It was good of Raul Rodriguez to carry a video camera (and a weapon) when he went to confront his dickhole drunk neighbors because their music was too loud. Otherwise how would we ever know that as he tells police dispatchers he is in fear for his life and will have to shoot the (elementary school teacher) neighbor, that neighbor is standing 20 feet away with his arms raised?
Many questions are raised from this: In those last few seconds, DID those guys charge him? (Don’t know! Rodriguez conveniently drops the camera just in time to shoot.) When does “premeditated” start? Is it when he tells them like 50 times he will shoot them, and that he is in fear of his life, and tells dispatch he is going to have defend himself instead of, you know, going home? Is “more guns” really always the best answer? (America, fuck yeah!) And just how easy is it to become an elementary school teacher in Texas?
Suss it all out amongst yourselves, in the comments. This kitchen floor isn’t going to lie on itself! [KHOU]
{ 192 comments }
GET OFF MY LAWN!
No, my OTHER lawn!
GET OFF YOUR LAWN!
Um … he was over at the neighbour's house — yelling at them to get off their OWN damn lawn.
GET OFF MY OTHER LAWN!
I'll bet he has a bumper sticker that says "My OTHER Lawn Is YOUR LAWN."
Look, he went through all the trouble to walk onto the guy's property, no way he was leaving without plugging someone. What the hell's wrong with you people?
Many people who are 20 feet away with their arms raised are a threat. Like Bin Laden. OK, not him anymore, but lots.
The Village People = Public Enemy #1.
You can only shoot the Village People during "C" and "M." During "Y" and "A" they are clearly not threatening.
Then why do I FEEL so threatened, and 2nd Amendmant Loving?
The Village People ≠ Public Enemy
Ain't no way Chuck D puts on a biker's outfit. Flav, on the other hand …
yeah, his neighbor could have been wearing a suicide vest. How was Raul supposed to know that a man in t-shirt, shorts, and sandals(?) (hard to make out) with his arms raised above his head wasn't a dangerous threat.
SANDALS? Clear danger sign, there. I hear Alinsky-ite terrorists favor sandals above all other footgear.
Anytime I see something like this, I reach for my weapon.
TSFW = TOTES Safe For Work.
That improved my day by at least 37%.
I hate to admit it but I'm a sucker for pitchers like that. Especially when the news is bad.
Are you talking about Bristol?
Oh wait, that's raised cankles, not arms. Still…
One of my earliest and best decisions was not to become a gun owner given how many people I run into daily that I feel would benefit from being shot in the face
Yeah, I joke about how people like me shouldn't carry guns. It's only kind of a joke.
Look, I have had guns since I was 18, and I have never shot anyone. Sure, I've only been to Texas twice, and I wasn't armed then, but still…
Well, you're lagging far behind, aren't you? Get on the ball, man!
I have discussed this with my husband. We were thinking of getting something shooty to keep wildlife at a distance, but then I realized that I would quickly turn it on every single driver in a BMW on the I-5.
Ever hear of justifiable homicide?
So then you rushed down to the gun show/ flea market place & even paid the 'extra fee' for no-paperwork?
This is horribly, deeply offensive.
What about the assholes with SUVs?
Yeah, there's a lot more of *those.*
Just remember to videotape the whole thing.
Yeah, cause then it's legal. Or legal evidence, I forget which…
One of my best friends is totally against guns and told me she would be afraid to carry a pistol in her car, she said there were so many other drivers she wanted to shoot! AND she once followed a lady home to bitch about how she swerved across 2 lanes to turn.
As Shaun Ryder once said, "Call the cops!"
Only ONCE? (leers)
Shaun said THAT?
In Indiana, you can shoot them too!
I had the great honor of sitting next to Shaun Ryder on a New York to London flight 7 years ago. It was the greatest in-flight experience of my life. I still have no idea what he was talking about; at one point he asked a flight attendant for water and she brought him two bags of pretzels.
Yosemite Sam Wannabe: GET OFF MY LAWN, YA DADBLASTED VARMIT!
Drunken Schlub: I'm on my own lawn! You're on MY lawn!
BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM-BLAM!
YSW: I had no choice, officer. I was standing his ground.
Well, hell, HE wasn't standing it, and that ground was just sitting there, naked.
Alright neighbor, my gun is just going to go like this "bang!" and if you get hit, it's your own fault.
Bullets will be flying in that direction. If you happen to put yourself in the path of those bullets, that's not my problem.
I happen to live within hearing distance of a family of total assholes who do not understand the concept of "inside voice" (nothing like hearing a ten-year-old girl screaming "Fuck YOU!" at her mother repeatedly at the top of her lungs) and also try to have parties at least three nights a week that last till the wee hours and involve much ingestion of booze, possibly also drugs (I couldn't care less), and LOUD music. I mean, shake the walls of the houses all the way down the street loud music.
Although I have often comforted myself with the thought of shooting the whole fucking family and all their guests to deff and torching all their stereo equipment, in over 20 years, I have never so much as raised my fucking voice at them.
Maybe it's time to buy that gun. Did this guy go free?
Damn, I think I used to live across an alley from these people. Do they sell crack too? Anyway, it got a lot quieter after the police came one night and took them all away. Something about a dead guy in the alley…
Unfortunately, no. If they did, I'd probly buy some just to get some relief from their fucking parties.
Just kidding. Although crack isn't something to kid about.
20 years of that crap? Here- can you use this hug? S'all I got to offer you, man.
Hugs always welcomed! Thanks!
Before you buy a gun to silence that stereo equipment, consider an EMP device instead.
Thanks, I will.
Unfortunately, running around with a loaded gun, threatening and then shooting people will not make Raul's dick any bigger.
"Raul" is short for Rand Paul. The dead's guy civil rights end where Raul's nappy-poo begins.
If he gets convicted, it might resize his booty.
Texan on Texan violence always seems sort of Win-Win to me.
Sort of a new take on the old saying, "My favorite team is whoever is beating the Cowboys"?
"My favorite team is whoever is beating the Cowboys"
Well, I can tell you right now, Sitting Bull, Cochise and Crazy Horse were on MY favorite teams… they gave those uppity terrorists a black eye or two.
If only they'd use Neutron Bombs to settle up, there'd be a shitload fewer Texans.
WIN! WIN!
If Raul's penis had a finger and a gun, I'm sure Raul would be dead. Who could stand living next to that big a dick?
His manhood was threatened, so somebody had to die.
Jeff has a job offer in another country. At first, I balked. Then I watch shit like this and I feel like grabbing some boxes and start packing my stuff. This video makes me physically ill.
If I were you, I'd:
a.) be illegally gay married to Jeff ;-)
2.) MOVE ASAP!
'Cause, really — WTF is keeping you in the US? A love for pointless murders? Desire to live in a Oligarchy/quasi-fascist nation? Enjoy the sound of drones … um … droning overhead?
Seriously — The Mrs and would GTFO without hesitation.
Well, unless the "other country" was, like, Somalia or Iran or Afghanistan or something.
As long as there's Internet wherever you're going and you continue on Wonkette, then we're golden.
Yeah, what HE said… golden.
As you can plainly see by my flying pig, I'm a she. :)
Oh, I am so sorry. I did not plainly see, and I apologize.
Thanks Sweetie!
[talking about his father] “Anyway after my venting, I hung up and cried. I didn't know what to do. I knew what I wanted to do, but I not what I should do. I wanted to teach the old S.O.B. a lesson. And I thought I should be better than him, to rise above how much he'd hurt me over the years.”
He said it all in a matter-of-fact tone, as if talking about someone else.
“When Paul came home that night, he had some boxes and moving company brochures. He said 'start packing'. He already knew we were moving. He knew it before I did." He rubbed his eyes. "Because he's my best friend.”
Depends on the country, right?
Monaco? Do it!
BTW, and a little off topic perhaps, his name is Rodriguez. So…GUILTY!
Ah the intelligence of brandishing a gun at your drunk neighbors and telling them to turn down the radio. WHAT could possibly go wrong?
See, I dont mind people being able to legally buy a gun. BUT, morons should not be allowed guns; and guys who need to the gun to back their egos. So, since most people are morons, and most guys who want a gun want it to back up their ego……. let's err on the side of caution and keep guns out of people's moron hands.
This video should be shown any time someone tries to propose or defend a Stand Your Ground law.
Paul Rodriguez is a goddamn head case.
After reading this article I realize that I don't nearly have enough guns.
This ambiguity (who did what to whom?) is why I ALWAYS use a rocket propelled grenade to break up noisy neighbor parties.
Then you should be shot because, you know, your noise.
I throw buckets of feces.
I usually go over and drink all their beer. Once I get started on their liquor, the party just kind of breaks up on its own.
Now *there's* a sensible, rational, friendly solution to the problem.
I wonder if I could do the same?
I call Scotty aboard the Enterprise, have him lock on to their brainstems and…energize.
"We thought it would be funny if we provoked a neighbor with anger management problems by having an overly loud party. Watch the hijinks!"
So now we can stand our ground on someone else's ground?????
In Pa., I believe the law allows ground-standing anywhere you "have a right to be." I don't know for certain, but I'm certain the law's more "generous" in Texas.
That's right. In Pa., this land is my land, goddammit!
Yes, but only within range of your
penis extensionNRA-approved personal defense weapon.OMG. Has Our Esteemed Editrix been hitting the bottle, perhaps a little too hard, with her perfectly kissable lips?
Fear not, Editrix. I live for open threads.
Did you not get the memo? Gimp suit or GTFO
In fact, you'd have your avatar if you had read it and followed the instructions.
Dude, I have a permanent Gimp suit.
I *appear* to have my avatar. Were you engaging in a little sleight of hand there, actor?
Guns don't kill people.
Guns owned by stupid and/or psychopathic assholes kill people.
Or something. I need to check with the NRA …
I think we have found the first government program that Libertarians can get behind:
Provide free guns to people so they can defend themselves from the people with guns.
What can possible be wrong with that? It is what Government was intended to do.
When Stand Your Ground meets the Castle Doctrine, it's just too bad the Union Thugs weren't armed too, for full effect.
Laws designed by idiots abused by gun toting idiots against annoying idiots.
US Amercia! Fuck yah!
As Lincoln said, "government of the stupid, by the stupid, for the stupid, will cause us all to perish from the earth". Or something like that.
I couldn't watch the video but will add here that the incident happened two years prior to the Trayvon Martin shooting; it's the trial that's now in progress & getting attention as its timeframe falls under a different self-defense doctrine than "Stand Your Ground." JUST to provide some context — a thingy that myself and Jebrasmus Bush are working hard to remove the smirch from in these confusing times.
That's Jebrasmus ELIZONDO Bush. Get it right.
If EVERYONE in the video had a gun we would not have to have a trial. Just a lot of grave diggin!
What digging?
We'll just shoot a big ol' hole in the ground!
But that would mean needing Union Thugs to dig the graves.
In my past, I have both (1) bought candy from 7-11 and taken a shortcut home, and (2) thrown obnoxious parties that piss off my neighbors, so I am glad not to live in the Bible Belt, where these are capital offenses.
Sure, but we're you blah when committing any of the offenses? That might make it wrong in all 50 states.
Never bring a gun to karaoke night.
Now that's some mighty FINE advice right there…
You must have been at some of the same karaoke nights I've been at.
what if someone sings "friends in low places"? then you'll wish you were packing.
What ya mean "what if?" Around here, that's mandatory.
If you can shoot a neighbor because his stereo is too loud, I'd have shot the wannabe DJ in the upstairs apartment about fifty times since last July.
you could have a "stand your ground" rave
I listen to a lot of Morrissey. I'm surprised I haven't shot myself.
So let me get this straight. If I go out with a gun and tell people "I'm gonna shoot you" I get to shoot them? Americans are fucking idiots.
"He's coming right for us!" and "Thin out their numbers!" work equally well.
How about "I see the eyes of the whites!" D'you think that will ever prove popular?
So if you give people even the flimsiest excuse to shoot someone, they'll take it? I guess we owe the NRA, the tea party and every paranoid motherfucker out there a big debt of gratitude for making us learn the simplest rules of human behavior all over again.
I forget which comedian said it, maybe it was Maher, but do you get the feeling the NRA sits around their offices all day and says "What crazy fucking law can we get passed next? What? Stand Your Ground? So you don't even have to be *home* to kill an intruder!? That's GENIUS!"
Human behavior? I think we're shooting for reptilian behavior.
Reptiles have higher standards, dude.
You repeat yourself.
Moral of the story; Education is dying in Texas.
Not according to Texas textbooks.
In more ways than one.
What a fucking pussy. What's with the marbles in their mouths. They hardly speak American.
After the Voter ID amendment passes in Minnesota this fall, the state will give every eligible voter a handgun with their photo ID lasered onto it, solving (at least) two problems in one. This is how efficient governments are run.
How German.
Does the castle doctrine apply if you swap rooks, and if your king hasn't been in check?
We're all just pawns in this game.
You got the delivery all wrong. You're supposed to say that into a video camera, with … pregnant … Shatnerian … pauses.
Oh, they're Texans. Who cares then?
Me. I care. I know some really decent people in Texas. And some of our best Wonketteers live in TX. I'm glad it wasn't any of them, and sorry it happened at all. Some kids are missing their teacher today.
I guess it was just a matter of time before Texas got on this Stand Your Ground bandwagon.
When did they start making vidya camrah's wit bilt in decibel sensors, by gawd? 85 of em!
I know, I like how he can just stagger out somewhere at night and gauge something that obscure so accurately. Fuckin' wannabe Rambo.
Now we know who Jesse Kelly's new campaign manager will be.
Possible. He's still thinking about running again. Asked if he would by the Arizona Daily Star this morning, Kelly's reply was, “We are spending some time catching up with family and prayerfully reflecting on the future. We expect to have an announcement about our future plans in the next day or two." So he'll run if Jeebus tells him to, by gawd.
The good news: with all the votes counted we now know that Barber defeated Kelly by 9,000 more votes than Gabby Giffords managed to win by last time. Oh, happy day, 9,000 Tucsonans have come to their senses in fewer than two years! And this in a district where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats.
Thank you, Bat-shit-crazy Arizona Legislature. You are at least good for something.
This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “God, no…”
But, but… he said the magic "I'm in fear for my life" words which bring a ring of protection around him. He's going to need them in prison.
That video has more assholes in it than a gas station hot dog.
(Thanks to whoever said that first)
He's a brown, victim is white. Date with the needle awaits..
I wouldn't game it out quite that way. More likely he skates for killing his neighbor in a fight he started, which will prove that the justice system in the Houston area is not racist.
Everybody (in Texas) stands their ground, everybody (outside Texas) wins!
This guy's screwed mostly because there were (presumably hostile) witnesses. Make sure no one but the target's around before you blast away, kids!
Remember: there are never witnesses, only assailants.
"When I hear talk of music, that's when I reach for my revolver"
Damn- it's been a long time since I heard that one. Maybe not since I had MOB on vinyl.
What?
The scariest part of this whole video were the concealed carry "experts" who spoke afterwards. According to them, Raul spoke all the right magic words so he was entitled to shoot and kill his neighbor.
"I have a gun."
"I'm a-feared for my life" (In American English for those of you that don't speak Texan: I'm afraid for my life.)
"I will shoot."
Bang and you get off with a self-defense claim.
Well, I'm saying now, once and for all: I have a gun. I'm afraid for my life and I will shoot.
You're all witnesses that whatever I do from now on is in self defense. No matter how many assholes I need to shoot.
"I have a gun. I'm afraid for my life and I will shoot."
I need that on a t-shirt.
Jesus, Generation, you gotta be careful where you wear that fucking thing.
Or maybe we could take it a bit further and have, like, three bulletholes on the shirt, and convincing bloodstains.
It seems obvious that he was checking off those boxes, as though from some kind of step-by-step instruction set. To me, that just makes it look pre-meditated. Whether taking legal advice from a gun loon message board is a good idea, I guess we'll soon find out.
Yep, looked that way to me, too.
yeah, it's a common gun-nut "self defense" ploy — I remember at the RNC in Philly years ago, we liberals were taunting right-wing idiots, and one of them started shouting this phony "I'm in fear for my life" BS as if he was going to start shooting us and needed his right-wing buddies as witnesses. What they're basically saying is "I am a coward and need a gun."
I really don't understand this, thinking about it
I mean, the guy's on the phone with the cops, AND has a video camera with him. Isn't it enough to walk over and ask politely if they could keep the noise down? You've got the fucking cops on the fucking line, listening in! You ask nicely, an either they say, "Oh, man, sorry! Yes, of course" or they give you lip, to which you say to the nice dispatcher on the line, "Do you think you could send a car over, please?"
Yeah, but then I don't get to shoot anybody.
That's only how they do it in blue states.
Well, how else are the cops going to know that your life's in danger if you don't assert it repeatedly.
I mean, he had all his line's scripted, it just couldn't be helped that the actors had their own ideas.
Proof Fool!
Rodriguez should have purchased some Stand Your Ground™ Insurance.
Excuse me, I have to barf my fucking guts out.
Are they for real? Is this FER REAL? What next, trophies?
Well, the Trayvon Martin™ Gun Range Targets were such a huge hit. Unlimited market for this kind of stuff.
Capitalism!
Right. Carry on then. (continues barfing)
Not to belabor the obvious, but that's crazy.
A lot of people seem to mistake "provoke a confrontation" and "stalk" with "self defense".
He is in fear of his life because their music is too loud although he's waving a gun at them? Sounds like an insanity defense to me.
Somebody died over loud music? God this country is full of assholes.
Oh my god, the thing that makes my head 'splode is the get out of jail free magic incantation, per the expert gun nut shown later in the video
"My life is in danger. I am armed. I will shoot you."
It's like a reverse Miranda warning.
Our lives are always in danger all the time. An asteroid could hit the earth at any second!
As for the lovely woman in that blue dress. Oh, yeah…
Can we get some more film of her at 11? Thanks.
Speaking as one who has been in fear for his life on several occasions I have to say I admire this young man's courage under; well, not fire; but loud music, to say the least. Honestly, the times I've been in fear for my life I could only do the shooting part. The announcement that I was armed, in fear of my life and certainly the ability to operate a video camera were completely out of the question. Screaming for my mother, shitting my pants, notsomuch, though.
My point exactly. The real shit goes down so fucking fast you don't even remember it correctly sometimes.
Check me if I'm wrong Sandy, but does this mean I can confront any of those stupid Harley riders, tell them they are really effing stupid and I hate the noise thier pos makes. Then blow them away if they get angry? Assuming I say the magic phrases loud enough so that I could reasonably assume they heard me of course. Can a human voice make that loud of a sound though? Better research that first before I test this out fri nite at the local dive bar.
These neighbors are being total dicks about a guy who's just threatening to shoot them if they don't do what he wants.
In my country there are no guns so we kill our neighbors by stamping on their heads for a while. It's aerobic.
It's actually pretty difficult to kill a person one to one without some sort of weapon. Takes real strength, determination, viciousness — or the heightened inability to feel pain that comes from drugs, booze, or an extreme emotional reaction. Guns make it way too easy.
Yes, guns are better for fatties.
See? This is why we have an obesity problem, especially in Texas. We just drive up in our air-conditioned trucks and start shooting.
You a campaign worker in Kentuckistan?
Lets ask the guy with a skull and crossed rifles on his t-shirt what HE thinks about this, mmm-kay?
He would make an excellent witness for the defense, wouldn't he?
"Your honor, the defense calls to the stand, Ted Nugent."
The really sad thing is, my dad would watch this and totally side with Rodriguez even though he is a Mexican.
And the next time you accuse him of being prejudiced, he'll cite that as his defense.
From a daughter who has been there
i <3 wonette….thank for bringing sanity to my livingroom
Going back inside his own house and letting the cops handle the music complaint was not an option, I guess. And balancing a gun, a camera and a decibel-meter is no easy thing in the dark.
He's an ambidextrous hero.
These neighbors are being total ^^STUPID^^ dicks about a guy who's just threatening to shoot them if they don't do what he wants.
FIFY, NNTT.
Shooting a gun can cause ringing in the ears. This man has suffered enough.
See? Rock & roll is the devil's music.
THIS WON'T HAPPEN IF YOU ONLY PLAY PAT BOONE
Am I the only one who found the gun "expert" the most chilling part of the story?
Nope.
Guns don't kill people. People refusing to obey their homicidal neighbors kill themselves.
The neighbors were just pissed because Ricky wouldn't let them be in his show.
There are a lot of man boobs in that video…is that what 'curtilage' means? Is that grounds for being shooty? It makes me feel somewhat shooty, or at least stabby.
I also know that such as when I feel threatened, I start videotaping, much like the animals on the African Plain.
many of the comments on the link defend the shooting……this country is filled with crazy idiots with guns. How did this happen?
You know if your known as a huge prick ,and your not John Holmes? That's a bad thing.
Yes, the party people were being dicks, but I pay taxes so I can call the police to come and overreact and kill people for me. There is an etiquette to these things.
My local paper is reporting that Rodriguez was convicted & will be sentenced tomorrow- punishment up to life in prison… But he wasn't dealing dimebags so he'll prob'ly be out in a few…
Fry this tool. End result: two less Texans. Win, win?
What kind of stupid fuck videotapes his own crime?
Can we please let the South, (mostly Texas, Florida and North Carolina), secede now?
As you could clearly hear the dialogue, it's obvious that the music wasn't all that loud.
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