Here is a link to the "enhanced" audio for those interested.
http://www.alan.com/2012/04/05/audio-experts-zimmerman-word-on-tape-was-punk-not-racial-slur/
For whats its worth it sounds like c**ns in the original version to me as well.
Regardless of whether or not Zimmerman is a racists should that have any bearing on the interpretation of the law? When i consider the case i keep coming back to a single question in my mind...does being a racist preclude you from defending yourself if you believe your life is in peril?
For instance if I'm a member of the KKK, watch American history X twice daily and jack off to images of the swastika does the law not provide the same protection under the so called stand your ground defense if my life is endangered by a black person?
Inversely if I’m a member of the black panthers, watch the show cops so I can see some drunk white guy get the shit kicked out of them by a cop, and jack off to posters of Jesse Jackson am i also not afforded protection under the same aforementioned laws if a white person endangers my life?
To dovetail onto that thought I also believe the notion of stiffer penalties for “hate crimes” to be a sad misguided attempt to stem racism. Why is a white persons murder less heinous when murdered by a fellow white person? Similarly why is a black persons murder less heinous when murdered by a fellow black person? How does it make sense to value a persons life more or less in terms of sentencing based on the color of the person who ended it? Just makes no sense to me.