# Will There Be Riots In The Streets & On the Campuses **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 29, 2008, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055 "2008-10-29T05:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/21 "2008-10-29T17:55:36Z")
> [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](#): > > I agree. Same here. Consider the outrage over the Rodney King verdict some years ago. From Wikipedia: _By the time the police, the US Army, the Marines and the National Guard restored order, the casualties included 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damages to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses._ This time, we’re talking about the possibility of the first black president, not some construction worker that got beat up by the cops. If he loses, despite positive polling through Election Day, the fallout won’t be pretty. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/22 "2008-10-29T17:58:54Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Uh huh! Did you notice the terrible violence by the right in Denver and the peace and love that was rampant in St. Paul at the conventions. :rolleyes: The police - right wingers of course - have been fairly brutal to the left, such as it is. And it’s not the left that kills people who disagree with it in this country. > [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > But there has been no sort of conservative victory at all. On an intellectual level, the Left has succeeded somehow in one of the greatest victories of them all: they have managed to skew the actual rules of engagement to the left, such that you can dismiss somebody by labelling them as a “conservative” without further argument. It’s become an insult. You can almost hear the half-aspirated “Ugh” before it. What planet are you from ? Conservative is just fine; it’s “liberal” that’s been demonized. > [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > So, I’d say the left hasn’t done too badly in the last couple of decades. The left is nearly nonexistent. We have the Right ( Obama ), and the Far Right ( McCain ). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/23 "2008-10-29T18:05:50Z")
FWIW, the Right is [“getting ugly.”](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/10/mccain-miami-rally-getting-ugly-down.html) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/24 "2008-10-29T18:11:59Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Many people hate the Republicans so much that any little rumor of something not going 100% exactly by the book that maybe possibly somehow could have shifted half a vote to McCain will be spun into widespread voter fraud that was authorized and planned at the highest levels of the party. In other words, the threshold for “questionable” is a lot lower this time around. **That** would be a positive sign; I just hope you’re right. The threshold for “questionable,” in your terms, was **way** too high in 2004. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/25 "2008-10-29T18:16:18Z")
I’m starting to think there’ll be riots if McCain loses. Some of the people at his rallies are just unbalanced. No other word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/26 "2008-10-29T18:28:23Z")
The polling numbers are still very close, and in most of the key up-for-grab states are still within the margin of error range. It ain’t over 'till it’s over. What concerns me is that the contentions of voter disenfranchisement, election-stealing, and insidious plots by the DieBold Corporation have undermined the public’s trust in the fairness of the system to such a point that a McCain victory, no matter how legitimate, will be rejected by a substantial portion of the population as a right-wing coup. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/27 "2008-10-29T18:38:40Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > Yeah, it’s a stereotype, but it’s also based on history and experience. I spent several years in poorer, mostly Black areas, and it is not that anyone is planning a riot like they would a night out with the boys, it is that there is a LOT of frustration and anger simmering just below the surface constantly (over racism, poverty, unfair stereotypes, etc) and it doesn’t take much to cause it to boil over. > > What I see is that in that community currently, at least where I am, there is a lot of hope right now, but also a great deal of cynicism. These are people who are used to being let down, so many don’t want to get too excited about it, lest they get slapped down come the 4th. And if that happens, many will be not only disappointed but personally insulted and WILL have their outlet. I hear what you’re saying. And I think that any city police chief who doesn’t have an action plan in place is being grossly negligent. But I’m sick of people using hand-wringing over “riots” as a tool to remind people that BLACK PEOPLE ARE DIFFERENT THAN WHITE PEOPLE. White people cry into their Chardonnay. Black people break windows. White people challenge the election results in courts of law. Black people loot and light fires. White people proceed to their homes in an orderly fashion when asked to by the police. Black people tell the cops to fuck off. And the whole thing plays on so many black stereotypes. And not just the “blacks are violent” one. That one’s easy 'cause it’s right out there on the surface. But what about the other ones? One of the most potent arguments in favor of slavery was the idea that blacks are essentially “juvenile” and not able to take care of themselves without a paternalistic white person looking out for them. And what is a riot but a gigantic multi-person temper tantrum? Little kids are not able to channel their anger and frustrations into constructive action. Nor are they able to keep it to themselves. They yell and they scream and they kick their legs and they break stuff. Normal adults don’t do this. And normal adults don’t openly take stuff that doesn’t belong to them, either. But kids will. And rioters will. I dunno. All this “but they might riot!” stuff is like saying “you just can’t trust them to behave themselves.” Like they were a bunch of 6 year olds. And by tarring black people with that brush, you’re tarring Obama. It’s just an excuse to bring up nasty old stereotypes. And while I think **appleciders** offense at the “young people might riot too” meme is quite reasonable, now that I’ve achieved the ripe old age of 37, I can say with confidence that college-age folks tend to be quite a bit more impulsive than fogeys like me. So it’s not a totally out-there thing. But nevertheless, these references to the “young people” read as pure tokenism to me. “See, I’m not a racist. I’m afraid of the college kids too!” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/28 "2008-10-29T18:47:05Z")
Given the behavior of some sports victories in the past there is a good chance there will be riots in Chicago if Obama wins, and massive riotes if he loses. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/29 "2008-10-29T18:48:30Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > But nevertheless, these references to the “young people” read as pure tokenism to me. “See, I’m not a racist. I’m afraid of the college kids too!” Does this mean you suspect that I’m a racist ? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/30 "2008-10-29T18:51:06Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I’m speaking of how the Left has let the Right run roughshod over it for decades. I’m saying they wouldn’t do **anything** , including riot. Just passively stand and take it, like always. If Obama loses fair and square, what exactly should the left do except take it? Regroup and try harder next time is all I can think of. You sound dangerously close to suggesting illegal activity. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/31 "2008-10-29T18:52:39Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > White people cry into their Chardonnay. Or blow up federal buildings, or shoot doctors who perform abortions, or put on a police uniform and beat on “lefties” and minorities, or tell the military to invade someone. If anything, the distinction is that the thug segment of the black subculture aren’t as organized or directed or powerful about their violence. > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > White people challenge the election results in courts of law. > Black people loot and light fires. When your history teaches you the courts and the law are biased against you, you don’t go to them. > [@Green\_Bean](#): > > One of the most potent arguments in favor of slavery was the idea that blacks are essentially “juvenile” and not able to take care of themselves without a paternalistic white person looking out for them. Only potent for idiots and scum. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/32 "2008-10-29T18:55:23Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > If Obama loses fair and square, what exactly should the left do except take it? It’s highly unlikely to BE fair and square. My point, again, was that the Republicans could openly **steal** the election and the left would just take it. [QUOTE=Der Trihs] The Republicans could openly steal the election and openly mock Obama voters about it on national television and you wouldn’t get riots. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/33 "2008-10-29T19:18:01Z")
**Der Trihs** –My black vs. white comments were describing _stereotypes_. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/34 "2008-10-29T20:55:56Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Only potent for idiots and scum. Or for the vast majority of folks throught the majority of human history, you know, when slavery was common and widespread. In the US, the slavery issue and the racial thoughts that enforced it held on a bit longer, and we are still dealing with the repercussions of that today. But to think that the folks that believed the stereotypes of the day were idiots and scum is just foolishness. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/35 "2008-10-29T21:03:23Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] We did this last month, too. In addition to being unlikely I think it’s very, very silly. [/QUOTE] And we’ll probably have several more threads on this subject before the end of the election (or the world if you are a Republican). I agree completely with you here. My question though is…the mods actually allowed a poster to name themselves ‘poker in the rear’?? 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/36 "2008-10-29T21:21:07Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > My question though is…the mods actually allowed a poster to name themselves ‘poker in the rear’?? 😛 > > -XT Would you have preferred the alternative “liquor in the front”?😉 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/37 "2008-10-29T21:22:54Z")
I prefer to keep my options open, personally… I think that some other poster should adopt the alternative, and then you coordinate to ensure that both of you posts to the same threads…just for effect… -XT ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/38 "2008-10-29T21:32:05Z")
> [@Tristan](#): > > Or for the vast majority of folks throught the majority of human history, you know, when slavery was common and widespread. No . . . The institution of black slavery in the New World was the first form of slavery to be based on perceived **racial** differences, including the purported mental inferiority of negroes. That was a new thing. Classical slavery was considered a matter of individual luck and fate; master and slave were as likely as not to be of the same racial group however defined. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/39 "2008-10-29T21:36:39Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > On an intellectual level, the Left has succeeded somehow in one of the greatest victories of them all: they have managed to skew the actual rules of engagement to the left, such that you can dismiss somebody by labelling them as a “conservative” without further argument. Um. You all turned “liberal” into an insult quite a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055/40 "2008-10-29T21:53:46Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And it’s not the left that kills people who disagree with it in this country. Ruby Ridge. Waco. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-there-be-riots-in-the-streets-on-the-campuses/470055.md?page=3)