The article is good but I think it makes a simple category error. There is quite a lot of theorizing concerning the justification of extra-legal violence. Riots

The article is good but I think it makes a simple category error. There is quite a lot of theorizing concerning the justification of extra-legal violence. Riots, though, are characterized by their aimlessnessness. When rioters do discriminate in who they attack and what they destroy we don't call them rioters and we are generally more open to the idea that their actions may be justified. On Violence (Hannah Arendt), which is cited in the article, is a good discussion. In '67 there was an interesting public discussion with Arendt, Chomsky, and others titled "The Legitimacy of Violence as a Political Act?" We tend to think that we're living in tense times but the 60s and 70s were more tense with more politial violence.