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I thought for sure I'd see at least one person post. Personally I don't think anyone besides G Zimmerman will really know what happened that Sunday night, but I'd love to be on the jury to at least hear the details better. The media does twist a lot of things just to spark outrage. I'm just shocked over the fact that this guy wasn't immediately arrested at the least just to cover all the bases...what do you think?

I don't have an opinion because I don't think that we know any of the facts. Of course not knowing any of the facts hasn't stopped thousands of people from taking to the streets. It hasn't stopped countless reporters and pundits from reporting conjecture as if it were fact.

My opinion is I don't like the "Stand by Your Ground Law" I think this proves if there are no other witnesses you can see that anyone can claim that defense and it is very hard to prove otherwise. I know they are reviewing it, I am happy for that.

Hey, anyone can start a discussion on any kind of topic!

I haven't been home much so I haven't seen a lot of news (plus I don't have the 24 hour news channels). Like Gail, I've been waiting for all of the facts to come out. I wasn't sure if they weren't coming or if I was just missing them. Things seems a little weird that we haven't heard much in terms of facts (or at least I haven't heard). I thought I caught this morning that he had been on the phone with his girlfriend right yet she hasn't been interviewed yet. I don't understand why. She might have some details. Are there photos taken at the police station of Zimmerman's injuries besides a grainy video tape? I would have thought there would be photos for evidence. I just feel like I haven't heard enough yet.

Regardless of "who did what".......those 911 calls with the screams and wails in the background are heartbreaking. It is a sad situation whether it was one's fault, the other's fault, or both.

I agree BabeInCapitivity, I think Zimmerman should have been arrested . No we don't know all the facts, but if a black man had "killed" a white teenage boy in "self-defense" they would have already arrested him. A lot of people are upset and are taking to the streets because they are afraid justice will not prevail.

Based on the initial reports, I do think Zimmerman should have been arrested and I'm surprised that little has been done to him at this point but as I've said, I haven't seen too much since those initial reports.

No facts = No opinion.

I would say the facts surrounding the Casey Anthony case were just as murky but lots of people had their opinions on that from start to finish; people demonstrated and the like. And she was aquitted based on lack of evidence. I agree with Cathy on the "Stand Your Ground Law."

And that was wrong too. But I think that most people didn't form an opinion until the trial. That is not the case here.

I don't have an opinion because I don't think that we know any of the facts. Of course not knowing any of the facts hasn't stopped thousands of people from taking to the streets. It hasn't stopped countless reporters and pundits from reporting conjecture as if it were fact.

I agree, the only thing I have a comment on is the fact that they are using really old pictures of both the involved people, which I think they are doing to entice hate one way or another.

I totally agree. It only serves to make me distrust EVERYTHING the media says about the case. The public should not form an opinion at all based on the media coverage.

This "story" became a national outcry when Al Sharpton got involved. Two words. Tawana Brawley. Enough said.

I totally agree. It only serves to make me distrust EVERYTHING the media says about the case. The public should not form an opinion at all based on the media coverage.

This "story" became a national outcry when Al Sharpton got involved. Two words. Tawana Brawley. Enough said.

AMEN!

Interesting takes on this particular story.

I had a conversation with an aquaintance about this yesterday and I said that I have no opinion on who is at fault and she took that to mean that I think that Zimmerman is innocent and that Trayvon was guilty. WHAT?!?! How did she get that?

So then I discussed it with some other people. Some of them understood that having no opinion means exactly that - having no opinion. A few of them immediately interpreted it to mean that I think that Trayvon is somewhat to blame. To me this is a classic case of people thinking that if you don't share their opinion, you are against their opinion. Or - if you are not on my side you are my enemy. I hate this about our sound-bite culture. Too many people have become assustomed to all-or-nothing thinking. Black and white. Red and blue. Liberal and conservative. Us and them. The media and the culture as a whole want to put people in a box. This is a problem.

Now that charges have been officially made, the "Trial-by-Media" will begin!

Yeah I'm wondering where they're going to go where the jury won't be tainted by the media now...

Okay - mini rant here, but I just can't help it. I can't stay quiet or neutral on this any longer. Usually I nod my head sympathetically, "ah, yes, the media, I know what you mean..." But the fact is, I have no idea what people mean whenever they blame "the media." I am the media. You are the media. The "media" does not exist in one specific location. Media, a means by which information is disseminated, is not one organization, not one viewpoint, not one "thing."

A producer at NBC has been fired because of the manipulation of this case. NBC repeatedly aired an edited version of Zimmerman's 911 call. The edited version implied that he was suspicious of Martin because he was black, when in fact the 911 operator specifically asked Zimmerman if the person was white, black, or Hispanic. Zimmerman answered the question. NBC edited the question out. This is why I don't trust "the media." I am glad that the producer was fired. The industry needs to weed out all the manipulators. Unfortunately, I think that is going to be a big job.

I think in general you have to listen to several different outlets to get to the truth of most stories. I think each network tends to slant stories their own way and if you listern to several you usally can get the real gist of a story. If you only ever trust one source you will never be completely informed. It is too diffucilt for one station, one reporter, one organization to know everything when different sources will give different information to different people who are asking the questions.

I tend to read the newspaper, browse the internet, watch several news channels and listen to seveal talk radio shows. I hope between all of that I am getting the truth somewhere mixed in.

This case (and many others) have been tainted by media coverage. The 'reporters' go out of their way to find an angle to get a 'story'. And in many cases that story will cover only one aspect of a case and then the public picks up on that point and forms an opinion. In this case the primary angle is race. There are two sides to every story and we (the public) have been bombarded with one side and opinions are being formed from this (mis)information without the benefit of the 'other side' being heard. Mr. Zimmerman has been 'convicted' by the media because of this one-sided coverage even before a trial has been scheduled. It will also be nearly impossible to seat an impartial jury because of all the hype this case has received. I stand by my "Trial-by-Media" statement!

I'm glad Zimmerman got arrested. Let the trial begin and let the facts speak for themselves. However, I am concerned about finding an unbiased jury.

I would say I agree with Cathy's approach of reading information from many sources. I would also say to look for citations: "Police investigators say,..." "A witness at the scene says,..." and the like. The more, the better. Newspapers have much more room to dedicate to coverage so they tend to be more in-depth and have less edited content. And I would always assume there's more to the story.

I honestly do not know why this turned out to be national news. It seems to me that some people thrive on drama and will take what they can get to create drama or enable their statement to be made. From the information I have heard, the boy was troubled and was creating problems and Zimmerman was in his rights to defend himself. But that is only my opinion from the information that I've seen. As more info comes out, my opinion will probably change. But who am I to judge? I feel bad for Zimmerman's family with all the death threats and such...In cases like this it seems like there is never justice because someone will still be dealing with the effects for a long time.