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> We had to hear all summer about how it was ... not BLM rioting. I think an important distinction here is that the riots had no political goal to them, and ha

> We had to hear all summer about how it was ... not BLM rioting. I think an important distinction here is that the riots had no political goal to them, and had almost no support from BLM figures themselves, and even less from national politicians. Indeed, if your goal is for the police to be defunded, then the last thing you would want to do is create a situation where people fear for their lives and their property and need the protection of the police. Contrast that with the goals of the people storming the Capitol and you'll see that they had national politicians who also wanted to interrupt the joint session of Congress and prevent (some of) the electoral votes from being counted, to ultimately change the outcome of the election.

TrispusAttucks 6y ago
Double standard. You're a victim of the bias the article is highlighting.
- mikepurvis 6y ago
  Do you really see the BLM marches (even the small minority that turned violent) as equivalent to what happened at the Capitol? Some obvious differences: - There were no politicians or their cronies calling for "trial by combat" or similar. - There was no one showing up with a gallows. - There was no intent to disrupt a democratic procedure. - Where violence occurred, it was quickly and unequivocally condemned across the board. - Destruction of property is not the same as threatening physical harm to people (and no, before you go there, engaging with riot police is not the same as advancing on a chamber of mostly-elderly, unarmed politicians).
  - cudgy 6y ago
    Congress was able to convene immediately after the nuts stormed the Capitol inside the Capitol. Minor physical damage was committed. Compare that to the BLM marches and the nuts that rioted, burned, and seized city blocks, freeways, police precincts, harassed people in restaurants with bullhorns, drank from their cups, ate their food, etc.
    - Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y ago
      The invasion of the capital was an attempt to stop the legally mandated processes that allow the peaceful transfer of power. The attackers were intent on hanging on pence and others as evidenced by their chants and the equipment they brought. The rioters cannot honestly be lumped into the Democrat, blm, etc groups as different groups plainly held different objectives. I think the best explanation for the riots is simply revenge against people that sit comfortably ignoring the disaffected cries for help.
      - TrispusAttucks 6y ago
        So then your position is: Revenge and destruction and murder are justified so long as it doesn't interfer with a political process?
        mikepurvis 6y ago
        Other than a small minority of agitators, I don't think most people went to a BLM protest with revenge, destruction, and murder on their mind. I mean, the whole point was opposing the murder of unarmed citizens by agents of the state. The slogan was "defund the police", not "hang Mike Pence." Yes, ~25 Americans were killed last year in connection to these things, but as this article shows, that may be as much about the presence of guns at these things than anything else— here's a pretty solid summary: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/americans-killed-protests-political-unrest-acled https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/americans-kill...
        Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y ago
        That's a bad faith argument if I've ever seen one. Understanding why people do things, even bad things, is crucial to easing divisiveness. I understand why people stormed the capitol. I do not condone their actions and hope they are all made examples of. Just as I understand the hundreds of years of history that is behind this summers protests. I am far more sympathetic to the tens of millions that protested against fascism and racism then I am to the actual fascists that tried to usurp democracy and install a dictator while taking scalps. When impoverished, abused, and neglected people peacefully take to streets en masse to demand change are met with brutal policing, that could be war crimes, instead of compromise and change what else do you honestly expect to happen? When millions of people can't afford to put on the table what do you expect them to do when the majority party fails to provide even a poverty level existence during a pandemic that disproportionately effects their demographic? Should they shut up and starve to death? Should they continue to take these beatings from police? Until the field is leveled don't expect this movement to die; they're fighting for their right to live.
  - CapricornNoble 6y ago
    >>>Do you really see the BLM marches (even the small minority that turned violent) as equivalent to what happened at the Capitol? As a black American I absolutely consider last year's widespread urban riots WORSE than the Capitol raid. The summer demonstrated a complete unwillingness to enforce law and order, creating an environment which cost the lives of at least 3 black people[1][2][3], and close to 30 other American lives as well. Livelihoods of minority small-business owners were destroyed. [4][5] We can nitpick whether this was explicitly supported by politicians, but it's fairly obvious it was tacitly supported by Democrat leadership for political gain in an election year.[6] As I look for small business investment opportunities, why would I ever put money in a distressed American neighborhood, with such a high risk for destruction of assets in the current political climate? I'll do business with my Mozambican and Tanzanian friends before I ever invest in an American district run by the sort of idiots who steered their own communities towards evaporating wealth instead of building it. And I bet you we wouldn't have had the upswell in insurgent inclinations that culminated in the Capitol raid if the Trump-supporting extremists hadn't observed the rampant civil unrest for months and concluded "Oh, I guess it's okay to break stuff and violate rules now. There seems to be minimal consequences." Boy were they wrong. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_David_Dorn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_David_Dorn [2] https://www.kltv.com/2020/07/29/black-trump-supporter-fatally-shot-outside-his-milwaukee-business/ https://www.kltv.com/2020/07/29/black-trump-supporter-fatall... [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/seattle-protests-CHOP-CHAZ-autonomous-zone.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/seattle-protests-CHOP-... [4] https://www.foxnews.com/us/black-firefighter-devastated-minneapolis-riots-bar https://www.foxnews.com/us/black-firefighter-devastated-minn... [5] https://fee.org/articles/here-are-just-10-of-the-many-minority-owned-businesses-destroyed-in-the-riots/ https://fee.org/articles/here-are-just-10-of-the-many-minori... [6] https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-hypocrisy-riots-reveals-political-nature-coronavirus-lockdowns-opinion-1510325 https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-hypocrisy-riots-reveals-p...
    - 8note 6y ago
      You can also argue that Republican leaders tacitly supported the BLM protests. You didn't see republican leaders putting on riot gear to go beat people up, thus they must have been supportive
  - TrispusAttucks 6y ago
    Every point you made above is easily refuted as untrue. The only difference I see was the media approved of one and didn't of the other. There are far more similarities. Both felt an injustice and disenfranchisement had taken place by their government. Both were co-opted by the most extremists members of the group and caused havoc. Both groups ridiculed the perverse and dangerous actions of a few. I don't agree with or associate with either but they were mostly the same.
    - mikepurvis 6y ago
      Trump's America, 2021. There's a lot of work to do.

TrispusAttucks 6y ago

Double standard. You're a victim of the bias the article is highlighting.

mikepurvis 6y ago
Do you really see the BLM marches (even the small minority that turned violent) as equivalent to what happened at the Capitol? Some obvious differences: - There were no politicians or their cronies calling for "trial by combat" or similar. - There was no one showing up with a gallows. - There was no intent to disrupt a democratic procedure. - Where violence occurred, it was quickly and unequivocally condemned across the board. - Destruction of property is not the same as threatening physical harm to people (and no, before you go there, engaging with riot police is not the same as advancing on a chamber of mostly-elderly, unarmed politicians).
- cudgy 6y ago
  Congress was able to convene immediately after the nuts stormed the Capitol inside the Capitol. Minor physical damage was committed. Compare that to the BLM marches and the nuts that rioted, burned, and seized city blocks, freeways, police precincts, harassed people in restaurants with bullhorns, drank from their cups, ate their food, etc.
  - Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y ago
    The invasion of the capital was an attempt to stop the legally mandated processes that allow the peaceful transfer of power. The attackers were intent on hanging on pence and others as evidenced by their chants and the equipment they brought. The rioters cannot honestly be lumped into the Democrat, blm, etc groups as different groups plainly held different objectives. I think the best explanation for the riots is simply revenge against people that sit comfortably ignoring the disaffected cries for help.
    - TrispusAttucks 6y ago
      So then your position is: Revenge and destruction and murder are justified so long as it doesn't interfer with a political process?
      - mikepurvis 6y ago
        Other than a small minority of agitators, I don't think most people went to a BLM protest with revenge, destruction, and murder on their mind. I mean, the whole point was opposing the murder of unarmed citizens by agents of the state. The slogan was "defund the police", not "hang Mike Pence." Yes, ~25 Americans were killed last year in connection to these things, but as this article shows, that may be as much about the presence of guns at these things than anything else— here's a pretty solid summary: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/americans-killed-protests-political-unrest-acled https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/31/americans-kill...
      - Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y ago
        That's a bad faith argument if I've ever seen one. Understanding why people do things, even bad things, is crucial to easing divisiveness. I understand why people stormed the capitol. I do not condone their actions and hope they are all made examples of. Just as I understand the hundreds of years of history that is behind this summers protests. I am far more sympathetic to the tens of millions that protested against fascism and racism then I am to the actual fascists that tried to usurp democracy and install a dictator while taking scalps. When impoverished, abused, and neglected people peacefully take to streets en masse to demand change are met with brutal policing, that could be war crimes, instead of compromise and change what else do you honestly expect to happen? When millions of people can't afford to put on the table what do you expect them to do when the majority party fails to provide even a poverty level existence during a pandemic that disproportionately effects their demographic? Should they shut up and starve to death? Should they continue to take these beatings from police? Until the field is leveled don't expect this movement to die; they're fighting for their right to live.
- CapricornNoble 6y ago
  >>>Do you really see the BLM marches (even the small minority that turned violent) as equivalent to what happened at the Capitol? As a black American I absolutely consider last year's widespread urban riots WORSE than the Capitol raid. The summer demonstrated a complete unwillingness to enforce law and order, creating an environment which cost the lives of at least 3 black people[1][2][3], and close to 30 other American lives as well. Livelihoods of minority small-business owners were destroyed. [4][5] We can nitpick whether this was explicitly supported by politicians, but it's fairly obvious it was tacitly supported by Democrat leadership for political gain in an election year.[6] As I look for small business investment opportunities, why would I ever put money in a distressed American neighborhood, with such a high risk for destruction of assets in the current political climate? I'll do business with my Mozambican and Tanzanian friends before I ever invest in an American district run by the sort of idiots who steered their own communities towards evaporating wealth instead of building it. And I bet you we wouldn't have had the upswell in insurgent inclinations that culminated in the Capitol raid if the Trump-supporting extremists hadn't observed the rampant civil unrest for months and concluded "Oh, I guess it's okay to break stuff and violate rules now. There seems to be minimal consequences." Boy were they wrong. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_David_Dorn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_David_Dorn [2] https://www.kltv.com/2020/07/29/black-trump-supporter-fatally-shot-outside-his-milwaukee-business/ https://www.kltv.com/2020/07/29/black-trump-supporter-fatall... [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/seattle-protests-CHOP-CHAZ-autonomous-zone.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/us/seattle-protests-CHOP-... [4] https://www.foxnews.com/us/black-firefighter-devastated-minneapolis-riots-bar https://www.foxnews.com/us/black-firefighter-devastated-minn... [5] https://fee.org/articles/here-are-just-10-of-the-many-minority-owned-businesses-destroyed-in-the-riots/ https://fee.org/articles/here-are-just-10-of-the-many-minori... [6] https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-hypocrisy-riots-reveals-political-nature-coronavirus-lockdowns-opinion-1510325 https://www.newsweek.com/democrats-hypocrisy-riots-reveals-p...
  - 8note 6y ago
    You can also argue that Republican leaders tacitly supported the BLM protests. You didn't see republican leaders putting on riot gear to go beat people up, thus they must have been supportive
- TrispusAttucks 6y ago
  Every point you made above is easily refuted as untrue. The only difference I see was the media approved of one and didn't of the other. There are far more similarities. Both felt an injustice and disenfranchisement had taken place by their government. Both were co-opted by the most extremists members of the group and caused havoc. Both groups ridiculed the perverse and dangerous actions of a few. I don't agree with or associate with either but they were mostly the same.
  - mikepurvis 6y ago
    Trump's America, 2021. There's a lot of work to do.