# What would you do if an angry mob demands you raise your fist in support? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071 "2020-08-26T14:49:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/281 "2020-09-03T15:41:44Z")
Something that may be useful if you are ever in a situation like that in the OP. A person who is red in the face is in an agitated state but still in control of themselves. When such a person suddenly goes white in the face they have entered a fight-or-flight state filled with a rush of adrenaline and they are no longer in full control of their emotions – you are likely to be subject to in imminent attack. When you see them suddenly going white in the face you should immediately take action, either disabling the attacker or getting away from them as quickly as possible. Do not hesitate; take immediate action. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/282 "2020-09-03T21:45:49Z")
Wait a minute. You’re recommending “disabling” somebody not for any action they took, but because the color of their face changed? Maybe their face went white because they’re about to pass out. Maybe they went white because they just saw their boss in the crowd and they think they’re going to get fired. Maybe they can control themselves in that state of rage, and they’re about to back out of there. I don’t think your defense in court is going to look very good if it amounts to ‘your honor, I permanently physically damaged that person because it looked to me like they’d gone white in the face’. If you’re recommending diving under the table at that point, that’s another matter. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/283 "2020-09-04T10:58:06Z")
[The woman in the video gives her account.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lauren-victor-diner-dc-black-lives-matter-protesters/2020/09/03/fa0368de-ee21-11ea-ab4e-581edb849379_story.html?hpid=hp_save-opinions-float-right-4-0_opinion-card-a-right%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans) A few important lines: > [@](#): > > As the marchers closed in on our table, I could not see any protest signs. I asked who they were and why they were marching. No one would answer me. Why march and hold back your message? This was not your usual Black Lives Matter protest, or really, any other protest I have attended. Marchers are usually delighted to tell you about their mission. > … > it was their insistence that I participate in something that I did not understand that led me to withhold my hand. In retrospect, I would have done the same thing even if it was crystal clear to me who they were and what they stood for. If you want my support, ask it of me freely. That’s what we do in a democracy. > … > The most important thing that you do not see is what happened after. My instincts kept telling me this was not a crowd inclined to perpetuate violence with more violence. In the end, someone said “let’s go,” and the protesters moved on. They were not pleased with me, but I was not hurt in any way. No one ever tried to raise my hand for me or threw so much as a paper straw in my direction. > > I offer this because while the protesters’ and my actions have become a kind of global Rorschach test differently interpreted by people across the political spectrum, the original event felt resolutely local. We were having a community conversation. I find her position imminently reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/284 "2020-09-04T14:05:51Z")
I think I love her. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/285 "2020-09-04T14:10:53Z")
And she’s an urban planner so it’s likely she’s faced a braying mob before, like many who work in a municipality, the public can get nasty in your face. [https://digg.com/video/someone-mashed-up-the-anti-mask-protesters-from-florida-into-a-parks-and-recreation-town-hall-meeting](https://digg.com/video/someone-mashed-up-the-anti-mask-protesters-from-florida-into-a-parks-and-recreation-town-hall-meeting) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/286 "2020-09-07T18:46:59Z")
“If just one person comes up into your face and yells at you to do something that you have no desire to do, is that justification for violence, to break their nose or pepper spray them?” Getting right up close, yelling and refusing to back off could legitimately be interpreted as threatening behavior that justifies a snootful of pepper spray, yes. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071/287 "2020-09-07T19:34:25Z")
How about BLM protesters screaming at people and chasing them out of restaurants in Rochester. That’s scary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-you-do-if-an-angry-mob-demands-you-raise-your-fist-in-support/919071.md?page=14)