# If Zimmerman is found "not guilty" will there be rioting? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221 "2013-07-11T12:51:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/21 "2013-07-12T00:12:41Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Threadshitting aside, I disagree. That thought would have never entered my brain pre OJ trial. That shit was a sight to see and burned an image in my head. > > Still though, lessons were learned and I don’t think it will happen again. But I wouldn’t flat out call some one a racist for thinking it _might._ There wasn’t any rioting after the OJ trial. It happened after the cops were acquitted for beating Rodney King. Different event. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/22 "2013-07-12T00:32:03Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I doubt anyone thinks Zimmerman’s actions were justified. I certainly hear plenty of people _say_ they think his actions were justified. If nothing else, the fact that he killed a black man and used a gun are enough to make some people support him. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/23 "2013-07-12T00:54:50Z")
I doubt there will be riots, but I do know there are plenty of people who want there to be some. It will give them an excuse to whip out there guns and go looking for their own Trayvon. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/24 "2013-07-12T01:22:04Z")
Trihs and Monstro…project much? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/25 "2013-07-12T03:43:37Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Whether they admit it or not, I think most people know Zimmerman’s actions were justified, so I don’t think there will be much rioting, if any. “Most people”? I hope not. In fact I hope it’s a tiny minority. If he’s totally acquitted, I may start a riot myself. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/26 "2013-07-12T03:52:33Z")
Justified? I don’t know. Morally he’s culpable, but I think legally he is not guilty. Maybe manslaughter. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/27 "2013-07-12T04:24:15Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > It’s such a racist question: there will be no rioting. Interestingly, **Omar Little** , Storm front dot org also made a thread on this exact topic. You might want to participate over there as well. Click here for the link. I’m sure you’ll fit right into the discussion. > > - Honesty > > [Mod Edit: Link Disabled] **Honesty** , honestly. If you want to square off with **Omar Little** , take it to the Pit. There’s no call for backhandedly accusing him of being a racist or associating with Storm front in IMHO. (Whom you may recall we have had a board war with in the past and are not inclined to give any attention, which is why I broke your link.) - Gukumatz, IMHO Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/28 "2013-07-12T05:38:04Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > There wasn’t any rioting after the OJ trial. It happened after the cops were acquitted for beating Rodney King. Different event. Ah, yes. You’re right of course. Thanks for that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/29 "2013-07-12T06:00:02Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > There wasn’t any rioting after the OJ trial. It happened after the cops were acquitted for beating Rodney King. Different event. And I believe that the OJ verdict was because the Rodney King riots were a little too fresh in people’s minds. The one person I’ve spoken to who thought OJ didn’t do it was a white guy who thought his son did it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/30 "2013-07-12T06:09:29Z")
There’s at least one slacktivism “don’t buy anything if Zimmerman walks” message going around on Facebook. Maybe that will tell you something about where people’s emotions are- it’s just a _little_ short of the riot level. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/31 "2013-07-12T10:20:50Z")
Yeah I think the internet and slacktivism in general have greatly lessened the likelihood of riots like this. It’s just so much easier to have your outrage heard with a few taps of a keyboard than it is to loot and pillage in the streets. I haven’t followed the case that closely but I honestly thought most people believed Zimmerman was justified in defending himself with lethal force. I guess at least here on the Dope most people still believe he’s guilty of manslaughter if not murder. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/32 "2013-07-12T14:48:09Z")
I, at least, think he’s guilty of stupid decisionmaking resulting in a dead body on the ground(\*). And I admit it’s my position that an incident of deadly violence with no direct witnesses merits an investigation and scrutiny a bit more thorough, and more severe upon the person who dealt the killing shot, than what perceived at the start. Remember, the initial outcry was “how come he hasn’t even been arrested??” I can’t help but think that if rather than what was perceived as a too quick and easy “nothing to see here, folks”, having been a little more strict with Zim _at the start,_ even if then it ended up with charges being dropped in Prelim once evidence of self-defence was produced, could have cooled things. Riot worthy? Not really. Except you know there will be some asshats at large who want to stir things up either way. (\*) Whether that satisfies the elements of a specific offense under Florida criminal law is a different thing and is what’s before a jury now; from what I’ve gathered in the course of this I am not convinced it has been proven that he acted with an intent or predisposition to kill so I’d have to acquit of murder. (As an aside, I believe there must be a difference between “stand your ground” and “stake your ground” – by continuing to follow and getting off the vehicle, IMO Zim did the later, needlessly raising the risk of confrontation). ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/33 "2013-07-12T16:58:31Z")
It depends on how you define rioting. There will be protests, and some (a small minority) of the people in those protests will be assholes looking for an excuse to damage property. Fox and Drudge will then take these isolated events and report them as massive race riots by unruly black mobs. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/34 "2013-07-12T17:05:24Z")
I don’t think I would have wanted Trayvon Martin hanging out with my kids, if I had them, but IMNSHO he was gunned down in cold blood and Zimmerman should be convicted of first-degree murder. I don’t think he’ll last long in prison, either. Inmates don’t like high-profile inmates any more than they like cops (even wannabes like Zimmerman) or child molesters. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/35 "2013-07-12T17:18:34Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I don’t think he’ll last long in prison, either. Inmates don’t like high-profile inmates any more than they like cops (even wannabes like Zimmerman) or child molesters. And you feel this is a good thing ? Perhaps it’s part of my anti-democratic reflexes, but I have a singular loathing of letting convicts define moral justice. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/36 "2013-07-12T17:23:44Z")
She appears to have been making an observation, not a value judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/37 "2013-07-12T17:30:57Z")
I think there will be, and it won’t just be african americans either. I know some people who are as white as can be, who plan to protest in some fashion, and I’m Jewish and plan to as well. Upper middle class area too, not ‘da hood’ as some people seem to think the only people who will care are those from da hood. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/38 "2013-07-12T17:33:41Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > I have a singular loathing of letting convicts define moral justice. So do I…that is why I detest gz ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/39 "2013-07-12T18:51:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > First time trying this satire thing? Don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice. Apologies. I don’t have much experience with hysterical gibbering. I’ll leave it to those who have made it their vocation from now on. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/40 "2013-07-12T19:04:26Z")
Oh, I think you have enough. > [@Tollhouse](#): > > I think there will be, and it won’t just be african americans either. I know some people who are as white as can be, who plan to protest in some fashion, and I’m Jewish and plan to as well. Upper middle class area too, not ‘da hood’ as some people seem to think the only people who will care are those from da hood. Protesting =/= rioting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221.md?page=3)