Friday, July 12, 2013

Filner

No way.  The leader of a big city who is using his position to behave in a way that is universally understood to be reprehensible.  At least with Clinton, no one accused him of coercion to get sex.  It's bad enough when someone who is clearly bestowed a position of great power and trust acts in a juvenile manner, with lewd comments or sexual innuendo.  If you can't use the Mayor as a role model, who then?  But to use the position of authority for personal gain of any kind (including financial or sexual favors) needs to be intolerable.  Corruption is a blight capable of bringing down a government.  Everywhere possible, it needs to be met with unequivocal resolve: Not in my (community, city, state, country)!  No second chance for Filner.  He blew his big chance to be trusted.  It wasn't just a single or isolated incident. It's who he is.

Travon

I have a hard time with someone aggressively following and approaching someone, armed, inciting a fight, starting to get beat, shooting and killing their target, and then calling self-defense or "stand-your-ground."  That's neither in the spirit of self defense or stand your ground in my opinion.  Zimmerman was clearly the original perpetrator, harassing a person who didn't deserve it.

There's no way he can be justifiably exonerated.  He may not be guilty of pre-mediated murder.  (He may, but I don't know of any such evidence aside from going out armed, looking to get in a tangle.)  But he's guilty of being an asshole, starting a fight, and killing someone as a result of his actions.