Quote:
Originally Posted by knight_shadow
I understand what he's saying. No, he didn't deserve to die (and I suspect that Zimmerman would have found him "suspicious" in a 3-piece suit), but folks do need to be mindful of appearances if they don't want to be perceived a certain way.
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Yes, there is victim precipitation. However, making this a sidetopic belabors the quite basic "be careful about how you portray yourself" point and can be interpreted as victim blame.
Would Martin still be alive had he not worn a hoodie? Would he be alive had he not been a young Black male? Would he be alive had he not been walking? Would he be alive if he had not bought those dangerous candy weapons? These hypotheticals and turning this into the "young Black male hoodie" subtopic takes away from what really happened, just as a discussion of a rapist would be reduced if the discussion turned to whether the rape victims should've worn the super sexy booty mini-dress. That makes rape about sex when it is really about power just as Zimmerman's actions were most likely not a result of feeling threatened and therefore defending oneself against violence. When Zimmerman chose to follow Martin despite the 911 Dispatcher's recommendation, he was potentially placing himself in trouble. There is no self-defense (I hope the law will reflect this) when you follow someone and you have a gun when the other person has candy and fists of fury. I call bullshit and I hope the law calls Zimmerman and his supporters on this bullshit.
When traces of bullshit are permitted, loads of bullshit ensue. This 2010 incident was discussed on CNN on Thursday:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/0...-went-to-Court