This Person is a Member of the US House of Representatives

[Whacker]

Another reason I'm glad that I don't live in the US of A. Being suspended from school for having an empty baggy that smells of weed brands you a thug. Another victory in the war on drugs.

I generally don't care about drugs, or even how someone dresses. What brands an individual as a thug is acting like one. Fighting, vandalism, theft, ditching school repeatedly. Some of what's been brought forward isn't hard and fast, so I'll wait and see before I make my final decision, but it's very strongly leaning towards this kid was a thug and punk.

[Greyblades]

but it's very strongly leaning towards this kid was a thug and punk.

So he's an indian fan of The Clash?

[Centurion1]

the kid was a thug get the hell over it.

can we stop calling this guy white he wasnt freaking "white"

Its funny how mixed minorities love to ignore whatever white is in them. Barrack Obama is black....

So hey this guy isnt Hispanic hes white since it makes this an awesome more racially charged crime.

This country is a joke

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Yes you need to watch it again. He's obviously starting into some whole dramatic act with changing clothes and sunglasses and making a wacky speech. Has nothing to do with some bias against hoodies.

Yes, some big dramatic speech about "hoodies not being hoodlums" and he was stopped once he raised his hood. Like I said, he was grandstanding but he either did the act to make a point or made one via some form of political idiot-genius.

the kid was a thug get the hell over it.

can we stop calling this guy white he wasnt freaking "white"

Its funny how mixed minorities love to ignore whatever white is in them. Barrack Obama is black....

So hey this guy isnt Hispanic hes white since it makes this an awesome more racially charged crime.

This country is a joke

You're milage may vary.

Antonio Banderas, Hispanic or white?

Hispanic, right?

Well, he's from Spain and we Europeans considered Spaniards white.

So.... your milage WILL vary.

[rvg]

Antonio Banderas, Hispanic or white?

Yes. He is White and Hispanic. Hispanics can quite obviously be of any race. Banderas being a Spaniard is White. In the New World though, a sizable number of Hispanics are not White. Amongst Mexicans especially, many of them look like they came straight off some Mayan frescoes, and that's what they mostly are: Maya and Aztecs. Not White.

[Lemur]

the kid was a thug get the hell over it.

I think you are conflating a few different things in this post, and sending out a muddled message because of it. First of all, there is very little evidence that Martin was a "thug." Did he have a juvee or criminal record? No. Did he have any known gang affiliation? No. Any firsthand accounts of violence, crime, theft, arson, anything? Nope. So what's your basis for calling him a thug?

can we stop calling this guy white he wasnt freaking "white"

The only people for whom the shooter's race is of paramount importance are the racists and the race-baiters. Of which we have (in my opinion) a small number of each, making a great deal of noise. (And it can be very hard to tell the two groups apart.)

this an awesome more racially charged crime.

This country is a joke

Nah, this country is pretty darn great. Look, in this case race can matter exactly as much as you want it to. But I think the urge to discredit and blame Martin for his own shooting, as expressed by you and Whacker in this thread, is misguided, and comes from a sense that liberals and blacks such as Al Sharpton are trying to milk this incident for their own purposes. (Which undoubtedly they are.) So to defuse it, and redirect your anger, you reach for calling Martin a "thug," based on slim to zero evidence.

I get what you're doing, but I think it is misguided. Martin's shooting can be a horrible tragedy and a softball for race-baiters. One does not exclude the other. The "stand your ground" laws can be a horrible perversion of justice and Bobby Rush can be a grandstanding idiot. One does not cancel out the other.

Think about the standard for lethal violence written into Florida's law: you merely need to "feel" threatened to use deadly force. Contrast that with the standard for violence, in, say, the Old West, where you typically had to demonstrate that they other feller touched his gun first. We're more lax than that, which is kinda head-snapping if you think about it.

Don't let racist idiots and/or race-baiting trolls derail you from the serious issues at stake here.

-edit-

A side-note: We've had three years of gun ownership and 2nd A groups screaming that Obama was going to take our guns away. Even though not a single legislative or administrative move has been made, they're still going on about it. And all the while, concealed-carry permits have been getting okayed in state after state, the castle doctrine has been expanded in almost every state, and something like 26 states have passed "stand your ground" laws with the support of ALEC and the NRA. It certainly seems that the more the NRA gets exactly what it wants, the harder it screams and cries to its membership. I wonder if there is any end-game or final state that would actually satisfy them. You want to talk about special-interest groups that scream "victim" constantly with little to no basis in fact or reality?

[Whacker]

But I think the urge to discredit and blame Martin for his own shooting, as expressed by you and Whacker in this thread

You need a reality check again. I said this kid is most likely a thug, given his track record, as the evidence is strongly leaning that way. Multiple suspensions, from vandalism to swinging at a bus driver, and a very nice public presence with some pretty nasty statements. Both sides have produced "evidence", both sides are decrying, denouncing, or dismissing the other's. You've mentioned this a few times, as this is apparently "just another kid trying to be cool" or pretty much dismissing this as irrelevant or not a good judge of character. Sorry, don't agree whatsoever.

You need to re-read what I've said several times in this thread. I'll repeat it here for your benefit. I said the kid's probably a thug. I said I'm going to wait before I make the final judgment, but that's how I'm strongly leaning now. I said the kid didn't DESERVE to be shot, very few people in this world do. I said I'm going to wait until the trial's over before I decide if I think he earned his dirt nap. Big differences. But I do appreciate your awful attempts to put that spin on what I say, makes me feel special.

[Centurion1]

I didn't say he deserved to be shot and I don't know why you always insist on doing this to people like whacker and I. I said he was a thug.

No record for theft? He was found with womens jewelry in his backpack.

He was a thug. I sincerely doubt he weighed 150 pounds or whatever they said since he was around 6'3'' and I just want this to go to trial so I can hear some actual facts instead of anyone who disagrees being labeled a racist animal and a fool.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Is it really if they "feel" threatened? I thought it was something like "reasonably believes" and only under certain circumstances...

[Goofball]

the kid was a thug get the hell over it.

I think you are conflating a few different things in this post, and sending out a muddled message because of it. First of all, there is very little evidence that Martin was a "thug." Did he have a juvee or criminal record? No. Did he have any known gang affiliation? No. Any firsthand accounts of violence, crime, theft, arson, anything? Nope. So what's your basis for calling him a thug?

He was black and wearing a hoodie. And he may or may not have been tripping on pot. Sometime. At least, there was an empty baggy that smelled of pot in his backpack at school one time. That kind of indisputable evidence would make him a thug in any right-thinking person's mind. Come on Lemur. Get with the program. Jump on the team an come on in for the big win.

In other news, I note that the gun rights groups are raising money for Zimmerman's defence:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/02/justic...html?hpt=hp_t2

Awesome. Finally someone is standing up for this unsung hero of street justice.