# How is Mason1972's example worse than the Zimmerman shooting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 5, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614 "2018-12-05T15:42:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/281 "2018-12-08T19:42:08Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Obviously it is. Why would you not expect it to be Zimmerman, the person who was injured, to be screaming? Because he claimed that he was being [suffocated](https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/18/justice/florida-zimmerman-interview/index.html) by Martin at the same time the screams were going on. Do me a favor and ask someone to sit on top of you with their hands over your mouth and nose. Now try to belt out a scream loud and sustained like that which was recorded in that phone call I linked to. You will not be able to do it. If someone is struggling to breathe as Zimmerman claimed, they are incapable of screaming. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/282 "2018-12-08T19:48:42Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It is through assumption that bias gets in the way. > > I would not assume Martin asked this angrily. If I were in his shoes, fear would be more likely…wouldn’t it be for most people? … Anger only ever arises as a symptom of fear. The “fight” half of “fight or flight”. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/283 "2018-12-08T19:54:57Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Anger only ever arises as a symptom of fear. The “fight” half of “fight or flight”. What? Anger is perfectly capable of arising without fear, and “fight” can be 100% driven by fear. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/284 "2018-12-08T19:59:25Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Do me a favor and ask someone to sit on top of you with their hands over your mouth and nose. Now try to belt out a scream loud and sustained like that which was recorded in that phone call I linked to. Oh yeah, and also have this person [repeatedly slam your head too](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/us/jurors-hear-zimmermans-taped-police-interview.html). Forgot to throw that in, silly me. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/285 "2018-12-08T20:05:24Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > What? Anger is perfectly capable of arising without fear … Possibly. But it never does. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/286 "2018-12-08T20:24:05Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Because he claimed that he was being [suffocated](https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/18/justice/florida-zimmerman-interview/index.html) by Martin at the same time the screams were going on. Did you notice that your cite contradicted what you claim it said? > [@](#): > > “He started bashing my head into the concrete sidewalk. As as he broke my nose I started yelling for help. I was disoriented,” he said. > Zimmerman said it was his voice caught on a phone call screaming for help. “(Martin) started to try to suffocate me and I continued to push his hands off my mouth and nose.” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/287 "2018-12-08T20:58:33Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Did you notice that your cite contradicted what you claim it said? > Regards, > Shodan I don’t see the contradiction. So maybe you can spell it out. But before doing that, revisit Zimmerman’s [reenactment](https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/21/justice/florida-teen-shooting/index.html) of the shooting and tell me with a straight face that you believe this bullshit. Here’s the extra rich part: > [@](#): > > In an interview just after the shooting, Zimmerman told police that the struggle began when Martin “jumped out from the bushes” and punched him in the face, knocking him down. > > “I started screaming for help. I couldn’t see. **I couldn’t breathe** ,” he said. > > “He grabbed my head and started hitting it into the sidewalk,” he said. “When he started doing that, I slid into the grass to try to get out from under him. … I’m still yelling for help.” > > **Martin, he said, put his hand over Zimmerman’s mouth and nose and told him, “You’re going to die tonight.”** > > “When I slid, my jacket and my shirt came up. … I felt his hand go down my side, and I thought he was going for my firearm, so I grabbed it immediately, and as he banged my head again, I just pulled out my firearm and shot him.” Listen to the audio of the screaming and try to reconcile it with this really lame storytelling. The yelling goes on for quite some time and gets louder and more hairsplitting up until it ends when the gun is fired. If it was Zimmerman doing it, one has to wonder how he could’ve done that when he couldn’t even breathe. By his own account, he had a human octopus planted on top of him who was simultaneously pummeling his head, blocking his airways, and reaching for his gun. None of this is plausible. I’m not even going to address the absurdity of “you’re going to die tonight” because it’s so cringey. It sounds like something a 7 year old pretending to be a bad guy would say right before he zaps his teddy bear with his mega-death proton zapper. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/288 "2018-12-08T21:04:17Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > I don’t see the contradiction. So maybe you can spell it out. I can, but it may not help. You alleged that Zimmerman was screaming while he was being suffocated. Zimmerman said he kept pushing Martin’s hands off his face, and that he was screaming from the first moment of the attack, when Martin broke his nose. Like I said, it probably won’t help. Maybe you need to produce a cite of Colorado law to prove something about Florida law to clear it up. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/289 "2018-12-08T21:07:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I can, but it may not help. You alleged that Zimmerman was screaming while he was being suffocated. Zimmerman said he kept pushing Martin’s hands off his face, and that he was screaming from the first moment of the attack, when Martin broke his nose. > > Like I said, it probably won’t help. Maybe you need to produce a cite of Colorado law to prove something about Florida law to clear it up. > > Regards, > Shodan If you keep pushing someone’s hands away from your face who is apparently trying to kill you by covering your mouth and nose, then how do you maintain a continuous scream, as is heard? It seems as though there should be some waxing and waning, as the face gets covered and uncovered. But, that’s just how anatomy and sound works, I suppose you will produce a cite of Colorado law to show that in Florida, sound works differently? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/290 "2018-12-08T21:20:06Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > **HurricaineDitka** , if you need someone to explain how it is possible to scream while trying to repel an attacker with one’s hands, please contact the person who wrote [this](https://m.wikihow.com/Fend-off-an-Attacker) wiki, or reach out to the woman described in [this](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/woman-shouts-not-today-motherfer-fighting-off-sex-attacker-seattle-public-toilet-kelly-herron-a7626156.html) article. Do you recall what Zimmerman’s statement said? > [@](#): > > As I headed back to my vehicle the suspect emerged from the darkness and said ‘You got a problem’ I said ‘No’ the suspect said ‘You do now.’ As I looked and tried to find my phone to dial 911 the suspect punched me in the face. I fell backwards onto my back. The suspect got on top of me. I yelled ‘Help’ several times. The suspect told me ‘Shut the fuck up’ as I tried to sit up right, the suspect grabbed my head and slammed it into the concrete sidewalks several times. I continued to yell ‘Help’ each time I attempted to sit up, the suspect slammed my head into the sidewalk. My head felt like it was going to explode. I tried to slide out from under the suspect and continue to yell ‘Help.’ As I slid the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing. At this point I felt the suspect reach for my now exposed firearm and say ‘Your gonna die tonight Mother Fucker.’ I unholstered my firearm in fear for my life as he had assured he was going to kill me and fired one shot into his torso. Notice all the yelling for help happens before “the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing”? The “damning inconsistency” you think you found is a figment of your imagination. The yelling was not “simultaneously” happening while he was being prevented from breathing. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/291 "2018-12-08T21:21:01Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I can, but it may not help. You alleged that Zimmerman was screaming while he was being suffocated. I didn’t say that. I said Zimmerman claimed Martin was suffocating him at the same time the screaming occurred. In case it’s not clear to you, I think Zimmerman was bald-faced lying. It was the kid who was screaming his head off, just as you would expect someone to do if they’d been grabbed and possibly held at gunpoint by a hostile stranger. > [@](#): > > Zimmerman said he kept pushing Martin’s hands off his face, and that he was screaming from the first moment of the attack, when Martin broke his nose. He said more that and it all reads like garbage. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/292 "2018-12-08T21:27:28Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Notice all the yelling for help happens before “the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing”? The “damning inconsistency” you think you found is a figment of your imagination. The yelling was not “simultaneously” happening while he was being prevented from breathing. I don’t know how many times I need to point that the screaming extended right up until the shot was fired. But I will point it again. The screaming extended right up until the shot was fired. If Martin “stopped” Zimmerman’s breathing right before he grabbed the gun and fired it, he couldn’t have been the voice on that tape screaming helplessly. Because the screaming extended right up until the shot was fired. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/293 "2018-12-08T21:30:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Do you recall what Zimmerman’s statement said? > > Notice all the yelling for help happens before “the suspect covered my mouth and nose and stopped my breathing”? The “damning inconsistency” you think you found is a figment of your imagination. The yelling was not “simultaneously” happening while he was being prevented from breathing. Notice that the screaming cuts off with the gun shot? Please give a timeline where that makes sense, given that you are now claiming that he stopped screaming during the altercation. Once again, Zimmerman is caught in a lie as his timeline doesn’t add up. Everything in the statement that you quoted is a fabrication, as it doesn’t line up with the timeline, with physics, with anatomy, nor with any sort of sense or rationality. You can either explain the motive that Martin decided he was going to kill the random guy, and said the exact words that would be needed to give an airtight self defense, or I can explain Zimmerman’s motives for lying about what happened that night. Mine is much easier. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/294 "2018-12-08T21:51:41Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > … If you were confronted by a suspicious stranger who was following you in the dark, you would defer to him in every way? … I didn’t propose “defer to him in every way”. You’re imagining things I did not say. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > … I don’t know why you insist that Zimmerman must have done everything absolutely correctly in this instance… You are, once again, imagining things I have not said. It would be a more productive conversation if you would not do this. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > … If Zimmerman had grabbed Martin to prevent him from walking away, would Martin’s actions have been justified at that point? … The head-bashing on the concrete? I doubt it. If Martin had just punched Zimmerman and broken away, then yes, or at least probably. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > … Right, but there is not even a crime that he is being accused. Had things gone a bit differently, and Martin was only wounded, not killed, what crime would you be charging him with? > > You are claiming that the only reason that Martin is not on trial is because he is dead? > > What crime, specifically, was Martin committing which gave justification to a self-defense shooting? … He was assaulting Zimmerman with force likely to cause great bodily harm. Specifically, bashing his head on the concrete. Are you looking for the specific Florida legal statute or something else? > [@k9bfriender](#): > > … And he was not on drugs… That’s not what his autopsy showed: > [@](#): > > [The information includes laboratory reports that show Martin’s blood had traces of THC, a chemical that is found in marijuana.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trayvon-martin-autospy-report-indicates-struggle/2012/05/17/gIQAxw6HXU_story.html?utm_term=.6fdc8d885918) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/295 "2018-12-08T22:13:06Z")
Zimmerman’s story is not credible. Zimmerman is not credible. Anyone saying then believe him at this point is pretending to make it easy for him—and by extension, themselves—to be able to murder black men and children with impunity. That’s what it all comes down to. ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/296 "2018-12-08T22:15:51Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Evidence suggests that, prior to the encounter, Martin was just walking home. … What evidence? And have you even looked at the Wikipedia article? ---
**Author:** ![sps49sd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sps49sd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sps49sd)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/297 "2018-12-08T22:21:22Z")
\>k9bfriender \>And he was not on drugs, he was not up to no good. The only thing that Zimmerman had right in that was that he was walking, which, even in Florida, is not a crime. \>You see how much Zimmerman got wong in even just that one sentence, but you take his word on everything else. I will direct you as well to the Wikipedia article. Zimmerman had previously spotted and called the police on other persons who appeared suspicious to him, and in at least one case the person was found with the jewelry stolen from the home he was spotted near. In the name of fighting ignorance, go read the Wiki article and read however many of the citations provided as it takes for you to get the unwarranted assumptions out of your head. \>Yeah, because black teenagers have a great history with the police. The police is not your friend, you know. The police are as likely to show up and shoot him. Oh, this is such an acceptable thing to repeat because you sound so woke and in tune with the world. THANK you. I have enough trouble raising my children without people like you telling them to give up, don’t act like regular law-abiding Americans, you might as well act out because all whites are racist anyway. IT ISN’T TRUE. I am accountable for my own actions and how I react to my environment, my ex is the same, and hopefully our daughters keep it up. We’ve been victims of crime, but we haven’t committed them, we haven’t been shot at traffic stops, we’re pretty much living the American Dream. IT ISN’T HARD TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. Stop making excuses for bad decisions! ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/298 "2018-12-08T22:44:02Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I didn’t propose “defer to him in every way”. You’re imagining things I did not say. Not as much as you are imagining things that night. So, what would you do, when he demands to know why you are in your neighborhood? Do you ignore, or do you answer? What do you do if they don’t like your answer(or lack thereof)? > [@](#): > > You are, once again, imagining things I have not said. It would be a more productive conversation if you would not do this. Maybe you are right, you do seem to just be “asking questions” and making assertions, not actually taking a position. That completely eliminates any possibility of a productive conversation. So, you do feel that Zimmerman may have made some mistakes that night? > [@](#): > > The head-bashing on the concrete? I doubt it. If Martin had just punched Zimmerman and broken away, then yes, or at least probably. Right, and that is likely. You’ve ever seen stuff de-escalate that quickly. You grab me, I punch you, then just walk away? I also see no reason why Zimmerman would not have brandished his weapon in the encounter. Would you turn your back on someone who is following you, and acting hostile to you, even if you didn’t know he was armed? If you did know he was armed, would you still? > [@](#): > > He was assaulting Zimmerman with force likely to cause great bodily harm. Specifically, bashing his head on the concrete. Are you looking for the specific Florida legal statute or something else? Zimmerman was following Martin in the dark while armed with a weapon that could, _and did_ cuase great bodily harm. I thought we were talking about the crime that Martin had committed that justified Zimmerman’s initiating a confrontation, but you are choosing to fast forward to the time when Martin has gotten the upper hand in the confrontation that Zimmerman initiated in order to avoid the problem that, if you actually consider it, Martin was doing nothing wrong at the time that Zimmerman initiated a confrontation. > [@](#): > > That’s not what his autopsy showed: I know you know this, as we talked about it a while back, but having trace amounts of THC in your system does not mean that you are high. Zimmerman claimed that Martin was “on drugs”, which is an observation that he made from a distance, from within a vehicle, about a person that he did not know in the dark. He did not have access to a blood test to determine trace amounts of THC in the system. If Zimmerman hadn’t gotten out of his car, and instead, waited for the cops to arrive, and they arrived wile Martin was still walking down the street, (and this happened slightly more contemporaneously), then we would be talking about “Walkin’ George”, who calls the cops because he sees black people walking in his neighborhood, and he would join the ranks of BBQ Betty. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/299 "2018-12-08T22:46:44Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That’s not what his autopsy showed The [actual tox report](http://www.talkleft.com/zimm/nmslabreport84.pdf) showed a level of 1.5ng/mL, which is quite a lot lower than the 5ng/mL that legal states call impaired (for driving purposes). But if you do research, you will find that that number, or any other, is utterly meaningless; a person can test positive for THC days or weeks after having used cannabis or be totally wasted while testing very low. And anyroad, to suggest that he was stoned and that that made him prone to violence is passing absurd, as any stoner will tell you. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614/300 "2018-12-08T23:01:42Z")
> [@sps49sd](#): > > \>k9bfriender > > \>And he was not on drugs, he was not up to no good. The only thing that Zimmerman had right in that was that he was walking, which, even in Florida, is not a crime. > > \>You see how much Zimmerman got wong in even just that one sentence, but you take his word on everything else. > > I will direct you as well to the Wikipedia article. Zimmerman had previously spotted and called the police on other persons who appeared suspicious to him, and in at least one case the person was found with the jewelry stolen from the home he was spotted near. In the name of fighting ignorance, go read the Wiki article and read however many of the citations provided as it takes for you to get the unwarranted assumptions out of your head. That walking down the street _is_ a crime in Florida? I didn’t see that in the wiki article. > [@](#): > > \>Yeah, because black teenagers have a great history with the police. The police is not your friend, you know. The police are as likely to show up and shoot him. > > Oh, this is such an acceptable thing to repeat because you sound so woke and in tune with the world. THANK you. I have enough trouble raising my children without people like you telling them to give up, don’t act like regular law-abiding Americans, you might as well act out because all whites are racist anyway. IT ISN’T TRUE. I am accountable for my own actions and how I react to my environment, my ex is the same, and hopefully our daughters keep it up. We’ve been victims of crime, but we haven’t committed them, we haven’t been shot at traffic stops, we’re pretty much living the American Dream. IT ISN’T HARD TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. Stop making excuses for bad decisions! Heh, and HD was just whining incorrectly about people making things up about what he had said, then you go and play _this_ game. Sorry, but your little screed here is misdirected entirely, and should be directed towards those who actually don’t mind that racism is actually a real thing. Do you really doubt that a person in Martin’s position would be hesitant to call the police? If so, then…really? You are a 17 year old black kid that has had run ins with the law, and you are calling the cops? YMMV, but I don’t see it happening. If you do understand that someone in his position would be hesitant to call the cops, then what are you talking about here? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-mason1972s-example-worse-than-the-zimmerman-shooting/825614.md?page=16)