Quote:
Originally Posted by Caliber
And Doc, alleged "incitement and provocation" is not justification for violence. Zimmerman unnecessarily entered a situation, but one that conceivably wouldn't lead to violence. Trayvon was the one who escalated it from a verbal confrontation to a violent one. Zimmerman defended himself from said violence, yet failed to consider the implications of his actions. If it even does go to trial, he'll only get criminal negligence. What do you even think he's guilty of?
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Well, who really knows what actually happened. The point is, Zimmerman took on a responsibility he didn't need to, one that he wasn't trained for, and one that he had no authority for. And carried a gun in order to protect himself. If he felt safer or more entitled to confront someone as a result is something we can't know for sure, but we have to assume Zimmerman was out there looking for trouble..that's what these 'Neighborhood watches' are about, and lacking in any real authority, he approached someone with the intent to do something..that he wasn't authorized or entitled to do. I cannot accept your premise that you (or he) actually believed his actions could not conceivably lead to a violent confrontation, c'mon. If that was the case, why did he carry a gun? Why didn't he just call 911 and let the police take care of it, especially since Zimmerman had not witnessed a crime involving Trayvon? How he approached Trayvon is another unknown, but we have to also assume given human nature and the scattered details we do have that it probably was provocative..if only b/c we now suspect Trayvon assaulted him. From that point in the story it might have been self defense, but as I previously stated, you cannot provoke a situation and then use self defense as a justification for shooting someone dead, even in Florida. That's why context matters.
I'm not at all defending Trayvon, frankly I think they both could have (and should have) exercised better judgment. But this is often what sadly happens when you put guns in the hands of people who aren't really qualified to use them, and add a bit of strong emotion for good measure. Rather, I think it's the state of Florida (and ex-Governor Jeb Bush) who are at fault here for signing into law a measure that takes law enforcement from skilled, trained, qualified professionals, and puts it into the hands of people who might very well have their own agendas (and issues) at play. "Good intentions" aside, Zimmerman shouldn't be protected by the state for the results of his own bad judgment to act out his inner desire to be a cop.