Trayvon Martin Case

[saden1]

Originally Posted by JoeRedskin

the instigator? I can follow you all I want on a public street saden. I can run after you if you run away. I can stare at you. I can call you names. I can say your stupid as I run in the same direction as you. What I cannot do, is touch or threaten you.

I think the crux of it is we are disagreeing on what "threaten" means. You think the act of "chasing" is the threat. Okay. I get that. If an unfamiliar kid I think is acting "suspiciously" in my neighborhood sees me watching him and starts to run away, am I "threatening" him if I chase him while I call 911? Can he turn and assault me?

No, this is not a "OK, I get that" type of situation. It's "if an adult was following your little girl that adult is a threat." Following someone can only result in two things:

a) confrontation which is a hostile or argumentative meeting or situation between opposing parties.

b) one individual takes flight out of fear for their safety.


The act of following someone you don't know is a threatening act.