Zimmerman -- Still No Justice

Injuries: This photo taken by a Sanford, Florida police officer on February 26, after George Zimmerman shot dead unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, has been released by his defense team

When the story was released almost a year ago now, I immediately jumped on this story because ...well, it was popular, and it was evident that the liberals in this country are still out and about keeping racism alive and well in this country. My initial thought was Tawana Brawley.

I am writing this particular post for a few reasons. One, I want to make sure that I continue to keep this story alive. I haven't written about it in months because that's how news' cycles go. It's easy to get distracted and forget about certain issues that I mean to address again. Two, I want to rehash and go over some more information that I feel has not been adequately covered or questioned. Third, I want to shed some more light as to why I feel Zimmerman is not guilty and should be given total immunity. Finally, with gun control being such a hot topic in recent days, it won't be long before this case is mentioned again as an excuse to support the current administration's agenda pertaining to tightening restrictions on guns.

Zimmerman, if you recall was a man who was a neighborhood watch volunteer that spotted a young person acting suspiciously, walking through his neighborhood. He did not call the emergency 911 but rather reported the concern to the police via non-emergency line. At some point he got out of his vehicle to give the dispatcher a better location of the individual [Martin] that took off running when he became aware Zimmerman was watching him. At some point before the police arrived and after Zimmerman was walking back towards his vehicle, the two became engaged in a physical altercation that resulted in the shooting and death of one Trayvon Martin.

Please see my previous posts here, here, here, and here.

Immediately we saw the media's coverage saturated with images of a child and allegations of racism and cold-blooded murder. Zimmerman was called a stalker, a murderer, and some even concluded that he was blood-thirsty, just waiting for an excuse to fire his weapon at someone. After more details emerged, we discovered that Zimmerman was not white but rather Hispanic; there were many, documented break-ins that were occurring in this neighborhood; Trayvon was 17 not 13; Trayvon was taller and more athletic than Zimmerman; Trayvon was at his father's girlfriend's house because he was suspended from school (for 10 days!); the night of his death, Trayvon had purchased Skittles and Watermelon Juice (not iced tea), that coincidentally are ingredients used for a drink called "lean" (a cheap, homemade, intoxicating drink Trayvon was known for consuming); marijuana was found in his body at the time of death; Trayvon had an abrasion on his knuckle, and of course we also found that Zimmerman was indeed injured (not free from injuries the way people initially tried to suggest).

Currently, Zimmerman is out on bond and in hiding. The reason for him being in hiding is due to the fact that there are groups like the New Black Panthers who have actively called for the killing of Zimmerman. Apparently open-threats of murder are now legal in the state of Florida. Zimmerman's trial is set for June 10th. However, his immunity hearing is set for sometime in April. February 5th marks the date of the next hearing.

I hope that Zimmerman will be able to go after the New Black Panthers; they should pay every dime the man has had to spend for having to go into hiding in the first place. Even if you happen to not believe Zimmerman for whatever reason, you should, at the very least, allow our court system to find him guilty FIRST. We still have a concept in our law that clearly states that a person is innocent until proven guilty. The black community should be exponentially concerned with preserving this concept in the law and not working against it.

Zimmerman's defense team has obtained Martin's school records and have indicated that the records could help their defense. Maybe, maybe not. Obviously we will have to wait and see but the prosecution will do anything they can to protect their precious Trayvon.

Crump said in October that releasing the victim’s school records would be wrong and could damage his legacy. 

Zimmerman's legal team said the information would not ‘demonize’ the late teen. 

‘A number of parties have expressed concern that we will use information found in the school records to "demonize" Martin,’ the website for Zimmerman's legal defense stated. 

'The Zimmerman defense has no intention to demonize Trayvon Martin.'

Oh, but I thought he was just a perfect kid? How could his records demonize him if he was such an innocent party who would never do anything wrong, like turn around and attack someone?

Nobody is demonizing Trayvon, he did that all by himself and anyone who has read Martin's Tweets under NO_LIMIT_NIGGA can conclude he was not your average, all-American, school-boy. He was a teenager that obviously disrespected girls/women, and clearly had problems learning in school. Or perhaps he just went to a horrible school where the English language is not taught.

RT @ReesyyLaTootieB: Hahaha Hoe u got USED fa yo loose ass p*ssy.! Tighten up.! #Literally 

RT @fukunurhoexxx: #youthetype of b*tch that give up your p*ssy for free and think its cool #p*ssyaintfree #fb 

RT @TheSoleManSB: We in need of some trees … Wea tha weed man 

RT @MisunderstoodC_: Get high to balance out the lows 

RT @___xMaxDee: I got game for you young hoes, don’t grow to be a dumm hoe 

RT @Bombshelll_: “@La_VidaBella: I’ll beat the pu**sy up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up up” 

RT @iTeachSEXOLOGY: d*ck slipping out when you got her in doggy? Either u trying to long stroke wit a short d*ck or she need to arch tha … 

RT @Mitchell_Garcia: I’ll slap a girl if she said suck my toes wtf, she must be giving some great dome for some sh*t like that òÕ òÕ òÕ

RT @ThatBitchJenny_: A f*ck n*gga is FOREVER a f*ck n*gga! Fu*ck ‘em! 

RT @iAmCartoonFYF: 6 Pound 7 Pound 8 Pound #KUSH 

RT @GrandadJFreeman: You know you high AF when you stop at a stop sign and wait for it to turn green 

U WANNA SEE SUM CASH? WELL LEMME SEE SUM ASS 

RT @KissMeEndlessly: puss ass crackas . 

RT @TheyHATEShAHeED: Its crazy how i was jus pissed off,snappin…then i smoked..now im happy:) ha 

RT @stillblazingtho: If you don’t like #weed. #YoureNotMyType 

RT @SheIs_UNdefined: & When Im On That SMOKE, Im Going Super-HAM!

Its a new year lets make some changes…… f*ck dat wea da weedman at?? 

RT @KimmyBtchhh: Some of y’all need a Blunt! 

RT @stillblazingtho: R E T W E E T If you smoke #weed. 

RT @PrettyMeStarr: White People’(s) Call Police , Black People’(s) Call There Cousin

Nah, nothing unusual here. This, according to the people on Team Martin, is what you call "normal" and if you dare suggest that not all kids speak like this or that they do not smoke marijuana, well, you're just an idiot. Oh, I forgot a racist too.

Here is the raw footage of George speaking with the police at the crime scene, in case you missed it:



I have also listened to his initial initial interview with the police and everything so far has remained consistent. Yep, a few variations here and there but nothing that is terribly contradicting. Considering the man was involved in a fight where he suffered head injuries, it's easy to see why he might be confused. Anyone who has been in a fight knows how fast things happen and paying attention to little details is not a primary priority. It does not seem likely that Zimmerman was looking for a confrontation with a suspicious looking individual, nor does it seem as though he initially felt that Martin was a threat to him personally. This is congruous with the fact that he called the non-emergency line, not 911. Whatever Trayvon was doing that night, it is very clear that he was not interested in heading straight home.

According to the video that was released from the 7-11 Trayvon visited, he left the store at 6:29 and phone records show he called DeeDee at 6:30. At 7:09, George places the first call to the police and he indicates he is near the clubhouse. The distance reported from the store to the clubhouse is 0.6 miles away. What on earth was Trayvon doing for nearly 40 minutes? He was in no hurry to go home. For more on this timeline, please check out The Conservative Treehouse here.

The slowest mile I ever walked was while I was in high school. I really didn't want to do anything that particular day and my time was a little over 17 minutes. I remember that day because at the time I could actually run a mile, on average between 5 and 6 minutes.  A walk the length of just over a half mile taking 40 minutes makes no sense whatsoever, especially considering this was a teenage male. 

Taking into account the amount of time Trayvon spent walking home, we can clearly understand why he caught Zimmerman's eye and why Zimmerman concluded that Trayvon was indeed just wandering around, not moving with purpose and looking suspicious.

No matter how you slice it, Trayvon had plenty of time to immediately go home and if he felt threatened in any way because the "evil and racist" Zimmerman was wildly following him, he could have gone home and called the police. Hell, he had a phone on him; he could have called 911 at any point. Only Zimmerman called the police and that is something no one can dispute. Let me repeat, ONLY Zimmerman called the police. It is clear that at some point Trayvon turned around to approach Zimmerman. This gives credit to the claim that  Trayvon initiated contact with Zimmerman, making himself the aggressor.



Zimmerman also passed a voice stress test, which was and is widely ignored by those who are against him. This alone is not proof of innocence but when coupled with the other evidence, it begins to strongly favor Zimmerman's version of the events. In addition to all the lies and distortions coming from the media, we find that people are still claiming that it was Trayvon crying for help. The cries for help referred to here are the ones that can be heard on the various 911 calls that occurred during the fight. No matter how many pseudo-experts Team Martin wants to dredge up, it was Zimmerman calling out for help.

I have covered the voice analyst information before, but I feel this part is worth repeating:

There was no scientific report given. Considering I am trained in the area of science, I can tell you that no report = no science. The "experts" merely took a sample of Zimmerman's normal speaking voice (a recording), and compared this to the scream on the 911 (also a recording). There are no raw samples of either Zimmerman screaming or his speaking voice. There was no standard to compare with. Since the information that is transmitted through a telephone is condensed, a recording of this condensed information would further distort the sample. In order for this to be even considered, several steps must be taken. 

First, you would need a raw sample of Zimmerman's voice, and a scream. Next, you would need a control standard. This would be best done by recreating the recordings as close to the actual account. This standard must prove positive that the software worked. 

If I were to do this experiment, I would call the people who called 911 and ask what type of phone they used, as well as an approximate distance that they were from the altercation/shooting. I would ask if their windows were opened or closed? What other sounds were around them at the time of the call? I would probe for as much information as I could in order to obtain a sample that is under similar conditions as when the original call(s) took place. 

Next, I would take two people and have one holding a similar phone at different distances from the other person, who will scream, and try to recreate the area around the original caller. Different distances are used in order to determine how sensitive the software actually is. One sample will need to be near the actual distance. So, if they were inside with the windows open, I would recreate that. Then the other person would scream. Then, I would have those two switch positions and do the same. This way I have two voices. Then I would take recordings of both speaking voices, recreating the sample used of Zimmerman's. Next, I would test the software by doing a standard run. This would mean, I would attempt to show that I could prove that the scream matched the speaking voice-- Does the software work? By demonstrating this and doing so under similar conditions, I would be able to prove that the software was able to overcome all of the obstacles that were found during the scenario.
Standards are always done in any science experiment in order to show that the equipment is running correctly and in order to demonstrate its validity. I have never seen any experiment done without using a standard. 

None of this was done. No standards applied. Also no information was included that indicated what was done to calibrate this equipment. All equipment used to measure anything from mass to volume is calibrated. This means that the equipment is zeroed to a certain level. Now, I'm slightly familiar with sound equipment but I am not familiar with this type of software or how it measures. However, I will give you an example of what I mean concerning calibration (just in case you have no idea). Let us say I needed to weigh something like a fine powder. This would require me to put the powder in a small vile and I would use a scale to obtain its weight. Before I do anything I must calibrate the scale by weighing the vile alone. If it were to weigh 3.1 g, this would be my "zero point." I would then weight the vile and fine powder, let us say that weighed 6.3g. Since my "zero point" is 3.1,  the weight of the fine powder is 3.2 g. 

You must supply a report that demonstrates every step taken. Also, since we are dealing with sound, distance is EVERYTHING. None of those factors were included. What levels did they use? Did they adjust the sounds in anyway in order to clear noise? None of these questions were answered, nor even attempted to have been answered. 

http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/06/voice-forensics-experts-cast-doubt-on-orlando-sentinel-analysis-of-trayvon-martin-911-tape/ 

Dr. James Wayman, a San Jose State University expert in the field of speech science, told The Daily Caller that he questions the grounds on which Owen based his analysis. 

Wayman also said he would be willing to testify against the admissibility of Owen’s findings on the grounds that they don’t meet the criteria required for evidence in federal courts.

“There is no history of, or data on, the comparison of a questioned scream to a known speech sample,” Wayman said.  

The problem, he said, is that the two voice samples were recorded in difficult acoustic conditions over different cell phones. 

“Even if we were to have Mr. Zimmerman recreate the scream under identical conditions with the same cell phone,” Wayman explained, “it would be difficult to attribute the scream to him without a sample of a similar scream from Mr. Martin under the same conditions. This is clearly not possible.”

This ladies and gents is what we call REAL science, not psuedo-scientists positioning themselves as "experts" in order to gain a name for themselves so they can sell their second-rate software. So, why didn't the media check these people out? Is it because they are lazy or is it because they are desperate to tear a man down? 

If this case is so solid, please explain to me why any of these things would have to be manipulated. Facts should stand on their own.

The facts can conclude that Zimmerman was beat up. His head had multiple injuries and his nose was badly damaged; I believe it has been stated that it was broken. Meanwhile Trayvon had no additional injuries other than an abrasion on his knuckle that came from hitting Zimmerman. Why on earth would Trayvon be the one screaming for help, when he was clearly not the one being assaulted? Some people have repeatedly suggested that Zimmerman just stood there aiming a gun at Trayvon causing him to scream for his life but, if that's so when did the physical fight take place? Why does that theory not match the accounts of witnesses that confirm a fight broke out prior to the shooting?

It seems as if every issue or problem that has been brought up has been explained or found to be a lie or distortion. After all this time, almost a year now, we have a man who has literally been through hell for doing nothing other than defending himself against someone who attacked him.

If George Zimmerman was so trigger-happy, how come it took a fight for him to shoot Trayvon? It's not as if he somehow knew that Trayvon was going to beat him up. Then, there is the idea that his wounds were self-inflicted, which is so absurd I don't even know how to reason with such nonsense. A completely independent witness admits to seeing Trayvon on top of Zimmerman, and even other witnesses heard an altercation taking place. In addition, there is no dispute that someone was at the scene immediately after the event occurred and the police arrived right after that. So when was George supposed to "fake" all of these injuries? Nothing from Team Martin has turned out to be true. All of their accusations have been completely disassembled and George is rightly suing NBC for editing audio in order to suit their agenda of calling Zimmerman a racist. 

Let us also not forget that Zimmerman was questioned for hours and did not invoke his right to counsel. Considering that he knows about the law, it would seem as though this would have been a smarter move and especially if he knew he did something wrong. 

This leads me to some thoughts about the witnesses:

Going over the witnesses' statements in this case is quite a chore but, it seems to me that only some are actually credible. Here is a website that lays out all the evidence and the Witnesses' statements.

One problem I have comes from Mary Cutcher who is listed as Witness 5. According to her she didn't hear any cries of "help!" Either she was not close enough to where the shooting occurred or she is simply not telling the truth.

MC: I can tell you there was no fighting going on when the gun went off because we were both in the kitchen making coffee with the window open and there was no fighting. The fight that happened was way down the sidewalk because the person on the very end of this block is the one who called the police originally because that's where the fight broke out. Now the kid got shot way down here, you know, five doors down.

Ugh...she says there was no fight, then says there was a fight. Her statement to the police is her simply conjecturing what she heard from the media and others. Most all of what she has to say is opinion.

Her and her roommate, Witness 16, simply do not make any sense. Her roommate lover Selma Lamilla seems to think she talked to Zimmerman after the shooting, asking him, "what's wrong?" no answer, “what’s wrong with you, what’s going on?” The guy on top looked at her, and finally said “Call the police.” Well, that's all very well and good but Witness 13 says otherwise. He stated he came outside and saw Zimmerman (which Zimmerman mentions), spoke with him, called his wife for him, and he took pictures. He documented where he was with both a phone call and pictures and makes no mention of Selma. Where was Selma? Nowhere and no one else mentions her. The police arrive almost immediately after the shooting since it's Zimmerman that called them in the first place -- they were en route. So where does Selma have any time to confront Zimmerman and yet no one else mentions her? As Mary stated, they were 5 doors down from both the fight and shooting. There is no way Selma walked down that far in order to speak with Zimmerman the way she claims. It doesn't make any sense.

Cutcher's statement in totality is mostly her carrying on with her "feelings." She even says something quite interesting concerning Zimmerman's behavior. She says he was acting odd, confused, and didn't know that he was the shooter because she claims she would have expected him to run. Her description of Zimmerman is perfectly aligned with Zimmerman getting his head knocked about and being beaten up, not to mention in a state of total shock.

Another interesting article is posted here. By scrolling down you can read the transcript of the statement they gave police and pictures posted on Facebook of Selma.

Pictures taken by Selma Mara at a party on 2/26/2012 and posted to her facebook.  How could she have made it back to Sanford from Miami in such a short period of time?  Were the two women making coffee to sober up?  Were they making coffee at all?

In all fairness, the time could show up differently depending on how the Facebook account is set up but still, it's very odd indeed. 

Cutcher and Lamilla both appeared in the media, making their rounds and being shown with the Martin's. She was the first to make the claim that she heard a young boy screaming but when she spoke with the police she said she didn't hear screaming. These two are either being manipulated by Crump, or looking for their 15 minutes of fame. Cutcher also made a big stink about how the police wouldn't speak with her even though she contacted them several times. That is simply not true. Nobody blew her off and the police confirm this in their report when they went to question her. Which leads me to this video of her mother:

Yep. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Both this mother and her daughter are looking for attention. 

Here's the video of what happened at the 7 Eleven. As you can see, Trayvon was most likely speaking with the three people we see entering the store after him.

There was something odd going on here. I'm not sure anyone can prove that the money we see in the video is the same money that Trayvon previously had in his hand. However, it does seem more likely than not only because we do not see Trayvon leave until after those three leave the store. He was waiting for them. Why? Again, it makes sense that they purchased something for him. Let's not pretend that teenagers do not ask others to buy things they are not old enough to buy themselves. It most certainly is common, and even more realistic to believe considering who Trayvon was. 

Then, there is DeeDee, Witness 8, who was on the phone with Trayvon. There are a number of problems with her statements. First, she doesn't seem very concerned about Trayvon so how concerned was she really? I say this because her boyfriend or friend, according to her, is being chased by some man, he's running so fast and hard that he's breathing heavy yet, after she hears Trayvon ask this man why he's following him, then hears the "grass" (which I don't know what grass sounds like), the phone hangs up or disconnects. All she does is try and call him a few times. After having no reply, she does nothing else. She doesn't call back frantically; she doesn't attempt to tell her parents; she doesn't attempt to contact the police; she doesn't attempt to reach out to someone that could possibly get a hold of his father; she does nothing. Even after discovering Trayvon was killed, she apparently doesn't say anything to anyone about possibly being the last person to speak with him.

The infamous Crump (attorney for the Martin's), claimed that DeeDee was so upset she had to go to the hospital but if you look at her Tweets for the 26th and 27th, there seems to be no real anxiety or problem with her at all. It's normal Twitter time as usual. It is very possible that she did not want to reveal this information over the internet but the story still doesn't explain why she didn't come forward until the attorney contacted her first. However, something else may very well explain why she was trying to act normal.

DeeDee says Trayvon was by his dad's house (dad's girlfriend's), but didn't go home so obviously this supports the story that Trayvon came back to where Zimmerman was in order to confront him. According to DeeDee she heard Trayvon say, “Why you following me for?”Then she says she heard the voice of an old man, a deep voice? Zimmerman does not have a deep voice. A better description might be leaning more towards effeminate.

Even more appalling is the audio associated with her statement to attorney Crump. Does this man really expect us to believe that he did not have access to better sound equipment? I can find free software on the internet that will record my voice better than the quality you hear when listening to DeeDee's statement. It is unlikely that the poor recording was not intentional.

Here is DeeDee's statement to the State Prosecutor:

Yes, Trayvon was breathing so hard because he ran 100 feet? How out of shape was this teenager exactly? I thought he was athletic? I'm still struggling with the concept of hearing grass. In this statement she adds that Trayvon was saying something like, "Get off! Get off!" Interesting, since before she said the phone disconnected after she heard the grass.

Full interview:

“Trayvon had run for it and then the man, and then he said he lost the man and then the man come, and then Trayvon said the man still was following him, and then Trayvon asked Trayvon to run and Trayvon said he aint gonna like that, he was gonna walk fast from the back. And the man was just following him close like walking to him like fast like when Trayvon walking…[unintelligible]getting close…and Trayvon said he’s not going run and then Trayvon said “what you, what you following me for” and the man someone said “what you doing around here”…[unintelligible]…pushin…[unintelligible]…you can know somebody push Trayvon cuz the headset just fell and then after that…[unintelligible]…cuz the phone just shut off and then I called him again and he did not answer the phone.” 

If she had heard Trayvon say, "Get off! Get off!" then why on earth did she not hear the gunshot? What prompted the phone to go off? Somewhere I read that the phone was dead when the police were gathering the evidence but it's interesting to note that DeeDee makes no mention of his phone beginning to die. Anytime I have ever been on the phone and it starts to beep due to a low battery, I immediately tell the person my phone is going to die; it's just a natural reaction since you want to let the person know that the call might be disconnected without notice. Could this be why she didn't make much of an effort to further contact him? Or was it that she knew he was going to confront Zimmerman? Or both? Or did she hang up for another reason? (Keep reading). It seems to me if she knows Trayvon was afraid and was running from someone, why would she not tell someone else after the call was disconnected? Then we find out that she doesn't even want to talk with police or the FBI but will give a statement to Crump?

Back to the statement given to the State Prosecutor -- The "old man" with his "deep voice" was tired too? Wow. Honestly, this girl sounds like she's making the story up as she's going along. Also, with this recording that is much clearer, we can hear that she does not speak well and has difficulty answering questions.

According to the phone records, DeeDee's last call came in at 7:12 and lasted 4 minutes, which would be 7:16. There seems to be discrepancies in the time since apparently T-Mobile lists calls rounding up or down so this could actually be plus or minus 59 seconds. I am not sure of all the details concerning T-Mobile's policies, only that many people have made similar remarks stating that the records are not necessarily accurate. The records show that police arrived around 7:17.

Perhaps her real guilt comes from knowing the whole story all along and never coming forward with the truth. Isn't it much more plausable that Trayvon was the one who started the altercation and she knew it? She could have very well thought Trayvon was the one who shot someone. This would definitely explain why she didn't call the police or tell her mother immediately. She thought she was protecting him. This would also explain why she didn't initially say anything about Trayvon saying, "Get off! Get off!" Instead she cut off her observation of the conversation before the altercation. Once she got word of everything from family, friends, the news, etc., she then decided to add that comment in order to make it seem as though she knew Trayvon was not the aggressor. For good measure she follows that up by saying that Trayvon was "not a fighter." Anyone with a few synapses can tell she is trying to over-sell her story.

If she did go to the hospital over stress, than it seems even more likely that she did indeed hear the entire altercation and shooting of her friend. Worse yet, she was probably egging Trayvon on to confront Zimmerman in the first place. No wonder she hung up and did nothing after that. Guilty feelings indeed!

Some other witnesses have even changed their statements:

About a week after her first interview, however, “Witness 12” told prosecutors that she was sure Zimmerman had been on top. "I know after seeing the TV of what's happening, comparing their sizes, I think Zimmerman was definitely on top because of his size," she was quoted as saying in a recorded interview.

However, we know the pics that the media were peddling to the public depicted a heavy-set Zimmerman vs. a small 12 year old child. So really this change from Witness 12 helps the defense because obviously it was Trayvon who was larger in size and height.

The problem with those on Team Trayvon is that they must make too many assumptions that simply do not add up. According to some Zimmerman actually planned on killing Trayvon; he planned out his 911 calls; he somehow knew he would be attacked in order to justify shooting Trayvon. He lied; the police lied; the witnesses that support him lied; everyone lied.  For them to even consider and face the type of person Trayvon was, and accept that he was a teenager with problems is just too much for them to come to grips with. Their whole scenario is implausible and illogical.

Zimmerman did not do anything illegal by exiting his vehicle. If Trayvon can walk around in the neighborhood, one where he doesn't live, then how can anyone consider an actual resident who works with the neighborhood watch not being allowed to walk in his neighborhood? It is not illegal to watch someone or follow them. Zimmerman is the one who called the police. He did not run or take off after the shooting. Witnesses confirm that Zimmerman was the one being attacked and this is further supported by the pictures and medical examination. Zimmerman was obviously the one screaming since he was the only one with injuries. We know that Trayvon was near his dad's girlfriend's house and had plenty of time to go home and also had the ability to call the police himself if he felt he was in any danger. He did not. Instead, he double backed and it only makes sense that he confronted Zimmerman. If Zimmerman was so interested in confronting him, why would he call the police? It's as if the people who are against him are saying that Zimmerman is some sort of genius and that he planned the whole thing.

I am definitely praying for George and his family. I truly hope that his trial will not come about and the immunity hearing will clear him of any wrongdoing, which I believe the facts prove. We simply cannot allow our government to trample our right to defend ourselves in the face of danger.