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[SalmonGod]

[GreatJustice]

What I don't understand is why the response to police brutality is to burn down things completely unrelated to the police. I mean, if they were attacking the police station or something it would make sense in a way, but I don't see how victims of police brutality are avenged when the local pharmacy is looted or McDonalds is burnt down.

[Arx]

It's because it's all run by The Man, I think, and trashing buildings is a problem for The Man, so he has to fix the police, or you'll carrying on trashing random people's livelihoods.

It's kind of holding the whole city hostage, except with more collateral damage. As far as I know. It's sickening, though.

[Angle]

Eh, I can sympathize. If I was being brutalized by the police and people were just standing about and watching, I'd be tempted to do a lot worse than just burn their shit down.

[GreatJustice]

I don't really think you can claim that the 7/11 in one part of Baltimore is complicit because, in a completely different part of Baltimore, some cops murdered a guy. Anyhow, even if that's the case, does it make any sense to go after bystanders before going after the guilty?

[RedKing]

There's also the notion that rioting will *draw* police out to respond, so you can attack them directly.
What's fucked up is that they're also attacking other first responders like firefighters who don't exactly have a history of..umm...firefighter brutality?

Riots like this don't help, because they just give a large segment of the American population -- already uncomfortable with the issues this raises -- an easy out.
"Well damn, just look at that! No wonder the police have to be tough..."

[penguinofhonor]

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[Angle]

The ideal response would be some sort of nonviolent protest. That's crazy hard to organize, though.

[Sheb]

Well, this is more like a blind explosion of rage, it doesn't really have a good reason.

[Bauglir]

Yeah, this is not reasoning behavior. This is what happens when a society demonstrates that it doesn't really give a fuck about reasoning behavior. Rioters are responsible for their own behavior, sure, but that's not where the train of responsibility ends.

[nenjin]

The ideal response would be some sort of nonviolent protest. That's crazy hard to organize, though.

It's also the opposite of how a group who feels like they're being systematically executed is likely to respond, given enough constant sources of aggravation. I don't approve of rioting and indiscriminately destroying other people's property. But to the same extent, people can only take so much before they lash out with the same violence they're being subjected to.

Put another way, if the skin tones were different I think we'd still be seeing riots, one way or another.

Yeah, this is not reasoning behavior. This is what happens when a society demonstrates that it doesn't really give a fuck about reasoning behavior. Rioters are responsible for their own behavior, sure, but that's not where the train of responsibility ends.

I'd argue if society doesn't move to stop injustices like these, it can be just as culpable. If people wring their hands and say "oh how terrible" but do not muster the political will to change it, I don't know if the protestors are entirely wrong for being angry at society too.

Note, that doesn't mean I approve of rioting and randomly attacking people and businesses.

[Descan]

What I don't understand is why the response to police brutality is to burn down things completely unrelated to the police. I mean, if they were attacking the police station or something it would make sense in a way, but I don't see how victims of police brutality are avenged when the local pharmacy is looted or McDonalds is burnt down.

If you have the at-present forethought to decide "I'm going to target only the police station!" you're probably not going to engage in a riot. Most non-riot protests DO revolve around the police station or courthouse or whoever is responsible, remember Occupy Wall-Street? Forethought and emotion don't tend to go too well together when emotion is high, and a riot is a very emotional discharge.

[Baffler]

I think this communicates the feeling these folks have pretty well.

[Bauglir]

I think this communicates the feeling these folks have pretty well.

Yeah. Yeah, it does. I'm not in favor of violence, and I don't think "they started it" is a valid defense of anything, but the way it's being spun here is too much as a defense of an absolutely monstrous status quo, a subtle call for black people to lie back down and let the boots get back to kicking.

[penguinofhonor]

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