# 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:** 9
**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, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/161 "2020-05-29T16:33:58Z")
I just saw this video. The Autozone appears to universally be where it all started. The video shows a white male, dressed on in black, wearing the exact same type of face obscuring mask used by “State Patrol” police when they arrested the CNN Crew. Everyone else was peacefully protesting until this man walked up, broke all of the Autozone windows with a bat, and then tried to walk away from the scene. He was filmed and followed, but when the person following got too close, he was grabbed by the arm and body slammed to the ground. The person filming repeatedly asks, “Are you a Cop? Are you a Cop?” before being flipped. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qv-O4rnUToU/maxresdefault.jpg "Suspicious Man Breaks Window & Starts Minneapolis Riots") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU) ---
**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 29, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/162 "2020-05-29T16:34:48Z")
> [@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”. You can murder someone absent the intent to kill him from the outset. ---
**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 29, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/163 "2020-05-29T16:36:23Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I just saw this video. The Autozone appears to universally be where it all started. The video shows a white male, dressed on in black, wearing the exact same type of face obscuring mask used by “State Patrol” police when they arrested the CNN Crew. Everyone else was peacefully protesting until this man walked up, broke all of the Autozone windows with a bat, and then tried to walk away from the scene. He was filmed and followed, but when the person following got too close, he was grabbed by the arm and body slammed to the ground. The person filming repeatedly asks, “Are you a Cop? Are you a Cop?” before being flipped. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU&feature=youtu.be) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/164 "2020-05-29T16:55:06Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > A better president would have locked those four cops up, pending trial (with no bail for their own protection) … (_snipped_) I despise Trump as much as anyone, but this isn’t the president’s job. You can blame Trump for a lot of things, but the cops responsible for this killing still walking free isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/165 "2020-05-29T16:56:58Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I don’t have answers for what’s going on; I had hoped someone here might. > > I admit that this isn’t the only board I sometimes post to (and no one here did this but…) would you believe some people called me a liar on Wednesday morning about the rioting and the fire happening? > Crazy world. > > I still remember the young girls voice saying, “This doesn’t honor George… I don’t know who these people are… looks like the Autozone is on fire again” on the Livestream. It was Haunting. > 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. > > That’s all old history though and long before the NRA shoved so many guns up America’s ass (like a sausage skin being over-stuffed with sausage). I guess I should be glad that we aren’t sniping at each other from rooftops. I’m sadly not surprised that our Great and Powerful toxic waste blimp of a president would threaten to shoot people; he’s Wise like that. /s > > Well, presidential bone-spurring on of more murder aside, this is a national disgrace. A better president would have locked those four cops up, pending trial (with no bail for their own protection) and would have had the chief of police and a member of George’s family all over to the White House to talk about this and work on fixing this over a beer. > > We don’t have a better president. > > I want a better president. I think that most of you do too. Fixing this will take a better president, that’s for sure. I agree with you about almost everything you said. However, murder isn’t a federal crime and a president doesn’t have the authority to just have people locked up. I’m not so sure the current resident of the White House understands this (or anything else, for that matter). Civil rights violations are a federal crime but those investigations usually take a while. I anxiously await the autopsy results. I will be surprised if the kneeling on the neck is the cause of death. That said, once a suspect is complaining of an inability to breathe, you have to do something - even if you think he is faking it. ---
**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, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/166 "2020-05-29T17:12:17Z")
> [@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”. “Tragic” would have been killing someone by accident as a result of unavoidable circumstances. Swerving out of the way to avoid a deer, only to hit a pedestrian or other driver - that’s tragic. Kneeling on someone’s neck for ten fucking minutes as someone yelps their last breath is not tragic; that’s murder. The fact that he didn’t put “Murder George Floyd” @ 7:30 p.m. in Google Calendar doesn’t matter a bit. Still murder. He knowingly subjected someone in fucking handcuffs to extreme physical abuse. Anyone with a shred of intelligence could have foreseen serious injury or death. ---
**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, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/167 "2020-05-29T17:15:38Z")
The murderer / ex-cop is now in custody. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/168 "2020-05-29T17:27:25Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I just saw this video. The Autozone appears to universally be where it all started. The video shows a white male, dressed on in black, wearing the exact same type of face obscuring mask used by “State Patrol” police when they arrested the CNN Crew. Everyone else was peacefully protesting until this man walked up, broke all of the Autozone windows with a bat, and then tried to walk away from the scene. He was filmed and followed, but when the person following got too close, he was grabbed by the arm and body slammed to the ground. The person filming repeatedly asks, “Are you a Cop? Are you a Cop?” before being flipped. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU&feature=youtu.be) What the hell? That is freaking weird! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/169 "2020-05-29T17:33:18Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > What the hell? That is freaking weird! The police in the US have a long and storied history of acting as agents provocateur so they can have an excuse to use violence and to demonize and delegitimize the standing of opponents. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/170 "2020-05-29T17:48:44Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The police in the US have a long and storied history of acting as agents provocateur so they can have an excuse to use violence and to demonize and delegitimize the standing of opponents. I know I have read this, but to see what seems to be such a blatant incendiary act in broad daylight blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/171 "2020-05-29T17:51:17Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > The murderer / ex-cop is now in custody. Well it took only four days after the killing to get an arrest, so rioting works. But the big question is why is it necessary for the public to lose confidence in their legal system and violently rebel for the system to act? It would save your society a lot of damage if it just worked. No free 5 day grace period for police members. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/172 "2020-05-29T17:53:51Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > But sometimes it is the only way a group of people can be heard. Sometimes, even in democracies, people have to make it clear that they are not going to just cooperate, and that they are going to be ungovernable and difficult to manage until they get some fucking respect. Well, on an even more general level, if the apparatus of state doesn’t function, it doesn’t function. It’ll break down in every way eventually, not just the ones suburban white people are okay with. ---
**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, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/173 "2020-05-29T17:57:16Z")
> [@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. I’ve seen a Twitter thread putting a name on the dude, which actually got MPD to respond denying it. Not that that means the ID is correct, of course. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/174 "2020-05-29T17:57:43Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > I can’t believe there are people on here advocating looting and rioting. Seriously? I’m sure the people I saw on TV running out of a Target store with their arms (and shopping carts) loaded with merchandise were justified. :dubious: I don’t think that anyone is advocating for it, but simply pointing out that it is a rather natural reaction to oppression. > [@](#): > > How would you feel as a small business owner if YOUR business was torched? Annoyed that I have a whole bunch of insurance paperwork to fill out. > [@Ludovic](#): > > Someone bombed a marketplace in Iraq? Better torch the Grand Canyon! I mean… that is the sort of thinking that oppressed people tend to have. Why did the Twin towers get attacked in 9/11? People were pissed at us, and wanted to break something that we had. > [@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) Ah at least someone is sticking up for the poor murderous bastards. > [@Oglomott](#): > > What’s your solution to end police brutality and racism? If it was easy, it would have been done a long time ago. Well, the answer to end police brutality is actually pretty easy. You tell the police, the part of the equation that you have control over, to stop being brutal. The only reason that it is difficult is that there are hateful racists like yourself that stick up for racist murdering cops. > [@](#): > > And I am not a sock, whatever that is. Yeah, I bet. > [@](#): > > The “misdirection” I referred to was instead of responding about what was justified about removing merchandise from Target, the response was how would I like to see my brother murdered. No, that was because you asked about small businesses while referring to Target. And if I cannot be upset because it was not _my_ brother that was murdered, then how can you justify being upset when it was not _your_ business that was looted or burned? > [@Oglomott](#): > > Do you believe that it was their intention from the outset to kill him? No, his intention was to harm him, humiliate him, and dehumanize him in public. His desire was to show off his power and terrorize anyone who even thinks of questioning his authority. The fact that he “accidentally” killed a man while simply trying to destroy him doesn’t give quite the level of defense you may thing it does. > [@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”. That argument could be used to justify any crime or violent act. > [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I just saw this video. The Autozone appears to universally be where it all started. The video shows a white male, dressed on in black, wearing the exact same type of face obscuring mask used by “State Patrol” police when they arrested the CNN Crew. Everyone else was peacefully protesting until this man walked up, broke all of the Autozone windows with a bat, and then tried to walk away from the scene. He was filmed and followed, but when the person following got too close, he was grabbed by the arm and body slammed to the ground. The person filming repeatedly asks, “Are you a Cop? Are you a Cop?” before being flipped. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv-O4rnUToU&feature=youtu.be) If there is any truth to this, then the police are not only to blame for the conditions that precipitated the riots, but they are responsible for starting them as well. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/175 "2020-05-29T17:59:11Z")
Friday lunch time press conference. Gov Walz said all the right words with conviction, including a promise of swift justice re. the _murder_. Yes, he came out and called it for what it was. Atty Gen asked people to not react to the Minnesota National Guard the way they might react to the police. All good words by both of them. Other functionaries then spoke about protecting people and property, with no mention of the great need to protect people from the police. Walz started the question period by noting that he does not want things to go back to the old normal but he did not specify the need to protect black and other visible minorities from the police. He acknowledged tension between the people and the police is a well known thing and that he expected swift justice. He said that what Trump said was not helpful. Reporter asked about deep reform. Public Safety Commissioner Harrington had nothing of substance. When asked about why the police officer who killed George Floyd had not been arrested, Harrington replied: protocol. (A few minutes after the press conference, Harrington disclosed that Derrick Chauvin has been arrested.) The Governor said something along the lines of Now let’s see what we can do to clean up police culture. That will be one hell of a job. All in all, the press were far more focused on safety on the streets than they were about about the substantive issue of what must be done to ensure that blacks and other visible minorities are not treated as inferiors and are not routinely killed by police. IMHO, Walz seems like he gets it, but get rid of Harrington. Usually one thinks of a failed state as being some shithole impoverished country ruled by force. Where the USA stands out is that it fails to recognize that for a great many of its people it is a failed state, with severe race based economic disparity, the highest incarceration rate in the world (with with blacks being grossly disproportionately represented), and tacit tolerance for harrassing, terrorizing and killing blacks, with it’s president wanting to _start shooting_. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/176 "2020-05-29T18:09:10Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I know I have read this, but to see what seems to be such a blatant incendiary act in broad daylight blows my mind. Interesting that I was learning about this sort of thing just a few weeks ago, thanks to it being the 50th anniversary of the Kent State incident, which probably (though not definitely) was in part sparked by an _agent provocateur_ action (a gunshot). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/177 "2020-05-29T18:09:45Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Usually one thinks of a failed state as being some shithole impoverished country ruled by force. Where the USA stands out is that it fails to recognize that for a great many of its people it is a failed state, with severe race based economic disparity, the highest incarceration rate in the world (with with blacks being grossly disproportionately represented), and tacit tolerance for harrassing, terrorizing and killing blacks, with it’s president wanting to _start shooting_. Aye: the United States of America in 2020 is a fucked up, shitty place. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/178 "2020-05-29T18:12:57Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > I want a better president. I think that most of you do too. Fixing this will take a better president, that’s for sure. A couple of couple of months ago I posted the following about the Covid pandemic. (underlining added) > [@The Trump Administration: A Clusterfuck in the Making](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-administration-a-clusterfuck-in-the-making/774070/41321): > > I was just thinking on the way into work today, that of all possible crises a president could face (with possibly the exception of a race war), this is probably the one that is most tailor made to highlight Trump’s incompetence… Lucky us. ---
**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 29, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/179 "2020-05-29T18:13:20Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’ve seen a Twitter thread putting a name on the dude, which actually got MPD to respond denying it. Not that that means the ID is correct, of course. I saw that. Dude definitely has the same eyes, but that doesn’t mean anything. But hey, his fellow officers can vouch for his whereabouts, soooooo. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589/180 "2020-05-29T18:15:03Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I know I have read this, but to see what seems to be such a blatant incendiary act in broad daylight blows my mind. You mean as opposed to the careful secrecy displayed by criminals in our own executive branch? The USA is over. It doesn’t matter who gets seen doing what, those in power are secure as long as they can keep the rabble in chaos. Truth doesn’t matter anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minneapolis-is-burning/854589.md?page=10)