St Paul/Minneapolis Riots Aftermath

[TheNewbie]

How are things looking up that way?

[olstyn]

How are things looking up that way?

I can't speak for what's happening in Minneapolis, but the St. Paul PD scanner feed is a lot quieter than I remember from the riots last summer, mostly sounds like stuff I'd guess is fairly normal activity, with significant amounts of silence in between calls. Last summer it was nearly continuous calls to do with buildings being broken into/burned/looted, crowds rioting, cars running around with no plates (presumably a transport strategy for rioters?), etc.

[Lex Luthier]

I can't speak for what's happening in Minneapolis, but the St. Paul PD scanner feed is a lot quieter than I remember from the riots last summer, mostly sounds like stuff I'd guess is fairly normal activity, with significant amounts of silence in between calls. Last summer it was nearly continuous calls to do with buildings being broken into/burned/looted, crowds rioting, cars running around with no plates (presumably a transport strategy for rioters?), etc.

That was my experience as well. Almost no siren sounds up and down University or Snelling Aves after dark.
I was out with the hounds last evening just before sundown and saw little traffic on my (major east-west route) street, and counted no cars without plates.

If things get sideways this week, I bet it happens in Minneapolis first.

[Old Man Winter]

I'm of the opinion the fat lady is singing and this show is just about over. After the verdict was announced BLM speakers were begging the "white liberals" to stay engaged. I don't believe they will. See the recent Daunte Wright incident - the masses of white liberals never turned out to protest. For many (possibly most) white liberals, their outrage ended with yesterdays guilty verdict. The other variable is no kung flu lock downs. People have shit to do and places to be. Protesting in the streets isn't a priority for those white liberals in 2021.

[Lex Luthier]

I'm of the opinion the fat lady is singing and this show is just about over. After the verdict was announced BLM speakers were begging the "white liberals" to stay engaged. I don't believe they will. See the recent Daunte Wright incident - the masses of white liberals never turned out to protest. For many (possibly most) white liberals, their outrage ended with yesterdays guilty verdict. The other variable is no kung flu lock downs. People have shit to do and places to be. Protesting in the streets isn't a priority for those white liberals in 2021.

I hope you are right. Considering the souring of relations between the Black Bloc/ANTIFA folks and BLM in Portland OR, and how the ANTIFA folks involvement seemed to fizzle in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis over the last week, we may be seeing an end to this year-long tantrum.

[Caballoflaco]

I hope you are right. Considering the souring of relations between the Black Bloc/ANTIFA folks and BLM in Portland OR, and how the ANTIFA folks involvement seemed to fizzle in Brooklyn Center and Minneapolis over the last week, we may be seeing an end to this year-long tantrum.

I am unfortunately less optimistic.

I think we’re seeing a lull and possibly a change in strategy from some of the politicians and leadership. They know that Americans won’t want to keep those currently in power in power if last summer’s extra-curricular activities bleed over into this summer.

They’ve got a couple of problems now though. One is that there are groups of people who were useful last year and learned how to organize on a local level, but who might not choose to tow the party line (like in Portland). Two, there are the military aged males who got to enjoy the festivities last year with few consequences, are they looking forward to the ‘21 riot season?

[Joe in PNG]

Another consideration- riots, unrest, and de-policing is undercutting the gun control narrative, and hard.

[okie john]

Another consideration- riots, unrest, and de-policing is undercutting the gun control narrative, and hard.

This.

We've also got several million first-time gun owners who have just experienced the realpolitik of gun control first-hand. They're unlikely to support either anything like it going forward or anyone who proposes anything like it.


Okie John

[Caballoflaco]

This.

We've also got several million first-time gun owners who have just experienced the realpolitik of gun control first-hand. They're unlikely to support either anything like it going forward or anyone who proposes anything like it.


Okie John

I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on the potential of the upcoming riot season if you have a few minutes to write it up. Your insights last year were much appreciated.

[okie john]

Thanks for the kind words.

Short answer: I think the 2021 riot season will be a drop in the bucket compared to 2020.

Long answer: 2020 created an epic lose-lose cycle that will take the radical left and the Democrats decades to break. The left made far more progress in 2020 than anyone expected, then it exploded in their faces. Now voters are terrified and they’re putting the heat on state and local officials who are one year closer to an election.

• Defunding police backfired immediately, especially in communities of color. Early adopters (including Portland and Milwaukee) are frantically backpedaling. Lose-lose for the innocent dead and for all who supported defunding.
• City governments restricted riot control measures and the use of emerging technologies like facial recognition to track and apprehend individuals suspected of rioting. Rioters leveraged this to riot through Inauguration Day, an epic sign of bad faith and general shittiness. Lose-lose for the entire left.
• BLM got fat on donations and is now tearing at itself over the money. Local chapters are probably the most able to create change but national ignores their funding requests just as national leaders are reported to be investing in luxury homes. Lose-lose for anyone needing the help that well-funded local chapters might provide.
• As mentioned above, the pandemic, the riots, and the specter of more gun control under a Biden/Harris administration created millions of new gun owners who have already experienced gun control first-hand and found it terrifying. Lose-lose for the Democrats.
• Mr. Biden did not instantly unravel the various sweaters that Mr. Trump left behind. That makes it look like Mr. Trump may have gotten a few things right and like Mr. Biden agrees with those things, enraging his followers. The entire left, including the media, now looks whiny and foolish when they object. Another loss for all of them.
• Progressives got massive attention for their goal of pushing the US to the left harder and faster than Speaker Pelosi and her peers have done. But Speaker Pelosi knows just how hard she can push and she’s a master at doing it so slowly that few people notice. Clashing with her openly highlights her tone-deafness and other flaws in ways that might have gone unnoticed otherwise. Lose-lose there, too, with a hat tip to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.
• The progressive agenda cost the Democrats heavily in the 2020 election. They won the White House and enough of Congress to be a thorn in the side of the Republic but it would not have been such a bloodbath had the progressives kept their mouths shut. Another loss there, with a much bigger hat tip to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.
• A mob stormed the Capitol, an embarrassment for Mr. Trump and the far right but a massive blow to the left. Almost everyone condemned the attack. The media, bless their hearts, raced to show just how effective facial recognition and other emerging technologies are for tracking and apprehending individuals suspected of rioting. The feds quickly and easily scooped up the attackers, and now seem poised to throw the book at them. People in riot-torn cities noticed. Any politician who restricts the use of this incredibly effective technology against rioters on Main Street will be accused of protecting the elite while the voters suffer. Another loss for the left.

So how does all of this play out?

• There will be fewer rioters as the pandemic lifts and people return to work.
• LE use of advanced and emerging technologies to apprehend rioters will return. Other recently-enacted limits on riot control measures will be lifted.
• Last year’s rioters will get a pass, but some of this year’s rioters will be tried, convicted, and imprisoned.
• Federal LE will develop the intel to climb higher into antifa and gut it like a fish.
• Greta Thunberg will be back.

It’s too soon to say how the recent Columbus PD shooting will factor in. I think it will depend on how each side spins the video.

That’s how I see it. Reality is anyone’s guess.


Okie John