George Zimmerman is an Idiot

[BoSoxGal]

Human beings with a good moral compass who are placed in situations where they have to kill another human being for survival - in war, in policing, or as an individual defending himself - are typically traumatized for life by the event, no matter how justified.

That Zimmerman is anxious to profit from his killing of another human being only proves him a (borderline at least) sociopath, to my way of thinking.

[Lord Jim]

it doesn't make him any kind of an innocent flower.

I couldn't agree more...

Even though not legally culpable for Martin's death, the fact remains that if Zimmerman had made more responsible choices that night (choices that you or I, or probably most people would have made) this whole tragedy would have been avoided.

If he had stayed in his car, or had stopped pursuing him when asked to do so by the 911 operator, Trayvon Martin would be alive today.

in war, in policing, or as an individual defending himself - are typically traumatized for life by the event, no matter how justified.

That Zimmerman is anxious to profit from his killing of another human being only proves him a (borderline at least) sociopath, to my way of thinking.

I agree with that as well. Most people feel deep remorse over taking another human life even if they were in a completely justified situation in doing so. This is the normal human reaction.

Zimmerman's reaction deviates substantially from the norm, and by adding the profit aspect to it, it becomes truly disgusting.

And I don't give a pass to the creeps who reward his commercial exploitation of this tragedy by purchasing this stuff either. They should be ashamed of themselves.

[Bicycle Bill]

I'm sorry, but none Zimmerman's subsequent repugnant behavior does anything to alter the facts and the law in the Trayvon Martin case.

The grounds for acquittal relied in no way on how credible or likeable Zimmerman was or is. The fact is that every single bit of forensic and physical evidence in that case supported the interpretation that when George Zimmerman fired the fatal shot he was on his back on the ground receiving a pummeling and having his head slammed into the pavement. (I'd be happy to copy and repost all the evidence for this for anyone who would like their memory refreshed on the details.) This clearly created a credible "reasonable fear for your life" situation.

As far as the law is concerned, nothing that Zimmerman did that night prior to finding himself in this life-threatening situation was illegal. It was not illegal for him to follow Martin, nor did he have any legal requirement to stop following him when asked to do so by the 911 dispatcher. Also, no evidence was ever presented supporting the idea that Zimmerman initiated the physical altercation.

At the time , a lot was made of Florida's "Stand your ground law", but this wasn't even a "stand your ground case" because all the evidence showed that at the time Zimmerman shot Martin, he was in no position to flee even if he had wanted to.

And the argument that he was "hunting" Martin with the pre-mediated intent to gun him down makes no logical sense. If that had been the case, he would have had his gun out, and shot him as soon as he provoked Martin into coming at him, not wait till he was lying on his back getting his ass kicked and his head slammed into the pavement.

As I said, I'd be happy to repost all the details on this...

Look, I didn't like George Zimmerman at the time of the trial, and because of his subsequent actions I have come to find him truly loathsome. Earlier in this thread, I said that I find him so loathsome that I dearly wish that the evidence had supported a guilty verdict.

But it didn't. If one wants to consider him guilty of "murder" in some moral sense, that's fine, but he wasn't guilty of it in a legal sense. The jury reached the correct verdict based on the evidence and the law.

All of that having been said, I think it's reasonable to assume that the interest in "Zimmerman Memorabilia" is fueled to a large extent by racists who are happy that a black guy was killed by a white guy and didn't go to jail for it. For any non-racist rational person, the death of Trayvon Martin was a terrible tragedy; only sick individuals would seek to celebrate it, or cheer for it, or want "mementos" related to it.

And the fact that Zimmerman is exploiting this racism for financial gain makes him all the more loathsome.

I don't want to re-open and re-hash this either; once was bad enough.  But if, as you claim, Zimmerman was doing nothing illegal until he found himself 'fearing for his life' on the losing end of a fight and was therefore justified under Florida's "shoot or be shot" law — couldn't that in turn be viewed from the reverse side of the coin?

Consider this — while his record shows he was no altar boy, Trayvon Martin was in fact minding his own business too when he notices Zimmerman in his role as "Barney Fife" following him around.  Wouldn't you be a little disconcerted too?  And then this person, who is not displaying a badge, is not in uniform, and is driving a totally unmarked and private vehicle, emerges from said vehicle and orders you to the ground?  Whothehell does he think he is, Mr. Incredible??  I'd get my ass out of there ASAP too; and if I was not able to do so I think I'd push back and display non-cooperation, verbal or otherwise, if not outright resistance against "Vigilante Man" as well.

But then Zimmerman makes a HUGE mistake in closing to hand-to-hand range with Martin making it possible for Martin to assault him; this is a big no-no that is drummed into recruits in police training — so I will accept that through Zimmerman's own ineptitude he found himself in a position where Martin was beating the snot out of him.  So then what does Zimmerman do (remember, he considers himself to be performing the duties of a LEO, and in fact HAS BEEN IN CONTACT with law enforcement dispatch)?  Without any regard for what is known in law enforcement as "the Use of Force Continuum", he bypasses any and all other means of restraint such as pepper spray, nightstick, flashlight (which can also serve as a nightstick when in trained hands), or Taser — all of which are non-lethal — and introduces a gun into the mix, if he hadn't in fact already done so (and I don't doubt for a moment that he hadn't either brandished the weapon or made reference to the fact that he had the firearm; we have only his side of the story because, as the old saying goes, "dead men tell no tales").

And if it turns out that he did not use any of the non-lethal options because he did not have them, the glaring question that leaps out at me then becomes WHY NOT???  If you're gonna play "make-believe cop", at least get your accessories correct.  Even Batman has his utility belt with all the various Bat-gadgets!

So under the same "stand your ground" principles, Zimmerman was as much in the wrong as was Martin, and Martin would had as much justification to have drawn and fired a weapon, if he had had one, under these circumstances as did Zimmerman.

-"BB"-

[Lord Jim]

Gone again...

http://www.unitedgungroup.com/auction/d ... ed-2-26-12

Auction of gun used in Trayvon Martin's death deleted again

On the fourth day of George Zimmerman's attempt to sell the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin, the online account he was using to auction the item off has been deleted.

On Saturday morning, Zimmerman's account on UnitedGunGroup.com appeared to have been deleted from the website, and with it went his controversial auction.

Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder after shooting and killing Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, during a struggle in 2012 in a Sanford neighborhood. Zimmerman said he was defending himself when he shot the teen.

Zimmerman had listed the gun used in the shooting for auction on UnitedGunGroup.com Thursday after his first listing Wednesday on GunBroker.com was removed at the discretion of the website's curators.

United Gun Group, which said it was founded after Facebook's decision to ban the sale of guns, agreed to allow Zimmerman to host the auction on their website. The website said it "exists as a pro-Second Amendment platform for law-abiding citizens to exercise their constitutional rights."

"Unless the law has been violated, it is the intention of United Gun Group to allow its members to use any of the available features," United Gun Group said. "We will not act like Facebook and dictate to our members. What is lawful in the real world will be lawful on [United Gun Group.]"

Bids were up to $66 million for the gun early Saturday morning before the auction disappeared from the Internet. Though it appeared Internet trolls were placing bogus bids to raise the purported price that high.

It was unclear Saturday morning who deleted Zimmerman's account and auction.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/bre ... story.html

[Lord Jim]

Oh, good news; apparently it's going back up:

Zimmerman told the Sentinel Saturday that he deleted the auction posting with United Gun Group that morning "to purge the false bidders."

"We will be reposting to [the auction listing] today, once we have corrected the infrastructure and security protocols," Zimmerman said.

That sounds like a challenge for hackers...

[Bicycle Bill]

Oh, good news; apparently it's going back up:

Zimmerman told the Sentinel Saturday that he deleted the auction posting with United Gun Group that morning "to purge the false bidders."

"We will be reposting to [the auction listing] today, once we have corrected the infrastructure and security protocols," Zimmerman said.

That sounds like a challenge for hackers...

-"BB"-

[Lord Jim]

Well it's back up, but the bidding won't start till Monday:

http://unitedgungroup.com/auction/detai ... ed-2-26-12

And this time George ain't playin'... the opening bid requirement is $100,000...

George is conversatin' with people in the comments section so if you ever wanted to have an exchange with George Zimmerman, now's your chance...

Apparently he's also providing a private email:

todd white: What happened where did all the bids go? Is this auction real
6 hours ago - 1 likes this

George Zimmerman: The previous auction and bids were purged due to illegitimate bidding. Yes, this auction is real.
Thanks,
GZ
4 hours ago - 1 likes this

Michael Lavey: I am unable to place a bid. What gives?
4 hours ago - 1 likes this

George Zimmerman: Correct, Start Time: May 16, 2016 9:00 AM EDT
End Time: May 17, 2016 12:00 PM EDT
3 hours ago - 1 likes this

todd white: so the only way to bid is by email?
1 hour ago

George Zimmerman: Mr. White, That is incorrect. You may bid either via this platform or by submitting a private email to the address listed.
Thank you,
GZ
37 minutes ago

[Joe Guy]

Zimmerman gets idioter every day...

George Zimmerman insults Trayvon Martin's parents in an explosive new interview

George Zimmerman said the parents of Trayvon Martin "didn't raise their son right," also calling the Black Lives Matter movement a "fraudulent, violent campaign" in a loaded interview with The Daily Beast published Tuesday.

Zimmerman, who fatally shot 17-year-old Martin in February 2012 and was acquitted of second-degree murder the next year, told The Daily Beast that Martin's mom and dad, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, were bad parents who were "capitalizing" on their son's death.

Four years after the shooting, Zimmerman is also auctioning off the gun he used to kill Martin.

Despite the overwhelmingly negative attention and fake listings the auction has garnered — including a $65 million bid from a user named "Racist McShootface" — Zimmerman says he has a firm offer with verified assets for $100,000.

He added to The Daily Beast that auctioning off the gun was what the forefathers would do, though he said he originally wanted to keep the weapon for his future children and grandchildren.

"It is what was used to save my life from a near-death brutal attack by Trayvon Martin," he said, adding that he wanted it to be worth "as much as possible."

Zimmerman continued his verbal assault on the Martin family, saying Martin "attacked a complete stranger and attempted to kill him."

"It's their duty to have an internal dialogue to see what they should have done better and what they should have done appropriately," he said.

Zimmerman rattled off numerous grievances he wanted to settle with funds from the gun sale, like countering Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton's "antifirearm rhetoric." He said he also wanted to end the career of Angela Corey, the prosecutor who charged him with second-degree murder in Martin's death.

During his interview, Zimmerman also said he would "fight" the Black Lives Matter movement and compensate law-enforcement officers he said were affected by it.

"They would know that George Zimmerman is going to step in and make them richer than they ever dreamed of being," he said.

Since his acquittal, Zimmerman has had multiple run-ins with the police, and he was at one point faced charges of aggravated assault involving a girlfriend.

source

[Big RR]

Maybe Trump can tap him for VP. Or Head of the FBI.

[Lord Jim]

Martin's mom and dad, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, were bad parents who were "capitalizing" on their son's death.

Four years after the shooting, Zimmerman is also auctioning off the gun he used to kill Martin.

[Burning Petard]

This discussion seems to me to be similar to the argument a couple of generations ago as to the legality/morality of rape charges when the victim was a prostitute.

Mr. Zimmerman is a jerk. I will stipulate that. But much of the discussion above is lacking detail that came out during the trial. Zimmerman did stay in his car. He continued to describe the activities of this person to the operator while in his car. The operator asked Zimmerman where the suspicious stranger had gone; Zimmerman, (duly elected captain of the Neighborhood Watch, NOT self-appointed) left his car to go looking and answer the question asked by the 911 operator. She DID NOT instruct him to stay in the car, rather she said Zimmerman was not required to leave his car.
Martin turned away from any reasonable route to his home and looped around to get behind this strange white man who might be stalking him. Martin approached Zimmerman from behind and knocked Zimmerman to the ground.

That is the narrative accepted by the jury at the trial. Very different from much of what is written in posts above.

Martin is dead. Zimmerman is a free man, but still a jerk.