No idea. It was too garbled. I am sure it will come out at the trial, I hope the judge will make sure that the jury doesn’t hear what the words are supposed to be before they hear them. Funny enough, by the way, “goons” and “coons” would sound exactly the same when muttered.
In any case, I would say “coons” is an outdated slur so unlikely to be used on the spur of the moment.
You should ask your black friend about that.
If he had a conviction on those charges, i don’t seem him obtaining the concealed carry permit.
Note that expunging an arrest record requires more than simply a not-guilty finding.
Under §775.085, Fla. Stat., a first degree misdemeanor (such as assault or simple battery) is elevated to a third degree felony if it’s a hate crime. That means Zimmerman would be charged with a forcible felony if he was the aggressor, and pretty much obviates all this discussion of subsection (2).
I don’t know. How does it prove that? More to the point, why is that “my case”? Did you miss this?
[QUOTE=Me]
None of this, of course, is to say that Zimmerman is absolutely precluded from asserting self defense. A jury may well find that he reasonably believed he acted to prevent serious bodily harm. However, the undisputed facts that (1) he did not require medical attention after being “beaten bloody”, (2) Martin was half his size, and (3) Martin was unarmed don’t bode well for him, even if the facts are exactly as he claims.
[/QUOTE]
You’ve posted in absolute terms throughout this thread.
Sure there are. However, people who are beaten so badly as to create a reasonable fear of death go to the hospital.
Ha! In this state, a criminal record is not disqualifying for the purposes of obtaining a permit unless the conviction was (a) violent, and (b) in the last 3 years (5 years for drug crimes :rolleyes:).
That might be a charge that gets their foot in the door. I don’t know if a jury would go for it, but it is reasonable on its face, and from the enormous pressure the prosecutor is facing, this might be the one they go for.
And I heard “coon.” A definite hard “c” unlike “goon”.
When was the last time you heard anyone say “goon” outside a hockey game or gangster movie?
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14899921&postcount=1771
Confirmation bias. Clear and simple.
There is also an 11 year history of him calling the police about “suspicious black males”
I find Bricker’s methodology unpersuasive.
I disagree. I clicked on the link to disprove it in my mind. People seem to find racism everywhere, and I wanted to hear what nonsense they were pushing. As soon as I heard the tape, even unedited, I immediately knew what he said.
I am unconvinced that Zimmerman saying “fuckin’ coons” under his breath makes the subsequent events a hate crime. Again, while I think Zimmerman probably committed the crime of manslaughter, I really don’t think he intended to kill Martin when he got out of his truck to confront him. Now, if Zimmerman was yelling “what are you doing here, you fucking coon” on the phone call Martin’s friend heard, well, that would be a different kettle of fish. But something whispered to oneself, well, most people say nasty shit to themselves.
The statute is very vague, though, and I don’t know the case law involved so can’t tell if that would apply here. It sure seems thin.
It is thin, but getting an indictment doesn’t take much. It sure looks bad when you are on tape calling someone a “fucking coon” and minutes later they are dead and you are claiming self-defense.
And another thing:
Where was the gun?
If Martin was on top of Zimmerman was the weapon already in Zimmerman’s hand? If so, then Martin was clearly acting in self defense.
Did Zimmerman manage to get the weapon out of the holster while Martin was whuppin up on him? Was there a holster? Was the strap snapped?
If Zimmerman approached Martin gun in hand, he has no defense. If the weapon was ‘at the ready’ he has no defense.
Crane
I think it’s supposed to be important because it puts us in hate crime territory.
It sounds like “fucking coons” to me too, but the “fuckin” could be “If I can…” What “coons” could have been instead I can’t figger.
People still say “coons?”
I hadn’t heard the tape before watching this. CNN did a good job to play a few seconds before the slur for those of us who hadn’t heard it, because it comes pretty suddenly and is definitely muffled. But I heard “fucking coons” too, moreso when they isolated it.
But what about 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which provides, inter alia, that a person who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year is forbidden to possess a gun?
Did Zimmerman have the gun to begin with, or did he fetch it from home and then resume his “surveillance”? How did Martin “ambush” someone who was following him, hence, in clear sight? Is it a normal practice when attempting an ambush to be talking on the phone? While you sneak up in front of someone? The boy had a genius for stealth a ninja might well admire!
As to the “coon” question, one of Zimmerman’s defenders has suggested that the word is “goon”, and is an affectionate reference. I’m not offering a link, having already offended your good sense passing this nugget of crap into your mind.
As to “coons:”
Several weeks ago, someone posted a link to a Youtube video in which a presenter played a music snippet backwards, and showed that people didn’t hear anything particular in it.
He then told them that it said something like, “Satan’s servant comes to you,” (I don’t recall exactly what it was)., and then played it again for people. The audience then heard the words clearly.
The commentary for that thread was quite positive towards the presenter. The general mood of that thread was acceptance of the phenomenon he was describing.
I assume those now latching on to “coons” on this tape are not familiar with the phenomenon?