Pancreas
Vyemm Raider
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I am going to be lazy and not thoroughly read through the majority of this thread that I have missed before spewing forth my own opinions. But that's ok because my opinions carry more weight than your anyways.
Everyone profiles everyone they see, everyday. It is ingrained in our heads to quickly identify and assess every person we come across. The conclusions we make differ greatly based on our past experiences and the beliefs we hold and the cultures we belong to. Noticing if someone is looking at you is one of the most acute senses a person has. It is because if a person is looking at you, they might be assessing you and therefore might take action against you. So being aware of what people are doing and why they are doing it, and then trying to surmise what they might do next, is something that happens 1000 times a day.
I do not think race had much to do with the Zimmerman and Martin Situation. Being from different subcultures had more of an impact on the outcome than being from differing races.
Zimmerman showed that potential theft was a large concern of his, a very large concern. He essentially had a siege mentality and every unknown person entering his territory needed to be identified for him to feel safe. I believe that he might not have been following Martin initially, but when Martin got nervous and started to try and evade Zimmerman, eventually running away, that set off all the alarms in Zimmerman's head, so he chased after him.
This created a confrontation between two paranoid and nervous men. One believes he is protecting his home, the other believes he is protecting his life. There is a lack of common ground between the two, and assumptions are being made back and forth. Then the conflict turns physical. And once Zimmerman starts taking blows to the head he chooses to shoot.
Zimmerman, via the 911 call, assumed Martin was "up to no good". Martin assumed Zimmerman was a potential rapist. They profiled each other and missed every opportunity to convince the other party that they were wrong. If Zimmerman had properly identified himself to Trayvon, or if Trayvon had not run away, or Zimmerman had simply let the kid run off... we wouldn't be having this discussion.
But the two men showed arrogance in believing their assumptions of the other being correct. And were scared enough of the potential outcomes of any interaction to be on guard and eventually act on those assumptions.
I believe Zimmerman holds the majority of the responsibility because he pursued Trayvon against the direction of the 911 operator. He was told not to follow him and ignored this directive, because he assumed he was correct. If he had listened, he would not have been attacked by a scared kid and would not have had to then defend himself. So the full acquittal he received seems very unsatisfactory. He created the situation that lead to Trayvon's death by disregarding a trained professional's direct calls not to pursue him.
That sounds like criminally negligent manslaughter due to recklessness to me.
Everyone profiles everyone they see, everyday. It is ingrained in our heads to quickly identify and assess every person we come across. The conclusions we make differ greatly based on our past experiences and the beliefs we hold and the cultures we belong to. Noticing if someone is looking at you is one of the most acute senses a person has. It is because if a person is looking at you, they might be assessing you and therefore might take action against you. So being aware of what people are doing and why they are doing it, and then trying to surmise what they might do next, is something that happens 1000 times a day.
I do not think race had much to do with the Zimmerman and Martin Situation. Being from different subcultures had more of an impact on the outcome than being from differing races.
Zimmerman showed that potential theft was a large concern of his, a very large concern. He essentially had a siege mentality and every unknown person entering his territory needed to be identified for him to feel safe. I believe that he might not have been following Martin initially, but when Martin got nervous and started to try and evade Zimmerman, eventually running away, that set off all the alarms in Zimmerman's head, so he chased after him.
This created a confrontation between two paranoid and nervous men. One believes he is protecting his home, the other believes he is protecting his life. There is a lack of common ground between the two, and assumptions are being made back and forth. Then the conflict turns physical. And once Zimmerman starts taking blows to the head he chooses to shoot.
Zimmerman, via the 911 call, assumed Martin was "up to no good". Martin assumed Zimmerman was a potential rapist. They profiled each other and missed every opportunity to convince the other party that they were wrong. If Zimmerman had properly identified himself to Trayvon, or if Trayvon had not run away, or Zimmerman had simply let the kid run off... we wouldn't be having this discussion.
But the two men showed arrogance in believing their assumptions of the other being correct. And were scared enough of the potential outcomes of any interaction to be on guard and eventually act on those assumptions.
I believe Zimmerman holds the majority of the responsibility because he pursued Trayvon against the direction of the 911 operator. He was told not to follow him and ignored this directive, because he assumed he was correct. If he had listened, he would not have been attacked by a scared kid and would not have had to then defend himself. So the full acquittal he received seems very unsatisfactory. He created the situation that lead to Trayvon's death by disregarding a trained professional's direct calls not to pursue him.
That sounds like criminally negligent manslaughter due to recklessness to me.
