E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Courtesy of Kevin Cunningham
Kevin Cunningham started a petition on change.org calling for the prosecution of the man who shot Florida teen Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26.
When Kevin Cunningham read about the killing of teenager Trayvon Martin early this month, he turned to a platform he was just starting to experiment with – social media – to add his voice to the few that were expressing outrage about a Florida police department’s handling of the case.
Little did he know when he started an online petition demanding that authorities prosecute the shooter, that it would garner more than 2 million signatures and help draw international attention to the 17-year-old’s shooting death on Feb. 26.
“I decided to take the skills that I’ve been working on … and apply them to the situation and see how well it would work out, and it just went crazy on me,” said Cunningham, 31, of Washington, D.C., who created the petition on the Change.org website on March 8.
“What I’ve learned is that in social media, you don’t have to go through institutions anymore. … Any individual with any idea can make it work if they have (a) connection to the Internet,” he added.
Video shows Zimmerman shortly after Martin shooting
Cunningham, a red-head who describes himself as the “super Irish” son of activist parents, said he learned about the Martin case when he read a story posted on a listserv for Men of Howard, an informal, secretive fraternity that he joined while attending the historically black Howard University as a law student.
When he suggested starting an online appeal calling for prosecution of the shooter, neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, the proposal was met with both support and skepticism from other subscribers.
“At Howard, they tell us as soon as we get there, ‘If you’re going to be a lawyer, you’re either a social engineer or a parasite on society.’ … that’s how I think about life, is to be a social engineer, and that’s what my parents always were trying to be," he said.
When Cunningham launched the appeal, others in the fraternity posted it to their social networks. Later, current students and other alumni shared it, too.
Does surveillance video of George Zimmerman in police custody on the night of Trayvon Martin's death contradict claims that he was beaten and bloodied during an altercation with the Florida teen? NBC's Ron Allen reports.
'Made me feel very good'
On the first day, Cunningham believes the petition got 100 signatures. Then it quickly reached the 1,000 mark as it spread to Florida, California and beyond. Cunningham said he noticed that some of the signers identified themselves as family members or friends of Martin.
“You could tell there ... was a lot of people who knew him and liked him,” he said. “It definitely had an impact on me … it made me feel very good about what I had done, what we had done.”
Zimmerman has admitted to shooting Martin. His representatives have asserted he acted in self-defense, but the incident has sparked outrage in many quarters because Martin was unarmed and, according to critics of police handling of the case, may have been targeted because he was black.
When the number of signatures on Cunningham’s petition crested 10,000 after a few days, Change.org contacted him about transferring it to Martin’s parents, who had begun making media appearances to speak on behalf of their slain son.
Cunningham said he was happy to do so, noting several times in an interview with msnbc.com that he had wanted to remain behind the scenes.
He also played down his role in the petition’s explosive growth, saying the number of signers when he transferred it to Martin’s parents was “not even a rounding error” compared to where the number stands now.
“At the same time, I feel like I did kick the stone that turned into the snowball that caused the avalanche,” he said.
Grateful for a stranger's gesture
Martin's parents expressed gratitude.
"When we heard about the petition, we were overwhelmed that someone we didn't know would take the time and effort to raise awareness about our son," said his mother, Sybrina Fulton.
"From the beginning, our only goal has been getting simple justice for our son," added his father, Tracy Martin. "The fact that more than 2 million people have signed this petition shows there are still a lot of good people in this world."
Transferring a petition on Change.org is extremely rare, said Megan Lubin, a spokeswoman for the website, where nearly 100,000 petitions have been posted since it began operations in 2007.
“Trayvon’s parents were very quickly becoming the face of the national story. It was really their story that was speaking to folks … and I think the decision was made to reach out and see if they would be interested in leading the campaign,” she said.
Congressman escorted from House after wearing hoodie in Trayvon Martin tribute
Lubin noted that an average of 15,000 petitions are started on the site every month, “so for a petition to climb this fast and to grow to this size is truly remarkable.” She attributed the growth in part to “celebrities who have made it their sole mission over their social media pages …to call for folks to sign this petition.”
“It goes directly to the story and Trayvon’s parents,” she added, “but it also demonstrates … the incredible power of the platform and social media in general.”
Website's largest petition ever
The petition became the largest in the website’s history last week, surpassing the number of signatures on one launched last year calling for a law to make it a felony for a guardian not to notify authorities of a child disappearance within 24 hours, in the wake of the Casey Anthony case.
Cunningham’s effort was one of the dozens, if not hundreds, of efforts to publicize the case online that helped to keep the conversation going about Martin “even though there (weren't) a lot of big developments in the case” prior to the release of the 911 tapes, said Kelly McBride, senior faculty for ethics at The Poynter Institute.
The parents of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old student fatally shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in a gated Florida community, defend their son's reputation amid new reports that portray him as a teen often in trouble. NBC's Ron Allen reports.
“It gave all of those people who were motivated a place to point to and say, ‘Here do something, you know, sign this,’ and it also … became like a central blog for who was making interesting comments on the case,” said McBride, who spoke with Cunningham for a column tracing how the story evolved on social media.
Lubin said it’s up to Trayvon Martin’s parents to decide what to do with the petition.
“The point of Change.org is so that people feel empowered and able to start something at any time and it has to be their campaign,” she said. “ Our role is very much … helping people achieve that goal.”
Cunningham, who works as a social media coordinator for a Palestine children’s charity, KinderUSA, said he “fell in love” with social media during the Egyptian revolution and was inspired by the activists he encountered in the virtual world.
He was particularly moved by the story of Khaled Said, whose death at the hands of police was credited with helping trigger the Egyptian uprising that toppled the government of Hosni Mubarak.
“I thought that this could be a similar situation where the death of the one person could be the thing that triggers us to re-look at our society,” Cunningham said. “I think we need to revolutionize the justice system, for sure, and maybe our culture as well.”
Asked whether he thought people might be surprised to learn that a white man was responsible for the petition demanding justice for a black teenager he had never met, Cunningham said he didn’t “believe in black and white.”
“The only race I believe in is the human race,” he said.
Leave a Comment:
What an Axx Hole. This is AMERICA. We do not convict (or arrest) based on public opinion. If the legal authorities find valid, solid evidence that a crime was committed then they SHOULD arrest the person. Otherwise, stop the holier than thou BS and let the criminal system do their jobs properly. You do not know Zimmerman OR Trayvon so stop the accusations and let the law do its work. You are just promoting a different type of lynch mob BS.
So, starting a petition to call for an arrest of Mr. Zimmerman equates to calling for him to be convicted?
This is the problem with all of the Zimmerman apologist out there; all the public is calling for is for an arrest to be made and the legal system to operate on Trayvon's behalf the same way it would operate for any other person. Why is starting a petition to call for justice in the prosecution of Mr. Zimmerman a bad thing?
Am I the only one who sees the inconsistencies in Mr. Zimmerman's story? If he was injured, as the police have stated in their police report, then why doesn't he simply come forward and show the public the scar from his gash on his head and evidence that his nose was broken, or even bloodied (as claimed in the police report)?
Considering what has surfaced on the video of him being brought into the police station approximately 4 hours after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin you would think that Mr. Zimmerman or his lawyer would be attempting to refute any evidence that casts doubts upon the veracity of Mr. Zimmerman's account of the events.
Alas, all we hear are crickets!
If you uses the $ for the s it looks more like A$$HOLE. Just saying
The innocent until PROVEN guilty line of thought should prevail here....he doesn't HAVE to prove anything to you or to me unless he IS arrested and everyone knows....or should know...keep your mouth shut...ANYTHING said by you can and WILL be used in a court of law...If he tries to defend himself, WHO will believe him? Those of you who are calling for him to be arrested based on YOUR say so? I believe the FBI is also investigating....are they part of the "cover up"? Or could it be that they are making sure there is SOME law that they can use to arrest him? What will happen if he isn't arrested???? What will happen if he IS arrested and found NOT GUILTY!!! Do you suggest he turn himself in?? Even though he hasn't been charged? Maybe he should go to the nearest mall and advertise that he's going to be there so that people like you might be able to stone him to death??? Would THAT make you feel better? AND doing it that way will make the young man come back alive, right?
I am so tired of everybody politicising every issue. This is not a story about politics, it is a story that is about the power of social media in the aftermath of a tragic shooting death.
That the victim was on public property, about half the size of the shooter and armed only with a bag of skittles and an iced tea should be enough to cause people to consider the shooters claim that he pulled the trigger in self defense.
Officers were called, Zimmerman was taken into custody, charges were contemplated, the prosecutor didn't see evidence to support the charges and now public outrage has grown to the point that it cannot be ignored.
I don't know if we'll ever find out what really happened that night. The evidence either wasn't there or wasn't collected to support charges.
That social media is powerful is undeniable. Will the ever tightening noose around the neck of our freedom become even tighter as our elected/purchased leaders begin to examine how best to deal with what is truly a threat to the power they wield? If I was a gambler, I'd place my bets on regulation to curtail and dis-empower this new media on the grounds that it could be used by terrorists to incite unrest and revolution.
The victim was on private property inside a gated community
The victim was over 6'2" tall and the shooter was 5'8"
Eyewitness accounts put the shooter on his back on the ground and the victim slamming the shooters head into the ground as the shooter was crying out for help
Zimmerman was taken custody and charges were considered but there was not sufficient evidence to charge him or the evidence indicated that Zimmermans actions were legal considering the situation. The outrage was spurned on by people who had no direct link to the case and had no evidence to make any determination as to whether the incident was handled properly or not, The more I read about this case the more it is found out that the Police did take appropriate action. The outrage is being sparked by people who have their own special agendas.
So, the story is, Trayvon attacked Zimmie, had him pinned down,while "pounding his head into the concrete", zimmie was crying for help, a witness, John, saw zimmie on the bottom, crying for help, the witness say's stop, I'm calling 911. He ran upstairs and called 911, during this run up the stairs, zimmie was able to unpin his arms, get his gun out of his holster and shoot Trayvon, all this without getting any blood on his shirt, which is clearly visible on the video. When our trusty witness, John, looks out again, Trayvon is face down on ground, and the whimpering, zimmie has STOPPED his whimpering COMPLETELY!
Yup, sounds totally plausible to me!
NOBODY cares what YOU think is plausible. YOU are recreating a scene out of thin air that takes 15 pieces to put together. You have 8 of those pieces and the other 7 are being fabricated to suit your beliefs by you own imagination.
ginger bean,
Anything you know, that I don't? Please share!
This is no longer about the guilt or innocent nature of Martin or Zimmerman. It is only about who can profit most from the media and political coverage of the events. Justice - not hardly. Nobody cares if Zimmerman is guilty. Its all about the Benjamins. HIs mother is trying to profit from trademarking his name and likeness. Too late for that. His father is trying to profit by going on every t.v. / media outlet (getting paid guaranteed to do so) to spew his heresay rhetoric. The Black Panthers have been a non-issue for years and this just brought new life to there cause of hatred towards all that are not black. Shaprton/Lee/Rush/Jackson etc. just another reason to get in front of the camera to let people know they are still on the planet. No one was there to dispute what actually happened. Witnesses are popping up everywhere, pretty soon there will be more witnesses than the entire population of Sanford, FL. Once somebody formulates a theory they all put themselves on the scene and somehow end up as news.
Last night on Lawrence O'Donnell - he talked to the funeral director who prepped Martin's body for burial. Anybody knows, a funeral director is not a forensic pathologist. He was not charged with analizing the body for evidence. Anything this guy had to say is not documented as would be by a coroner. Give me a break. Too many people getting their 15 minutes of fame at the cost of what. NOT JUSTICE.
The POLICE report of 2 cops reports the broken nose and cuts and abrasions to the back of his head...so this lawyer saying that Zimmerman lied makes the lawyer the lier....but then again...he IS a lawyer and that's what they do best. For days now people reported that Zimmerman was not even taken to the police department and questioned but was released at the scene....another lie. Here is the video proving otherwise. The cop who was at the scene indicates grass stains on Zimmerman's back...doesn't say back on his jacket. People keep referring to Zimmerman as white....he is white, Jewish, and Hispanic. Is there any white in Trayvon's blood? He looks awfully light to be just black. You say it doesn't matter???? Ok...then why should it matter for either person...maybe Zimmerman hated blacks...maybe Trayvon hated white-hispanics. Maybe the whole incident was bad decisions on both sides gone terribly wrong. People are saying that Zimmerman called the cops 30 times that day...NOT what the records indicate at all. There were, however, many many visits by police to that neighborhood according to the police records. There were several reported break-ins reported to the police in that neighborhood. The picture consistently shown in the media of Trayvon is a much younger child...now pictures are emerging that doesn't show him a weed thin and as tiny as the media wanted people to remember him. The picture consistently released of Zimmerman is from his mug shot of 2005 when he was 20 years old and interfered with a copy questioning his friend about under age drinking and he got physical with the cop. Again...falsely leading people to assume this is the Zimmerman of today...instead of showing him as a married man, involved in his community and using the available picture of him in a suit. It's all about the media people and what they want you to think and perceive....I'm not saying Zimmerman isn't the "bad" guy here...I'm not saying that Trayvon is the angel portrayed by the media....I'm saying that if you want "justice", you don't get it from mob rule or spreading adulterated versions of the stories bent to accommodate your "side". In the long run, it's doesn't matter what YOU think unless you are on the jury or in the judge's seat.
The Zimmerman of today is a 5 foot 9 inch, 250 pound, out of shape guy. The concept that he could chase down a 6 foot 3 inch, 160 pound, high school athlete, is ludicrous. In a stand up fair boxing match, Zimmerman would have no chance versus Martin. However, it is a given that Zimmerman had a gun and Martin didn't know that. It is also a given that a 17 year old male has a lot of testosterone and can be taunted into doing stupid things.
The question is, did George Zimmerman stage a confrontation in which he would wind up flat on his back yelling for help just so he would have justification to shoot Martin dead. Given Zimmerman's mindset on that dark rainy night, it is just possible. It is also possible, that Martin didn't want to immediately go to his father's girlfriend's condo. The night was still young. Instead, having been 'disrespected' by a short, fat white guy, Martin may have decided to take his frustration out on Zimmerman physically. Either is possible.
Facts: Zimmerman was following Trayvon. (911 tapes)
Fact: Trayvon knew he was being followed and was fearful. (girlfriend talking to him when it happened)
Fact: There was a fight, and Trayvon was shot.
Zimmerman claims to have been attacked by Trayvon, while returning to his vehicle, yet he is found behind houses. He told police he got out of his truck (second time) to read street signs, no street signs BEHIND HOUSES.
Zim says he was being BEAT up, his face pounded into concrete, yet there are NO VISIBLE injuries OR BLOOD, on Zimmerman in police video.
Why?
“I decided to take the skills that I’ve been working on … and apply them to the situation and see how well it would work out, and it just went crazy on me,” said Cunningham, 31, of Washington, D.C.,
I am pretty sure this is George Zimmermans excuse for getting out of his car.....I think our boy Cunningham here is playing both sides.
He was trespassing on PRIVATE property. Failed to identify himself or explain his business there. Then a confrontation began........
I doubt Zimmerman would have pursed him onto the public streets.
What is mine is NOT yours!
You come on my property, best ID yourself, explain your business and get going!
Jello Heads!
Look...if YOU are where YOU are SUPPOSED to be and someone questions YOU on the same PRIVATE PROPERTY, would you be happy about it?
Zimmerman wasn't on his own ground...it's a private COMMUNITY, meaning others live there too!
Regardless how you try to twist things, the boy was where he was supposed to be, headed where he was supposed to be headed and Zimmerman decided to try to play cop AFTER calling 911 on the kid.
That's the meat & potatoes of it all right there!
Danny-
The meat and potatoes of it are - who swung first. A confrontation does not justify Treyvon taking down Zimmerman - if that was the case. Its not like he got out of the car at a full sprint with gun drawn and firing willy nilly. Something transpired (everybody speculating in their own way for 3 weeks now about that).
Everybody claiming that the police botched the case. It is a shooting. That in itself sets off a chain of event for investigators, detectives and the coroners office. Not a foot patrol beat cop issue at that point.
Sloppy Joe, you keep saying private property; whose property was it. A sidewalk in an apartment community, where he was a guest. In those condo/townhome/apartment communities the streets, the sidewalks, all of that is common area for all the residents and their guests. Martin had every right under the Sun to be there. Zimmerman should have met the police at the gate and shown them where he saw the suspected, up to no good maybe person was last seen. Martin, had a right to his personal space and if it was violated by Zimmerman then Zimmerman needed to have his arse knocked to the ground.
Sloppy Joe, your grasp of the facts appears to be SLOPPY. Where did you get the idea that ANYONE in this story was trespassing? How can he indentify himself or explain anything when he was, (1) already in a conversation with his girlfreind, (2) asked the nut persuing him "Why are you following me"? Zimmerman did not answer him by indentifying himself, he demanded to know "What are you doing here"? The two quotes are from the only other person still alive that heard both of them speak that night. Care to tell us how Martin di something wrong that allowed Zimmerman to aggressively confront him?
If there is enough evidence to arrest Zimmerman then he should be arrested and tried. Give the police and the forensic people time to process that evidence. I wish the media would be more factual in representing Trayvon - they picture him as a little 12-13 year kid.. he's 17 people, basically an adult. Media stop showing as some young kid. Be more honest.
One of the issues that should be concerning everyone is.... why is there such a huge outcry here, this kind of stuff happens. Where's the outcry when a black kid kills a white ? There is none. Whites are protesting this issue right now as well as the Blacke but the Blacks seem to be playing the race card in every time and every situations. They are coming across more and more racist than ever. This country is more divide than it has been in decades.I thoght we had moved passed alot of this stuff.
the blacks will never give up the race card. period..its their only excuse for doing nothing with their lives except hating whites. Its the reason they don't work, have no character, no morals, and the list goes on...don't you know its all because the white man has kept them down. What a crock. But its their excuse for everything.
...and I'm sure you know enough Black people to verify those as facts, right??
Yes I do know enough of them that will use the RACE CARD and I do have plenty of them that know I am not prejudice
OK.... well make sure you say MOST or SOME...because not every black person plays the race card on everything. Yes, of course SOME use it as a reason to not take control of their own lives, but even if they did, TRUST they had plenty of ammo!
You all are acting like black people have no reason to be paranoid that some white person may be out to destroy their lives with the only reason being they happen to look different!
If you think racism is gone, you are WRONG! It may not be everywhere but it DOES exist and being that it's such a deeply embedded emotion on both sides, the issue of whether or not someone is being biased SHOULD be at least investigated BEFORE it's dismissed!
I kind of think having a black President has sparked a lot of the stress to our White citizens.
They thought it could never happen.
That was a mouthful MistyCloud, and likely TRUE!
These closet racists have let loose...
Tripmom, what difference does it really make what pictures were used of either Trayvon or george???!!!! Neither had up to date photo's released right away. You know that trayvon was 17 and that george is 28 going to be 29. Not trayvon, he will always be 17!!!!! The outrage is that this boys family just wanted the truth, and and an arrest made. Its called due process!!!!! I don't know what he did that was so wrong that george felt that he had to confront him????? Why would you think that we have moved past this??? Are you talking about prejudice,racism, or both?????? George is the one on the 911 tape saying" These @!$%#s, they all ways get away." He said this out of his own mouth. They Who?!!!! Trayvon said over the phone to his girlfriend that some crazy white guy was following him. She said run, but Trayvon knew from the "talk" that black mothers have with their sons's especially that running would make him look guilty of something!!!!! so , in answer to your thought, No we have not moved past this stuff. Sad!!!!!!
wow, wonder why these pages aren't filled up with blacks screaming racism....turns out the leader of the pack was white...oh no it can't be....a white that isn't racist.....like i've said from the beginning...blacks are the most racist people on the planet.
Why do you say that?
Because those uppity Negroes don't know their place anymore?
How about just letting justice take its course. The Seminole County grand jury will be presented with the evidence on April 10th. This evidence will include the autopsy findings. The fact that Mr. Zimmerman was not arrested and has not been charged is not evidence that he is either innocent or that law enforcement is not doing its job. When a suspect is not a flight risk, there is no need to be hasty. The Sanford police questioned Mr. Zimmerman for several hours that night. I am confident that there is sufficient real evidence (not wild speculation or imaginary computer video) to determine whether Mr. Zimmerman taunted Trayvon Martin into a staged confrontation so he could shoot him (murder) or whether Martin did assault Zimmerman as Zimmerman claims.
I say, let justice take its course. American justice grinds slowly, but usually it grinds very finely without mob vigilante justice.
At least this story has made me forget just how bad Obama's running the country.
Made me forget that the DUHbya has gotten over 4,000 of our soldiers killed for nothing.............
@Renee, Because Congress weren't the ones I saw on TV using "Weapons of Misdirection" as an excuse to attack Iraq..................
WTF does the president have to do with this incident?
Where do people get all these little side facts? Like his girlfriend told Zimmerman to run. How do you know he was on the phone with her? I've seen nothing like that in any account. Do people just make up this stuff? You probably work for the media and need to keep this story going. I think it has enough without making sh** up, too!
The phone records show at that time he was talking to her on his cell phone. It's been proven already.
ABC News was there exclusively as the 16-year-old girl told Crump about the last moments of the teenager's life. Martin had been talking to his girlfriend all the way to the store where he bought Skittles and a tea. The phone was in his pocket and the earphone in his ear, Crump said.
ABC News
"He said this man was watching him, so he put his hoodie on. He said he lost the man," Martin's friend said. "I asked Trayvon to run, and he said he was going to walk fast. I told him to run, but he said he was not going to run."
Eventually, he would run, said the girl, thinking that he'd managed to escape. But suddenly the strange man was back, cornering Martin.
"Trayvon said, 'What are you following me for,' and the man said, 'What are you doing here.' Next thing I hear is somebody pushing, and somebody pushed Trayvon because the head set just fell. I called him again, and he didn't answer the phone."
The line went dead. Besides screams heard on 911 calls that night as Martin and Zimmerman scuffled, those were the last words he said.
Trayvon's phone logs, also obtained exclusively by ABC News, show the conversation occurred five minutes before police first arrived on the scene. Crump said the girl's identity was being withheld because "her parents are gravely concerned about her health and her safety." Her parents asked that only an attorney be allowed to ask her questions.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/trayvon-martin-death-friend-phone-teen-death-recounts/story?id=15959017#.T3Rid-xSTEP
If he was being followed, why did he not get help? Why did'nt he call 911? If was such an innocent little kid (HAHAHAHAHA) why not go to someone's door and ask for help? Why? Because he was up to no good. Live by the sword, die by the sword. How can anyone who portraits themself as a "MADE NIGGA" be an innocent little kid?
You can't be serious? You actually think the details of his last phone call were made up? Simply because you missed that particular story means that everyone else must be lying?
Yeah, THAT STUFF WAS MADE UP,
Even though the police have confirmed the call,
And Zimmermans version SMACKS of the TRUTH!
Where are the pictures of this poor beat up Zimmerman? Oh, yeah, that's right, there aren't any!
Cause he's LYING!
I got my information from the 16yr old girlfriend of Trayvon, who shared with the lawyers for his parents,and also, the actual logs of the calls on her phone and trayvon,s. this information has been out for at least 2 weeks or more, and a reporter, the same reporter for ABC news{Mark Gupman], that released the video of george at the police station, interviewed the girlfriend,[her name is DEEDEE}, just 2 days ago in person.!!!!! So no, I did not make this up!!!!
Fabricated for Obama's Election -
Wholly fabricated story for the Obama administration re-election.
There is nothing factual about this story at all and it is a direct aid to law enforcement who will do anything to ignore the civil rights of Caucasians AND conceal evidence of hate crimes that many have carried out against a New England family from 2000 - today - that was totally ignored by the press.
Crimes of hatred against Caucasians does not sell newspapers.
So - you all go ahead and keep feeding this lie to protect and conceal evidence against the police as if it is the "American" thing to do - but I'm telling you now - it's a fabrication, a lie, and combination toward additional hatred against this quiet humble Judeo-Christian New England family that has yet to receive any sort of justice - ethnically cleansed - nearly wiped out within a decade and targeted for violence by criminally-acting law enforcement by both the Obama and Bush administrations.
Disgusting.
This combination - collusion, act of public unity coming forward for an alleged black child that was killed but wholly ignoring the crimes of murder or excessive brutality and hate against this family in New England is immoral and smacks of evil in fact - in the face of the international community as if only blacks should receive justice and no one else. As if the African American race is preferred over all others to receive impartiality in the courts while the son of this New England family serves you in the US military.
The "Irish" element is to rub their noses in it even more as an act of hatred - because some of their ancestry is strongly Irish.
Get off the hate wagon, Mr. Obama, you are no longer my president.
OK..ur just CRAZY!
lol...
I hate the fact that psychos like you are even allowed to vote...but alas, the constitution allows for even the most ignorant to have a say...
Scary....
Looks as if Cunningham is trying to make a name for himself, and the Zimmermen/Treyvon case fits perfectly for him. On top of that, the signatures mean nothing, and are pointless. Until Zimmermen is charged and goes to court, everyone here is just spewing nonsense. The whole hoodie thing is nothing more than "hey this is new fad, lets look popular by doing it" thing. Funniest part of all this, is the footage. Really? You mean to tell me that there are a number of you that can make out his face to tell if he suffered injury or not? I didnt know there was so many people out there that speclized in the ablity to anlize video footage. If he was treated and cleaned up, then this footage is pointless. I smell another LA Riot brewing.
Actually, you did not hear of Cunningham until today, so apparently he wasn't trying to garner publicity. How did you decide what he is trying to do, just from this story?
Actually, he has been on the internet prior to this story (you know this already so dont waste my time), and radio as well. Rush was bashing him last week, not that I condone what Rush was doing. NPR has has had news breifs on him as well. Second, he's a lawyer, and if you have any sense of reality, you would know as well as anybody else, that when it comes to a lawyers, there all about making sure they make their mark. Third, if is this so called "for the people lawyer", then why do the interview in the first place? Should he be not more concerned about the cause?
This is really a story of how one man, with no information and hundreds of miles away, started a firestorm of group think and mob rule. There is nothing to be proud of at all and now, like so many others, he is trying to get his part of fame and fortune. Makes me sick.
That is the MSNBC way. ONLY half truths, never check facts or get them straight.
...and so u watch FOX???
Same thing, different spin...
What RATIONAL THINKERS do is hear both sides and use common sense and life experience to find the middle ground. We are missing more of that today. You are either Left or Right... All someone has to do is call something conservative (even if it isn't) and the right loves it. All you have to do is call something liberal (even if it isn't) and the right HATES it! ...and vice versa.
People need to think for themselves a lot more often...
Your name fits you perfectly.
LOL....
There is a reason that FAUX viewers are the LEAST informed group out there!
His name is Roger Ailes and he is manipulating the old, scared, white folk!
Some people....
Renee Har, would you get out of your vehicle and run up on a strange person and demand to know what they were doing? Would you do this at night after being advised by the police dispatcher not to follow the person? Confronting a strange person by yourself is not the behavior of a scared person, old, young, Black, Brown, Red or White...
YOU fall right into the category alright!
FAUX...
How about they just teach lawyers to do their job? I don't see, for example, electricians in a moral quandary about whether they are "social engineers" or parasites - they typically just do their job. Why can't lawyers?
He was saying, that's the nature of the beast. You will either be defending criminals or innocent victims, prosecuting or defending in either the name of good or evil. When it comes down to it, that's pretty much what lawyers do - give the best service they can legally.. sometimes you have to defend someone that morally shouldn't be defended.
JUST another version of a terrorist, IRA at that! trying to inflame without justice, imported from N Ireland. This guy LOOKS like a thug, If it quacks, and it walks like one it is one! White Irish Black Panther! they have no moral or legal grounds over skinheads, or the KKK, they are all alike. SAme message:hate and intolerance. Social engineering? MY Axx! they are the parasite of society, they create violence for their own agenda and personal psychopathic greed, POWER.
Is there anyone you aren't afraid of?
I am afraid of no one, especially a lefty IRA wannabe terrorists, I have way to much ammunition and travel well armed. And I vote demonrat! ONE thing about a lefty, they love to prey on unarmed people because they are cowards.
What a butch of wanna be investigators don't just use the information that fits your opinion but use all the information available, maybe your opinion will change.
I DEMAND that the police supeona TRAYVON"S TWITTER ACCOUNT!
This kid was no victim. His own description of himself is NIGGA!
The police should grab any computer this kid owned or worked with. I'll bet he had a few hangin' white boys and screwin' white girls on them.
soooo...that means he deserved to get shot???
I'm so glad I live in an area where it's GOOD to be diverse! So glad I don't have to deal with u rednecks and hillbillies!
I believe he is just saying that there might be some insight to how this ANGEL of a kid thinks.
Maybe he is trying to say that this kid has hatred towards hispanics. YOU and I will never know unless it is investigated.
All of THAT really doesn't matter, when we are talking about what transpired that night. I'm sure he was an average 17 year old. We were all knuckleheads at some point, but I'm sure rude behavior with friends should not account for someone getting a hole put thru their chest when they are minding their own biz. I think the evidence of what happened that night is what's important. Nothing else.
Hmm, maybe we should release all of your communications and everything on your computer to the public.
Might be very enlightening.
Zimmerman had the gun in a holster was probably seen by Trayvon and he decided he was going to take it away and shoot Zimmerman with it, for all we know.
We will never know what Trayvon was thinking when he ATTACKED Zimmerman.
That said it all. That is why a lot of white men hate black men.
It just eats them up inside.
So, instead of a legal process, you're advocating justice by tweet of hordes of folks that don't know diddly-squat about a particular event?
Pure genius. Time to go to Australia.
A white killing a black. This is nothing more than an isolated thing, when you can actually wake up and see that blacks today are their own worst enemy.
But he was hispanic. Half Hispanic anyway, certainly not white.
He is hispanic.. no person with a brain in their head would look at his picture and call him white, just as no one looks at Obama and calls him white (and neither does he). And yeah I know who his parents are.
WHO CARES??
A child was hunted down and murdered, because he was BLACK!
JO an quit trying to make it about RACE.
IT WAS SELF DEFENSE that is why Zimmerman was not ARRESTED that night.
QUIT Trying to incite a riot
Jo-an doesnt care that Trayvon grabbed Zimmerman from behind and bashed his head into the concrete per eyewitness accounts. The only thing that matters to Jo-an is that Trayvon is black and that byself is the only important thing.
You guys have great imaginations...
Link me to "that" witness account, cause I read John's witness account on Fox and that IS NOT what he said!
So, please give me a link?
Here is mine:
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/state/witness-martin-attacked-zimmerman-03232012
Really? Still NO facts from you guys???
Still NOTHING????
WTF?? If you are going to make an accusation up, please link some reasoning with it!
Glad your engineering experiment worked out for you. Unfortunately your playing with real people and real lives. And the last thing the world needs is do-gooder-activist lawyers trying to changes the world. Social engineers are leaches on society. Ginger freak
Son of activist parents....
He is just a FREAK no need for the GINGER comment I have a GINGER grandchild he does not need to classified the same as this FREAK.
Just saying
James, you don't think the world should be changed?
At which period in our history would you like change to have stopped?
The 1700's, the 1800's, or the 1900's?
I knew there was some lawyer behind all this ruckus... Always someone fanning the flames.
Based his whole petition on lack of information from a news story... Again.. media and peoples interpretation of it is the problem.
The agenda-driven media just won't shut up with their trying to indict America as a whole because of the death of one black guy. An honest discussion of race has to start with black people taking the blame for their own actions. They are profiled because they commit crimes at up to 20x the rate of white people. There is a reason that stereotypes come about. It is not just made up in the imaginations of white people. The only race discussion that these racists want is to point the finger at whitey. Whitey can't go into a black community without being in REAL danger-- not the fictitious false danger concocted by the media and paranoid black minds. Cut the crap. I sick of white people being demonized and maligned, when the root of the blame lies with dysfunction, getto, crime-ridden black culture. Black people in the US perpetually want to play victim and not take personal blame.
ONE White/Hispanic shot ONE Black kid.
Where is the coverage of the Black-on-Black and Black-on-White gang beatings that happen every day ?!?!?!?!
Hey motorricker there wouldn't be enough space or time for the other news. We have reached the end of the gene pool, there aren't enough brains to go around anymore.
Typical "do-gooder" activist who sparks a near race war before he knows any of the facts.
Now that the facts have come out it is looking more and more like legitimate self defense. WILL THE RACE BAITORS AND ALARMISTS APOLOGIZE ?!?!?!?
I doubt it.
This is another Tawana Brawley case. It is Obama's "Tawana Brawley incident".