When MLK was leading demonstrations, there was a clear mandate, and a cause with justice. People of disparate races were afforded unequal treatment under the law
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What motivates the cannon fodder is the thrill of criminal violence, the promise of loot, and the warm feelings of modern envy, i.e. group identity and perpetual outraged victimhood.
What motivates those sparking, steering and profiting from the riots is money, celebrity, political power, and commitment to their totalitarian nihilistic Revolution.
It is not about justice. Even if the aggrieved had truly given up on the legal system and decided it was time to conduct a guerilla insurrection, they'd go about it in a totally different way. I've seen no evidence of this happening.
I bet it isn't even locals doing the worst of the rioting, and insofar as it is locals, it's the criminals and extremists. In Ferguson it was observed that the agitators were mostly activists coming in from out of state; I would not be surprised if the Baltimore situation is similar. The average resident can't be so stupid as not to know or care that trashing their own neighborhood is hurting them more than anyone.
I wouldn't dispute any of that, at least on its face. But riots aren't going to solve any of those problems, and it's my contention that they aren't meant to, by anyone involved in them.
No, they're not meant to solve anything. I may hope though that they're something of a release. When the steam escapes the vent, we all know the pressure in the pot is at its peak, and if the steam isn't allowed the escape, we might be dealing with an even bigger problem.
Baltimore has decades of different social engineering attempts under its belt. Most of the problems remain.
In a city as screwed up as Baltimore, occasional spontaneous riots might be par for the course. But you seem to be saying that the riots should be allowed to go on lest something worse happen later. I disagree with that idea completely. The existence of systemic problems of other types does not justify giving up on civil order too.
Anyway, there is a lot more going on here than blowing off steam. These violent impulses are being harnessed, exploited, fostered and encouraged by political players for political gain. Different groups of people who are participating or observing these events, can each be led to think, vote, spend, etc., in certain ways. I think the peaceful protests are also part of this cycle of exploitation -- the protesters' messages and demands are frequently sponsored by, or co-opted by, the very same political forces. And somehow at the end of the day, the new boss is always the same as the old boss.
Ah, no, I'm not saying they should be allowed/approved of/etc.
Just that they're understandable. We shouldn't be surprised. As long as the situation remains, there are going to be occasional outbursts. That should be incentive to try and fix the situation, but ... ugh. At least with the schools I don't know that anyone's really taken the incentive. We've sat by and watched DC improve an improbable amount in the past 10 years and Baltimore continues to stagnate. Probably in part because the loss of good blue collar jobs was more catastrophic to Baltimore & DC as a home has always fed off the gov't. Gov't funds in Baltimore just prop up the wealthier areas, leaving the poor to fester.
The ousting of Dixon and the replacement by SRB supports the same-old-same-old. And O'Malley running for pres when his oppressive policing strategies are a large part of what's blowing up right now. And just voting out the Democrats isn't going to happen (one, because you're never going to vote out the Democrats, and two, all the politicians are corrupt
What motivates those sparking, steering and profiting from the riots is money, celebrity, political power, and commitment to their totalitarian nihilistic Revolution.
It is not about justice. Even if the aggrieved had truly given up on the legal system and decided it was time to conduct a guerilla insurrection, they'd go about it in a totally different way. I've seen no evidence of this happening.
I bet it isn't even locals doing the worst of the rioting, and insofar as it is locals, it's the criminals and extremists. In Ferguson it was observed that the agitators were mostly activists coming in from out of state; I would not be surprised if the Baltimore situation is similar. The average resident can't be so stupid as not to know or care that trashing their own neighborhood is hurting them more than anyone.
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Baltimore has decades of different social engineering attempts under its belt. Most of the problems remain.
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Anyway, there is a lot more going on here than blowing off steam. These violent impulses are being harnessed, exploited, fostered and encouraged by political players for political gain. Different groups of people who are participating or observing these events, can each be led to think, vote, spend, etc., in certain ways. I think the peaceful protests are also part of this cycle of exploitation -- the protesters' messages and demands are frequently sponsored by, or co-opted by, the very same political forces. And somehow at the end of the day, the new boss is always the same as the old boss.
Reply
Just that they're understandable. We shouldn't be surprised. As long as the situation remains, there are going to be occasional outbursts. That should be incentive to try and fix the situation, but ... ugh. At least with the schools I don't know that anyone's really taken the incentive. We've sat by and watched DC improve an improbable amount in the past 10 years and Baltimore continues to stagnate. Probably in part because the loss of good blue collar jobs was more catastrophic to Baltimore & DC as a home has always fed off the gov't. Gov't funds in Baltimore just prop up the wealthier areas, leaving the poor to fester.
The ousting of Dixon and the replacement by SRB supports the same-old-same-old. And O'Malley running for pres when his oppressive policing strategies are a large part of what's blowing up right now. And just voting out the Democrats isn't going to happen (one, because you're never going to vote out the Democrats, and two, all the politicians are corrupt
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