mekka okereke Jan 27, 2023
Citizens! *Puts on steel toed boots* I urge you to remain calm at this moment! *loads rubber bullets into launcher* violence is not the answer! *Hangs night stick from belt* We grieve with your community! *Pulls reflective visor down on helmet* Peace is what this moment calls for *climbs into tank* The great MLK Jr said and I quote: I love police, and they are our friends! *diesel engine roars* So obey, comply, and remember we are in this together! *Tear gas launcher slowly points towards crowd*
Show threadmekka okereke Jan 27, 2023

Are we ready to talk about how police dressing in riot gear and acting, well, like cops, makes crowds more likely to riot? No? OK then. Proceed.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/06/01/why-so-many-police-are-handling-the-protests-wrong

Why So Many Police Are Handling the Protests Wrong

Disproportionate use of force can turn a peaceful protest violent, research shows.

The Marshall Project
Show threadPaul CantrellJan 28, 2023

@mekkaokereke My house is within earshot of the 3rd precinct, the epicenter of the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. I’m telling you: it was a police riot. It was 100% the cops who instigated the violence, the cops who relentlessly escalated it, the cops who pushed it utterly out of control.

And it was purposeful. They were sending Minneapolis a message about firing Chauvin so quickly: “Oh, you want to mess with us? Watch what we do to your city.“

Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinJan 28, 2023
@inthehands @mekkaokereke
Ok, but in St. Paul it was outside suburban White Supremacists coming in to burn the city and murder protestors. I saw them driving in. They carpooled from malls outside the 694 loop.
Show threadPaul CantrellJan 28, 2023
@Okanogen Oh, I am not saying the police are the only people who were violent. I’m saying the police are the ones who made it a riot in the first place. I addressed a similar comment here: https://hachyderm.io/@inthehands/109765174553463365
Paul Cantrell (@[email protected])

@[email protected] Yeah, after everything went to hell, there were people showing up ranging from organized crime to frat boys who think getting drunk and stealing street signs is a good time. It wasn’t like that at first, of course. Something people don’t understand: larger protests are generally •safer•. When you have a march full of grandparents and little kids, people keep each other safe, keep each other mentally in one piece. 1/2

Hachyderm.io
Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinJan 28, 2023
@inthehands
As a much older, browner Mac alum, I'm not going to light you up, but instead ask you to review your comments on that thread and consider the privilege it takes to make them.
Thousands of small minority businesses lost everything on Lake and University Aves and it wasn't the cops burning them out.
White Supremacy doesn't end or start with cops. They are a symptom, an element.
Show threadPaul Cantrell

@Okanogen I’m sorry. I think something I wrote there must have been really ill-phrased. Let me be clear:

A •lot• of people, not just police, were violent. I have no kind feelings, none, for the people who burned down business, many of which I love, several of whose owners I know personally. (Ruhel catered my wedding!) I am miserable about the places I’ll never be able to go again, and the people whose lives the destruction turned upside-down. I do •not• mean to absolve anyone who caused that.

Jan 28, 2023 at 5:19pmWeb
Show threadokanogen VerminEnemyFromWithinJan 28, 2023

@inthehands

It's all good. I also had friends who lost everything. The small family drugstore across from my old house (and low income apartments above) was burned down by what I'm sure were White Supremacists coming down Snelling from Cambridge or wherever.

Show threadPaul CantrellJan 28, 2023

@Okanogen Yeah. We still do not have a clear picture of how specific buildings burned, and probably never will. Nobody will ever face the music for it. I am bitter about that in ways I cannot put in words.

I know there were straight-up Nazis in my neighborhood taking advantage of the chaos — and specifically targeting minority businesses far from the protests.

I know there were people who just thought it would be fun make something burn, without any thought for the lives they were wrecking.

Show threadPaul CantrellJan 28, 2023
@Okanogen My comments about it being a “police riot” do not mean “•nobody• but police is responsible.” Rather, I mean that police are responsible •too•: they knew they were creating the conditions to summon all these forces of chaotic evil. It was intentional. And if anyone doubts the intent…police forced back firefighters (both official and volunteer) who tried to save burning buildings. Those are the thoughts behind my OP. Hope that clarifies; sorry again I was unclear!