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    Island of Misfit ToysKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:13pm

    I really feel bad for this young woman.

    The comments criticizing her appearance and educational range are vicious.

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      aismoIsland of Misfit Toys
      6/27/13 2:15pm

      It doesn't matter because at the end of the day those people commenting are the same scum-sucking vermin who think Zimmermans innocent.

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      SetFiretoTheRoomIsland of Misfit Toys
      6/27/13 2:17pm

      There has been a lot of very uncomfortable commentary about her that reveals a lot about the way society views many different demographics.

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    dinglebushKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:10pm

    I mean, it is a pretty stupid question.

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      casendinglebush
      6/27/13 2:17pm

      But sometimes it's simple and stupid questions that trip up people who are not being completely truthful or smart. I've interviewed people for jobs and it's not the "hard" questions that trip people up, but the simple ones. It's funny how they throw themselves under the bus without realizing it.

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      PenelopeParadisdinglebush
      6/27/13 2:18pm

      Not making excuses for her, but this country is vast in size, with millions of paths; we don't all walk the same path.

      if she doesn't know better, well then she can lose her endorsement deals with Happy Nails21.

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    mizmanageKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:10pm

    For you, Kate Bennert:

    http://globalgrind.com/news/what-whit…

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      stacyinbeanmizmanage
      6/27/13 2:29pm

      YES. Everyone needs to read this, it isn't perfect but it helped me understand where she's coming from and what we need to know while we're watching this testimony.

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      VeeDeeisforfreemizmanage
      6/27/13 2:44pm

      I have nothing against this woman, but it doesn't help matters when a writers says "like most white people" and such. More race bating helps nothing.

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    cmjmKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:24pm

    I don't understand the question. Did the kid lie about where he was...to fake his death? Did he lie about where he was...because if he did it somehow creates a paradox in time and negates his death? Why does that matter? We know where he was, because that's where he was shot. Even if he told this girl he was somewhere else - a teenage boy lying about where he was to a girl? Color me shocked.

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      ItsARampageLanacmjm
      6/27/13 2:55pm

      Logic doesn't matter to Zimmerman apologists. They want Martin to have somehow "had it coming" so badly they'll do all manner of logical backflips to arrive there.

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      cmjmItsARampageLana
      6/27/13 2:58pm

      And if anyone is looking for proof racism (and classicism...and sexism...) exist in this country...look no further than what has been said about this girl. It is too bad we can't all be well-spoken, well-educated white people in this country. Poor thing. She may not be the brightest but the things said about her...terrible. Shameful.

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    stacyinbeanKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:31pm

    Someone posted this downthread but everyone really should read this piece, it's not perfect but it's necessary. We should not be talking about this woman like this.

    What White People Don't Understand About Rachel Jeantel

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      XMarksTheSpotstacyinbean
      6/27/13 4:43pm

      "...like this."

      What are people saying? I only keep reading remarks like the one above.

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      stacyinbeanXMarksTheSpot
      6/27/13 5:03pm

      "Star witness, indeed."

      Like that. And also the comments about her weight, her lack of education, her general appearance, the way she speaks, etc.

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    SuffersfoolsgladlyKate Bennert
    6/27/13 3:19pm

    I was watching this young woman last night and I love her. She wears her feelings right on her sleeve and there is something about that that is so real. People have been being awful to her about her speech and attitude, but I think she rocks. She's a 19 year old girl who's friend was on the phone with her when he was killed. She didn't ask to be thrown to the wolves like this, and she cannot believe some of the bullshit that goes on..this is clear. When someone asked her about what she and Trayvon did growing up she said they "rode bikes and played games". OOOOOO, scary.

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      TheFavoriteChildSuffersfoolsgladly
      6/27/13 3:36pm

      I like her, too. It's awful what happened to Trayvon, but I'm glad in his short life, he had such a nice friend.

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      SuffersfoolsgladlyTheFavoriteChild
      6/28/13 7:17pm

      That's what I thought too..that it was nice he had someone this self-possessed to kind of speak for him beyond the grave and go to bat on his behalf. She clearly loved him very much and it sounds from the thing about bikes and games that they went back a long way to when they were pretty little kids. When you're only 19, those years are more significant to you, too. I think he would be proud of her.

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    kemperboydKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:15pm

    you know there has been a lot of negative press attention on her, because of the way she looks and articulates herself. Her point stands, it's pretty fucking stupid to think Trayvon would lie about where he was snd his intentions to the friend he was talking to because he was scared. So what she articulated in a less than perfect grammatical way she's still 100% better than the lawyer who insinuates we can not trust anything Trayvon said to her prior to his murder because hey he could of been lying. That, sir is real retarded.

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      ad infinitumkemperboyd
      6/27/13 2:22pm

      I think she expressed herself beautifully. I'm not wild about "retard" as an insult, but she very simply and directly got to the heart of what was wrong with asshat's question.

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      HelenaLikesSugarad infinitum
      6/27/13 2:53pm

      Oh my god, thank you. I am sitting here in serious confusion because of all of the replies. This woman is not stupid just because she said "real retarded." She is also not stupid because she is talking slowly. She is obviously tired and annoyed. Maybe the majority of people here don't know this, but there are lots of different ways to speak English. I assumed that most of us were at least familiar with various grammars, but I was wrong.

      I'm kind of shocked. The judgments people here are making based on the way a woman speaks (and not even what she is saying! Her answer was spot-on!) are scaring me. You would have all thought that my grandmother was total idiot because she said things like, "T'ain't nothing wrong with my mem'ry." I don't think she attached an -ly to an adverb in her life. Does that make her a genius? No. It also does not make her an idiot.

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    SauceReduxKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:33pm

    Forgive my ignorance, but shouldn't the prosecution team have better prepared her for the cross examination? Or have I seen too much Law & Order?

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      zagswagSauceRedux
      6/27/13 2:38pm

      While it's ideal that the attorneys talk to all the witnesses and know exactly what everyone is going to say at cross, too often the witnesses are uncooperative or the attorneys too lazy/unorganized to do that.

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      SauceReduxzagswag
      6/27/13 2:46pm

      Seems like an atrocious oversight to me.

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    destor23Kate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:35pm

    If my friend was killed while I was on the other end of a phone discussion with him and then I was dragged into court and the defense attorney tried to use my experience to exonerate the killer, I might not express myself with the Queen's English, either. Well, maybe some parts of Queens.

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      eomfddestor23
      6/27/13 3:28pm

      The poor parts! If it's poor parts you wants, Queens has plenty of them.

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      TheTruthITellYoudestor23
      6/27/13 4:23pm

      To me, she looks like she's using all the restraint she can muster. She wants to cut that ignorant fool, and I don't blame her.

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    ratchedKate Bennert
    6/27/13 2:11pm

    Yes. Sir.

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      WilliamCDiazratched
      6/27/13 9:51pm

      How you doing! I have been looking forward to seeing or hearing from you again, I hope all is well with you and yours.

      Question, do you find the bubbling undercurrents of racism to be shocking, expected, overblown or not at all? I am curious, because it is likely you have a better moral compass than mine and my default setting has been at 'enraged' for much of my reading and posting on this article.

      Poor girl, I dont envy her at all and furthermore think the defense attorney's attempt at badgering her will fall flat. It is my further supposition that a jury panel comprised of women would be sympathetic to the young lady, rather than inimical, care to offer me your 2 cents?

      Have a great day!

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      ratchedWilliamCDiaz
      6/28/13 11:02am

      I am OUTRAGED over how the court is allowing badgering of this witness and all the talking heads giggling and laughing at what they seem to think of her as a courtroom minstrel show. They are mistaking her inarticulacy, youth and cultural differences as a lack of intelligence and they are wrong.

      I know that this case is so race related, because I *promise* you, my blonde/white child about Trayvon's age could walk anywhere in our city he wants and he would *never* be accosted for being suspicious. People would probably being offering him a ride home, especially since it was raining.

      George Zimmerman still has to deal with accusation of molesting his cousin and another female relative over the length of 10 years. Maybe his resisting arrest and battery on a police officer will come in somehow.

      I expected the racism to be smack where it is. We discussed in another thread a while back how much more *hateful* and vitriolic racism has become since my generation. (I'm an old.) I would never say racism was less in my youth, but people weren't so goddamned ANGRY about it. It tended to me a more benign indifference.

      Who knew Charles Manson might have been right about race wars and his little band of misfits becoming out on top as rulers. Gah!

      ETA: Has anyone read the Twitter account of Frank Taafee, GZ's apologist on every damn TV show about this trial. He's all "n-word this", "n-word that", and is a deplorable human. Perfect correlation regarding the company you keep.

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