh, well, I guess that makes it no big deal, then. I mean, if someone attacks you and you don’t suffer any _serious injury_, then it doesn’t really count, right? Meaning that, if someone tries to shoot you in the head and misses by 1/8th of an inch, it’s no harm, no foul. Of course, journalist Selwyn Duke investigated the incident further and [uncovered a pattern of harassment against white students at the local high school](http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/03/was_boy_in_kc_fire_attack_a_victim_of_his_schools_racist_teaching.html), which seems to have been aided and abetted by the teachers. Tell ya what, spooje. Let’s light you up, and see if you consider it a trivial, unimportant incident. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952/80 "2012-03-28T03:08:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If you read that post, and I assume you did, you saw that I said he was driving drunk and that he’s scum. That doesn’t make it OK for the police to club the living shit out of him just for fun. The police have to follow the laws too - although if they’re following the laws in Florida evidently that’s not going to be much protection for anybody either. The cops didn’t beat King “just for fun.” Because of his bizarre behavior, they believed that King was on PCP, which (if you have any familiarity with this drug at all) would likely have made him extremely dangerous to deal with. Like I said, I’ve lived around beasts like Rodney King. Apparently, you haven’t. It makes a helluva difference in one’s perspective. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duke-lacrosse-dsk-trayvon-martin/616952.md?page=5)