# Martin/Zimmerman: humble opinions and speculation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 18, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125 "2012-04-18T04:41:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 588
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11744 "2013-07-03T08:31:41Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > I suspect you think we are all dullards for not seeing what is so clearly evident to you. However your opening response to my question (omitted for brevity) showed a clear inability to filter for the important details. No, it showed a clear desire to avoid the all-too-frequent failure to track the conversation - your question made no sense to me standing alone, and you were the one who associated it specifically to Stratocaster’s discussion with CR, which was tightly focused on something I have been rejecting as important at all, and which itself misses the point in my opinion. What important detail was I supposed to filter out of your single sentence? Or are you saying I was supposed to edit Stratocaster’s posts for you? As for what I suspect, no, not at all. Again, I’ve been quite open about my frustration at expectations on both sides that everyone should be seeing things exactly the same way, and the conclusions that people who do not are deficient. > [@Hbns](#): > > Ok… > Do you think it likely that omitting all of Zimmerman’s story leaves evidence worthy of conviction under California or Florida law? It’s a rather broad question, and why California? In any case, I’d have to first know what all the legally admissible evidence is, which I do not, then I’d have to tease apart the non-Z evidence. And I wouldn’t _omit_ all of Zimmerman’s story at all, depending on what you mean by that, since the very fact and actual content of his lies contribute to the overall picture. Or do you mean disregard any part of his story which is uncorroborated? Do you mean do what I once suggested, which was to pretend there was no NEN call, since that is part of GZ’s story, then pretend that GZ had been mute since the shooting? Under that scenario, of course, it’s impossible to imagine him being acquitted. Way too many things to consider to give an honest answer, things which would take for too much time to actually do. Sorry if you find that unsatisfying. And judging from your remark, I’m sure you will view this as an exercise in overthinking it, but unlike so many around here, I don’t think it’s at all reasonable to treat nuance and detail as meaningless, as in Stratocaster’s remark about it all coming down to Z kiling the guy that was kicking his ass. I find that a shockingly casual simplification of the death of a 17 year old and the potential for a man to spend decades in prison. Such a situation absolutely deserves anal-retentive scrutiny to discern, as fully as possible, the truth. I’m just wacky that way. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11745 "2013-07-03T09:13:51Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > I had a friend take a fall bouldering that gave him a moderate concussion, but he didn’t have visible injuries any worse than Zimmerman. Well, except for the moderate concussion thing. Did Zimmerman have a concussion that we haven’t been made aware of? It isn’t just that Zimmerman had minimal visible injuries - described as ‘insignificant’ and ‘minor’ by at least two witnesses. He didn’t have any non-visible injuries either. None. Did he ever complain of a headache? Did he ever complain of having trouble breathing or speaking through his supposedly broken nose? On the video the evening of the shooting, and the video the very next day he talks normally, walks normally. Swallowing a lot of blood can often make people feel queasy and lead to throwing up, sometimes causes sore throats - don’t recall any of that. His account of ‘more than a dozen punches’ that left minimal damage to his face (and zero damage to Martin’s hands), no defensive bruising on Zimmerman’s arms (notice how Zimmerman never mentions what he was doing with his own hands - that’s not a coincidence), his account of his head being slammed into the sidewalk hard enough to make him feel like his head was ‘going to explode’ or he was going to lose consciousness…none of this matches up with the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11746 "2013-07-03T10:53:57Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > And judging from your remark, I’m sure you will view this as an exercise in overthinking it, but unlike so many around here, I don’t think it’s at all reasonable to treat nuance and detail as meaningless, as in Stratocaster’s remark about it all coming down to Z kiling the guy that was kicking his ass. I find that a shockingly casual simplification of the death of a 17 year old and the potential for a man to spend decades in prison. Such a situation absolutely deserves anal-retentive scrutiny to discern, as fully as possible, the truth. No, that’s not a fair assessment of my question, and that’s especially so given your response to CR. My point was to get clarification as to why the degree of injury seemed so critical to him. > [@](#): > > I’m just wacky that way. Stoid, we can all read these threads. You can’t pretend to be the open-minded, “I’m just asking reasonable questions in the search of nuanced Truth!” person after some of the commentary you’ve made. It’s actually pretty funny. There’s a lot of emotional investment on both sides, ISTM. My speculation (since it’s a speculation thread!) regarding Team Martin (or some on that side, at least): Accepting the strong evidence that Zimmerman is not the racist, profiling Nazi who cold-bloodedly killed in an unprovoked manner an innocent black 17 year-old who was just out to buy Skittles somehow implies support for racist, profiling Nazis who cold-bloodedly killed in an unprovoked manner innocent black 17 year-olds who are just out to buy Skittles. It is a bit of cognitive dissonance, somehow, relative to a thought so firmly formed in one’s head. An unambiguously evil act occurred (the “given”) and that “fact” keeps running into evidence to the contrary (the dissonance). That’s my read. I say from experience as one of the initially outraged, who truly wanted to walk in one of those hoodie marches in support of Trayvon when this story broke. That could have been my son! A friend with a cooler head at the time said, “No, you don’t really know _anything_ important about what happened yet.” He was right. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11747 "2013-07-03T11:50:15Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > No, that’s not a fair assessment of my question, and that’s especially so given your response to CR. My point was to get clarification as to why the degree of injury seemed so critical to him.Stoid, we can all read these threads. You can’t pretend to be the open-minded, “I’m just asking reasonable questions in the search of nuanced Truth!” person after some of the commentary you’ve made. It’s actually pretty funny. There’s a lot of emotional investment on both sides, ISTM. > > My speculation (since it’s a speculation thread!) regarding Team Martin (or some on that side, at least): Accepting the strong evidence that Zimmerman is not the racist, profiling Nazi who cold-bloodedly killed in an unprovoked manner an innocent black 17 year-old who was just out to buy Skittles somehow implies support for racist, profiling Nazis who cold-bloodedly killed in an unprovoked manner innocent black 17 year-olds who are just out to buy Skittles. It is a bit of cognitive dissonance, somehow, relative to a thought so firmly formed in one’s head. An unambiguously evil act occurred (the “given”) and that “fact” keeps running into evidence to the contrary (the dissonance). That’s my read. > > I say from experience as one of the initially outraged, who truly wanted to walk in one of those hoodie marches in support of Trayvon when this story broke. That could have been my son! A friend with a cooler head at the time said, “No, you don’t really know _anything_ important about what happened yet.” He was right. Well, if you have read these threads, then you know that I was never among those who thought Zimmerman was a racist, much less a cold blooded killer Nazi. You also know that I have called out team Martin for being implacable and obsessive, And I have stated that I do understand how those who oppose can arrive at their conclusions. I would never deny that I have very firmly held opinions about this case. But I am also a passionate seeker of truth about all things all the time. My passion for truth borders on the fetishistic. And I understand how that sounds, But it is what it is. My only “proof”, as it were, is [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=566528&highlight=Stoid). Anyway, I wasn’t really calling you out, it was just the most context – appropriate example of a tendency to oversimplify the evidence and facts of this case that I find distressing. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11748 "2013-07-03T11:50:43Z")
My emotional investment is to the extent and is limited to the notion that a gun owner accepts a level of responsibility for how that gun is used. I do not think Zimmerman was a ‘racist Nazi’ who set out to kill a black youth in cold blood, but his actions, his poor judgement, directly led to the death of Martin. A needless and entirely avoidable death. Do I believe Zimmerman is guilty of 2nd degree murder? No. But reckless homicide / manslaughter? Yes. Zimmerman’s comment that - even knowing what he knows now, despite clear evidence that Martin was merely on his way home from the store, armed with ice tea and Skittles - he still wouldn’t ‘do anything differently’ that night - isn’t that just a wee bit troubling? Really? You wouldn’t just stay in your car and wait for the cops to show up? He’s really saying that - put in the exact same position now - he’d do the exact same thing with the exact same outcome? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11749 "2013-07-03T12:02:28Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > My emotional investment is to the extent and is limited to the notion that a gun owner accepts a level of responsibility for how that gun is used. I do not think Zimmerman was a ‘racist Nazi’ who set out to kill a black youth in cold blood, but his actions, his poor judgement, directly led to the death of Martin. A needless and entirely avoidable death. Do I believe Zimmerman is guilty of 2nd degree murder? No. But reckless homicide / manslaughter? Yes. > > Zimmerman’s comment that - even knowing what he knows now, despite clear evidence that Martin was merely on his way home from the store, armed with ice tea and Skittles - he still wouldn’t ‘do anything differently’ that night - isn’t that just a wee bit troubling? Really? You wouldn’t just stay in your car and wait for the cops to show up? He’s really saying that - put in the exact same position now - he’d do the exact same thing with the exact same outcome? Jesus, he said that???:eek: Damn, add that to the “Reasons to view George Zimmerman as a thoughtless, irresponsible, reckless ass who really does have depraved indifference to human life!” List…fuck me, man…seriously? Flabbergasted. Oh, and fuck me twice for giving him so much benefit of the doubt in terms of believing that he had the good sense to immediately regret what he had done. I take it all back. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11750 "2013-07-03T12:13:03Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Lots, but that has nothing to do with what you said, which was that inferences have to be proved. And proof obviates the need for inference. Your belief system doesn’t count. Start with one lie in his narrative that you have proof of and go from there. Just one. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11751 "2013-07-03T12:23:16Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Do you mean do what I once suggested, which was to pretend there was no NEN call, since that is part of GZ’s story, then pretend that GZ had been mute since the shooting? Can you explain that idea, please? The NEN call isn’t part of Zimmerman’s story in the way that his walkthrough, interviews, and the like are. It’s a before-the-fact, real-time account of his state of mind and actions before the shooting. So why should it be discounted in your hypothetical? Zimmerman couldn’t retroactively change it once he’d shot Martin. > [@Stoid](#): > > Under that scenario, of course, it’s impossible to imagine him being acquitted. How’s that? How would you prove he acted with a depraved mind, or that he didn’t act in self defense? It seems impossible to me. > [@DragonAsh](#): > > He didn’t have any non-visible injuries either. None. Did he ever complain of a headache? Did he ever complain of having trouble breathing or speaking through his supposedly broken nose? On the video the evening of the shooting, and the video the very next day he talks normally, walks normally. Swallowing a lot of blood can often make people feel queasy and lead to throwing up, sometimes causes sore throats - don’t recall any of that. Per his medical report, he did have a non-visible injury: back pain. He also complained of stress and “occasional nausea when thinking about the violence.” The same medical report diagnoses his nose as being broken. > [@DragonAsh](#): > > His account of ‘more than a dozen punches’ that left minimal damage to his face (and zero damage to Martin’s hands), no defensive bruising on Zimmerman’s arms (notice how Zimmerman never mentions what he was doing with his own hands - that’s not a coincidence), his account of his head being slammed into the sidewalk hard enough to make him feel like his head was ‘going to explode’ or he was going to lose consciousness…none of this matches up with the evidence. Not zero damage to Martin’s hands, see the autopsy report, there was a scrape or cut on one of his hands. Zimmerman probably wasn’t punched dozens of times, but expecting someone to accurately recount the number of blows they suffered in a chaotic, frightening, stressful, street fight is unrealistic. Human memory just doesn’t work that way. > [@DragonAsh](#): > > Zimmerman’s comment that - even knowing what he knows now, despite clear evidence that Martin was merely on his way home from the store, armed with ice tea and Skittles - he still wouldn’t ‘do anything differently’ that night - isn’t that just a wee bit troubling? Really? You wouldn’t just stay in your car and wait for the cops to show up? He’s really saying that - put in the exact same position now - he’d do the exact same thing with the exact same outcome? That’s a question with no right answer, because if he says he _would_ have acted differently, then it can be construed as an admission of wrongdoing or at least being responsible for Martin’s death, neither of which is a good idea when you’re going be tried for a crime. Also, based on he remark about “God’s plan”, Zimmerman might just have a fatalistic outlook on life. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11752 "2013-07-03T12:34:23Z")
> [@](#): > > HANNITY: Is there anything you regret? **Do you regret getting out of the car to follow Trayvon that night?** > ZIMMERMAN: **No, sir.** > HANNITY: **Do you regret that you had a gun that night?** > ZIMMERMAN: **No, sir.** > HANNITY: Do you feel you wouldn’t be here for this interview if you didn’t have that gun? > ZIMMERMAN: No, sir. > HANNITY: You feel you would not be here? > ZIMMERMAN: I feel it was all God’s plan and for me to second guess it or judge it – > HANNITY: **Is there anything you might do differently in retrospect now that the time has passed a little bit?** > ZIMMERMAN: **No, sir.** Team Zimmerman don’t find that at least a little bit of a concern? He’s saying that given the chance to do it over again…he wouldn’t do anything differently. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11753 "2013-07-03T12:34:23Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Why do you keep quoting California caselaw? Didn’t you just spend a fucking page trying to contort this trial into INDIANA caselaw, and Indiana caselaw about a crime with which the defendant in this case is not even charged, at that? Jesus. No shame, these Zimmermanites. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11754 "2013-07-03T12:35:39Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > That’s a question with no right answer, because if he says he _would_ have acted differently, then it can be construed as an admission of wrongdoing or at least being responsible for Martin’s death, neither of which is a good idea when you’re going be tried for a crime. The right answer is in fact the one that does not make you guilty of murder, yes. The fact that Zimmerman has no such answer available to him says as much about him as you’re unwittingly admitting. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11755 "2013-07-03T12:46:40Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#): > > The right answer is in fact the one that does not make you guilty of murder, yes. The fact that Zimmerman has no such answer available to him says as much about him as you’re unwittingly admitting. Neither answer makes him guilty of murder, but both answers have potentially negative repurcussions when heard by a jury: he can come off as heartless, or as admitting reponsibility. I suspect, based on his saying “I feel it was all God’s plan and for me to second guess it or judge it --”, that he’s just a religious fatalist who believes everything happens for a reason and all that jazz. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11756 "2013-07-03T12:47:42Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > Team Zimmerman don’t find that at least a little bit of a concern? He’s saying that given the chance to do it over again…he wouldn’t do anything differently. Because he shouldn’t second guess or judge God’s plan. That’s a common religious sentiment. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11757 "2013-07-03T12:49:08Z")
I encourage Zimmerman’s lawyers to bring up “God wanted Trayvon Martin to die and my client was the instrument of His righteous judgment” in court. That will definitely end the ambiguity over the outcome of the trial, though it will also give him a good Sixth Amendment basis for appeal. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11758 "2013-07-03T12:49:57Z")
It’s also ignorant. If I accidentally ran over my grandmother, and said, “well I guess it was all in God’s plan,” and then you asked me if I wish it never happened, the answer would be, “Of course I wish it never happened,” not, “see above, re: God’s plan.” ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11759 "2013-07-03T12:54:19Z")
> [@Condescending Robot](#): > > I encourage Zimmerman’s lawyers to bring up “God wanted Trayvon Martin to die and my client was the instrument of His righteous judgment” in court. That will definitely end the ambiguity over the outcome of the trial, though it will also give him a good Sixth Amendment basis for appeal. I know you have contempt for Christians, but that’s not what people mean by “God’s plan” or “everything happens for a reason”. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > It’s also ignorant. > > If I accidentally ran over my grandmother, and said, “well I guess it was all in God’s plan,” and then you asked me if I wish it never happened, the answer would be, “Of course I wish it never happened,” not, “see above, re: God’s plan.” He wasn’t asked if he wished it’d never happened (at least, not in that transcript), but instead whether he regreted specific actions he took and if he’d do anything differently in retrospect. Not the same question, at all. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11760 "2013-07-03T12:56:03Z")
“Would you do anything differently” is ambiguous as to whether it means knowing all the facts you know now, or it means if you had a chance to do it over knowing only what you knew then. It’s the difference between admitting that you made a mistake and admitting that you make the right call with what you had but just didn’t know all the relevant facts. Ordinarily, liberals on this board would grasp this simple concept. But not on the Tour de Force of motivated reasoning that is this thread. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2013, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11761 "2013-07-03T13:01:31Z")
The fact that you think this is a liberal/conservative issue says a lot about Team Zimmerman’s motives. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11762 "2013-07-03T13:14:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Your belief system doesn’t count. Start with one lie in his narrative that you have proof of and go from there. Just one. Been there, done that. This was about you saying inferences must be proved. You were wrong. End. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/11763 "2013-07-03T13:15:23Z")
> [@Human\_Action](#): > > I know you have contempt for Christians, but that’s not what people mean by “God’s plan” or “everything happens for a reason”. > > He wasn’t asked if he wished it’d never happened (at least, not in that transcript), but instead whether he regreted specific actions he took and if he’d do anything differently in retrospect. Not the same question, at all. Are you high? That’s =exactly= what he’s saying. Trayvon Martin’s death was God’s plan. Zimmerman getting out of the truck that night was God’s plan. And that ties directly into his statement that he didn’t regret any of his actions, that he wouldn’t do anything differently because according to him, everything was God’s plan - i.e., I have no freewill in this, none of this was my fault, blame the Guy Upstairs. It’s the same fucking question. Given the chance to do things differently, _he wouldn’t change a thing_. He wouldn’t stay in his truck. He wouldn’t identify himself to Trayvon. He wouldn’t go right back to his truck after hanging up with dispatch. \*He wouldn’t change a thing. \* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125.md?page=587) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125.md?page=589)