A history of George Zimmerman on the Peoria.com Forums

This is an outstanding piece by Reuters on George Zimmerman, focusing on his upbringing and the incidents in the months leading up the Trayvon Martin shooting.

A quote from a black neighbor: "Let's talk about the elephant in the room. I'm black, OK?" the woman said, declining to be identified because she anticipated backlash due to her race. She leaned in to look a reporter directly in the eyes. "There were black boys robbing houses in this neighborhood," she said. "That's why George was suspicious of Trayvon Martin."

It's well worth a read..

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-usa-flo

My concerns were never about the profiling by race. I don't think the guy is a racist. I think he clearly has anger issues. As is evident not only by this article, but by how he addressed someone merely for walking down the street.

This, of course is speculation, but what I believe happened is he followed martin, who then after being followed at night.. confronted Zimmerman, probably mouthed off to him, a fight started, Zimmerman was losing, pulled a gun and shot him.

Now, I obviously wasn't there. But we can apply common sense to the audio recordings. Zimmerman had a hostile attitude towards Mr.Martin, referred to him as a ****ing punk. Zimmerman said Martin was running, and lost sight of him. Why would Martin flee and then return?

My biggest problem with this case is it never made any sense.

I can understand him having a heightened sense of suspicion due to the past robberies.

What I cannot understand is how he believed that his life was in danger from an unarmed person, who did not harm him to the point of requiring medical attention. His word alone is not good enough to justify homicide or manslaughter (as I believe he will be charged).

Also, the idea that Martin may have tried to take the gun from him is irrelevant, because he clearly had control enough of it to shoot Martin. He has never claimed that it was an accidental fire in the struggle.

GZ did not refer to TM as a "****ing punk", it was first reported that he said the words "****ing coon", later filtered audio revealed that he said "****ing COLD" it was raining and 63 which is cold if you live in S FL.
he did refer to him as an ******* "...these *******s always get away"

It has been proven that he didn't say "coon". There is no reason to even bring that up.

He didn't know that he was unarmed. When you're in the heat of the moment, you have no idea what training or weapons your opponent has.

Fun with filters, huh?

no, 63F is not cold if you live in S. FL for Feb... it's pretty darned average.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly

I agree joe...I was in Florida last Feb and wore a jacket almost everyday because it was cold.

Exactly. He should have waited for Martin to gain complete control of the firearm, and then called for a "do over" so he could discharge the firearm with knowledge aforethought.

Genius! Truly genius! You're clearly on your game, shifty. I imagine that law enforcement academies and concealed carry instructors nationwide are amending their training right now!

It's why I wait until April, usually. This year we were visiting colleges, so a FL trip was not planned. And we stay either in Orlando or Naples. (my mom/sis live in Naples)

I didn't listen to the "coon/cold" audio, but I wanted to reply to the comment that it was cold, relative to S. FL living.

I wonder about the profiling... not necessarily racial profiling, but profiling just the same. A cop wannabe and a situation... maybe the race wasn't as much of a factor as GZ's lust for being in law enforcement.

for the prosecution, I see that maybe GZ persued TM.
from the defense, I see that there might not be enough evidence to convict.

I've heard a fair amount of "evidence" on the subject, but some of it has definitely been skewed. How much, I don't know. Hard to get a good sense of what actually happened.

A Mulligan!!!

At about 2:22 into the audio record, he clearly says ****ing Punks, right before that, he says "These *******s, they always get away'

How is someone an ******* for walking down a public street minding his own business? Please.

This case hasn't made sense to me at all..

Although I am torn on the issue, as I understand the merit of homeowners trying to protect their property and family in relation to stand your ground legislation..Had Mr. Martin been breaking into Zimmerman's house, or another house were one could reasonably expect he was a danger to people.. I'd have an easier time accepting the deadly force. Although, to provoke an incident on a public street and use deadly force when you've lost the fight? That is a bit much, even for me.

Don't look now Pock, but your bias is showing.

I've heard that many times this week. I need a vacation.