Posted by Dinah on July 17, 2013, at 10:48:43
In reply to Re: There is no justice, posted by sigismund on July 17, 2013, at 2:06:30
If someone's ball is stolen, it's justice to give them another ball. What justice can there be when a life is gone?
It happens all the time, with or without guns. People make bad decisions and someone ends up dead. Sometimes it's one person who makes the poor choice, sometimes both make bad choices. I know of a similar incident among my acquaintances, where it was a knife and not a gun.
I don't carry a gun, and I won't carry a gun. In part because it's more likely I'll use it on myself than anyone else. And also because I know that a society where one must walk around armed and ready for vigilante action isn't one I want to live in.
However, gun ownership is pretty popular where I live and I know a goodly number of gun owners with the utmost respect for life and a firm regard for the common good. What they don't have is a feeling that they live in a safe world. Guns give them an often false sense of security. Zimmerman quite likely had no intention of using his gun, but would he have been as likely to leave his car if he didn't have it? How often are people shot with their own guns - particularly in a hands on fight?
What makes me saddest about all this is one life ruined because of poor choices, and a young man dead and with no choices to make again, ever.
What makes me angriest is the irresponsible media coverage. If it was just this once, I'd not be so angry, but it happens over and over and over again. What happened to getting the facts, checking sources, etc.? In this internet age, it's a rush to get the story out, then correct it (sometimes) in rewrites. Of course, once it's been reported people tend to believe the first thing they read, and to discount the corrections. There is no smoke without fire, etc. It's revolting. I'm not even claiming it was manipulated for ideological purposes. I think it's just the race for the clicks. Didn't I read recently that some "news" person said not to worry about grammatical errors because it will lead to responses in the comments section?
(As far as the verdict, had they gone for manslaughter from the beginning, and built their case around that - making sure they have sufficient evidence, they may well have been successful. I don't see anyone getting an offer from a Wall Street firm from this case.)
poster:Dinah
thread:1047176
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20120327/msgs/1047359.html