In a few months, I'm supposed to attend a scientific conference in Gainesville, Florida. I'm now having second thoughts about attending.
Throughout the Trayvon Martin case, I've felt that George Zimmerman was morally guilty of murder. But given Florida's ridiculously lax legal standards, I expected him to be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder. I was surprised to read the verdict this morning, although perhaps I shouldn't have been.
For me personally, this verdict has set the bar so low for killing someone in Florida that I'm not sure I feel safe traveling there. There appears to be no legal barrier to someone starting an argument, then ending it with a gun, and I think this is going to be empowering to troublemakers. Do I really want to risk being accosted by anti-science zealots walking from my hotel to a restaurant during the conference?
My wife has already told me this morning that she doesn't want to attend the conference, and that she doesn't really want me to attend either. I wonder what kind of effect this is going to have on Florida tourism. Is an organized boycott of Florida tourism in order?