Fishman wrote:If this goes to court and he is found not guilty expect LA like rioting in every major city.
Well.. I'm glad I don't live in Sanford. There could be a riot, but if there is it's people coming from outside. If we have riots over this, that's going to spook suburbanite voters. My prediction: Obama will play a low profile on this here on out, you won't hear him saying much if anything, it's politically very dangerous and that's why Republicans are playing it up.
*This whole race angle* by the way, interestingly, the city manager in Sanford is black. Zimmerman himself has a black friend who's been speaking on his behalf. I think there are black families in that Retreat gated community. I think there were some black officers who were there when Zimmerman was detained.
It's not necessarily a white-on-black thing, but rather young black men in hoodies may just look suspicious. I read UK papers, they're obsessed over guys in hoodies there too. A lot of their hoodie wearers are white yobs and anarchists, they wear the hoodie so they can't be identified. So really I'm on the middle with all this, I can see black folks' point about how oppressive racial profiling is, on the other hand what's with members of Congress wearing a hoodie, state legislators wearing a hoodie, everyone's wearing a hoodie now. I'm white, but if I chose to dress in certain ways I would draw suspicion. That's just human nature.
The rage here doesn't have to be from a racial angle, the central problem was Zimmerman had a cop-complex he'd wanted to be a cop and was turned down
and he took this neighborhood watch captain stuff way too seriously. You hear it on the 911 tape, he sounds like a cop "they always get away," the dispatcher is *shocked* he's chasing Trayvon -- this is against all the rules of the national neighborhood watch organization, they're not supposed to be armed and they're just supposed to be eyes and ears not confront and not chase.
When civilians go patrolling around acting like a cop, they're going to find trouble but they don't have the training nor the authority nor the backing of the city / county to do that job. They don't have the liability insurance to be doing something so dangerous, it's nuts to go volunteer for patrol with nobody backing you.
If you're interested in survival, it's smart to mind your own business and stay out of trouble. I've known guys like that, they play the hero and get involved in random things -- that's dangerous and a thankless job.
Don't be a hero, use caution and protect yourself #1 if you help others in emergency situations. If there's violence, look for an escape route rather than sticking your nose in the middle of it. That's just some good survivalist advice for ya.Six, I recommend you get your Concealed Carry Permit soon.
Only thing I notice where I live, threats-wise, are the panhandlers. I really hate that. It's because *you never know* which one may be a carjacker or if the panhandling is a mugging. You're vulnerable when you get in your vehicle, fishing around for keys maybe a cart of groceries, you have your back turned.
It happens now and then, sure enough, some bum comes walking up to me. I can smell trouble a mile away, I don't allow them to get close to me. Last time this happened, I back away from my vehicle and he kept approaching while asking for money, I'd already said my usual line I don't have any, *but he kept approaching* and then I forcefully said something I guess I sounded mad but I'm just getting sick and tired of this.
So the bum is like "Jesus Christ man, relax, what's your problem."
As if I'm the scary one. He's the one asking for money and kept coming at me even after I made it clear I didn't want his company as I got in my truck!
Anyhow I don't want a concealed weapon. Something like one of those handheld shockers would be good though, one touch of that and they're on the ground for 5 minutes. But I don't have even that. I find that street sense, being aware of your surroundings, *being able to sniff out trouble and keeping your distance*, and how you carry yourself is what's most important.
Most people are like deer in headlights they don't think that way. They're polite when they shouldn't be, you should *never* allow someone suspicious to panhandle you right at your car door. Those youtube videos of fights in Denny's and whatnot, everyone just sits in their seat watching.
Me, I get the hell out when things get crazy. 
