Is your city rioting?

[disneysteve]

POST EDITED TO CORRECT AN ERROR. I HAD ATTRIBUTED A COMMENT TO rennigade THAT WAS ACTUALLY MADE BY SOMEBODY ELSE. MY APOLOGIES TO rennigade FOR DOING SO!

I drove home from work yesterday and 15 or so white kids were holding up signs at an intersection about blm. The first thing I thought to myself...If I could find out each one of their names and check their social media accounts, I would bet my life that all of them have pictures of themselves protesting, holding signs, and posting comments on inequality. They were doing nothing but social posturing. They did it because its cool and they want people to like what they're doing.

A whole lot of assumptions here.You're saying that those participating in peaceful protests don't actually support the cause, perhaps because they're white.

I have a suggestion. The next time you pass a group of peaceful protestors like that, pull over and spend a few minutes talking with them rather than assuming you know why they're there and what they're thinking. You may be surprised by what you learn.

[rennigade]

A whole lot of assumptions here. Earlier, you shared that racism isn't a real problem. Now you're saying that those participating in peaceful protests don't actually support the cause, perhaps because they're white.

I have a suggestion. The next time you pass a group of peaceful protestors like that, pull over and spend a few minutes talking with them rather than assuming you know why they're there and what they're thinking. You may be surprised by what you learn.

Huh? Please feel free to find the quote where I expressed racism not being real and post it here. id love to read it. I know another member here said that and you replied to them saying how its disgusting...but I never recall saying that it isnt a real problem. Thats nuts.

EDITED BY DISNEYSTEVE. rennigade DID NOT say this. I attributed someone else's comment incorrectly. My apologies.

[docstudent]

The latest protest was held a few blocks my residence and I wanted to see things firsthand. This country has an issue with race and I don’t ever see it getting better. As I was walking home, a White man was questioning whether or not two minority members lived in the neighborhood. Then, he looked at me and said, you can’t live here either. He then demanded that I tell him my area code and street name. Totally unacceptable! On my way home, I passed several White people and not one time did I think to question their local residency. I’m outraged by the looters and I’m equally outraged by the actions of that guy!

[disneysteve]

Huh? Please feel free to find the quote where I expressed racism not being real and post it here. id love to read it. I know another member here said that and you replied to them saying how its disgusting...but I never recall saying that it isnt a real problem. Thats nuts.

OMG! I am so sorry. It was NOT you that posted that! It was someone else. I apologize for mis-attributing it to you. I'll edit my post above.

[rennigade]

OMG! I am so sorry. It was NOT you that posted that! It was someone else. I apologize for mis-attributing it to you. I'll edit my post above.

lol...its fine, its not a big deal. I knew who you were referring to. If it was something conspiracy related, id probably be guilty. : )

But, you were right. It would be better for me to have a conversation with those protesters than make assumptions on why they're doing it.

[james.hendrickson]

Very large protest here in Portland, Oregon last night. Thousands of young people, all wearing surgical or covid-19 type masks. Unlike previous evenings, this one was peaceful. But it was impressive how much energy and vibrancy the protests had.

I think there are a couple of things happening:

1. Covid-19 caused a ton of psychological disruption, so people are on edge and hostile
2. The massive amount of unemployment probably isn't helping things. People are more apt to avoid crime when they have school, work, family and community structure to constrain them.

Right now, a lot of that structure is missing.

[ua_guy]

I'm heartbroken about the murder of George Floyd. I understand the clashing perspectives. The protesting and rioting is complex, however. I think at this stage it's hard to separate the anti-racism protesting, a lot of which IS peaceful, from some other types of aggression not limited to retribution for the murder, pent-up angst about the general situation the country is in, and a lot of opportunistic looting and vandalism. I'm also reading about the connection to outside groups trying to spread misinformation and incite violence--that seems to be a new dynamic in everything these days.

I'm glad I'm nowhere near Minneapolis at the moment. It's had an impact on my employer, and the unrest isn't just in the downtown core. There's been activity even in the quieter suburbs according to posts from neighbors and municipal police departments that I follow.

I miss the days when there was a concerted effort from national leadership to change police practices and improve accountability by providing body cameras, oversight, and training. I'm saddened and strongly angered by threats to label anti-fascist organizations as "terrorist" groups (fascism being an enemy of the American people and democracy itself). I'm enraged by military action against peaceful protesters and threats to institute martial law. I see attempts from the white house to escalate the situation rather than to inspire unity and change. I fear that military installation will result in the shooting of peaceful protesters, and if that happens, I believe that's where things as we know it in this country will come to an abrupt unraveling.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The cops should go under cover and blend in with the looters and once the hammers come out to smash the glass make the arrests and take them down.

[rennigade]

The cops should go under cover and blend in with the looters and once the hammers come out to smash the glass make the arrests and take them down.

Sounds good on paper...but how many undercover cops are going to be deployed? Are they all going to stay together. You have hundreds if not a thousand rioters vs a dozen undercover cops? That would be suicide.

When a mob is involved, a simple badge doesnt scare them. It takes one or two rioters to start swinging...within seconds, there are dozens and dozens of rioters joining the fight. Mob mentality. Its a scary thing.

[bjl584]

It's a shame that the peaceful protesters are being completely drowned out by the anarchists and the needless violence and destruction.
The peaceful protesters' messages are lost and zero change will occur.

[disneysteve]

Sounds good on paper...but how many undercover cops are going to be deployed? Are they all going to stay together. You have hundreds if not a thousand rioters vs a dozen undercover cops? That would be suicide.

When a mob is involved, a simple badge doesnt scare them. It takes one or two rioters to start swinging...within seconds, there are dozens and dozens of rioters joining the fight. Mob mentality. Its a scary thing.

Agreed. That would be outrageously dangerous for the police officers and highly unlikely to succeed.

[disneysteve]

It's a shame that the peaceful protesters are being completely drowned out by the anarchists and the needless violence and destruction.
The peaceful protesters' messages are lost and zero change will occur.

Yes, it's so important to realize the actual protestors are just as opposed to the rioting as everyone else.

[james.hendrickson]

Totally - there are lots of reasonable policy proposals that aren't part of the narrative now. Like mandatory firings of officers who have too many complaints, mandatory body cameras or tougher local oversight of police forces. Also, frankly we might revisit refunding some useful Federal programs, like Homeland security grants to improve officer use of force training, or things like that.

[~bs]

The cops should go under cover and blend in with the looters and once the hammers come out to smash the glass make the arrests and take them down.

Cops actually do this.... There's videos of there of previous incidences and current ones where the cops were called out.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Los Angeles has a very large protest in downtown which is peaceful but I worry it could be a powder keg. I estimate the size to be about a full stadium maybe 50,000 people. It is 6:15 pm and curfew will be in place at 9:00 pm or 10:00 pm. BTW no social distancing. These protests marked the unofficial end of COVID which could lead to skyrocketing new COVID cases.