# 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:** 5
**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 28, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/81 "2020-05-28T22:35:34Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Hey, I’m not racist. Then stop posting things that make you look racist. If you’re using sarcasm or some other form of mockery make sure that people know it. There are several methods by which you can do that. 1. End the post with [/sarcasm] or \ or other code-like word. 2. :rolleyes: 3. State plainly “I’m being sarcastic”. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/82 "2020-05-28T22:49:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > If you have 10 bad cops and 1000 good cops but the 1000 good cops don’t turn in the 10 bad cops, you have 1010 bad cops. :smack: Nobody said there would be Math! > [@Broomstick](#): > > I believe that \*\*manson \*\*is attempting sarcasm again… And Clearly Succeeding. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Then stop posting things that make you look racist. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/83 "2020-05-28T22:50:07Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Then stop posting things that make you look racist. If you’re using sarcasm or some other form of mockery make sure that people know it. There are several methods by which you can do that. > > 1. End the post with [/sarcasm] or \ or other code-like word. > > 2. :rolleyes: > > 3. State plainly “I’m being sarcastic”. It was pretty plain to most of us. If you had read down just a few more posts where it was confirmed it was a joke _before_ you jumped in, you would have seen it. It’s usually a good idea to read the whole thread before you jump in. There is no joke here that at least one person won’t misinterpret. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/84 "2020-05-28T23:39:09Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Then stop posting things that make you look racist. If you’re using sarcasm or some other form of mockery make sure that people know it. There are several methods by which you can do that. > > 1. End the post with [/sarcasm] or \ or other code-like word. > > 2. :rolleyes: > > 3. State plainly “I’m being sarcastic”. If you read **Hilarity N. Suze** in the Living While Black thread, it’s pretty obvious he’s making a callback to those, where “the black guy started it” by asking someone to leash her dog. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/85 "2020-05-29T00:54:31Z")
Wait, I have to read other posts in other threads in order to understand a comment? Without even a link? Look, bigger issue: haven’t we figured out yet that sarcasm doesn’t reliably work on a messageboard? Even my kids realized years ago that saying what you don’t exactly mean only works in person. If you’re texting or on social media, you’ve got to say what you mean. People will NOT assume your racist comment is post-ironic multi-dimensional social commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/86 "2020-05-29T01:22:34Z")
This is what one protester (or a direct ally) says is happening on the ground: [https://utenas.tumblr.com/post/619393125642895360/for-people-who-are-unaware-of-why-the-riots-in](https://utenas.tumblr.com/post/619393125642895360/for-people-who-are-unaware-of-why-the-riots-in) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/87 "2020-05-29T02:19:23Z")
Minnesota prosecutor starts making [noises](https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1266136952874696709)about how the "video showing George Floyd’s death is “terrible” but says there’s “other evidence that does not support a criminal charge”. Then shortly afterward tries backpedaling with a [really vague “clarification”](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZJMWiiWoAE3tkZ?format=jpg&name=small). Sounds like he wanted to announce the fix was in, but couldn’t take the heat when he was too blunt about it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/88 "2020-05-29T02:35:56Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Officer Noor who killed a white woman? Of course HE went to prison. Everything I ever read about that indicates that his going to prison was 100% justified, and that he should never have been on the force in the first place - that he was hired, and then kept his job, because of pressure from the large Somali community in the Twin Cities to have Somali cops on the force. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/89 "2020-05-29T02:44:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Everything I ever read about that indicates that his going to prison was 100% justified, and that he should never have been on the force in the first place - that he was hired, and then kept his job, because of pressure from the large Somali community in the Twin Cities to have Somali cops on the force. Which would be a better argument if _white_ cops who clearly never should have been on the force didn’t regularly kill people and _stay out_ of prison. And usually evade punishment entirely. He wasn’t thrown in prison for murder, he was thrown in prison for being a black man who killed a white woman. The police and the courts _don’t care_ about police murdering people; they care about race. If he’d been white or she’d been black it’s very, very unlikely he’d have been punished at all. That’s how it works, that’s always been a core function of the “law enforcement” system; to\* enforce racism.\* ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/90 "2020-05-29T02:50:44Z")
I’ve got a suggestion for the protesters. Instead of breaking windows, join the NRA and get a whole bunch of assault weapons. Then stand outside the police station looking mean. Then the right wingers will love you, and if the cops object they are stepping on your liberty, and if there is any shooting it is all the cops fault. If it works in Idaho, it should work there. ---
**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 29, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/91 "2020-05-29T03:02:50Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve got a suggestion for the protesters. Instead of breaking windows, join the NRA and get a whole bunch of assault weapons. Then stand outside the police station looking mean. Then the right wingers will love you, and if the cops object they are stepping on your liberty, and if there is any shooting it is all the cops fault. > If it works in Idaho, it should work there. Standing and looking mean would be a lot more civilized than looting, arson, and rioting. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/92 "2020-05-29T03:13:57Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve got a suggestion for the protesters. Instead of breaking windows, join the NRA and get a whole bunch of assault weapons. Then stand outside the police station looking mean. Then the right wingers will love you, and if the cops object they are stepping on your liberty, and if there is any shooting it is all the cops fault. > If it works in Idaho, it should work there. No, that’s only allowed for white right wingers. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/93 "2020-05-29T03:42:10Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Standing and looking mean would be a lot more civilized than looting, arson, and rioting. You’re for the idea then. Hell, if enough of them do it, and they start targeting racists (and not school children) we might get a decent ban. But we’d find that the 2nd amendment only really applies to white people. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/94 "2020-05-29T03:43:00Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > Standing and looking mean would be a lot more civilized than looting, arson, and rioting. And absofuckinglutely ineffective. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/95 "2020-05-29T04:12:18Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Everything I ever read about that indicates that his going to prison was 100% justified, and that he should never have been on the force in the first place - that he was hired, and then kept his job, because of pressure from the large Somali community in the Twin Cities to have Somali cops on the force. There has been a massive push to hire officers of different ethnicities by the City. Not the PD. It has caused a lot of strife within the PD, and non-white newer hires face a lot of discrimination and hatred within the force. I believe that’s why Officer Thao didn’t take action against his superior / the murderer. When Noor killed Justine, he was left to dry by his department. I agree his conviction was correct. Whether he should’ve been hired in the first place? He, Thao and every other officer of color went through the same training. FWIW, the third precinct is currently on fire. As is a store next door. St. Paul is also dealing with rioting, arson, and looting. My inner ring burb is pretty much shut down, stores closed early, some boarded up. No one has been out in my neighborhood. I hear sirens every 10 minutes or so, mostly police and ambulances. The area of Minneapolis where I grew up was hit hard this morning. Multiple businesses broken into, lots of damage. Tonight the liquor was looted. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/96 "2020-05-29T04:27:47Z")
A riot is brewing in Louisville, KY. I wonder what the connection may be there. The overwhelming majority of people I’m seeing in the MPLS footage are young white people. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/97 "2020-05-29T04:59:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > A riot is brewing in Louisville, KY. I wonder what the connection may be there. > > The overwhelming majority of people I’m seeing in the MPLS footage are young white people. Protests for justice for Breona Taylor, from what I’m seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/98 "2020-05-29T05:07:51Z")
There are reports of a local St. Paul reporter playing the sound of gunshots, and it triggered a riot. Not verified, but it’s being claimed. There is video of him playing the sounds. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wN3oQXkz00M/hqdefault.jpg "MN News Reporter Caught Playing Gunshots on Phone LIVE | KSTP Channel 5") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN3oQXkz00M) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/99 "2020-05-29T05:25:43Z")
[Burning a police precinct.](https://video.startribune.com/minneapolis-police-precinct-engulfed-in-flames-amid-protest/570856672/) ---
**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 29, 2020, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/100 "2020-05-29T05:41:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And absofuckinglutely ineffective. So you favor looting, violence, and arson to enact political change instead? Let’s see how this plays out and how effective this civil unrest is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589.md?page=6)