“You Don’t Have to Be Black to Riot” by Stacy Swimp

Op-ed submission by Project 21

On July 4, a tea party activist and aspiring humorist named “Wild Bill” posted a video on YouTube entitled “White Guy Riot.” In it, he suggests, “rumors are flying in Florida that if George Zimmerman is acquitted, blacks will riot all across the country.”

“And it has been suggested,” Wild Bill adds, “that if George Zimmerman is convicted, that whites should riot.” He continued: “When I heard that, my first thought was that someone would have to teach us how.”

Trying to be funny, Wild Bill, who is white, goes on to suggest only a few whites would actually show up, would forget to bring a lighter to start fires and “as soon as they broke a few things, they would feel bad, go to the hardware store, buy stuff and go back and fix what they broke” before apologizing for their rioting.

Whether he…