'Former friend, supporter of George Zimmerman has change of heart'

[shenmue]

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/5/9/former_friend_suppor.html

Frank Taaffe now says Zimmerman should have been found guilty.

[Hoyt]

1. Yeah, he finally realizes he can't make any money off a "friendship" with Zmurderer.

Screw em both.

[KG]

2. why do i think this has to do with money...

[pinboy3niner]

3. Maybe not

But today, Taaffe claims he just wants to clear his conscience, "I can only ask for the country to forgive me and today I believe that he racially profiled him based on the color of his skin. Reporter: Some people may wonder what does Frank Taaffe have to gain by doing this? Are you working on a book? No book. A TV show? No. I’m just working on me right now and getting right with God.”

Taaffe says his brother’s death last month and the death of his two sons over the past two years has changed him.

Taaffe says he has a message for Trayvon Martin’s parents, "I’m sorry that you lost your son, I know what that’s like and I wish things had been different."

[Control-Z]

7. That's a lot to lose in a few years time.

Hell, that's a lot to lose in a lifetime.

[pinboy3niner]

8. I've been there before

When I was young, I lost a lot of friends in a short time in war. That kind of loss can have a profound effect on a person. Taafe may very well be on the level here.

[Control-Z]

13. I can't imagine losing so many so quickly.

I lost my mother, father, grandfather, and both grandmothers between the age of 7 and 17. But that was a ten year span. Still it has had profound, long lasting effects on my life. I suppose that's why I made the observation here. I too believe "Taafe may very well be on the level here".

My question is, and has always been, is this what it takes? Does it take tragedy in ones own life to develop empathy and compassion for others? Like here on DU, for instance. We're a board full of bleeding heart liberals and fair and decent people with the capacity to feel another person's pain, or, at the very least, try to understand it. Why? Is DU made up mostly of survivors? Or are some people just born this way? Or is it something we are taught?

I don't doubt that your war experience has made you a more perceptive person, if not a better one. I can only hope it didn't spoil the years that followed. I'm sincerely sorry you had to live through it. I don't believe I could have survived the same.

As for Mr Taafe. Maybe he had it a little too good for most his life. Sad he had to suffer so much loss to finally open his eyes and heart.

[MH1]

20. " Does it take tragedy in ones own life to develop empathy and compassion for others?"

Probably not, but it doesn't come innately to all people, either. That's obvious.

Maybe we should do more as a society to teach empathy to kids, with programs specifically designed for it.

Kinda like the Teaching Tolerance program that Southern Poverty Law Center does. I'm not sure how far that reaches though.

And the right-wing would undoubtedly fight any such effort. If the large mass of society actually developed empathy, they'd be done.

[gvstn]

4. Yes, I'm guessing his guest spots on Nacy Grace dried up.

This "change of heart" might get him a few more minutes in the spotlight.

He was on teevee only a few months ago defending Zimmermann over one of his antics/crimes.

[Hoyt]

5. He said a lot of ugly things about Martin, and is clearly a racist gun nut. It's too late.

[Supersedeas]

17. laughter is forgetting

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

6. Little freaking late.

Reminds me of the sort of people who spend all their lives hurting others, then have 'deathbed conversions' hoping to sneak into Heaven, if it exists.

[Tanuki]

16. Lee Atwater comes to mind:

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/us/gravely-ill-atwater-offers-apology.html

...""In 1988," Mr. Atwater said, "fighting Dukakis, I said that I 'would strip the bark off the little bastard' and 'make Willie Horton his running mate.' I am sorry for both statements: the first for its naked cruelty, the second because it makes me sound racist, which I am not." Reputation as 'Ugly Campaigner'

Since being stricken last year, the 39-year-old Mr. Atwater has apologized on several occasions for many of the campaign tactics he once employed and for which he was criticized. But rarely has he spoken in such detail or with such candor as in the interview for the first-person Life article.

"In part because of our successful manipulation of his campaign themes, George Bush won handily," Mr. Atwater said. He conceded that throughout his political career "a reputation as a fierce and ugly campaigner has dogged me."

"While I didn't invent negative politics," he said, "I am one of its most ardent practitioners."....

[Supersedeas]

18. thanks for the link...that does make sense

[johnp3907]

9. His agent probably advised him the Pro-Zimmerman well had run dry.

[warrior1]

10. I'm sorry for his loss

and I'm sorry that it took that, for him to see what Trayvon's parents are going through.

[pacalo]

11. Republicans don't understand others' pain until it happens to them.

I've seen it happen again & again. I don't like the man, but I'm sorry for the loss of his sons & brother that gave him the capacity to empathize with Sabrina & Tracy's tragic loss & the ensuing injustice that compounded their pain.

Let's see if the fake news network that labels itself "fair & balanced" will invite him on to unveil his newfound conscience. If they saw fit to saturate their airwaves with this man's hateful remarks against Trayvon before, during, & after the trial, then his change of heart deserves to be heard, too. That goes for the obnoxiously hyperbolic Nancy Grace & HLN, too.

[herding cats]

12. I am sorry he's lost so many he loved deeply.

That's heartfelt, and it's all I have to say kindly on this topic at this time.

[MoonRiver]

14. His 15 minutes of faux fame are long gone.

Go back under your rock now Taffee.

[Enthusiast]

15. I'm glad Frank Taaffe changed his position, for whatever reason.

Because he was wrong before.

[William769]

19. kick & recommended.

[mokawanis]

21. Why do so many only feel empathy after they themselves go through bad times?

I'm always a little suspicious/critical when people act like assholes up until the point when they learn firsthand what pain and loss really feels like. Maybe it's karma coming back to teach them a tough lesson they should have already figured out on their own.