It's all kicking off in America

[Joywillcomeagain]

Trumps deployed all law enforcement in Washington and has said he'll deploy troops elsewhere www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-52876499?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=5ed5a1f0c4f90006616e0521%26DOJ%20deploys%20all%20law%20enforcement%20agencies%20in%20DC%262020-06-02T01%3A16%3A24.702Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:7cd5ae46-cbd8-43f8-b429-307cd0a95bb9&pinned_post_asset_id=5ed5a1f0c4f90006616e0521&pinned_post_type=share

@Notejode How do genuine peaceful protests can stop this from happening?

They can't stop it happening altogether - there will always be bad actors.

It's the responsibility of the police to keep looting and arson under control, using de-escalation techniques and proportional measures.

Don't place the responsibility of this on the genuine good-faith protesters. Plenty have spoken out against it. Plenty have tried to stop property damage.

The following quote from the Guardian article I posted earlier shows what the police are really doing: "As the George Floyd protests continue, let's be clear where the violence is coming from"

"Here, it’s worth noting that I’ve read accounts of residents of Minneapolis trying to put out fires and otherwise protect property in their own neighbourhoods, only to be attacked by police as they did so.

A Minneapolis nursery school teacher told me that earlier this week: “My brothers-in-law in Minneapolis were participating in the hosing-down of an active fire in the lot next to their house (a bank). These were community members keeping the fire from reaching their homes. Fire and police were not on the scene until many hours later, being occupied elsewhere … But the MPD police did stop by at one point in the middle of the night to throw teargas into the midst of the neighbours doing this work, and to shoot rubber bullets at the guys spraying the fire down.”

The police used tear gas on peaceful protestors so that Trump could have a photo op waving a bible around in front of a church.

That thread explains a lot.

It certainly gave me a lot to think about. I rarely comment on stuff happening in the US because I don't feel qualified and that thread just made me realise how very little I know.

Notejode we can see lots of examples from the last week. There are a couple ways.

First, protesters can directly stop looters. There are lots of videos out there where protesters are telling people to stop looting or being violent, even cases where they detain looters and turn them over to the police. Protesters standing in front of shops so they can't be looted.

If the streets are full of people protesting peacefully, there is less space for looters to operate. If the streets are empty because of curfew and the police are off chasing protesters, then it is really easy for looters to run amok.

Second, community leaders have a lot of influence. All over the US, we have seen respected voices in a community urging young people to stay home and not cause trouble. Their words are more likely to have an effect if the police are not escalating matters.

Will this stop all the violence? No, but it can massively reduce it. Again, we are not seeing these problems everywhere in the US. Some cities are doing it right.

dreamingbohemian Thanks! We all want the same outcome. It is frustrating.