Any chance he will be arrested for telling the rioters to burn the city down…which they promptly did?
Or will they not go there.
Doubtful he will be arrested, but it was really really stupid and disappointing. I am sure many supporters will need to distance themselves from him and the situation and further diminish any hope for systemic and peaceful change. Probably a raw reaction to the situation, but terrible and incredibly damaging to their own cause.
…is an idiot.
Here’s a NYT article on the legality of speech that’s meant to incite violence:
http://www.nytimes.com/...not-protected-speech
The tl;dr version: there are three factors that must be present for speech to be considered lawless:
- The intent is violence or destruction
- There is an imminent possibility of violence/destruction
- There is a high likelihood that this violence/destruction will be carried out
I think the stepfathers actions cover the first two points, but I’m wondering how the courts would handle the third piece, since there already WAS a high likelihood of violence/damage. Did he further incite rioting and burning? I think that’d be hard to prove in court (though I have no legal background, so I’m just guessing).
Anyway, all that said there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he’s charged, imo.
I have never understood this aspect of rioters like these. They are pissed off, so they burn down their own neighborhood. Not the one the cop lives in. Theirs. How does that make any sense?
I have never understood this aspect of rioters like these. They are pissed off, so they burn down their own neighborhood. Not the one the cop lives in. Theirs. How does that make any sense?
Makes as much sense as when your team wins a big game and you celebrate by over-turning cars, burning couches, and rioting.
I have never understood this aspect of rioters like these. They are pissed off, so they burn down their own neighborhood. Not the one the cop lives in. Theirs. How does that make any sense?
I think in this instance they’re not burning down their own neighborhood. I’m sure there was some element of that here, people who just don’t give a shit about anyone else. But I’d guess the vast majority are opportunistic criminal scum who drove in for the ‘event’. What’s more fun than looting and destruction?
We kinda saw this in the first wave of riots, the first couple of nights were relatively quiet, the rioting didn’t really ramp up until that Tuesday night (I believe the incident was on a Sunday). Maybe I’m just blindly optimistic in this regard but I don’t think the vast majority doing the damage live in Ferguson.
How does that make any sense?
Because the rioting is a temper tantrum not an attempt to effect change. When you look back at past civil rights marches and protests they were often well thought out with a specific intent in mind. Today it’s simply a temper tantrum with no direction and just like any child whatever is in the way of the tantrum get’s destroyed.
~Matt
**Today it’s simply a temper tantrum with no direction and just like any child whatever is in the way of the tantrum get’s destroyed. **
That is little bit of revisionist history as well as not understanding that those committing these crimes are a small faction of those protesting. There were several thousand others protesting in other cities and I heard of no other such stories of looting and riots in those cities.
Not a chance in hell and I would be nervous for the police policeman who did because they would be under DOJ investigation immediately.
this is how one celebrates a crushing defeat, even by less than a touchdown:
.
How does that make any sense?
Because the rioting is a temper tantrum not an attempt to effect change. When you look back at past civil rights marches and protests they were often well thought out with a specific intent in mind. Today it’s simply a temper tantrum with no direction and just like any child whatever is in the way of the tantrum get’s destroyed.
~Matt
These riots may be like a temper tantrum in its emotion, but unlike a temper tantrum this is not a reaction to an unexpected situation. It is to an emotional reaction to something that most could have seen coming. I’d even suggest these riots/looting/burning are to some extent premeditated and planned. Hell someone set up an Amazon Gift Registry for riot supplies.
The business owners, civil servants and officials clearly planned for them. It seems to me that it is just thugs taking the opportunity to act like thugs, in the name of “justice.” Many other protest in other cities and no looting has been reported.
A complete failure of the social contract by the rioters.
I saw that. Awesome!
I heard he downs a grape crush and a PBJ after every game . . . but I digress
Because you were raised by a family with values who probably worked for a living and took little from others.
I’m speaking only of the rioters. But when your entire subsistence is supported by other (taxpayers), and when you look up to criminals or those glorifying the criminal lifestyle rappers, drug dealers, maybe a male relative who has been in and out of prison for a long time. It doesn’t make much to convince yourself that rioting and looting is ok. In fact, you may believe it is your right when you feel wronged.
Most people feel wronged when their personal stuff or family members are harmed. Since few of these people actually own anything they earned, there is little for them to feel wrong about if taken. So that leaves family members. The inner city black community is actually fairly connected. People on a block will generally know each other, and know each other’s business. A funeral of member of the block brings the community together. Even if it is a gang killing. Such random violence is a way of life in such communities. The response is often gangland retaliation. You cannot do that against the police. Who many of them view as a common enemy. An occupier. So it is only natural that their be a community response. However, such a response when peaceful, creates an opportunity for criminals, even in the most civil of society. I once read the anatomy of a riot, and it was very informative. These criminals exploit the protest and the response (chaos) and then a mob joins in based on the mob mentality and the justifications from above.
But it all starts with the spark. And clearly different fires require different sparks. It would take a severe level of discontent for the white community vs the black inner city for the reasons stated above. But consider the following
- You likely haven’t been to jail and have a lot to lose if you do as a result of rioting.
- You own stuff and that could be lost if you don’t choose your battles wisely or if you live in a society that doesn’t value others stuff.
- The owners of businesses in your community are local. You might even chat at length with the shop keepers when you frequent their store. (Most inner city business are outsiders oviewed as leaches by community activist.)
- You don’t feel you or society have been repeatedly violated by police. Some of us in the white middle class society do but steps 1-3 are good reasons to find a better outlet for change.
- Plan ole savagery that we all have if given the right circumstance, just most white middle class people have never really looked that savagery in the eye because food is always available, you can readily get what you want through work, and the justice system has never wronged you or others you know.
That is little bit of revisionist history
Are you saying that the marches in the early days of civil rights were not more organized and more intentional then what we are seeing today?
as well as not understanding that those committing these crimes are a small faction of those protesting.
I don’t believe I’ve commented on how many or what percentage of people are rioting. I’ve commented on those that ARE rioting.
There were several thousand others protesting in other cities and I heard of no other such stories of looting and riots in those cities.
Then those people are acting more like they did in earlier civil rights protests and not like the rioters that are burning, robbing and looting. I also did not say that both could not be happening at the same time.
~Matt
Any chance he will be arrested for telling the rioters to burn the city down…which they promptly did?
Or will they not go there.
Arrested? No, but I bet he gets a personal invite to the White House.
oh man, that was really well said. Sad but true.
When you look back at past civil rights marches and protests they were often well thought out with a specific intent in mind. Today it’s simply a temper tantrum with no direction and just like any child whatever is in the way of the tantrum get’s destroyed.
B.S. You’re cherry picking. You’re comparing past marches to modern riots. Throughout U.S. history there have been both. You can’t pretend there were no race riots in the past, or there are no well-organized civil rights marches today. Both of those are very easily demonstrable to be false.
I blame the, wait for it, mainstream media, which doesn’t cover well-organized marches, but will run 24/7 live coverage if things turn rioty.
1935 Harlem race riot:
2014 organized, permitted protest against stop-and-frisk in NY:
2011 Public Sector Union Riots in Madison, Wisconsin:
.