Bill Cosby Breaks Silence on Trayvon Martin

[jlujan69]

Bill Cosby Breaks Silence on Trayvon Martin - ABC News

 

[SmellsLikeCurlyFries]

Sounds good to me.

 

[MachZer0]

Bill Cosby Breaks Silence on Trayvon Martin - ABC News

Cosby should stick to comedy

 

[A2SG]

Cosby should stick to comedy

And Ted Nugent should stick to music. What's your point?

The thing is, Bill's right. The Neighborhood Watch is not a police force, they should not be armed. They should watch the neighborhood, and call the Police if needed, they should not be carrying weapons and confronting people, that's not what they're there for.

Regardless of how you feel about the specifics about the Trayvon case, one thing is abundantly and absolutely clear: if George Zimmerman had listened to the 911 operator and waited for the police, Trayvon would not have died. Pure and simple.

-- A2SG, after all, not many crimes can be committed when armed with an iced tea and Skittles....

 

[JustMeSee]

I often disagree with Cosby, but I agree with much of what he said.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Bill Cosby Breaks Silence on Trayvon Martin - ABC News

Bill Cosby is a voice of reason ... and he's right in large measure that Zimmerman probably shouldn't have been carrying a gun. I suspect that the media will extend what Cosby said to denounce "stand your ground" laws though.

It will be interesting to see if Cosby offers further comments on the matter.

 

[RETS]

I was wondering how long we'd wait to hear from Bill.

This is a man I loved to watch on stage- He had a clean sense of humor that would still get people rolling... And then I discovered his activism.

Truth be told, I really don't have a great deal to say about him and what he says. He gets himself too entrenched in seemingly discriminatory situations, and sometimes comes across as another Sharpton, but for the most part, I've a great deal of respect for the man.

Take this quote, for instance:

"The power-of-the-gun mentality had him unafraid to confront someone. Even police call for backup in similar situations."

The article says that some conservatives are taking him to task for making the gun the issue... He didn't, though. Right here, clear as day, he's stating it's the mentality of the person holding the gun that's to blame.

Honestly, as much as I think Zimmerman ought to be brought up on criminal charges; I also think the kid's own actions ought to be receiving far more attention.

 

[MachZer0]

And Ted Nugent should stick to music. What's your point?

The thing is, Bill's right. The Neighborhood Watch is not a police force, they should not be armed. They should watch the neighborhood, and call the Police if needed, they should not be carrying weapons and confronting people, that's not what they're there for.

As I recall, Zimmerman was not doing neighborhood watch when he saw Martin. He was on his way to the store and happened to see someone he thought was suspicious.

Regardless of how you feel about the specifics about the Trayvon case, one thing is abundantly and absolutely clear: if George Zimmerman had listened to the 911 operator and waited for the police, Trayvon would not have died. Pure and simple.

-- A2SG, after all, not many crimes can be committed when armed with an iced tea and Skittles....

As far as we know, Zimmerman was doing exactly that.

 

[A2SG]

As I recall, Zimmerman was not doing neighborhood watch when he saw Martin. He was on his way to the store and happened to see someone he thought was suspicious.

All the more reason to let the police handle the situation, instead of going in armed.

As far as we know, Zimmerman was doing exactly that.

Nope. Remember the 911 call: not only did he answer "yeah" when asked if he was following Trayvon, he's clearly running. Also, the most incontrovertible and definite evidence of all: if he had waited for the police, NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!!

-- A2SG, hard to ignore that part.....

 

[Leere]

Cosby should stick to comedy

Yes, heaven forbid that people have opinions that differ from your own.

 

[sdmsanjose]

if George Zimmerman had listened to the 911 operator and waited for the police, Trayvon would not have died. Pure and simple.

BINGO!!!
Anyone that will not listen to the proper authorities and then takes justice into their own hands makes me nervous.

In addition, you can believe Zimmerman that it was he who was yelling for help or you can believe the results of the voice recognition experts that have ruled out Zimmerman being the one that called for help. Either Zimmerman is lying or the experts do not know what they are doing. Which is it?

 

[Leere]

BINGO!!!
Anyone that will not listen to the proper authorities and then takes justice into their own hands makes me nervous.

In addition, you can believe Zimmerman that it was he who was yelling for help or you can believe the results of the voice recognition experts that have ruled out Zimmerman being the one that called for help. Either Zimmerman is lying or the experts do not know what they are doing. Which is it?

Clearly the experts don't know what they're doing. After all, George was a white guy.

 

[IAmCatwoman]

There is a psychology behind what he's saying - when a person carries a gun in what they perceive as a dangerous situation, it can hinder their judgement. It's too quick of a "solution". If you go into a room expecting a robber with a gun, you're more likely to shoot first and think after (and by then if it wasn't a criminal, but a misunderstanding like a pet or worse, an innocent person, it's too late).

That said, are they trying to say people were being silent about Trayvon Martin? On what planet?

 

[drjean]

As someone who has a carry license, and someone who is trained in security and crime watch methods (and national security and counter terrorism btw)... I really want to weigh in on this thread.

I respect Mr Cosby, I really do. He has a PhD (I think in education) and has been trying to educate "his race" about how to quit doing what they are doing and do what is successful for them. He's been put down and ignored by "his race" because it goes against what they've been brainwashed into expecting from the government and others.

Ok... enough of the background.

I personally believe that when performing neighborhood watch that you stay IN your car or vehicle. The weapon needs to be locked in the box of the vehicle. IF you are merely walking, but on neighborhood watch, that's tricky but I think while allowed to carry, the weapon should be left at home.

This really goes against a citizen's "right to carry" especially for one like me who has been trained to carry and puts me at a disadvantage because truly--many of those who burgle do have weapons of some type and are often first to use them (they've already broken property etc.)

When Mr Zimmerman left his vehicle, he became a regular citizen. That surely does allow him to pull his weapon upon the threat of bodily harm and death. I mean, yes, he felt he was doing his crime watch duties... but intercepting the culprit Mr Martin, was beyond the duties of a crime watch member, even the captain! WATCH and call it in. The police come, carry weapons, use weapons, intercept culprits. Mr Zimmerman surely did step outside the duties of the crime watch position.

HOWEVER the kicker is when he got out of the car he did not go beyond his rights as a citizen to walk his own streets, be concerned about his and his neighbor's property and lives, speak to others in his community, and of course, carry his legally licensed weapon for use in an emergency.

I doubt the police of the DA will file any charges. He is always up to being sued civilly by the family, but I doubt the family will win.

To me, not knowing either of them, this is a bad situation waiting to occur: an immature, lost and seeking, drug using, inconfident, insecure and failing grown teenager trying to become and act like an adult meets an almost grown young man whose brain is almost mature in making rational decisions (age 26) , insecure and wanting to be something he can't obtain, who is making life worth living by serving the community voluntarily, frustrated by lack of crime watch team being able to find out who is burgling their homes.

 

[MachZer0]

All the more reason to let the police handle the situation, instead of going in armed.



Nope. Remember the 911 call: not only did he answer "yeah" when asked if he was following Trayvon, he's clearly running. Also, the most incontrovertible and definite evidence of all: if he had waited for the police, NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!!!

-- A2SG, hard to ignore that part.....

Except that you seem to forget the other part of the call after that where the 911 call taker said they didn't need him to follow Martin and Zimmerman said, "OK" at which time his respiration appeared to slow down (we can't say for certain he was running) and he said he had lost sight of Martin. At that point, there is no reason to believe he was dong anything except waiting for the police to arrive and determine his exact location to give them when they called.

 

[MachZer0]

Yes, heaven forbid that people have opinions that differ from your own.

People are welcome to their opinions, different from mine or not. They are not welcome to invent "facts"

 

[MachZer0]

BINGO!!!
Anyone that will not listen to the proper authorities and then takes justice into their own hands makes me nervous.

Zimmerman did not speak to anyone of authority, and even so, when told he did not need to follow Martin, he said, "OK".

In addition, you can believe Zimmerman that it was he who was yelling for help or you can believe the results of the voice recognition experts that have ruled out Zimmerman being the one that called for help. Either Zimmerman is lying or the experts do not know what they are doing. Which is it?

Or we can believe the eyewitness who claims he actually saw Zimmerman calling for help

 

[NightHawkeye]

Worth repeating ...

To me, not knowing either of them, this is a bad situation waiting to occur ...

It did.

... an immature, lost and seeking, drug using, inconfident, insecure and failing grown teenager trying to become and act like an adult ...

Trayvon Martin

... meets an almost grown young man whose brain is almost mature in making rational decisions (age 26) , insecure and wanting to be something he can't obtain, who is making life worth living by serving the community voluntarily, frustrated by lack of crime watch team being able to find out who is burgling their homes. ...

George Zimmerman

 

[Touma]

You know what is really funny? The people who are denouncing Cosby's remarks on this case are the same people who just a few years back were forwarding the Cosby remarks on race in America. Evidently, he was really good back then when he agreed with them, but now he should just stick to comedy.

How about you stick to his argument instead of trying to write off the person with out addressing the argument?

 

[kermit]

There is a psychology behind what he's saying - when a person carries a gun in what they perceive as a dangerous situation, it can hinder their judgement. It's too quick of a "solution". If you go into a room expecting a robber with a gun, you're more likely to shoot first and think after (and by then if it wasn't a criminal, but a misunderstanding like a pet or worse, an innocent person, it's too late).

That said, are they trying to say people were being silent about Trayvon Martin? On what planet?

Also, neighnorhood watchmen are not trained in subduing techniques like police are. As a result an armed one will be more apt to use his firearm before a police office would given identical circumstances; this is why neighborhood watchmen are discouraged from carrying a firearm. Also, police carry non lethal weapons (clubs and pepper spray) which Zimmerman was not carrying. Had Zimmerman been carrying pepper spray instead of a gun we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.