Nobody owes you anything

I only surf dawn patrol in the winter when it's the coldest...why you ask? cause I am the hardcore surfer in my town. Everyone else is WEAK SAUCE BRAH!

 

I bet your favorite Tuna is albaCORE

 

Nobody has really claimed that Martin was ever doing anything illegal throughout this whole trial. The 911 dispatcher told Zimmerman not to follow Martin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aVwPqXc-bk

The worst Zimmerman said about the "suspicious" man was that he had his hand in his waistband. We know Martin didn't have any weapons. Also, at 1:38, you can hear him say "They always get away." Maybe he's referring to criminals, but this seems doubtful when at 1:52 he says something that sounds like "****ing coons." Some have said it's "****ing punks" but I don't even really see the relevance. There was a black kid in a white neighborhood going to his father's house after getting skittles at a local convenience store. Do you really think that the prejudice isn't racial? Do you really think that a white kid walking down the street in a polo shirt and designer jeans would have been followed? Being black and wearing a hooded sweatshirt doesn't mean someone can follow you with a gun and confront you.

And even if there was a fight, why is that relevant? Zimmerman followed Trayvon with a gun! It's completely reasonable for someone to fight back in that situation. Trayvon probably felt he was in danger, and he has witness from his girlfriend on the phone that says that was the case. Three of Zimmerman's witnesses have in recent days changed their accounts, now saying that they either didn't see the fight clearly, or they couldn't tell who had the upper hand or that they didn't actually see Zimmerman with gashes on his head. That doesn't look good for Zimmerman.

Look, I wasn't there personally and I'm not on the jury, but I'm plenty informed about the evidence that has been released to be able to draw my own opinions about what happened. And my opinions are based on evidence and I could sit here and argue with you all day about it, quoting particular accounts and particular pieces of evidence.

Why is it that people think that an understanding of the evidence is sufficient to draw a conclusion about something in every other situation, but once it's in a jury trial nobody's allowed to draw a conclusion unless they're on the jury or were personally at the scene of the crime? That's so ridiculous.

 

The witnesses who claimed things like Trayvon attacked Zimmerman first have changed their story within the last week to say that they weren't able to clearly distinguish who attacked who and that they couldn't tell who had the upper-hand. Check your facts before you post them, and keep up on the case if you're going to have an on-going opinion about it.

Having a "black friend" doesn't mean someone's not racist. Are you really that naive? So many people with "black friends" are racist, especially when they have to go "no no no I can't be racist. Look! I have a black friend." Christ. Really?

The Coroner's report showed that the levels of drugs in Trayvon's system (Pot, really) were so low that Trayvon was definitely NOT on drugs at the time of the murder. THC unlike most other drugs is fat-soluble and remains in your system far longer because of that. Medical professionals have seen the levels of THC in Trayvon's system and come to the conclusion that Trayvon probably smoked pot in the weeks before the incident but was almost certainly not on pot at the time of the incident. And even if he was on pot . . . it's pot. Do we really think that Trayvon being on pot changes anything? Come on . . .

The video tapes of Zimmerman in his interview with police show no bruises, lacerations on the head, or bloody nose (have you ever broken your nose? It bleeds . . . a lot). All accounts of that were from a family physician . . . which is suspect, especially if he had a broken nose. The family physician can't treat the broken nose, so you'd think he'd have an orthopedist that could testify, who wasn't closely associated with him. But nope.

How have the muttering been debunked exactly?

That "burglary tool" was a flathead screwdriver . . . And being suspended doesn't at all have the same standards of proof as a criminal trial has to have so why does that matter?

So he was caught with marijuana by his school? That means Zimmerman could shoot him?

The assaulting a bus driver claim was forwarded without evidence by a right wing columnist and has no basis in fact. He was never suspended for that and there's no clear evidence that he did it . . .

Also, lots of racists I've known hide behind the veil of "I just don't like the urban blacks . . . the ones who are criminals. I'm fine with other blacks." and yet they maintain that black culture promotes criminality. I don't think Zimmerman's clearly not a racist at all.

I don't have fear and rage. I've said already that I don't carry a knife because I'm worried about people being jerks. I carry one for the same reason I carry one when I'm on my sailboat or kayak or any other watercraft. When I'm in the water there's potential for myself or others to get caught up in leashes or underwater snares or all kinds of other **** that might be a serious problem. And I know it's unlikely, especially in the northeast, but if a shark attacks me, as much as I love sharks and would hate to hurt them, I want something better than my hands to fend the thing off. I know, blood in the water yadda yadda, but the sharks species up here are usually solitary so I'm not very concerned, and if it's come to using the knife there's blood in the water anyway.

But if someone tries to fight me in the surf, damned right I'm gonna take it as a threat to my life and safety. Like I said, if I get knocked out or held under in the water those are easy ways to drown. I'm not unreasonable to consider somebody physically assaulting me with fists in the surf to be a threat to my life. I really don't want it to ever come to that and that would really make me sad to put someone in the hospital or grave, but just don't assault people in the ocean and it won't ever be a problem. The ocean's not the place to get confrontational and enraged. The ocean is a dangerous place and it's flat out not okay to knowingly threaten others physically in that environment.

 

You can't be serious

I can't believe people have lost common sense. I hate when people say they always pull the race card. In this case it has everything to do with it. Trayvon was doing nothing wrong and was being profiled. You just can't shoot people cuz you got your ass kicked when you started it. Zimmermans life will be hell either way, and he deserves it cuz he made a choice that day!

 

lmao....

i only surf in the center of the lineup...because it's the core of the lineup

 

Earl, dude....it has never been like that weekend in Sumatra....we need that vibe back in Jersey..these young dorks need a wake up call...chill out and feel the vibe young brothers...see ya at the point next monday. Remember to bring the masks.

 

seriously, these young bucks are stupid. i was sitting on the inside along the jetty and called a kid off a wave and he got mad. what a doofus

 

he got mad cuz he has not kissed a girl yet and sleeps with his 5 fin fish...lol, seriously though...I may not be what I was back then...but I always showed respect and I deserve it now...I even show it to the young guns at times just to drive home a point. My children show respect in the break, as they should...and they in turn, get it back from the line up.

 

how can you guys argue when theres been waves everyday? why aren't you guys surfing? what da hell? i've only been working, surfing, and partying for the past week. haven't even been on the internet in a week.

Get a grip bozos and go for a surf before its gone.

 

Seriously, you carry a knife in the water? Dork. From here on out nothing you say can be taken seriously. A knife... In the ocean... To stab sharks or people that **** with you. I wish I had the power to ban you just based on the pure gayness of that statement alone. I'm sure you have another 2 paragraph reply validating the need for carrying a knife while surfing but don't bother I won't read it. Your utter kookness has been exposed.

 

Dude. How does carrying a knife in the water make me a dork or a kook? I carry knives with me everywhere else I go, why not in the water when I have an awesome Spyderco folder with the completely rust-proof H1 steel and titanium clip so the whole thing's completely impervious to the ocean?

I don't know why it's ridiculous to you. Knives and the ocean for me just seem like an obvious pair. They've been a pair for thousands of years for mariners and other ocean-goers. Why it's unheard of to you is something that boggles my mind.

I can think of situations where it would come in quite handy to have a blade when surfing—situations where I'd be sad to not have it. For the whole three ounces the thing weighs and how easy it is to slip into a wetsuit (or board shorts in warmer water) with a retracting SCUBA retainer so I don't lose it, I don't really understand why I wouldn't carry it.

Look man, I collect knives with a passion just like I surf with a passion. If you're gonna be a jerk because I choose to carry a knife in the surf, that's fine. But I don't really see how it makes me a kook. It's a free country and I'll carry what I want into the surf. Doesn't change how I surf or how long I've been surfing. And I don't really care what you or anyone else thinks, man. It's not going to change what I do.

 

I didn't read much in this thread except for a few posts, but the board I mostly ride has no leash box. I feel more natural and in tune without a piece of velcro around my ankle. And if i do happen to lose my board, then I just swim, its just fun to be in the ocean in general. But then again I get to surf almost everyday there is waves all by myself or with a few friends.

 

Carrying a knife what a puss bag, Mommy and Daddy taught you well

Reading things like this thread further solidifies the fact uneducated people watch too much tv and listen to falsities that protray everything in a bad light.

Something to take into consideration, the world really isn't a bad place, its morons that cant deal with situations that give **** a bad rap. Since I have started surfing I have seen only a handful of arguments, only one that escalated into a fist fight, and its usually between some aggressive dude (like yourself) on a funshape/longboard and some little kid on a shortboard.

This ain't hawaii "brah" you're not gonna be put into a life or death situation on the east coast, leave your weapons in the Hummer and smile a little.

 

That's it...from now on I'm surfing with an assault rifle.

 

you carry a knife into the water when you surf???? I think you've seen too many movies. I also suggest a citizen's ban on you from the forum! lol. Now watch.... I get caught up in the ocean with my leash and am in a situation that I need a knife!
As far as the shark... if a shark comes to get you... you eithe wont have time to react or you'll be dead... so the knife doesnt really help there.

 

I got a board we can mount a turret on.

 

Could not agree more with this thread- never has been a team sport. Personally, I would love to see the Corporate World get out of surfing. I'm old enough to remember surfing without leashes. Made the sport different when you learned - you had to be able to swim the distance you paddled out. Actually, that is still a pretty good rule of thumb.

 

First, what's the obsession about me being a "puss" or the like about? I surf because I enjoy it, not because I feel some need to have a **** contest with other dudes or flaunt for everyone to see how masculine I am.

A shark attack would only kill you without time to react if it hit enough large blood vessels to make your mean arterial pressure to drop instantly to such a low level that you lose consciousness and have simultaneous organ failure immediately. That doesn't actually happen with most shark attack victims, who are often bitten on the leg where the only real concern is the femoral artery, severance of which requires immediate clamping and subsequent medical attention but is unlikely to lead to immediate unconsciousness. You'll have time to react in most cases.

Look, surf doesn't need to be insanely high for you to get tangled in something. I don't know what type of beach you surf at but where I surf there's tons of **** that washes up on shore, including lumber and concrete with loads of ropes attached. I hate to tell you but those things are underwater too. Yeah it's unlikely that I'll be ensnared but to say it could never happen is just naive. It's rare that whitewater kayakers get ensnared in **** like that and drown too, but it's common practice for them to carry knives too—fixed blades at that. I think the risk is lower for surfers, but still there. I also make compromises for my mobility so I carry a folder (albeit fairly large) and just tuck it into my wetsuit.

As far as I'm concerned, the ocean's dangerous by its nature not by its particular geography. Some places might be more or less dangerous in different ways than others but I think to say that the ocean isn't dangerous in the northeast is just plain stupid. People die all the time in the North Atlantic, and they're not all Lobstermen . . .

I have a question: It's light, doesn't impede my mobility, and is cheap security . . . why are you reaming me out for carrying one? Why not just let well enough alone and do what you want and let me do what I want and take the chances in my life that I'm comfortable with instead of imposing your personal valuations on me?

Don't go looking for fights and my decision won't ever impact you, so why are you making such a case about it?

Was gonna say . . . you've gotta be an idiot to paddle out further than you can swim back. It doesn't take but a bit of thought to realize that's a bad idea. Doesn't mean you should put other people in danger because you refuse to wear a leash for whatever reason when surfing a crowded break. If you've got the beach to yourself, by all means do whatever you want. But I'm sorry, in a civilized society you do have a responsibility to not take unnecessary risks with other people's safety.

The same people who get pissed about wearing leashes are the same people who will ***** about the unsafeness and irresponsibility of people who drop in on them . . . Either people have responsibility to others out in the lineup or they don't . . .

 

I'm not saying it's a damn hippie bongo circle out in the lineup but you are responsible not to endanger the other people who have the same right to be out there as you just because think you feel "inhibited" by a leash. Just like you don't have the right to scream fire in a movie theatre. If you lose your board and it hits somebody there could be consequences the least of which should be you feeling terrible because your sense of entitlement caused someone else easily avoidable harm.

For the safety of everyone inexperienced surfers should learn somewhere uncrowded but this doesn't give anyone the right to assault somebody.

If you see someone in real peril and don't do what you can, within the limits of your own safety of course, to help them you are a sociopath. Tell everybody "you didn't owe them anything" and "weren't going to miss your waves brah" when the body washes up on the beach.