I hope this has not already been posted. I find it very disturbing

[bobabode]

97% of the cops I've met were OK. 2%were outright pricks. 1% made me want to piss my jeans. Necessary to have around. Wanna get to know 'em better? Drop off a dozen donuts at the local stationhouse!

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by RamblinE

Why is this a big deal? Well to me, I don't see much of a difference between myself and Trayvon Martin. Except for the part where I lived through my teenage years of course.

I was most diffidently what some would call, a hoodlum. Should I have been shot like a dog?

I most diffidently would, and probably still would confront somebody who's following me around. Do I deserve to be shot like a dog?

Being diffident isn't definite. nevermind

[Wasillaguy]

That may be true, but Zimmerman was beyond minding his own business. The community had a rash of crime and he was motivated to do something about it. By all indications, he probably had a John Wayne complex to boot. Doesn't really matter either way. What matters is whether Trayvon was assaulting him to a degree he believed his life was in danger.
I agree Zimmerman should be arrested, and he should have to prove his actions were in self defense.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Prince Georges County, MD cops specialize in this tactic. Moreover, they did it to a local politician. Nice touch.

I've asked my friends in law enforcement if when they're driving down the road and they see a cop, if they suddenly feel safer?

To a man they say no.

Chas

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Charles

Perhaps prisons are filled with drug offenders. I draw my conclusions from the early 80's at the Missouri State Penitentiary, and they didn't house short time offenders there.

Maybe the "nice" prisons were filled with drug offenders, but we dealt exclusively in the hard core predators. And locking them up at MSP didn't make them any better citizens.

You know, I actually hated convicts for years, but have since tempered my opinion of them. However, I still realize that there are some really bad actors, and they're all not doing life & 50 yet.

As far as the topic at hand, I favor allowing people to arm themselves, and granting them the legal standing to defend themselves.

That's simply my opinion on the matter. And however the situation in Florida plays out in court will not effect my opinion.

Fair enough?

Chas

Fair enough?

Sure! But I still don't think you're accurate. (I could have been less terse, however.)

My personal data, before I was on the street with a badge, was formed working in Maximum Custody at the old KSP (Kansas State Pen) in the late 1990s and early 2000's. Note, Maximum Custody isn't where they keep the candy offenders.

Am I trying to throw out my tough guy bones on the table? HELL NO. There were guys in there who could kill me with a toothpick and laugh while I bled out while I could do nothing about it: but the vast majority of them were just bullies or bitches who couldn't deal with society. Further, 72% of them (in 2002) were in there tied in some fashion to drugs.

Conclusion? At least THAT prison was filled with drug offenders.

What I find most interesting is your statement that whatever occurs in Florida won't impact your thought process.

Why does that bother me, about anyone?

Because, when you cease processing data, you don't have a thought process.

That sounds like the sort of non-thinking that could lead someone to shoot a kid in hoodie.

[Bigerik]

Again, until Zimmerman created the situation, Martin had committed no crime. He was just a kid going to the store.

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by Charles

To bust into the wrong house with a no knock they shouldn't have, and shoot the dog. That's why we have cops.

On a more serious note, the police can do only so much. Most of the time they just fill out paperwork.

Chas

That sums it up quite nicely. I have lots of Law Enforcement friends; yet, I certainly wouldn't depend on the police to protect me or my property. In my experience, they usually arrive after the crime has occurred.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by bobabode

97% of the cops I've met were OK. 2%were outright pricks. 1% made me want to piss my jeans. Necessary to have around. Wanna get to know 'em better? Drop off a dozen donuts at the local stationhouse!

I've found that a case of beer works better.

I remember about ten years ago I built a house for a highway trooper. Being a drinking man, he showed up at quitting time with a case of beer for my crew and myself.

Everybody slam dunked for or five beers (it was 100 degrees with 80 % humidity that day), and as I was leaving he asked me if I would like one for the road.

Pretty cool trooper, in my estimation. Of course, he was missing part of one finger due to a shooting he was involved in during a traffic stop. He damn near got killed, and he knew what a criminal was. He was also a lieutenant.

And there is no doubt in my mind that if he thought that I was so shitfaced drunk that I couldn't drive 6 miles home, in Bugtussell, he for sure wouldn't have let me drive, much less offered me one for the road.

Besides, he had just shoved about 200K in my hip pocket and said build me a house, so he had a certain amount of faith in my judgment.

Most cops ain't so bad.

Chas

[CarlV]

Originally Posted by Bigerik

Again, until Zimmerman created the situation, Martin had committed no crime. He was just a kid going to the store.

Exactly, and that 911 call the lady made in it's complete form from the Orlando Sentinal I linked to it is most suspicious.
It certainly is different sounding than the edited that ran on TV around here a thousand times.


Carl

[bhunter]

Originally Posted by RamblinE

Why is this a big deal? Well to me, I don't see much of a difference between myself and Trayvon Martin. Except for the part where I lived through my teenage years of course.

I was most diffidently what some would call, a hoodlum. Should I have been shot like a dog?

I most diffidently would, and probably still would confront somebody who's following me around. Do I deserve to be shot like a dog?

Yes, if you were threatening enough to make someone reasonable fear for their life, then you would deserve to be shot. People need to realize there is that possibility by their actions and choose accordingly. I think that even mere assault can rise to the point where it is threatening enough that a reasonable man would fear for his life.

What states differentiate between assault, threatened violence, and battery, physical violence?