Martin/Zimmerman: humble opinions and speculation thread

In My Humble Opinion
3862

I don’t think he’s a saint. Just an imperfect, but decent guy, who has been unfairly maligned. So far, the prosecution’s evidence includes him making fun of a co-worker, touching his cousin’s naughty parts, an off-hand comment about Mexicans, and several other people in his life that he pissed off in one way or the other. And then about five hundred other people that say he is a caring human being, not prone to getting upset, and who doesn’t have a racist bone in his body.

The prosecution, having no evidence Zimmerman committed murder, are doing their best to malign his character. I’d love to see how a lot of the people joining in on it would fare if their entire life was combed through looking for negatives. I imagine most people would not fare nearly as well as this guy. I just hope when it’s all over that people are held accountable.

3863

Everyone except for poor Georgie right?

3864

My speculation and opinion is that Mr. Zimmerman’s character has been revealed to be less than stellar, first by deceiving the court (in league with his wife) regarding his ability to pay for his legal defense/bail (um, isn’t THAT what all those donations from the faithful were SUPPOSED to be for? Instead, the evidence indicates he and his wife conspired to hide/keep the funds for personal use while pleading poverty and sticking the taxpayers with their legal costs AND had already spent roughly $20,000 in a month on “living expenses, hotels, and security”) and now by being exposed as an alleged sexual molestor.

In a case in which it ultimately comes down to his word against a dead man’s, the revelations that his honesty and general character may be questionable don’t exactly inspire confidence.

I think those who jumped on the bandwagon in support of Zimmerman, seeing him as a symbol of some Right-Wing cause or causes (gun rights, vigilantism, defending us from suspicious Black men/racist sentiment, fighting back against the “liberal media” and Black “professional agitators” that were railroading him, etc…all my best guesses as to WHY this guy became a hero to the Limbaugh crowd overnight:confused:) now find themselves faced with an idol with feet of clay who has put them in the awkward position of either admitting they MAY have misjudged him and the situation OR mulishly continuing to support him in spite of his serious flaws (most seem to have chosen the latter, of course).

I just LOVE how Zimmerman’s staunch defenders argue that HIS actions prior to and unrelated to this case are irrelevent, but go out of their way to point to every past questionable deed or characteristic of the VICTIM as proof that he was a thug who brought his death on himself (e.g. school infractions, manner of dress and demeanor in photos, prior pot use, even FABRICATED/MISATTRIBUTED images and texts).

Personally, I’m not convinced that he can be convicted of the charges against him, given the law in the state, but I am pretty well convinced that he SHOULD be convicted of some wrongdoing, if only manslaughter, given his actions that night. It comes down to this: if Zimmerman had STAYED IN HIS VEHICLE, as instructed, and NOT PURSUED Martin, none of this would have happened.

3865

It is a wonder that no one said that Trayvon should have been arrested for molesting a 16 year old girl.

3866

George Zimmerman moved to Florida in 2001, when he was still 16.

3867

According to her, she was nineteen when the last molestation occurred, just before Zimmerman moved to Florida. He would have been 21. Does anyone see A problem here?

3868

One problem may be Huffington Post. I think they meant to say 16.

3869

I think your modus operandi of blaming the victim is downright evil. I think it’s cute you added molestation in quotation marks as if it didn’t happen. Sorry to bring it to the fore, but it’s this kind of ridiculous nonsense and overwhelming bias that allowed Mr. Sandusky to fuck little boys for over a decade. I hope you aren’t a teacher or a coach. I suspect that if Trayvon Martin’s girlfriend came forward and said, “Trayvon molested me,” you’d be singing a very different tune about how he’s a hood gangsta and has “Thug Life” tattooed on his abdomen.

The reality is that no one is out for Zimmerman except a very small sliver of the black community and himself. Lying about his finances, beating up on women, concurrent consumption of uppers (mixed amphetamine salts), mood-stabilizers (Mirtazapine), and downers (benzodiapenes), resisting arrest, bullying his coworkers and, most recently, fondling and fucking kids is not a media conspiracy it’s proof that he has a psychiatric illness, bad judgement (and a history thereof), and/or doesn’t understand the gravity of the crime he’s committed.

Zimmerman hung himself to dry with his past and present actions and now (like all narcissists) seeks to shift the blame to others. Now after all of the shit he’s pulled and after he gets bail, he’s blaming the judge for bias and wants a new judge. WTF? The judge gives you bail and now he’s unfair. Get the fuck outta here. The dude has balls bigger than Barrett Long, which is why I suspect the peanut gallery can’t stop sucking on them.

  • Honesty
3870
  1. He was not told to stay in his vehicle. He had already left the vehicle when he was advised that the police did not need him to follow them. To which he said OK.
  2. No evidence that he pursued (followed with the intent to “overtake or capture”).
  3. There are a lot of events that, had they not happened, would have prevented future events from happening. The only relevant one being when Trayvon battered Zimmerman.
    I’m not right-wing. I’m an independent liberal. Voted for Obama, believe in reasonable gun control, etc. As a liberal, I am surprised that some liberals want to criminalize basic rights. Surely, in the United States, we have not lost the right to exit our own vehicles and move freely within our own neighborhoods?

Call me a right wing fanatic, but I support people’s right to keep an eye on suspicious people in their own neighborhood. (even if their suspicions are unfounded- at least originally). I think citizens have that right and should be able to exercise that right without conferring upon someone the right to batter them at will- or forfeiting their right to self-defense.

I guess I don’t make a very good liberal to some people. I’m one of the few self-described liberals that doesn’t have a ton of sympathy for Trayvon Martin. When someone is screaming for help, you stop attacking. That’s what a civilized person would do.

3871

I guess I’m a terrible person because I don’t presume Zimmerman’s guilt.

And it is the assumption that every accusation of sexual impropriety is truthful that leads to the ridiculous nonsense that fueled the Duke Lacrosse rape case.

Zimmerman sounds like a terrible human being.

3872

http://http://www.gzlegalcase.com/index.php/press-releases/39-zimmerman-defense-responds-to-witness-9-statements

It is getting even better.

O’Mara plans to file reciprocal discovery concerning Witness #9.

3873

The link isn’t working - least not for me.

3874

There was an extra http:// in there, try this one:

http://www.gzlegalcase.com/index.php/press-releases/39-zimmerman-defense-responds-to-witness-9-statements

3875

Zimmerman moved to Florida at the age of 18, after graduating high school in Virginia. And I parse her words to mean that the last incident happened in the state of Florida. I don’t see any contradiction in her statement.

3876

Sorry. BTW. It mentioned that the last incident happened when Zimmerman was 17.
I hope the people who referred to Trayvon Martin as a child don’t suffer any whiplash.

3877

Unbelievable. Why would they make a statement like that? Why confirm that the Witness 9 is actually Zimmerman’s cousin and defense attempted to suppress public dissemination? Why confirm the story? I don’t get that. It adds a whole new spin on to what Witness 9 (Hereafter referred to as the cousin)

So, let me get this straight. Zimmerman purportedly molested his female cousin for over a decade*. The cousin told family members about the abuse in the early 2000’s. The family members confronted Zimmerman in 2005 and he walked out of the restaurant. Since the cousin’s family (sister and parents) knew of the abuse, you have at least four close relatives who can attest to Zimmerman’s character before the shooting. I suspect that what the woman wanted was closure: acknowledgement and apology for the abuse that occurred. It’s a pity, too. She probably perceives this unrelated case as her last chance of that. If Zimmerman had the humanity to to talk with the family in 2005, the cousin wouldn’t feel compelled to get it in the national spotlight.

  • Honesty
  • I can understand a little doctor at age 8 that can be hand-waved away as both profoundly inappropriate but non-malicious; humans are very curious creatures. However, when you’re 13 - 18, “playing doctor and house” ceases to become about curiosity and exploration but as a means to get your rocks off at the expense of a living human being.
3878

Also, playing doctor requires all parties to be willing participants. I’m listening to her interview now (and it’s heartwrenching). Just to get the chronology straight:

Zimmerman was born in 1983. Zimmerman is almost 2 years older than Witness 9.

Molestation began when Witness 9 was about 6 and Zimmerman was about 8.

The last incident was when Witness 9 was 16, after Zimmerman had graduated high school, when both were in Florida.

She told her sister and parents in 2005, when she was about 20. They told Zimmerman’s parents. Since then, Zimmerman has been excluded from family gatherings.

3879

It’s really weird how you can go from one thread, where people are wondering how it’s possible for people to ignore evidence of Sandusky’s child abuse, to this thread where you can watch people try to ignore evidence of child abuse in real time.

In the Sandusky thread people are speculating that the abuse was ignored because the people who knew him thought he was a good person who wouldn’t do things like that. That kind of willful blindness is rightly criticized.

Here, evidence of child abuse is ignored or explained away, not because they think Zimmerman is a good person (he clearly isn’t), but because they perceive some infinitesimal level of political benefit in ignoring the abuse.

Protip: child abuse is bad, and evidence of child abuse should be reported and investigated even if the suspected abuser shares your political belief, or your fetishment for guns, or likes to shoot black people just like you fantasize about doing, or whatever.

3880

What’s unbelievable is that the prosecution actually believes this is evidence that could be highly relevant to their case against Zimmerman- and that this information was ever released to the media.

I suspect that what the woman wanted was to inject herself into a situation that had absolutely nothing to do with her, simply because she had some personal grievance against her cousin and his family. She probably perceives this unrelated case as an opportunity to trash and malign them, and hopefully making things harder for Zimmerman in the process.

Glad you’re waiting for Zimmerman’s side of the story.

Better a living human being than a dead one though, right?

3881

Cousin: “Oh my God, I was raped! And the person who did it is on TV right now! I’m calling the police!”
911: “That sounds like a personal grievance. Stop injecting yourself into this situation.”