Riots

What's going on with all the vandalism and destruction of property?

I don't know.

And neither do you.

I'll say one thing though, sometimes people get so fed up with "the way things are" that irrational, violent emotions are what bubble to the surface. Is it rational to smash your way through local business? Not really, but it's not rational, it's emotional.

I don't know.

And neither were you.

One idea that people have been tossing around is that it's outside agitators: the police, white supremacists, boogaloo boys, Antifa. All plausible, none of it verified, despite the "information" on social media about the St. Paul cop being "umbrella man". Maybe it's just people with nothing to do who use legitimate protests to loot and destroy.

I don't know.

And neither do you.

What I have seen is that protests, at least those here in Nebraska have started out peaceful. Have been peaceful for hours. Last night protesters marched east along O Street and, turning north along 48th Street, started moving into the street and blocking traffic. The police shadowed them the whole way, allowing them into the street. At the time I remarked that the Lincoln Police were doing a great job of de-escalating, reasoning that some blocked traffic was a small price to pay for keeping the peace. When the protesters got back downtown they encountered cops in riot gear "protecting" the County-City Building. What appears to happen is that some plastic water bottles are thrown at the police line and some fireworks set off in their direction. The police respond with tear gas. It appears that this is what sets off the destruction of property. Did the throwing of water bottles require tear gas? Were those involved in the property damage provoked by the police? Were they the same people as the peaceful protesters? 

I don't know.

And neither do you.

But I have a good idea.

People were out this morning cleaning up last night's mess. This doesn't sound like a group of people intent from the beginning on rioting.

People were marching for hours, doing nothing more illegal than jaywalking, and suddenly they become an enraged mob? Does this sound plausible? If the police had restrained themselves from firing tear gas, would the destruction have still occurred?

I don't know.

And neither do you.

What I do know, is that isn't about one cop making a bad decision.

It's about a continual culture of police brutality and impunity.

It has to stop.