# Minneapolis is Burning...? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 28, 2020, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589 "2020-05-28T07:45:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/201 "2020-05-29T19:57:44Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I saw that as well…kind of amazing, I didn’t know if it was too good/bad to be true. A FB post I saw about it seems to indicate that he is in fact a police officer. Huh, if that checks out that would be evidence of a tactic seen in Latin America, military and police going around in disguise setting unrest to incite others and demonize protesters. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/202 "2020-05-29T20:20:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > This is the part that really hits it: “Let’s be real goddamn clear about this: The racist murdering cop would STILL BE ON THE FORCE RIGHT NOW, if people hadn’t taken to the streets and burned the fucking city down.” According to [this timeline,](https://www.minnpost.com/metro/2020/05/what-we-know-about-the-events-surrounding-george-floyds-death-and-its-aftermath-a-timeline/)that appears to be incorrect. The four cops most closely involved were fired sometime Tuesday afternoon, apparently before any significant rioting had taken place. I grant that the firing may have been influenced by fear of future rioting. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/203 "2020-05-29T20:38:59Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The link took me to a Facebook page, I just see a blank Facebook page; possibly because I’m not signed into Facebook. One of the reasons I don’t have a Facebook account is that they’re so vehemently insistent that everyone must have one. Even when the pages are made public, they’re often effectively unviewable unless one signs in; most of the page gets covered by a huge box telling you to sign in or sign up, which can be gotten at best to cover half the page instead of all of it. – Skywatcher’s link gets me a long post that doesn’t seem to be about the issue in this thread, or to be the one that Czarcasm’s quoting. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/204 "2020-05-29T21:03:03Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I remember hearing about 60s fires and how parts of Newark never came back. The same with Watts… the same with the ‘Rodney King’ riots in LA. Missed this earlier, but there’s a reason that parts of Watts and Newark never came back, and that’s because despite the progress of the civil rights movement, white residents and white-owned businesses made a conscious decision to take their ball and go home. They decided literally to create their own brand new cities than to be required to play by a brand new set of rules that mandated a more equitable community. That’s an example of how systemic and institutionalized racism works, and police departments all over the country have been used to keep black people and black communities in their place. It’s not just police departments, but the entire criminal justice apparatus. The good thing is that in some cities now, you have black DAs, black judges, and black jurors. And you have enough black voters that white mayors and council members can’t just ignore their complaints. Still, the political and legal power that people of color have is limited and diffused. And disproportionately, whites still maintain the very crucial element of economic power. It’s this economic power that is a necessary component in order to achieve truly equal status in this society. This parity depends a lot on the acquisition of capital on one hand, but on the other hand, it is difficult to access the means of acquiring such capital because of factors like race. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/205 "2020-05-29T21:28:34Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > Omar Jimenez and his crew have been released. The governor of Minnesota has apologized. I’d be happier if the fucking police apologized. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/206 "2020-05-29T21:33:51Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Mississippi Mayor Defends The Officers Who Killed George Floyd](https://www.bet.com/news/national/2020/05/28/mississippi-mayor-defends-the-officers-who-killed-george-floyd.html) Riots commence in Mississippi in 3… 2… 1… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/207 "2020-05-29T21:40:45Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > Do you believe that it was their intention from the outset to kill him? Personally - no I don’t think they woke up that morning with the intention of murdering George Floyd. So not _pre-meditated_ murder. But they did murder him. The kneeler-on-the-neck has been charged with 3rd degree murder. I would have called for second degree myself. It’s murder even if it wasn’t planned in advance. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to” does not bring the dead back to life. A man was killed by a police officer. Police do not have the authority to execute people, and if they do so it is a criminal act. Criminals belong behind bars. The baffling thing is why it took _four fucking days_ for this to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/208 "2020-05-29T21:42:40Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > FTR, I do not approve of what they did. Not at all. Stop implying that’s what I’m saying. I have issue with the word “murder” being used, as that implies that they intended to kill him from the outset. There is no evidence of that. What really happened is that the police made poor choices that resulted in the death of an individual. Tragic, but really not “murder”. Yes, it’s really murder. Murder doesn’t have to be planned in advance to be murder. I’m sorry you’re butthurt by the “m-word” - wait, no I’m not. The police committed murder and should be tried for same. If there is justice convicted, but justice doesn’t always happen in the real world. That’s why we have riots. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/209 "2020-05-29T21:55:32Z")
Drunk drivers who kill someone didn’t set out to kill anybody. They just wanted to get home from the bar. But they can still get charged with murder. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/210 "2020-05-29T22:00:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > This is the part that really hits it: “Let’s be real goddamn clear about this: The racist murdering cop would STILL BE ON THE FORCE RIGHT NOW, if people hadn’t taken to the streets and burned the fucking city down.” Pardon me Sir, but let me please respectfully disagree with you. That protest was Peaceful… until the agitator-cop broke the Auto Zone windows baton-style. The protesters… the real ones, the honest ones… were just an annoyance. It wasn’t until a Cop foolishly tried to fuck them over and tag them as violent terrorists that things changed. “Hey, Minneapolis Cops! Thanks for fucking yourselves up the ass! Where will you go next? Disney World…?” ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/211 "2020-05-29T22:08:43Z")
Wow. I go camping for a couple of days to escape Covid isolation and the whole world goes (even more) to shit… For those posters who are complaining about the rioters and that they need to protest peacefully, can you remind me how many states tried to pass laws that protected people who ran over peaceful protesters during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement? I thought it was at least 20 states, but I could be wrong. It was also really interesting that the property damage in Minneapolis was started somebody that looked like a cop (white, gas mask, military boots). Guy appears out of nowhere, breaks a couple of windows, and then runs away just before the cops start shooting rubber bullets; that’s not suspicious at all. Wow. While I think rioting and looting is wrong in almost every scenario I can think of, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to protest the treatment of African Americans at the hands of police only to dismissed every single time. It does not matter how respectfully the protests are undertaken, there is no valid venue for African Americans to protest unless it is completely unseen by a large percentage of white America. I remember trying to talk about Kapernick with one of my neighbors and he thought the guy should be fired and blacklisted for protesting at work; “if he wants to protest, he should do it on his own time.” I asked about the BLM protesters, and he was all for running them over; “if they want to protest, they should do it somewhere it doesn’t interfere with anybodies life.” I just could not get him to see that what he wanted them to do would not be an effective form of protest. He was all for the yahoos invading the Michigan capital building with guns though; he thought that was a valid form of protest. This partisanship is going to get us all killed… I do want to share with the right wingers on this board that because of them I am a full supporter of gun rights. All guns. For the same reasons they are supporters too, Americans need to be able to protect themselves from the government. Not some scary feds in black helicopters forcing me to wear a mask; I think people need to be armed to protect themselves from the police. I have felt this way since the Ferguson Commission released it’s report. YMMV and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/212 "2020-05-29T22:14:29Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I just see a blank Facebook page; possibly because I’m not signed into Facebook. I have a Facebook account and I’m posting this from my home computer. All I get from [Jim Wright \>Stonekettle Station](https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=stonekettle%20station&epa=SEARCH_BOX) is a bunch of unhelpful search results. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/213 "2020-05-29T22:25:39Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Huh, if that checks out that would be evidence of a tactic seen in Latin America, military and police going around in disguise setting unrest to incite others and demonize protesters. If I’m wrong, I’m so very happy to give every single one of you sons-a-bitches an ice cold beer. But If I’m right? Might be time for you to watch the worst rated Dirty Harry movie of all time… > **[Watch Magnum Force online free](https://tinyzonetv.to/watch-movie/watch-magnum-force-1973-free-18424.1045997)** > > Watch Magnum Force 1973 online free and download Magnum Force free online ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/214 "2020-05-29T22:46:23Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > FTR, I do not approve of what they did. Not at all. Stop implying that’s what I’m saying. I have issue with the word “murder” being used, as that implies that they intended to kill him from the outset. There is no evidence of that. What really happened is that the police made poor choices that resulted in the death of an individual. Tragic, but really not “murder”. Didn’t we have another guy here who referred to pig murders as “poor choices”? I think he was banned. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/215 "2020-05-29T22:56:41Z")
> [@HeweyLogan](#): > > Un-fucking believable. But absolutely believable given what this place has turned into. > > While my business hasn’t been looted, I know people’s businesses that have. > > I doubt that makes any difference though, I’m just a troll, sock, asshole that needs to fuck off so you can have your far left echo chamber unsullied and unchallenged, because you’re a fucking coward and a weasel. I’ll be hornswoggled. october forgot which account he was logged into. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/216 "2020-05-30T00:10:11Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > I > > How would you feel as a small business owner if YOUR business was torched? I’m just gonna leave this right here. > **[Restaurant Owner Shows Solidarity With Protesters: ‘Let My Building Burn’](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gandhi-mahal-minneapolis-protest-george-floyd_n_5ed142a8c5b6bc97e7682588)** > > Gandhi Mahal restaurant in Minneapolis was damaged during protests over George Floyd’s death. ---
**Author:** ![slumtrimpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@slumtrimpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slumtrimpet)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/217 "2020-05-30T00:21:30Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I have a Facebook account and I’m posting this from my home computer. All I get from [Jim Wright \>Stonekettle Station](https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=stonekettle%20station&epa=SEARCH_BOX) is a bunch of unhelpful search results. Sorry. I didn’t want to cp the entire thing but here it is. Written by Jim Wright who also has [Stonekettle Station](http://www.stonekettle.com/) > [@](#): > > People felt they were oppressed. > > They were treated as second class citizens. > > They were imprisoned without trial. > > Their property was taken without justification. > > They were daily abused and even murdered by law enforcement without appeal or recourse. > > So, naturally, they protested this injustice. > > They petitioned the government. They sent representatives to plead their case. They appealed to the law, to the public, to the powerful. To God. > > Their protests fell on deaf ears. > > Those in power ignored their complaints. > > So they protested LOUDER. > > There was civil unrest, marches, petitions to the government. > > Those in power didn’t care about justice, the powerful never do. They refused to listen. To change. This went on for years, generations. > > Arrests, murders, injustice increased. > > And so, naturally, the people resorted to violence because it was the only avenue the powerful had left them. They burned businesses, destroyed property, rioted in the streets, and took up arms. > > It could have stopped there. > > Those in power could have listened, could have reached an accommodation in good faith, could have respected life and liberty and created a more equitable and fair society. > > But, of course, they didn’t. > > The powerful never do. > > And so, finally, it came down violence on a mass scale. Tens of thousands dead. Billions in property lost… > > What? > > Oh. > > Heh heh. I see. > > You thought I was talking about Minneapolis? > > No, I was talking about the American Revolution. > > Funny, that. Isn’t it? > > Funny how when America’s white ancestors rose up in violence against oppression and tyranny, when THEY destroyed millions in property and business, when they marched in protest, when they took up arms against authority, when they demanded justice, they were patriots. > > Yes, funny indeed. ---
**Author:** ![crywalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crywalt/32/3224_2.png) [@crywalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crywalt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/218 "2020-05-30T00:23:06Z")
This interview has some interesting angles on the subject of violent protest and non-violent protest. Prof. Wasow was incidentally the student body president of my high school. > **[How Violent Protests Change Politics](https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-violent-protests-change-politics)** > > A politics professor at Princeton discusses civil-rights-era protest tactics, what violent protests have meant for elections, and whether Donald Trump is a figure of disorder. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/219 "2020-05-30T00:31:46Z")
I’m not sure if patriots ever attacked the property of people just for the heck of it, but if they did, that wasn’t right, either. I’m not even sure it was right for them to dispossess people that definitely were Loyalists, which is not as bad as the destruction that people are objecting to in Minneapolis. Attacking troops, on the other hand, is war, which is orthogonal to what we are discussing, having its worse and better parts depending on how much it is necessary for true self-defense. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/220 "2020-05-30T00:44:21Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, it’s really murder. > > Murder doesn’t have to be planned in advance to be murder. > > I’m sorry you’re butthurt by the “m-word” - wait, no I’m not. The police committed murder and should be tried for same. If there is justice convicted, but justice doesn’t always happen in the real world. That’s why we have riots. Looting TVs and Jordan’s is really sticking it to The Man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589.md?page=12)