Anger + Sadness = RAGE

[MissBrattified]

It's interesting that those who support Zimmerman are asking us to wait for the full facts to come out. The more facts I hear and the more I sort out the pieces of the case, the more I'm convinced the Zimmerman belongs in jail.

If my child were walking around the neighborhood and a stranger started following them--first in a vehicle and then presumably on foot--I would EXPECT them to either run or fight. Otherwise, they would be forgetting everything I've ever taught them.

We are being told that Treyvon beat up Zimmerman and then was shot, but what we don't know is whether or not Zimmerman approached Treyvon in an aggressive or threatening way (and provoked a physical reaction). Being followed is enough to provoke someone into being defensive at the very least. And yeah, if you're a 17 year old boy, then defending yourself could cause a broken nose. Unfortunately, fists are no match for a gun.

Zimmerman should have taken his truck home, put on his pajamas and put himself to bed when the 911 operator said to stop following the kid. There's no way he could have been "attacked" if he hadn't gotten out of his truck at SOME point and disobeyed the instruction from the operator. 100% wrong from that point on.

As for the "hoodie" twist; my kids wear hoodies ALL. THE. TIME. Sarah wears hers with the hood UP even when it's warm because she's thin and almost always cold. I would hate for someone like Zimmerman to see her with her hand in her pocket (feeling around for Skittles), assume she was a threat to the neighborhood and take her out.

If a girl had been shot, Zimmerman would probably be sitting in jail on murder, attempted kidnapping, assault and harassment charges. Because Treyvon is a teenage boy (and worse, one from a minority group), he was perceived as being a threat, and many people see that PERCEPTION as legitimate. Therefore they are less upset about his death than they ought to be.

@tstew: It seems impossible to not be biased to some extent. I'm annoyed by the media's persistence in calling Zimmerman white. It's deliberately incendiary. The rest of the story, though, I've looked at from a parenting perspective, and if that were MY son or daughter, I would be enraged. I'm sure I would want some vigilante justice of my own.

@Pressing-On: If your son was being followed by someone, first in a vehicle and then on foot, you would expect him to stop and carry on a conversation with this person who carries NO badge or other official identification showing that he is an authority figure? You would expect THAT and not running or self-defense? REALLY? I think I know you better than that. You would expect your son to either get OUT of that situation ASAP or, if the person got too close, to defend himself by whatever means necessary. Personally, I think you need to carefully consider why you think that Treyvon should have stopped and had a conversation with a strange man who had no authority to stop or detain him whatsoever. Coming from a politically conservative point of view, that fact alone should put you in Treyvon's corner. NO ONE except a police officer or other member of local law enforcement has the right to stop, detain, or use deadly force against my kids--and even law enforcement better have a REALLY good reason to do so. And even with a REALLY good reason, I expect them to use the least amount of force necessary to control the situation.