# 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:** 5
**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 16, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/81 "2013-07-16T21:55:40Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And $10,000 damage to a hotel lobby? That’s also par for the course every Saturday? > > Where do you live? No such thing happened. Don’t rely on Sean Hannity for your news. > [@](#): > > The account from the W Hotel’s PR and Communication Director Lauren Travis and its General Manager Leon Young, were quite different from NBC4 reporters Guinyard and Reyes, as well as that of LAPD’s Commander Smith. > > “The safety and security of our guests and associates remains our paramount priority,” Young told The BRAD BLOG in an emailed statement forwarded to us by Travis today, “and we are thankful to the local authorities for their assistance.” > > Young went on to make clear that “No protestors ever entered W Hollywood nor were any of our guests ever in danger.” > > In our follow-up, specifically asking about the reports of broken glass on Sunday, as reported several times late Sunday night by NewsChopper4 reporter Reyes, Travis replied directly: “Regarding the broken glass – those reports are false.” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/82 "2013-07-16T22:31:44Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > No such thing happened. Don’t rely on Sean Hannity for your news. Is Hannity on [NBC Los Angeles](http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Police-Brace-More-George-Zimmerman-Verdict-Protests-215542461.html) these days? > [@](#): > > Police made arrests and issued citations during demonstrations across LA on Sunday. At one point a group broke off and walked into the W Hotel, causing some $15,000 in damage to the lobby, said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith, a department spokesman. I didn’t see a link to where your quote was from? ---
**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 16, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/83 "2013-07-16T22:36:54Z")
> **[New Trayvon lie: Media, LAPD falsely report "rowdy" protests](https://www.salon.com/2013/07/16/new_trayvon_lie_media_lapd_falsely_report_rowdy_protests/)** > > Los Angeles' W Hotel confirms that claims of $15,000 in damages allegedly resulting from protests never happened They asked the LAPD Media Relations for comment and were told “I would go with what the hotel says.” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/84 "2013-07-16T22:38:15Z")
I am new to DC, and have just come to understand how profound the impact of the 68 riots still is on this city. The up and coming hipster neighborhoods my friends are gentrifying are the same ones that were rubble and vacant lots for decades. Entire neighborhoods and business districts were burnt to the ground, leaving block after block of burnt out shells. 13,000 federal troops patrolled the streets, and marines mounted machine guns on the steps of the capital as the riots came within blocks of the White House. 12 people were killed, over 1,000 injured and 6,000 arrested. It took three days for peace to be restored, although the city was left radically changed forever. Yeah, throwing a brick though a Men’s Warehouse is not the same thing. A riot is a mass movement, causing widespread disruption and damage. If you can avoid the “riot” by crossing to the other side of the street, you are dealing with something else. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/85 "2013-07-16T22:44:25Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > [http://www.salon.com/2013/07/16/new\_trayvon\_lie\_media\_lapd\_falsely\_report\_rowdy\_protests/](http://www.salon.com/2013/07/16/new_trayvon_lie_media_lapd_falsely_report_rowdy_protests/) > > They asked the LAPD Media Relations for comment and were told “I would go with what the hotel says.” So I relied on the report from NBC, a (theoretically) reputable journalism source. But the more detailed refutation from Salon makes me revise my reliance, and conclude that this story was bunk. So, it looks like when I said there was over $10,000 damage to a hotel lobby, I was wrong. See how easy that is? You make a mistake, you admit it! ---
**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 16, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/86 "2013-07-16T23:42:34Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > See how easy that is? You make a mistake, you admit it! And thank you for that. To get back to the original question, no, there aren’t anything that could be called riots going on, much to the dismay of the right. The Drudge Report is still linking every single isolated incident above the banner on their site. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/87 "2013-07-17T01:49:38Z")
The image of rioting blacks is so coveted because it helps justify certain people’s belief that Trayvon was just an uncivil animal who needed killin’. Because one black rioter in California might as well be stand in for the kid. The absence of riots causes cognitive dissonance in people whose racism has led them to support Zimmerman. Yup, I said it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hannity was the main one looking for a riot to quench his thirst, because the fool invited Zimmerman to sit on his couch. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/88 "2013-07-17T03:14:17Z")
Another comparison: In the LA riots, 3,600 fires were set, destroying 1,100 buildings. $800 million to $1 billion dollars in damage occurred. 52 people were killed. 13,500 troops were brought in. In all, around 11,000 people were arrested. IMHO, a riot involves multiple, disparate groups and individuals following their own separate agendas across multiple parts of a city, severely disrupting daily life (closing businesses, curfews, etc.) and requiring force outside of the local police to quell. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/89 "2013-07-17T03:38:30Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Another comparison: > > In the LA riots, 3,600 fires were set, destroying 1,100 buildings. $800 million to $1 billion dollars in damage occurred. 52 people were killed. 13,500 troops were brought in. In all, around 11,000 people were arrested. > > IMHO, a riot involves multiple, disparate groups and individuals following their own separate agendas across multiple parts of a city, severely disrupting daily life (closing businesses, curfews, etc.) and requiring force outside of the local police to quell. I see. It’s curious that the dictionary doesn’t hint at the necessity of that kind of scope for the word. Why do you suppose that is? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/90 "2013-07-17T04:12:22Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Yeah, throwing a brick though a Men’s Warehouse is not the same thing. A riot is a mass movement, causing widespread disruption and damage. If you can avoid the “riot” by crossing to the other side of the street, you are dealing with something else. _The crowd eventually headed back to 15th Street and Broadway, and at 10:45 p.m. people smashed windows of a Comerica bank, a Men’s Wearhouse store and a vacant retail space. Police rushed in to make arrests, which led to skirmishes between protesters and police. During the chaos, a tear-gas canister was detonated, and officers were the target of rocks and bottles. As the night wore on, violence grew. About 11 p.m., a masked protester hit a waiter at Flora Restaurant and Bar on Telegraph Avenue in the face with a hammer as he tried to protect the restaurant, whose windows were broken two nights ago. By night’s end, police had arrested six men, two women and a male juvenile, with most of them hailing from outside Oakland, said Officer Johnna Watson, a department spokeswoman. The offenses included assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and vandalism._ Smashed windows , tear-gas, officers were the target of rocks and bottles, assault with a deadly weapon, arrests= riot. Now, sure, I’ll go along with “small localized riot” and it does appear to be started mostly by outside anarchists. Note that the “masked protestor” was likely a anarchist- that’s their style, they wear masks and try to stir an angry but not violent mob into violence. And, most of them are white. But that’s exactly what I predicted. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/91 "2013-07-17T13:19:41Z")
Congratulations. On the other hand, the OP was completely off the mark, so I guess it’s all a wash. OP: > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Just as the title asks. > > I think there will be. Race has been made such a part of this case, by almost all parties involved, and emotions regarding the death of Martin have run very high. It may be similar to the LA riots of '92 after the acquittal the LAPD officers in the Rodney King beating trial. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/92 "2013-07-17T13:45:23Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Congratulations. > > On the other hand, the OP was completely off the mark, so I guess it’s all a wash. > > OP: Agreed. This is nothing whatsoever near the scale or breadth of the LA riots post-Rodney. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/93 "2013-07-17T13:55:58Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No. > > What I don’t like is people who are not accountable for their predictions. According to **Honesty** , predicting rioting was a racist reaction, and there would be no rioting. > > Thus far, we have had: > > [ul] > [li]Over a dozen arrests[/li][li]over ten thousand dollars in damage to just one of the businesses involved[/li][li]the police declaring an unlawful assembly and ordering dispersal[/li][li]“LAPD officers swarmed a Walmart near Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza after a group attempted to enter the store. Another skirmish line was established at the entrance of the parking lot.”[/li][li]a news crew assaulted as they were covering the…um…“event.”[/li][/ul] > > And this is not a riot. > > Is it really unfair of me to ask, “OK, what is?” No, that’s not a riot. We’ll let you know when there is one, though. - Honesty ---
**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 17, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/94 "2013-07-17T13:56:55Z")
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that you oblige him by answering this question: > [@](#): > > OK, what is? ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/95 "2013-07-17T14:02:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask that you oblige him by answering this question: I agree - more or less - with **even sven** (See Post #88) ---
**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 17, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/96 "2013-07-17T14:14:52Z")
Why? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/97 "2013-07-17T14:17:42Z")
It is much more accurate to say that there was not wide-scale rioting than there was, if you had to choose between the two. However, since the poll has a third option, it may be even more accurate to say that there was limited rioting. Very limited. So limited that it is on the edge of not being rioting at all. But of course people who want to use categorization to further their agendas do not see in shades of grey if it does not suit their purposes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/98 "2013-07-17T16:42:10Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > It is much more accurate to say that there was not wide-scale rioting than there was, if you had to choose between the two. However, since the poll has a third option, it may be even more accurate to say that there was limited rioting. Very limited. So limited that it is on the edge of not being rioting at all. > . I’ll buy that. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/99 "2013-07-17T16:51:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I don’t want riots. > So what’s your opinion? Are the California events riots? If not, what constitutes a riot? It’s a riot when the police remove their protest gear and put on their, uh, riot gear? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221/100 "2013-07-17T17:03:22Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Another comparison: > > In the LA riots, 3,600 fires were set, destroying 1,100 buildings. $800 million to $1 billion dollars in damage occurred. 52 people were killed. 13,500 troops were brought in. In all, around 11,000 people were arrested. > > IMHO, a riot involves multiple, disparate groups and individuals following their own separate agendas across multiple parts of a city, severely disrupting daily life (closing businesses, curfews, etc.) and requiring force outside of the local police to quell. Yep, that was a pretty big riot, no doubt. WWII was a pretty big war. Are you saying that if any conflict doesn’t get up to World War levels, they are not ‘wars”? I see your point, but I am unwilling to concede it. And, what has/is happing in Oakland comes very close. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-zimmerman-is-found-not-guilty-will-there-be-rioting/663221.md?page=6)