I read through the table where each entry briefly describes what happened. While some cases seem to justify the use of a deadly force, others seem to suggest there was no good reason. However, one entry is a well known case.
Trayvon Martin... Shot and killed by George Zimmerman, self-appointed community watch coordinator who thought Martin looked suspicious.
This entry is clearly misrepresented, and therefore I am being skeptical about accuracy of other entries as well. It sounds like Martin looked suspicious and based on that Zimmerman shot him.
Another entry about a dad who left his two daughters in a SUV, then was shot and killed based on the assumption that he was a threat to the girls. It just makes no sense, and I am sure there is more to the story.
As to Trayvon Martin case, I watched the entire trial on TV, and have no doubt that Trayvon confronted Zimmerman in a very violent way. The entry should've said this:
Trayvon Martin... Shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed community watch coordinator, in self-defense after following Martin thinking he looked suspicious, and after being confronted by Martin in a violent way.
It is easy to manipulate words, and many people believe what they read without a doubt. However, it all backfires in the long run.
Blowing up such cases is also a great distraction from real problems: poverty in black communities, fatherless children, and blacks killing blacks. In all the years, I haven't heard Sharpton speak once about these problems, and advocate personal responsibility, importance of a father in a family, and how to reduce crime.
It would be fare to present similar table for the same period of time with all cases when blacks are killed by blacks. I doubt there would be enough space on the screen or enough time to go over such table - sheer amount of killings would make it impractical. Because blacks don't hate blacks, such table would lead to only one conclusion - crime has nothing to do with race.
Sadly, the common theme between the cases of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown is hatred for white people, which is a subtle message being enforced by Sharpton and the likes. I think Trayvon's reaction to being followed by a (presumably) white guy was that of anger and hatred - seeded well before the incident, and over a long period of time. He probably thought he would just beat up this white idiot and be done with it. If he had the confidence to attack the guy, I am sure he had enough bravery to simply ask "Why are you following me?" in a non-confrontational way, and the whole thing could've been avoided. Pretty sad because compared to lost life all other things seem so small.
I live at the end of a very quiet street where all neighbors know each other, and every car is recognized. My neighbor, a single woman, called me one afternoon and said she was afraid of a car idling in front of her house for a while, with a man inside. I said, wait. I am not that paranoid, and thought there could be a 100 reasons for a car to be sitting and idling, and without any malicious intent. So, I got something hidden under my shirt, then approached the driver with a smile, and politely asked what was he doing sitting in an idling car for a long time. The guy explained that he was waiting for his ex-wife to leave the house located in the middle of the block about 10-15 houses up the street so that he could get the mail or something along these lines. It's easy to imagine that if I were obnoxious and threatening to the guy and he was carrying, this could've ended badly. Instead, we ended up chatting casually for a few minutes, and parted with polite "Have good day!".
Defensive driving teaches to compensate for possible mistakes/omissions of other drivers. In the same way, our own behavior in life should be 'defensive' by compensating for somebody's bad mood, wrongly spoken words, and even mistaken actions. The world would be a better place. Instead, we often do the opposite - which often leads to predictable results.
I was really starting to think that from the men of color reporting on CNN and all the lawyers that have been on the news . It's a real shame that so many people have pushed the conspiracy button and have forgotten the law . Maybe the prostesters should be asking for everyone to share a hug like the kid did in Washington state .
