Featured What's with the riots and looting?

OK, lets try again ...

Here is a list of nations that have had riots in the last three years:

• Algeria
• Argentina
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Chile
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Ethiopia
• France
• Gabon
• Georgia
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong (China)
  
• India
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Iraq
• Israel
• Italy
• Kazakhstan
• Kenya
• Lebanon
• Mexico
• Moldova
• Netherlands
• Nicaragua
• Palestine
• Peru
• Philippines
• Poland
• Republic of the Congo
• Russia
• South Africa
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• Venezuela

Many would be surprised to learn that they are "authoritarian governments" and that is irrelevant to the point that these sorts of "riots" only happen "in the good ol' USA." It would seem that shooting rioters does not discourage them from violently complaining about some perceived ongoing injustice.

 

Well, while we’re trying again, let’s also clearly understand that not all protests labeled riots are riots, not all riots involve looting (and or arson), and not all resistance against government is properly labeled a riot. There are many reasons for the protesting, rioting, and unrest around the world, so countries experiencing such should not all be lumped together as if the same.

 

America is unique in our liberties, our constitution. There is no good reason for rioting in America, but protesting should be allowed, even when illegitimately premised.

When the rioting starts, or looting or arson, it should be shut down immediately, and anyone legitimately protesting should be outraged that their protest was hijacked.

 

The main reason is that like here in the UK, the US has turned its back on the God of the Holy Bible, and rejected the Teachings of His Word. Sadly, even so called "evangelicals" have more in common with "Liberals" then with sound Biblical Teaching. Godlessness and lawlessness are the by-products of the rejection of the Lord and His Teachings. Where the Holy Spirit is absent, the devil is hard at work. People like BLM are evil and stand for everything that is opposite to what the Bible says.

 

As well as the vast majority (all?) of democrats.

 

What a really weird definition of winning: "Yeah, we lost everything, but we certainly won the battle." It reminds me of the folk song sung by the British army after losing the Revolutionary War: "When buttercups buzzed after the bee, when boats were on land, and churches on sea...." The rioters have everything backwards.

 

My brother was a Maoist back in the day. He was involved in a Maost demonstration against the War in Viet Nam, I think it was, in Washingto, D.C. Unbeknownst to him, the other Maoists took stuff to throw at the police to incite them to violently shut down the demo, and they succeeded. (My brother had been told there would be no violence.) So my brother was hit by a police baton and had to have reconstructive surgeries on his jaw.

When violence occurs in these demonstrations, from what I've read, it is almost always instigated by Antifa and others like them. The police react.

 

Have you encountered real despair?
His comment makes perfect sense to this former nihilist.
I do not agree with it, but I understand it.

 

Since nihilism doesn't make logical sense in the first place, only a former nihilist could understand it.

But I really don't think the rioters are coming from "real despair," especially when they loot. When one is in real despair, the tendency is depression--which results in inactivity, not rioting. I believe it was in Milwaukee where looters had a plan, and went down the street in vans, unloading groups to clean out a business then move on. Nihilism? Don't think so.

 

OK, maybe ... but it does have its own internal logic for those that come from another world.
[It makes marginally more sense than the empirical evidence of a god that is evil.]

I cannot speak to Milwaukee. Greed and organized crime is certainly a very real possibility. However the logic of the unemployed twenty year old in Watts that was quoted does come from despair that the future will never be better than the present. We used to say "You live, you die and when you are gone, you don't even leave a hole to show that you were here." That black man in Watts was saying "Look, they saw me. At least I left a hole to show that I was here!"

I can understand that sort of hopelessness. Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.
As my Pentecostal friends say: But God ...

 

Forgive me, but I don't have too much patience for an unemployed 20 year old, unless he's handicapped in some way. I worked in a dirty, dangerous factory full time for 4 years to put myself through college. Many young black and white folk worked there, too, and you could make a living. Even during this pandemic, I see signs around that advertise entry level jobs.

Absolutely! God is the only solution.