Study says Florida shooter could have shot Trayvor Martin simply because the watch captain was armed

The new study done by James Brockmole of the University of Notre Dame and psychologist Jessica Witt at Perdue University asks the question: “Could the watch captain have been fooled into thinking the youth was armed in part because he himself was holding a gun?”  According to The Washington Post, undergraduates at Notre Dame and Perdue were prone to think others were holding a weapon if they were holding a toy gun themselves.

The study was done long before the shooting but Brockmole says it is possible that George Zimmerman’s (the watch captain) perception might “…have been skewed by being armed.  Brockmole also admits that race may have been a factor (Zimmerman is Hispanic), and “Past research suggests that people can be more likely to perceive a poorly seen object as a gun if it’s held by a black person than by a white person, experts say.”

The study will be published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, and Brockmole states, it is “…not intended to support gun control, but it suggests that people should know that when they hold a gun “that might change how you’re going to interpret what’s around you.”  Zimmerman was protected by a 2005 Florida law—“Stand Your Ground”—that allows him to respond with deadly force if he thinks he is threatened.

Legal analysts say the law is one reason why Zimmerman has not been arrested.  With no additional eye witnesses, they have to take the watch captain’s word.  About half the states in the U.S. have this law, which is now being questioned by law enforcement and lawmakers.  Before the above law, a self-defense claim would not have been possible since Zimmerman would have been required to just back off.  Something everyone agrees he could have done in this case.



But then back in 2011, another study was done by David Hemenway who is Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and the Youth Violence Prevention Center titled: Guns in the home provide greater health risk than benefit.  Right up front I will tell you that Hemenway is considered “anti-guns” by the National Rifle Assn. (NRA).  This is primarily homebound research and does not really deal with the issue of when the gun leaves the home.

Hemenway says, “When it comes to violence, nearly every figure suggests that increased presence of guns correlates with higher levels of injury and death.”  He cites homicide rates that are 14 times higher than those in most other industrialized nations for those between 15 and 24 years of age in the U.S.  Areas throughout the country with high gun ownership have more problems.  For every accidental death, 10 more go to the emergency room.



Murder crime scene



Other findings include, “In the case of battered women, lethal assaults were 2.7 times more likely to occur if a gun was present in the house; no protective effect of the gun was found.”  And in the case of George Zimmerman in the Fla. Shooting, Hemenway says, “Unlike deaths or woundings, where the definitions are clear and one needs to only count the bodies, what constitutes a self-defense gun use and whether it was successful may depend on who is telling the story."

The study’s author does say that “Results suggest that self-defense gun use may be the best method for preventing property loss."  Further he states, “using a gun in self-defense is extremely rare (most instances involve using a gun to defend against animals): studies place defensive gun use at about one percent in home invasions and 0.1 percent in sexual assaults. Moreover, police reports suggest a lot of these uses involved inappropriate use of the gun.”



Irresponsible gun owners



In summary, “Hemenway notes that a number of surveys have found that a gun kept at home is far more likely to be used in violence, an accident, or a suicide attempt than self defense.”  He also talks about poorly trained gun owners that probably won’t do a good job of protection in self defense, surmising “there's little doubt that a gun at home is generally a negative risk factor.”

And I agree with the article’s author, John Timmer, that, regardless of which side you are on, these are interesting findings that should be looked at for their usefulness in trying to help solve the gun issues.  The other side—which I will no doubt quickly hear from—must at least consider these studies in order to make an intelligent rebuttal.

Sarah Palin the racist…according to a dedicated group of African Americans



Sarah Palin racism caricature



Stephen Colbert dismissed Sarah Palin as not worth our time following the January 2011, Tucson massacre that left 6 dead and 19 injured including Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords from Arizona.  Palin had posted Giffords’ district on her PAC website with rifle scope crosshairs and the caption “Don’t Retreat!  Reload!”  Palin’s reaction was to blame the media.  I mention this to illustrate what a loose cannon this imbecile posing as a human being is.

It is still hard to understand how John McCain could have picked her as a running mate.  He still doesn’t have a clue.

The ThyBlackMan.com site takes Palin to task likening her to a “corrupt evangelist” with connections to the Tea Party.  There you go.  That’s all the TPers need; a huge tent to showcase all the wackos that make up this group of fanatics.  ThyBlackMan is an organization formed to”…unite black men, not to separate and divide.”  And that’s where we lose Sarah Palin.  It is clearly her intent to leave this country a much worse place than she found it in 2008.

There is no doubt that racism is still too prevalent in America, based on several recent incidents that have occurred.  One, during the NCAA March Madness tournaments between Kansas State University and Southern Mississippi.  Based on Mississippi’s history, many would say this is typical, but the state has cleaned up its act in recent years.  And even though this latest episode wasn’t addressed at blacks, it still reeks of racism.



Racism has many faces



Apparently Mississippians have redirected their bigotry to Hispanics because in a derogatory chant the So. Mississippi band yelled “where’s your green card” to a Latino Kansas State player.  The latter team won the game by 6 points.  The school apologized but the damage was already done, captured on nationwide TV.

Then TBM talks of how Palin continues to misinform the media about “Obamacare” seeking to resurrect old prejudices from 2008.  She was in her prime on the Sean Hannity Show with a bizarre claim that former Harvard professor Derrick Bell’s call for greater diversity on the Ivy League campus was racist. 

She completely ignored the work Bell had done at Harvard on race relations, directing her appeal to extreme right wing conservatives by leading them to believe that in Obama’s connection to Bell, he was guilty of racism.  “The ignorance is baffling” says TBM, particularly for those who are unable to understand her true intentions.

Rick Santorum on racism in the video below:

And in another incident that is leaning toward racism, a 17-year-old African American in Florida, Trayvon Martin, was shot by a self-appointed white Community Watch Captain with a gun.  28-year-old George Zimmerman thought Martin looked “suspicious” and called police.  They told him not to follow the kid but he did, and confronted him with his gun.  When Martin attempted to defend himself, Zimmerman, who outweighed him by 100 pounds, shot him.  Zimmerman claimed self defense.

The Christian Post asked the question: Since Zimmerman was not administered a Breathalyzer or toxicology screen, even though it is the protocol for shootings, is it possible that he was drunk?  “Rod Wheeler, a law enforcement expert, told ABC News that Zimmerman sounded intoxicated in the 911 calls.  "When I listened to the 911 tape, the first thing that came to my mind is 'this guy sounds intoxicated.' Notice how he's slurring his words.”



Sarah Palin, with notes



ThyBlackMan comments that the Palin type of tactics have been used successfully by the GOP for years, claiming that the Republican Party has a “resentment of America’s changing demographics and the African American president currently occupying the Oval Office. 

If they think what’s happened so far is bad, what the hell will the GOP do this November when the Hispanics exert their new-found voting power in the upcoming election?