# Bricker is a purveyor of misinformation; listen to him at your own risk

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-a-purveyor-of-misinformation-listen-to-him-at-your-own-risk/632106>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [August 20, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-a-purveyor-of-misinformation-listen-to-him-at-your-own-risk/632106 "2012-08-20T22:32:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 159

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-a-purveyor-of-misinformation-listen-to-him-at-your-own-risk/632106/159 "2012-08-22T17:45:05Z")

</div>

> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#):
>
> But the hypothetical you and **Bricker** have been discussing presupposes that Martin _did_ punch Zimmerman. It doesn’t take a lawyer to recognize that punching someone in the face is a crime.

> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#):
>
> It could be a crime, or it could be considered justified use of force. It is hardly black and white that a punch automatically equals a crime. Let alone a felony or even a breach a peace.

Here’s the sentence I used for the hypothetical:

> [@Martin/Zimmerman: humble opinions and speculation thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/martin-zimmerman-humble-opinions-and-speculation-thread/619125/5295):
>
> **If the conflict began with** Martin punching Zimmerman, continued to Zimmerman shooting Martin, and if the bullet had merely grazed Martin, following which Zimmerman had leapt upon him and restrained him… That would have been perfectly legal, both for a police officer and a “regular schmoe.”

That hypothetical doesn’t just presuppose Martin punching Zimmerman. It presupposes that the conflict began with Martin punching Zimmerman. How is that not a breach of peace? If his punch was in response to some provocation, then the provocation is what begins the conflict.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bricker-is-a-purveyor-of-misinformation-listen-to-him-at-your-own-risk/632106)._