Try as I might, I can't blame the local PD for what this has become. Sure, the DMs maybe could have been more discreet.....but we don't know where they were best suited to cover their guys on the ground.
It's my contention the local PD did the best they could with a terrible situation and the state troopers did no better despite vastly different tactics (at first). Now the National Guard is being called in and I really don't think they're trained to deal with this if the mob remains violent.
#RESIST
Great post, and this echoes my thoughts on the matter as well. It's a ginormous sh*t sandwich at this point, and the only possible outcomes are bad or worse.Originally Posted by LittleLebowski
Definitely in agreement on that.
Is looting considered a form of reparation?
I had the occasion to talk with a former print editor at my college last year. Bottom line, the media is not and never will be on the side of LE unless the story is self explanatory (like the North Hollywood incident). Media editors can't stand out from their peers unless they write inflammatory articles, and more press get promoted smearing LE then praising them.
So, no matter what, the headlines would look the same whether the police arrived or not.
The Minority Marksman.
"When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet."
-a Ch'an Buddhist axiom.
It is being justified as such (not kidding).
#RESIST
I agree. And I don't buy in to the line of thinking that the authorities trying to maintain a civil society escalated the situation during the peaceful protests. Shows of force don't work when the mob knows you can't hit them with everything. I suspect they were going to burn and loot anyway. Hit them with everything and then riots end.
“Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais
Don't you run into a bit of a problem, of whether or not the people protesting during the day are the same people rioting at night?
Seems like a big disorganized mess of unhappy community members, with some of the normal scumbags mixed in feeling free to run around grabbing whatever shit they want. Guess there isn't a good way to separate them out... but how *should* the more-or-less law-abiding citizens have protested?
At this point, I'm totally on board with the "well, kitten, this turned into a riot. I shouldn't be protesting, I should lock up in my room with a shotgun and try again after things have calmed down."
But the cell phone videos I've seen of the initial daytime protests didn't look like that. They looked more or less like any other non-riotous protest.
The cop with the precision rifle atop the armored car. What is he trained on? He's not behind any cover so he's not anticipating return fire. Seems like overkill to me.
My experience is a bit different from that based upon my own dealings with the media, and yes, I have dealt with numerous national stories. I have had very few instances where I felt there was an intentional push in a certain direction.
Once was an Atlanta TV reporter, and that situation was quickly rectified. Another was in an interview with an LA Times reporter who kept trying to manufacture a quote to fit the template of his story, and I wouldn't give it to him.
I have had far more headaches stemming from a partial quote than anything else. Most of these I do not believe where intentional.
I had an ER nurse in a class. I noticed she kept taking all head shots. Her response when asked why, "'I've seen too many people who have been shot in the chest putting up a fight in the ER." Point taken.
Reply With Quote