No, but I would be shocked if I got shot for using my fists against someone who was following me on my way home from the corner store.
I see a lot of "well if I saw someone acting suspiciously in my neighborhood I would do xyz" but I think that goes both ways. If I was walking home from the corner store and someone was following me, first in their car and then getting out to follow me, I'd sure as sh*t assume they were up to no good and might feel the need to defend myself. Think for half a second how that would feel, it gives me the willies.
Everyone is always so sure what they would or wouldn't do, but most people in the heat of that moment, when their adrenaline is pumping, aren't going to make the same rational decisions they think they would from behind their computer screen. Which is why adults need to make good choices before things escalate and they find themselves IN the heat of the moment. A fist fight might have stayed a fist fight instead shooting if Zimmerman had just stayed in his car OR had chosen not to take the gun with him... I'll never really understand why he did if his intention was just to follow.
In any case, although again I don't think the verdict was legally incorrect, morally I think Zimmerman displayed horrible judgment for terrible reasons and he's on the hook for murdering this kid in my book. Someone taking on the responsibility for being part of a neighborhood watch should have better judgment, I wouldn't feel safer with this guy in my neighborhood.
