Maggie's Farm

I'd like to fix something in your comment:

Don't you mean the "media and grievance industry"?

I'm not sure what Leag is getting at, aside from "don't kill kids", which I think all of us agree with.

But killing kids isn't the issue. Any more than race is the issue.

Defending oneself is the issue. Kids, unfortunately, aren't aware of the laws. They tend to think if you provoke them with words or other non-physical activity, then YOU are at fault for them attacking you.

Case in point. Many years ago, my 5 year old son socked another kid hard while he was in the park. We ran over and scolded him, apologized to the parents, did what we could to help the poor kid.
My son, meanwhile, 'stood his ground' in the best way Trayvon Martin's supporters would assume - he felt threatened, and lashed out. When told he was not supposed to hit others, he replied "But that boy MADE ME WANT to hit him."
Explaining to a child that the law doesn't support his physically violent response is very hard to do. Assuming the other child was carrying a gun (who knows these days - some parents are crazy), I would have understood its use.

In many ways, both Zimmerman and Trayvon were children who didn't understand the issue of escalation. Zimmerman was foolish to put himself in a dangerous situation. Trayvon was foolish to not listen to his friend's texts telling him to keep walking. That one was an adult and another a teen is immaterial. Size-wise they were roughly similar, though I give the edge to height and speed over stockiness, making Trayvon more threatening a presence than Zimmerman.

In the case of Cervini, I'd say the same. 3 kids outnumber 1 man.

In either case, the shootings were tragic and generally (in the broadest of senses) unnecessary, but completely understandable. As a result, both verdicts are absolutely correct.

I feel bad for any parent who loses a child, especially in cases which are so poorly managed as both of these. But regardless of how poorly managed they are, the law remains the law.

Zimmerman simply shouldn't gotten out of his car because he SUSPECTED Trayvon was dangerous.
I won't make judgements about Trayvon, he was no saint. But in this instance, he was not engaging in criminal activity.

However, since Zimmerman suspected Trayvon, he clearly put himself in harm's way.

Being a child may be defined by age, but actions speak louder than words. Many adults are children, as are many teens.

I'll stick with my comment that in many ways, both these people were children. Perhaps not in age, but simply in action.

I will add this - I respect GZ for being a member of neighborhood watch. I don't necessarily think volunteering means he's completely capable of doing the job properly.

I'm sure you could say the same of some soldiers, even some officers. I respect that they serve, but that doesn't necessarily mean they know what they are always doing, in every instance.

GZ, without a doubt, overstepped his bounds. Not a criminally, but certainly beyond his mental and physical capabilities. His gun provided his bravado.

I don't think he is any kind of hero, and in fact I think he screwed up big time. While I agree with the verdict, if I had the opportunity to slap him in the head and say "WTF were you thinking?", I'd love to do so.

As for Martin, he was no saint. And if GZ is going to see his character smeared, then so should Martin. The press' constant harping on GZ and their promotion of the 'outrage' over the verdict shows how out of touch they truly are with society. We need people to step up and simply say "the verdict was just, but the two personalities involved were flawed". That's the best answer.

Zimmerman could have not gotten out of the car. Martin could have kept walking. In either case, the ability to de-escalate was ignored and each upped the ante. This leads to a tragic result.

I've pointed out that Jenteal's commentary on Piers Morgan was satirized some time ago on the TV show Tosh.0.

Whether you watch it or not, his piece on "n***er" vs. "n***a" is absolute comedy gold. Adding the 'a' does not change anything, except in the minds of uninformed youth. However, if that is what they believe, then the term 'n***a' is open for all to use and is no longer pejorative.

Rush is correct in how he handled that situation, though I give Tosh.0 props for hitting the nail on the head first.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f82oLNxCvHU