And let me reset things a little since you of all people brought out the "moving the goalposts" line: There has only ever been ONE goalpost at the end of the day -- I want to be able to go about my daily business without people thinking I'm a criminal to be questioned, detained and/or shot, and I want Black Americans to get equal treatment in all phases of the legal system (If for a split-second you try to argue that narrow sample survey means everything is A-OK , then you're just insulting everyone's intelligence)...
I personally give less than a shit about goddamned Florida and her specific laws, since I do not live there and will not ever live there...I am however interested in the wider trend of black lives having less "value" than their ethnic counterparts as far as the criminal justice system (and other facets of society) are concerned...I do not hold Florida solely responsible for this, nor the southern states, nor even the NRA (although they HAVE contributed to the problem from time to time) since we both know Trayvon's death and Zimmerman's in-your-face acquittal could have taken place in any state...This issue has been an undercurrent of American history even before this land became "America"...There was a time when I truly believed society was at least slowly but steadily becoming more enlightened, and call me overly cynical or whatever, but there has been a severe regression on racial issue the past several years, and in my observation it is continuing to trend downward...So it is important for me to note all the major societal touchstones as I see them...
I know it's not literally 'open season', but by now you know how reactionary I get over the letters 'SYG', along with how much resentment for the legal system I'll carry around for the rest of my life...It's clear we'll never really see eye-to-eye on this issue -- You see it as necessary and legitimate way for people to defend themselves with lethal force in the face of grave danger; while I see it as an easily exploitable carte blanche for more nefarious purposes (premeditated murder, rage shooters, panic shooters, etc.)...Of course the truth of the matter is we're both right since there is a lot of leeway in how that law is applied; and we'll continue to see more of your situational examples, my situational examples, and everything in between and it will be up to the police, courts and juries to ultimately determine what's what (good luck with them ever getting it right)...
= new reply since forum marked as read
