Seems we're all in broad agreement on this topic
and basically picking nits. But then some of those nits are pretty damned important
I think that there was a large gathering of people genuinely protesting peacefully, hugging, crying, shouting, probably pushing the limits what could be called peaceable assembly when some few decide to escalate by vandalizing a police car.
Many of the bystanders thought that was a good idea and off we go for a three day riot.
would like to remind you of the pssibilty that people who were pushing the limits might well have been there for the aggro in the first place, just like that college "friend"of mine who would join demos in "support"' of any issue you like , with that express purpose in mind. Nobody wants them, but there's nothing you can do to stop them turning up.
Also Phoenix;s point might be relevant here:
There's video out that that one of the "looters" at an Auto Zone in MN is actually a cop. That happens a lot in situations like this. At the G20 summit in Toronto, they found out that it was people protesting who had burnt out the cop cars, it was the cops who had done it to make the public more sympathetic to their cause by blaming the people protesting.
Given that this was an anti-police demo, the cops would, once again, have been strongly motivated to make the protestors look like the bad guys. Can we be sure that they didn't sneakily light the torch, so to speak?
Oh! looks like they did, according to Phoenix's other post (unless her third sentence referred to a dfferent demo? )
The vast majority of protesters were peaceful. I know people who were there. Remember that there's footage of a cop inciting violence himself because he damn well knows that it just takes one to start and more will follow and then it's far easier to point the finger all "all those angry looting protesters" than to keep a shining light on the PD.
Kind of difficult to prosecute a mob, but I think we should try like HELL!
Don't worry, that already happens all over the world (Tianenmen Square? and the present day riots in Hong kong? Ofc, I
could pick examples closer to home, from the so-called democratic world, but so could you. You're surely more familiar with American history and current affairs than I am)
In my country it's not at all uncommon for protestors to be be arrested and prosecuted . The problem is that whenever video evidence has emerged (and /or witness accounts given credence) it's all-too-often become clear that the cops were not only using excessive force (not dissiimilar to the arrest of George floyd) but picking out peaceful protesors to arrest more often than not. And, ofc, it's often that spectacle of innocent people being brutally mistreated that sparks off the angry backlash from nearby protestors . So the cops' behaviour becomes self-justifying, retrospectively, just so long as their version is accepted. I find no reason to suppose that's a purely British phenomenon.
In short,
they really are trying like HELL to prosecute a mob, as you put it. Already. And I think that we actually need less of that.
