By his own account, the camera guy who recorded the video above was sitting in a car on the residential street before the above video starts. Again, by his own account, when camera guy saw a homeowner taking pictures, camera guy decided to do a “walk-by.” Roll the tape! We clearly see that the homeowner has a gun by his side. Which sets off camera guy, who’s pretty damn aggressive for a guy talking to a guy with a gun. I’m not saying that the homeowner shouldn’t have been armed. Or the camera guy, for that matter. I’m saying that the homeowner was wrong to have his gun in plain sight when camera guy walked by. Or gone for a walkabout when he was was confronted. He should have attempted to de-escalate the situation. Something like . . .
“Sorry guy, I didn’t know who you were.” Not moving closer to get friendly. Quite the opposite, in fact. Moving away to create as much distance as possible. Come to think of it, why did the homeowner come out in his yard in the first place? If camera guy had been intent on doing harm, greeting him out in the open like that was pretty stupid. As was using both hands to video.
More than that, George Zimmerman much? If there’s something suspicious in the ‘hood and no one’s in any immediate danger, I reckon a responsible gun owner (or anyone else for that matter) should watch from a safe distance (where and when possible). If they think something bad’s going down or innocent life’s in danger, they should call 911. [NB: no cop car shows up for the entire length of this video.] If they can’t wait for the cavalry, milling around threateningly isn’t necessarily the best strategy.
As for the whole “walking while black” implication to the tape, meh. Camera guy was an unfamiliar person in the suburban paradise. An unknown white kid lurking in his car might have received the exact same treatment. Who knows? Anyway, what’s your take? Was the homeowner an irresponsible gun owner or just some guy looking out for his neighborhood?