Is this that guy I've been hearing about in America who shot that black kid because he thought he was suspicious and was let off for it?

If he lived in Australia, his defence would've been laughed at, his sentence made a hefty 5 years or more and h- oh, wait, we don't even allow people to freely carry guns ...

#MERICA!!

And this is why the media gets under my skin. Repeat a story often enough, regardless if it is based on half truths, and people take it as gospel. A television producer was fired over here because they had edited the phone call to make it appear rascist. And there is credible evidence to support Zimmerman's self defense claims, including gashes on the back of his head. We don't know exactly what happened. Hopefully, the trial will make the truth come to light. But it doesn't do anyone any good to pass judgement based on theories and biases. What are the facts, and what does the evidence show? Btw, we can't just carry guns in public whenever we feel like it. Most states you have to take classes and be certified.

"repeat a story often enough..."

"Zimmerman had gashes on the back of his head..."

I just lol'd

I take it by your comment your suggesting that the gashes on his head are just media propaganda. First, I didn't go by what the media said, I went by the photograph of streaks of blood running down Zimmerman's head. Again, what does the physical evidence show? Second, if there is any bias in the media, it's going the other way. Again, a tv producer was fired because of a bad edit in the 911 call. And that bad edit helped Tryvon, by trying to introduce an element of rascism into this case, and casting a dark cloud over Zimmerman. Claiming that the media is biased rightward, instead of leftward like they have been since time began, is truly lol worthy.

i might be going out on a limb here... but perhaps it isn't the media that you're perceiving to be biased. maybe it's -gasp- reality?

Reality is perception in today's world.

reality is reality, some people just can't tell the difference between that and what they perceive e.g. some sort of liberal conspiracy in the media

Since none of us in this forum have any clue what the true reality is (as none of us witnessed it) then the only thing we can go on is other people's PERCEPTION of reality, which in turn yields our own perception of reality. For you to argue otherwise is silly.

I think you're arguing black and white for something that has distinguishing shades of gray - e.g. somebody can be on acid and think light posts are the plant monsters from mario but in REALITY that wouldn't hold up to scientific scrutiny. likewise you can imagine a conspiracy about the media that doesn't really hold up.

what the dude at nbc did was fucked up. i'll withhold judgment on zimmerman until the trial is done. trying to escalate this into a hate crime is ludicrous. and fuck the miami heat for wearing hoodies before anyone knew anything (besides the spin that nbc put on the story.)