# Pitting people (Spike Lee in particular) who tweeted the wrong address as belonging to G. Zimmerman. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 28, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031 "2012-03-28T10:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/1 "2012-03-28T10:58:34Z")
Elderly couple abandons their home after address is posted on Twitter as that of George Zimmerman [http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-27/news/os-trayvon-martin-wrong-zimmerman-20120327\_1\_tweets-heart-condition-twitter](http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-27/news/os-trayvon-martin-wrong-zimmerman-20120327_1_tweets-heart-condition-twitter) > [@](#): > > A school-cafeteria lunch lady and her husband have received hate mail, unwanted visits from reporters and fearful inquiries from neighbors — all because their Sanford-area address is being disseminated on Twitter as belonging to Trayvon Martin shooter George Zimmerman, her son said late Tuesday. > > \ > > The woman has another son named William George Zimmerman who lived with her in 1995 and still lives in Central Florida. He is no relation to George Zimmerman, 28, who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Feb. 26, sparking national outrage and international interest. > > \ > > Zimmerman traced the tweets — which he said have been retweeted by actor-director Spike Lee — to a man in California. Zimmerman has implored the man to stop and said he received this response, “Black power all day. No justice, no peace” and an obscenity. The original tweeter deserves a big share of the blame for this but Lee, being a celebrity and thus having a large following, should have been more careful. Even if it had been the right address, it’s hard to see this as not being a call for a lynching. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/2 "2012-03-28T13:57:14Z")
That whole ugly situation just gets worse and worse. A teenage boy is dead already, and threats and harassment aren’t going to bring him back to life or speed up whatever action might be taken against the “real” Zimmerman. Even if it was the shooter’s family, they’re not to blame for what happened. I hope they’re able to take legal action against the original twit, and as for Spike Lee being involved… if he was stupid enough to do this I hope this ends up being one of those stupid little career-destroying mistakes. The son’s comment [QUOTE=William Zimmerman] “To endanger people who are innocent because people are angry is not the answer,” William Zimmerman said. “That’s not how we’re going to heal. It’s not to help the Martin family for someone else to be hurt.” [/QUOTE] is what I hope people listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/3 "2012-03-28T14:05:22Z")
Tweeting the correct address would be horrendous. Tweeting the incorrect one is worse. ---
**Author:** ![santorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@santorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/santorum)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/4 "2012-03-28T14:16:42Z")
Looks like Marcus Davonne Higgins sent out the same tweet to many celebrities, but Lee took the bait [Elderly Couple In Fear Over Spike Lee Tweet | The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/spike-lee-zimmerman-tweet-567891) ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/5 "2012-03-28T14:23:09Z")
Paging Bricker - is this prosecutable? Because it really, really should be. Zimmerman needs to be legally held accountable for his actions, and so does Spike Lee. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/6 "2012-03-28T14:50:02Z")
> [@santorum](#): > > Looks like Marcus Davonne Higgins sent out the same tweet to many celebrities, but Lee took the bait [Elderly Couple In Fear Over Spike Lee Tweet | The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/spike-lee-zimmerman-tweet-567891) From your link: > [@](#): > > The residence on Edgewater Circle is actually the home of David McClain, 72, and his wife Elaine, 70. The McClains, both of whom work for the Seminole County school system, have lived in the 1310-square-foot lakefront home for about a decade, records show. They should just call his son John in New York. He’ll fix things. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/7 "2012-03-28T14:52:22Z")
Yippie Kay Ay, Mister Higgins. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/8 "2012-03-28T17:43:25Z")
Back in 2010, after the Health Care Act passage, some tea party activists tried to give out the address of Tom Perriello, Congressman from Virginia. They screwed up and gave out his brother’s address by mistake. A little while later, his brother’s gas lines had been cut which, if it hadn’t been detected, could have meant a tragic end for the family. I thought it was a stupid and petty thing to do then, and a stupid and petty thing to do now. In that, I’m including the giving out of the address, the giving out of the \*wrong \*address, and the harrassment and threats to people, regardless of their state of innocence. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/9 "2012-03-28T17:54:46Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Paging Bricker - is this prosecutable? Because it really, really should be. Zimmerman needs to be legally held accountable for his actions, and so does Spike Lee. I’m sorry, but while I think Spike’s actions were foolish, I’m not aware of his breaking any law. He didn’t encourage any illegal actions be taken against the residents of that address. They might be able to sue him – some kind of a false light claim, maybe – but as far as a prosecution for some sort of crime… there is no crime in mistakenly tweeting an address for a person, unless you combine it with some kind of message that proposes imminent harm. Which Mr. Lee did not do. Now, the same may not be true for Marcus Davonne Higgins, the man who allegedly tweeted the erroneous information to Lee, since Higgins’ tweet is reported to have contained the phrase, “Feel free to reach out and touch him.” ---
**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, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/10 "2012-03-28T17:55:43Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Tweeting the correct address would be horrendous. Tweeting the incorrect one is worse. +1 Somebody needs to step and be a bigger man. This just adds to the stupidity and tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/11 "2012-03-28T18:09:15Z")
This is why criminals’ full names are used in the press, so the wrong Mark Chapman or John Gacy or whoever doesn’t get targeted. And whether it’s the right house or not, no one exactly digs being the neighbor of someone notorious at a time like this. Anyone who lived on Bundy Drive in 1994/5, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/12 "2012-03-28T18:48:05Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > From your link: > > They should just call his son John in New York. He’ll fix things. You trust him to be impartial? Didn’t you see that footage from Harlem when he was wearing a racist billboard? And then he had the audacity to later say that he wasn’t racist because he “has two or three black friends” (is he counting Argyle?). Spike Lee needs to realize that he’s a director, and hasn’t made a decent film in a decade or something. So get back on that. Go make a thinly-veiled allegory to Martin/Zimmerman if you want, where “Mike Lee” solves the case. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/13 "2012-03-28T19:10:26Z")
> [@santorum](#): > > Looks like Marcus Davonne Higgins sent out the same tweet to many celebrities, but Lee took the bait [Elderly Couple In Fear Over Spike Lee Tweet | The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/spike-lee-zimmerman-tweet-567891) So there were 40 no-takers and a fool, huh? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/14 "2012-03-29T06:13:40Z")
[http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-28/news/os-trayvon-martin-spike-lee-morgan-firm-20120328\_1\_spike-lee-tweeted-morgan-morgan-law](http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-28/news/os-trayvon-martin-spike-lee-morgan-firm-20120328_1_spike-lee-tweeted-morgan-morgan-law) **Trayvon Martin: Couple who fled home after Spike Lee tweet hires Morgan firm** Since I see Morgan and Morgan ads on TV in Orlando all the time, this seems almost inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/15 "2012-03-30T04:26:55Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > [http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-28/news/os-trayvon-martin-spike-lee-morgan-firm-20120328\_1\_spike-lee-tweeted-morgan-morgan-law](http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-03-28/news/os-trayvon-martin-spike-lee-morgan-firm-20120328_1_spike-lee-tweeted-morgan-morgan-law) > > **Trayvon Martin: Couple who fled home after Spike Lee tweet hires Morgan firm** > > Since I see Morgan and Morgan ads on TV in Orlando all the time, this seems almost inevitable. [http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-lee-settlement-20120329,0,7063902.story](http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-lee-settlement-20120329,0,7063902.story) \*\* Trayvon Martin: Spike Lee settles with family forced to flee home\*\* ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/16 "2012-03-30T06:00:56Z")
There are sometimes men like Dr. King, who give their lives for a great and just cause. We never have enough of such men. And then there are others who exploit a great and just cause to their own advantage. One is too many of those. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/17 "2012-03-30T11:35:49Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > [http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-lee-settlement-20120329,0,7063902.story](http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-lee-settlement-20120329,0,7063902.story) > \*\* > Trayvon Martin: Spike Lee settles with family forced to flee home\*\* I’m glad to see they worked this out so fast. Some of the comments on that article - wow! ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/18 "2012-03-30T11:37:49Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I’m sorry, but while I think Spike’s actions were foolish, I’m not aware of his breaking any law. He didn’t encourage any illegal actions be taken against the residents of that address. > > They might be able to sue him – some kind of a false light claim, maybe – but as far as a prosecution for some sort of crime… there is no crime in mistakenly tweeting an address for a person, unless you combine it with some kind of message that proposes imminent harm. Which Mr. Lee did not do. > > Now, the same may not be true for Marcus Davonne Higgins, the man who allegedly tweeted the erroneous information to Lee, since Higgins’ tweet is reported to have contained the phrase, “Feel free to reach out and touch him.” That must be why Sharpton got away with inciting that resulted in death a few years back… at least legally. Why he still has a publice voice (MSNBC show) is quite another. How about offering bounties … is there anything illegal about that? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/19 "2012-03-30T12:31:21Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > How about offering bounties … is there anything illegal about that? Only in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031/20 "2012-03-30T12:39:59Z")
And today Spike Lee _compounds his heinous act by Tweeting, "Leave the McClain_’\*\*s alone," misusing a possessive apostrophe. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-people-spike-lee-in-particular-who-tweeted-the-wrong-address-as-belonging-to-g-zimmerman/617031.md?page=2)