[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by justNancy

By the way, I live in FL and most of the photos I've seen are of Martin just before he was killed. He had just turned 17.

What part of Florida are you in? I didn't see up to date photos of him for weeks after the initial incident on main stream media and for the most part all they showed was the pictures of him from years earlier. It wasn't until Zimmerman's attorneys released the other pictures that they started being shown more.

These were the most widely circulated photos of Zimmerman and Martin following the incident, anyone that says otherwise was not paying attention

How about the Time magazine cover?

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by Mike1306

What part of Florida are you in? I didn't see up to date photos of him for weeks after the initial incident on main stream media and for the most part all they showed was the pictures of him from years earlier. It wasn't until Zimmerman's attorneys released the other pictures that they started being shown more.

These were the most widely circulated photos of Zimmerman and Martin following the incident, anyone that says otherwise was not paying attention

How about the Time magazine cover?

Exactly. Very shameful on the lame stream media's part.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

Exactly. Very shameful on the lame stream media's part.

Especially when this is how much older and stronger (muscular) he looked. I am passing on posting all the many photos of him chucking the finger and flashing guns signs.

[Oak1776]

An American Tragedy? WTF! Was this kid suppose to be President or something?

[Spring Hillian]

One question. What injuries, besides a hole in his chest did Trayvon suffer?
Was he bloodied as Zimmerman was?

It appears to me that most posters on this subject have no idea what is going on in the inner cities this country or the rage that exists in the minds of inner city youth.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Yandielprfloridian

It's ridiculous how this became a race issue.. .first off George Zimmerman is half Hispanic ,second Trayvon beat the **** out of him.. .they fought over the gun, George was probably thinking I'm going to shoot him before he shoots me. The media misconstrued George by saying he volunteered Trayvons race to the 911 dispatcher - if you listen to the 911 tape the dispatcher asked Zimmerman trayvons race. ...hello people!! !! Of course they have to know the race, they aren't looking for an Asian man!! Come on people , granted. ...George Zimmerman killing Trayvon was over the top, he shouldve shot his arm or leg but George Zimmerman made a bad decision in a situation where he felt his life was in danger and he should be punished but I think 2nd degree murder is too much, maybe charge the man with accidental manslaughter or something ,this is the issue with Florida ,someone steals a pack of gum and the popos want to charge you with fraud and stolen identity and grand theft, it's like are you serious !? Same thing with Casey Anthony ,let's charge her with capital murder and only have enough evidence to prove she "may have evilly murdered her daughter " , this state is stupid .

Missing from your "chain of events" is where Zimmerman was told by the 911 dispatcher to "stand down" and not to continue following Martin or engage him, which he obviously did not heed. Zimmerman was acting as a predator and Martin responded in the way he knew how. Martin's character is being trashed post-mortem, much as a rape victim who as we all know "had it coming". This state isn't the only stupid one, it's an American trait to turn on the victim...especially if he was the stereotypical young urban black male who apparently many felt "deserved it" for that very fact. Sickening...

[Spring Hillian]

First of all, a dispatcher is not a LEO and has no authority to tell any one what to do.
What the dispatcher did was to make a sensible recommendation to a citizen.
I can tell you one thing. If I was pinned to the ground getting my face bashed and head hit on the ground, I would do ANYTHING in my power to cause it to stop. If deadly force is what it takes to have it stop,that's the way it is.

Zimmerman had ceased his search for the person he saw earlier and was leaving the area.

However, the victim decided to pursue the matter further by confronting the person following him instead of just going home.

As far as "Martin's character being trashed", It is what it is.

Some here seem to think that they would just lie there and catch a beating instead of protecting themselves from harm. Zimmerman had the means to protect himself from further harm and exercised that option AFTER calling out for help.

I wonder how many of you have ever been confronted in a situation where your well being was in danger.

This wasn't your "sterotypical young urban black male". It was an angry and dangerous person who had shown his "sterotypical" side to the world way before this incident.

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Missing from your "chain of events" is where Zimmerman was told by the 911 dispatcher to "stand down" and not to continue following Martin or engage him, which he obviously did not heed. Zimmerman was acting as a predator and Martin responded in the way he knew how. Martin's character is being trashed post-mortem, much as a rape victim who as we all know "had it coming". This state isn't the only stupid one, it's an American trait to turn on the victim...especially if he was the stereotypical young urban black male who apparently many felt "deserved it" for that very fact. Sickening...

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

I can tell you one thing. If I was pinned to the ground getting my face bashed and head hit on the ground, I would do ANYTHING in my power to cause it to stop. If deadly force is what it takes to have it stop,that's the way it is.
Zimmerman had ceased his search for the person he saw earlier and was leaving the area.

The point is none of this would have occurred had Zimmerman simply backed off and gone elsewhere to allow the police to deal with it. Instead he decided to go all vigilante and the incident escalated. He shares responsibility for what occurred and isn't a "victim".

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The point is none of this would have occurred had Zimmerman simply backed off and gone elsewhere to allow the police to deal with it. Instead he decided to go all vigilante and the incident escalated. He shares responsibility for what occurred and isn't a "victim".

How was Zimmerman acting as "vigilante"? He was going about his routine of keeping an eye on
his neighborhood. He spotted this young man who he did not recognize as a resident. He called the police. He apparently did follow the suspect obviously in order to keep tabs on his location until the police arrived, which they did.

According to the story, Zimmerman was on his own, leaving the area, when the "victim" came out of
hiding and confronted him. The physical fight ensued. To save himself from further harm he did what he had to do and that was to exercise his right to defend himself anyway he could including using deadly force.

Many years ago, an old friend of mine was on his way home from a subway station. 3 guys followed him from the station for 2 blocks. He knew he was being followed. One of the group crossed the street and sprinted ahead then crossed the street again and now was in front of my friend. The other two were behind him. The guy in front pulled a knife and said "give it up". He said OK, drew a revolver and shot
the guy in front of him square in the forehead. The two guys behind him disappeared into the night.

Tell me, what would YOU have done in the same situation?

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Missing from your "chain of events" is where Zimmerman was told by the 911 dispatcher to "stand down" and not to continue following Martin or engage him

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The point is none of this would have occurred had Zimmerman simply backed off and gone elsewhere to allow the police to deal with it. Instead he decided to go all vigilante and the incident escalated. He shares responsibility for what occurred and isn't a "victim".

The reports.....so far.....are that he did indeed stand down and was walking back to his vehicle when Martin came up behind him and confronted him.

So why don't we wait to find out how accurate that report is, before we change it to Z-man kept following against the dispatchers advice.....when there is no evidence that he did......hmmmmmm.