Another unarmed black teenager has been gunned down in Florida. Will this play out the same way the Trayvon Martin killing did?
Second verse, same as the first. In an argument over loud music, Jordan Davis was shot to death by Michael Dunn, who claims he was acting in self-defense, reacting to seeing Davis and friends brandish a gun that, it turns out, never existed.
Dunn evidently initiated the encounter, telling Davis and his friends to turn down the music in their car. Yeah, they were at a gas station, and Dunn could have waited two minutes and just left, but no, he’s a middle-aged white man and they’re a bunch of black teenagers, and that means it’s his world, not theirs, and they’re intruding on it. Dunn says he then felt threatened by the reaction of the teenagers, and pulled out the gun he was carrying for just such an occasion, blasting away at the car, snuffing out a human life, and then fleeing the scene with his girlfriend because they were scared they were being chased by gang members.
Let me repeat that. Dunn opened fire on a carload of unarmed kids, killing one, and then ran and hid because he was scared of them.
I’ve known guys like Dunn. I think most of us have. He’s the type who carries a gun, and has a lot more at home, because he hopes to use them. He is so shiveringly afraid of the imaginary enemies he thinks surround him, most of whom are black or brown, that the only way he can get through the day is with vivid fantasies of how one day he will have an excuse to cry self-defense after killing someone.
Killing someone for playing their radio too loud. And then running away. And I’ll bet you folding money he still thinks of himself as the unjustly persecuted good guy in this story.
What’s worse, over the coming days and weeks, we’ll see plenty more affluent middle-aged white guys coming forward in the media to defend that narrative. We did last time, we will this time, and we will next time. Unless anyone seriously believes there won’t be a next time?
Tray did not throw the first punch; however, if he did not he should have after having this racist monster attack out of nowhere? duh!!!! I have seen racists like zimmerman before; they murder behind the law because they think that just because the law is unjust and cruel toward blacks, the door is opened wide for them to kill blacks and folk of color who are just as hated, whenever and for what ever reason they wish…..who cares about justice for a black youth or child???NO ONE!!! Look at the 7 yr old black child gunned down by a… Read more »
Racism is still, undeniably, a force in our society. I don’t discount that possibility. But, let’s look at all the possibilities here. If there was any kind of “–ism” at the root of this, it has to include the fact that he was male. I don’t think we can ignore his gender any more than we can his race. He wasn’t just a “black teenager.” He was a “black male teenager.” If there are larger social stigmas at work, it’s probably two at once, being black and being male. I honestly think it’s less likely he would have been shot… Read more »
After all, as people on a site about Good Men, I think we should not lose sight of the obvious fact that he was male, and that may have been a big factor in his death. I would also point out another fact and Massive Factor – MASSIVE – which unfortunately does pass a great many by, becasue to them it’s so obvious it has to actually be stated – actively stated – to get it noticed at all! Even then it can’t be seen, recognised or even found significant – a contributing factor even – by so many. It’s… Read more »
THANK YOU!!!!!!! Brilliant. Spot-on. Bingo.
Wellokaythen, YES…black PLUS male.
MediaHound, gun culture in the US is INSANE.
Black + male + USA = death sentence for many individuals
Ease of owning assault weapons = mass murders of men, women, children of all races
ENOUGH!!! You know what I really hate about the country I love?? Our narcissism…our confidence we’ve got it all figured out…our self-absorption…our inability to look outside our own borders at what is working in other countries. “Rugged individualism?” Maybe. It’s also stupidity and arrogance.
Didn’t get the notice that open season on young black kids had arrived?
Who’s been picking off my flyers? If I see that punk I’m gonna give him a dose of lead. He’s scaring me to death!
😉
One other dissimilarity between the cases: Zimmerman isn’t white–oh wait, that’s right, he’s a “white Hispanic.” (For those of you who don’t know, a white Hispanic is a Hispanic whom the media would really prefer to be white, as “white guy shoots black teen” is much more newsworthy than “Hispanic guy shoots black teen.”)
How about good old-fashioned waiting for all the facts to come in before leaping to conclusions? I know, reporting facts is hard work, and it’s much easier and more fun to just spout your semi-informed opinions…
The only thing in common is a young black man is dead?
In both cases, a racist man carrying a gun approached someone that they incorrectly perceived as a threat, and created a situation. Zimmerman was told by the 911 operator not to pursue Martin, but, feeling scared and carrying a gun, he approached him anyway. I don’t buy self-defense when the killer created a situation in which he knew he would feel threatened before anything even happened. In both cases, the men made an excuse to approach these individuals.
You really don’t see similarities between Dunn and Zimmerman?
Exactly. Both situations were started by the gun owners, knowing they had their guns. Stand Your Ground is an excuse for people to murder others. That law must be changed. And I am wondering more and more these days where a “well regulated” “militia” comes in. These murders are not a militia, and far from well-regulated. Ditto mass murders with assault weapons. The NRA has way too much power, so America has way too many gun murders.
I read this article and only one thought came to mind. Not the race of the perp and victim, not Trayvon & George, but why on God’s green Earth would you purposefully engage persons you believed might be a credible threat in the first place? I don’t go around looking for trouble, most sane people don’t, and a threat assessment takes seconds. Why did Dunn feel it necessary to approach this carload of kids at a gas station? Even more troubling was why he says he did…it’s a public space, not owned by Dunn, and certainly a free (at least… Read more »
Austin, Zimmerman shouldn’t have gotten himself into that situation, but there is no indication that he was going to go and shoot Martin. He was perhaps emboldened by his possession of a gun as well as his position as a neighborhood watchman. Those facts combined with the immediate interaction he had with Martin. Martin didnt’ know Zimmerman had a gun, and it seems that he physically attacked Zimmerman which then led to the weapon being fired. Stupid decisions compounded upon stupid decisions. Both in the case can be seen to have instigated it, depending on what you consider instigation. Is… Read more »
Chuck, the argument in favor of Zimmerman, for me, stops at the point where he was instructed to not leave his vehicle and to stop following Trayvon. The alleged comment by Trayvon that “You’re gonna die tonight”…I mean really, who says that besides movie villains. Bottom line, Martin would be alive if he hadn’t been profiled by an overzealous wannabe cop. Fortunately, Zimmerman will have his day in court even though it’s statistically accurate to say that the loss of a black life is not equal to the loss of a white life in our justice system. In reference to… Read more »
I think we need to avoid trying to turn every single instance of a middle aged white guy killing a young black guy into another Treyvon Martin analogy. Just like the original a lot of snap judgements were made by people before the details became clear. And even if it turns out the same (which I don’t think it will) all that does is erase the individual event. These cases aren’t a Widows 7 taskbar where we can just collapse all the similar buttons together. From what I see of this Dunn/Davis case Dunn had nowhere near the seeming justification… Read more »
Hmmmm> First – I’ve known guys like Dunn. I think most of us have. He’s the type who carries a gun, and has a lot more at home, because he hopes to use them. He is so shiveringly afraid of the imaginary enemies he thinks surround him, most of whom are black or brown, that the only way he can get through the day is with vivid fantasies of how one day he will have an excuse to cry self-defense after killing someone. So may I enquire when you have been to Mr Dunn’s Home – or interviewed him or… Read more »
Thanks for another thought provoking comment and a fantastic distillation of what’s really important here. From my read the stand your ground law isnt going to protect him.
Now back to your regularly scheduled bashing and generalization of white, middle class (or even worse afflluent!) men. From reading here you would think middle aged, middle class white men commit the majority of gun violence in this country.
I would have to agree with Chuck that this case seems to be different in many ways than the Zimmerman/Martin incident. As the facts are now it is hard to defend or sympathize with Dunn or defend his actions. It’s hard to claim self defense when you are outside a vehicle and those you are “afraid of” are inside of the vehicle. While a vehicle can be used as a weapon, those inside of it are far more vulnerable as they have nowhere to go to take cover from someone who shoots into the vehicle. As its currently being reported… Read more »
I’m a white man who defended George Zimmerman’s actions, to a degree. There’s a huge difference between that case and this one (assuming, perhaps too quickly, that we have all of the facts). Trayvon Martin threw the first punch against Zimmerman. He attacked Zimmerman. That’s far and away different than the white man here firing shots into a car that was playing loud music. So I think it’s incorrect to conflate the two as if the circumstances are the same. I paid very close attention to the Zimmerman/Martin case as it was unfolding. I was completely sympathetic to the Martin… Read more »
we still don’t have definitive evidence as to who began the actual physical altercation between Martin and Zimmerman—this, I assume, is largely what the trial will hinge on.
Who needs evidence when you can rip on affluent white men? Just bring out the Jump to Conclusions Mats!
It worked so well with Duke Lacrosse, Trayvon Martin… etc…right?
Weather Trayvon threw the first punch or not (I really don’t think he did) he didn’t have a gun! A good old fist fight might have worked but Zimmerman had a gun, no match. U people are gonna believe what u want and so will I but with or without a conviction God will take care of the guilty in both cases along with those that have been apart of the wrong that has been done and that I Fully believe. May God have Mercy on all of their souls!
it’s a bit more complicated than that. if trayvon initiated the altercation, overpowered zimmerman and zimmerman shot martin then you can’t reasonably call it murder. but if zimmerman initiated the altercation and was overpowered and then killed the boy then it’s definitely murder. it does matter who initiated the altercation and chuck doesn’t have the answer to that, and his definitive statements discredit him. you can look at his blog to see further what his agenda is.