Quote:
Originally Posted by Glengoyne
See CU Tiger and Ben's posts.
I guess crazy loon loses something in the translation. I think Zimmerman is/was a wannabe cop, self proclaimed hero, and overly suspicious probably paranoid jerk. But i dont think he was, in any way, looking for a physical confrontation that night.
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Which is why he was carrying a gun, right?
Look, I know, Fifth Amendment and all that, blah blah.
But the dude's packing heat, he's, as you say, a wannabe cop, he follows Martin against the advice of the dispatcher.
Is he guilty of murder, or was it genuine self-defense? Who knows regarding the former, but I'm skeptical of an argument that suggests that one can precipitate an outcome via one's actions and that lethal force in response then becomes "self-defense."
If one wishes to argue that Zimmerman didn't expect Martin to put up a fight because Zimmerman was packing heat, that still doesn't equate to "wasn't looking for a confrontation." He was looking for one; he just thought his gun would pre-empt a physical fight and then he'd be the hero for making a citizen's arrest.
If he wanted to avoid a confrontation, physical or otherwise, all he had to do was stay in the car. Now, none of that ought to be construed as 'Zimmerman committed murder.' That's not what I'm arguing here.
What I'm saying is that crazy gonna crazy. If Zimmerman did what he did because he's a loon, I don't think attempting a dialogue would have changed anything.