The one problem with Colin's bullshit is that he says, "running around my neighborhood". This was not his neighborhood, it was a different neighborhood, trespassing and prowling in people's yards. Aurbey could have stopped, he could have called the police and he could have filed a police report and charged those honkies with assault.
Not saying that I disagree with you. However, the more that I read about this case the more questions that I have.
If you have ever seen the movie, "Bonfire of the Vanities," this case as well as the Trayvon Martin case are so much like that movie. Black guy gets killed and the media is all over it like flies on cow-patty. The media and some members of the public ignore the deceased person's criminal record and say that it is irrelevant. The photos that we see of the deceased are from his third grade yearbook and not someone's mugshot from month's ago.
From what I'm seeing I will hazard a couple of guesses.
#1 The retired cop was probably in the "I'm a cop" mode. He probably forgot that he was retired and is an ordinary citizen just like the rest of us. I don't know what this guy was like as a cop or as an ordinary bloke like the rest of us but from everything I read and watched; he was definitely in the cop mode.
#2 You are correct; that Aurbery could have stopped. An idiot pulled a pistol on me once. I wasn't doing anything wrong but my hands went up in the air. I was pissed but wasn't going to fight cause he was armed and I wasn't. Everything was straightened out and calm afterwards but I stayed clear away from the idiot.
Nobody will know what Aurbery's mindset was that day but there is a little information out there about his criminal history.
I worked as a security guard on a college campus once. You could not have found very many more people as polite and professional as I was. So I'll say this, whenever an individual or group came in the lobby area and made too much noise, I would address everyone as "gentlemen, ladies, sir, ma'am or miss." Then I would ask them to be quiet.
The reaction from the whites was usually, "okay, no problem" or "sorry about that."
On the other hand, the reaction I got from the blacks was "WTF is he talkin' to us like dat for? MF act like he own da fucking place," or "WTF you mean, be quiet?"
They were spoiling for a fight. There were a lot of great kids that I saw at that college but most of the blacks were spoiling for a fight and had a chip on their shoulder when they were dealing with this white security guard. FYI, I had already been in the military, worked and got along great with a lot of minorities. Anyone that knows me; knows that I'm not a bigot.
Several years after college, I apprehended a couple of very big black teens outside of my house at gun point. One of them got really defiant and had his fist raised at me while I had my revolver pointed at him. He was an idiot, sneaking around my house at 11:00 PM and didn't realize how close he came to getting shot.
I convinced the asshole to comply or else. My language was not suitable for mixed company or young ears but I didn't want to shoot the aggressive dick-head unless I had to but he didn't have the sense to put his hands up in the air and comply like his accomplice. The dick-head eventually complied depsite the fact that he thought he was superman.
The cops eventually arrived and took over.
I say all this because it seems that there is usually someone, whether black or white, doesn't understand the universal language of putting their hands up in the air when someone has the drop on them.
In the video, without any other information, Aurbery is clearly the aggressor. The statement by the DA in his letter to the police department indicates that Aurbery may have been a hot-head in the past. Or maybe not.
Also salient in this matter is that McMichael's was in the "I'm a cop" mode and forgot that he's just like the rest of us. On the other hand, he was probably well aware that the Georgia statute permits a citizen to make an arrest when appropriate and he (probably rightfully) assumed that he had that authority.
On a side note; does anyone here recall the Michael Drejka case? Remember that the Sheriff said that this was a clear case of "stand your ground." It was only after public pressure that the Florida AG's office decided to prosecute.
Drejka's big mistake was talking with the cops and they used those videos against him. However, what I saw of the video of the shooting, it was justified. Drejka's mistake was talking with a short fat black woman with an attitude.
Why do I say that? I had plenty of experience dealing with short fat black women with attitudes in college. It was especially worse when they were drunk. The drunk black guys were easier to deal with than the mouthy women. Drejka should have let it go but McGlockton clearly attacked him. And that's what the sheriff said when he reviewed the video.
That case was tried in the media. It will be interesting to see what happens in the appeal process with both these cases. I have a feeling that the McMichaels have already been convicted and they won't be able to get an unbiased jury.
