Why do protesters loot and burn

[Bigworldoutthere]

Disclaimer: not a comment on the awful event leading up to it but on rots/ protest in general. Watching the situation in Minneapolis it struck me that in almost all protest situations there are people —young men— who burn things that are useful to them and there community, loot shops that are useful for them and their community and damage/smash the same. I can understand anger s as d shouting but why actually damage the area you live in?

soletstalkabout.com/2020/05/28/how-to-respond-to-riots-never-solve-anything/?fbclid=IwAR3RSpfdjVtatX89hc-C1XzFXqenMFGkIfxwWU5hbaFoPMonXdPZunwezQ8

Most of the answers you seek are here OP

That doesn't prevent me from wondering about the reasons for violence and looting during protests. It is an interesting subject. Is it an expression of anger and frustration? Is it opportunism from otherwise law abiding people? Is it people who would normally be committing crime anyway? Or a combination?

With violence, I think it's multi-factorial.

I've been on 2 peaceful protests that have become violent, and in both cases I think the primary factor was fear. At the first, I was terrified by how violently police handled protestors who adopted the "passive resistance" tactic of dropping to the ground and were being hit with truncheons (that dates me!) and trying to leave the scene was very difficult as officers actually stopped us. People were lashing out at the police to try and stop getting a beating.

At the second, I really feared for my life. Demonstrators had marched peacefully to an open space where a rally took place. All the roads around the route were barricaded off. The march was massive and as more and more people arrived, it got dangerously crowded. The police refused to remove barriers to let people disperse, and the crush got worse and worse. It became violent when demonstrators tried to get out of the area. I think there may even have been a mounted charge, but I may be conflating the two.

Smashing things up is motivated by pure rage imo. The looting I suspect is opportunist initially, but could well be orchestrated, or become orchestrated.

FTMF30
Read the comments in my link.

You have linked to a forum group called Antifacists of Reddit.

You can only see the eyes of the man accused of being the police officer. Did you watch the video clip yourself? I still believe that the man in the video is more likely to be an anti-establishment activist taking advantage of the situation.

Everything Pertella said

There are stupid people everywhere. Even amongst protestors in Minneapolis.

Because Black Lives matter much much much much much much more than shops.

I'm sorry for the local shop owners (hopefully insurance takes care of things) but I'm much much much much more sorry for George Flynn's family and friends who've had to watch/hear of the tragic way their loved one was MURDERED.

Violence didn't start with the looting and riots, MURDERING George IS the violent act that started other violent acts:looting, riots, etc especially due to the lack of quick action by the govt. I'm sure protesters and looters will be summarily arrested but George's KILLER (with actual video evidence) had to get comfy in his home first with protection while the govt. dithered with "protocols" and "due process" before a (what I believe to be a) reluctant arrest 🙄

Cases like this shouldn't even warrant such questions as to why people are looting if you REALLY feel what these people are feeling. Wait for a less gruesome incident that doesn't involve another human's life. If your child or husband was killed in this way, the looting (though wrong) will be the least of your worries. But we're lucky that we get to talk about looting and riots in our cushy homes/caravans, etc while George's family and the black community grieve once again for another LIFE taken unnecessarily.

This means nothing really as they're only words but #Istandwiththeprotesters #Dontcareaboutlooters #Derekchauvinstartedtheviolence
#LifesentenceformurdererDerekChauvin
#RevengeforGeorgeFlynn

American police force is filled with nothing but thugs, murderers, racists and a few good men & women.

YANBU to ask this question in general but
YABU to ask it on the heels of this devastating (to say the least) incident.

Sorry George Floyd not George Flynn. Don't know why I keep writing Flynn.

@thesamething I'm sorry to learn about your brother and family. It's really really awful, to say the least, that this happened and keeps happening. People...black people being killed by the police, it's like a whole new other world they live in - a reverse world. So so sorry

I think the OP is getting an unnecessarily hard time here.
There are other threads talking specifically about the situation in the US and the murder of black men and women being basically sanctioned by the authorities, and the protests and riots that result.

That situation is sickening, but It's not wrong to want to also talk more generally about the reasons and psychology behind the violent behaviour of groups during riots, across the globe for a variety of reasons (including but not limited to racism).

I wish I still had my old psychology notes and textbooks from Uni, we had a really interesting semester looking at group behaviours and law breaking and I remember watching a documentary about how peaceful protests turn violent and even otherwise law abiding citizens get drawn in. Sadly, it was so many years ago that I don't remember the details, but I do know that the focus was on riots in Europe, and perhaps Hong Kong rather than the USA.

I'm sure that while it's not always the case, rioters do regularly seem to come from outside the community they are rioting in.
It's easy to organise, now more than ever given the use of social media... I remember after the Scottish independence referendum that there was a 'riot' planned for in Glasgow city centre by some supporters of one side.
I know for certain that there were busses booked to bring people in from outside the city, and I believe that there may have been plans also for a small number of coaches to come up from parts of England.
Thankfully, that riot was a bit of a damp squib... There just wasn't the appetite for that kind of behaviour among the population generally. Most people accepted the ballot result peacefuly even if they disagreed.
If people intent on trouble had been bussed in to join a protest like the ones currently taking place across the US though, I think we would have seen violence and looting here too.

@SoVeryLost
I live in London.
My family are mixed race.

@Clavinova

This made me lol More likely to be 'Momentum type' activists

If you have any evidence of Momentum members being involved in this kind of thing, I'd love to see it. Do post a link.

Class War, maybe, but Momentum are a democratic socialist movement who concentrate on the mechanics of campaigning (and are great at it) as much as ideology. They're not insurrectionists!

@NotagainNo so it can’t be discussed other than on YOUR timeline? This makes it seem like you think the black voice so much more important than other ethnic minorities. Why is it Black Ballet, BLM, Black History month, Black and ethnic minority? There are not more black people than Asian. Why not Asian and minority group? Why not minority groups? According to the 2011 Census, the total population of England and Wales was 56.1 million:

86.0% of the population is White
7.5% of the population is made up Asian ethnic groups
3.3% of the population is made of Black ethnic groups
2.2% of the population is made up of Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
1.0% of the population is made up of Other ethnic groups

If you have any evidence of Momentum members being involved in this kind of thing, I'd love to see it. Do post a link.

Not in this type of thing specifically, but I did hear a spokesperson of Momentum (a woman, I cannot recall her name) being criticised on LBC radio last year for publicly advising their members to cover their faces when attending a protest - the assumption being that if they were going to break the law they shouldn't identify themselves.

The fact they assume your race says it all.

Yes because you didn't

OP being "non-white" (in order words, not black either? and therefore still more privileged than a black person, yes you are) doesn't change anything. Even if OP was black, it's still too soon to have 'intellectual/psychological' discussions about the general cause of looting and rioting, when people are still in the throes of shock and grief over a LIFE (fgs) being taken. It's insensitive.

FWIW I agree with OP regarding going after the cause of one's wrath instead but it's in poor taste to discuss this now because this is definitely fuelled by the recent riots.

spokesperson for Momentum

They're not insurrectionists!

The man likely to be a 'Momentum type' activist was armed with an umbrella! He smashed some windows.

@Yousaywhatnow If someone you know lost a child and you went to the funeral. There, their other child (the sibling of the child) is acting out in a violent way, would you take that moment to start up a wee psychological discussion amongst other friends there about why children act out in anger or why some children can't express their pain any other way? Is it the time to offer your behavioural solutions and strategies to the parent of the child?

Do you not understand time and place?

No one's life is more important than the other but that's the problem, isn't it? Apparently this is the time to talk about properties being destroyed when it's fueled by a black LIFE being taken.

If this was another ethnic minority and someone else had come to talk about black lives matter, I would say the same thing. Let people have their moment.

Everything NotagainNo said

I can not stand Momentum bit you really do not have a clue and are spreading disinformation...again

I can assure you that the LBC anecdote is not made up, although you are probably correct that some of the protesters in the US are anti-fascists.The 'activists' referred to in the ITV report were largely peaceful and the man with the umbrella walked calmly away after smashing the windows.

Way to go to try an shut a conversation down @NotAgainNo. You’ll be sure to let OP know when it’s ok to have a talk about a topical issue yeah?

@Yousaywhatnow Way to deflect from the question.

It's generally been outsiders coming in AntiFa and Anarchists, you can see from any of the livestreams that the majority are those groups.