The fact that Zimmerman stinks so badly at his self-appointed job of “neighborhood watch captain,” it led him to kill an innocent man. (If you think Martin was actually committing a crime, I can probably give you 2-to-1 odds.) In the absence of social condemnation, Zimmerman might continue carrying a gun in pursuit of his hobby. The media has put itself in charge of condemnation. Since some of their leaders seem very stupid, we would expect them to make mistakes. (In fact, you could argue they stink at this job and shouldn’t be in charge of condemnation at all.)
The fact that Florida law might allow two men to “stand their ground” and escalate the use of force until someone dies also seems relevant. If it actually happened then Florida voters should know. But I don’t think this played more than a small role in the media’s actions, because they seem too stupid on the whole to make decisions based on policy concerns.
You are aware that according to the best theory based on public available evidence Zimmerman didn’t shoot Martin until the latter was beating his head on the pavement? Also in that kind of situation “stand your ground” laws aren’t all that relevant since there is no way to retreat.
Edit: Also, your “media incompetence” theory doesn’t explain why all the mistakes went in the same direction.
By saying “incompetence” you make it sound like I think the media wants to create accurate beliefs about reality, but fails due to other factors. This seems as silly as thinking the human brain evolved to get the right answer, in general, but has all these extraneous biases mucking it up. I thought I explained how I see the media’s motives.
I don’t understand what you mean. Are you assuming that beating someone’s head on the pavement would count as a crime? Because like I said, Trayvon Martin had a perfect right under Florida law to stand his ground if the strange man with the gun genuinely seemed threatening.
Edit: Also, your “media incompetence” theory doesn’t explain why all the mistakes went in the same direction.
Why not? All their mistakes seemed to go in one direction back when Chris T.N.O. Matthews was saying Al Gore “would lick the bathroom floor” to be President. But I explain that as the result of personal dislike combined with a tribal sense of offense at Bill Clinton’s actions, not a bias against Democrats. Why on Earth would you not expect idiots like that to fly off the handle at the death of an innocent child?
The fact that Zimmerman stinks so badly at his self-appointed job of “neighborhood watch captain,” it led him to kill an innocent man. (If you think Martin was actually committing a crime, I can probably give you 2-to-1 odds.) In the absence of social condemnation, Zimmerman might continue carrying a gun in pursuit of his hobby. The media has put itself in charge of condemnation. Since some of their leaders seem very stupid, we would expect them to make mistakes. (In fact, you could argue they stink at this job and shouldn’t be in charge of condemnation at all.)
The fact that Florida law might allow two men to “stand their ground” and escalate the use of force until someone dies also seems relevant. If it actually happened then Florida voters should know. But I don’t think this played more than a small role in the media’s actions, because they seem too stupid on the whole to make decisions based on policy concerns.
You are aware that according to the best theory based on public available evidence Zimmerman didn’t shoot Martin until the latter was beating his head on the pavement? Also in that kind of situation “stand your ground” laws aren’t all that relevant since there is no way to retreat.
Edit: Also, your “media incompetence” theory doesn’t explain why all the mistakes went in the same direction.
By saying “incompetence” you make it sound like I think the media wants to create accurate beliefs about reality, but fails due to other factors. This seems as silly as thinking the human brain evolved to get the right answer, in general, but has all these extraneous biases mucking it up. I thought I explained how I see the media’s motives.
I don’t understand what you mean. Are you assuming that beating someone’s head on the pavement would count as a crime? Because like I said, Trayvon Martin had a perfect right under Florida law to stand his ground if the strange man with the gun genuinely seemed threatening.
Why not? All their mistakes seemed to go in one direction back when Chris T.N.O. Matthews was saying Al Gore “would lick the bathroom floor” to be President. But I explain that as the result of personal dislike combined with a tribal sense of offense at Bill Clinton’s actions, not a bias against Democrats. Why on Earth would you not expect idiots like that to fly off the handle at the death of an innocent child?