Small businesses going bankrupt is an unfortunate result of the riots but one point I would make is most of these businesses that are being looted happen in be in areas that vote heavily democratic, many of these businesses are owned by people from ethnic groups that vote democratic, and many of these business owners no doubt vote for the democratic party which is the party whose mayors preside over the failure to control the riots and whose elected officials by and large are pro protest and anti police.
So to some extent these business owners brought this upon themselves by voting the way they vote, but nonetheless they should be assisted somewhat financially speaking to recover.
There always has been a high turnover in small businesses. Many small businesses are undercapitalized. Small businesses often appear where the behemoths such as Wal*Mart, Kroger, Safeway, and Meijer don't locate themselves. Most of the fast-food places are really franchises.
It would be terribly wrong to make deciding on which small business gets restored and which one does not based on how the owner or franchise holder voted. I recognize that Little Caesar's paid to restore one of its franchisees whose operation was burned in the Ferguson riot a few years back. Good for the Illitch family!
Note that opposition to police brutality (legitimate self-defense is ordinarily excused... pull a gun on a cop and expect to die) is widespread enough across the political spectrum that there are some comparatice conservatives in these demonstrations. Note well the large number of cameras and especially camcorders are in use. The same camcorder that someone used in the event of police misconduct might be turned against rioters and looters. Police forces typically did their jobs right. Beside, the cops infiltrate demonstrations. Tough luck to anyone who gets busted for smash-and-grab burglary-larceny because the cops have infiltrated a well-behaved group of demonstrators.
Now as for small businesses... if you really like the convenience of a small business, then do the right thing: patronize it. Recognize that convenience and flexibility are worth paying higher prices than at Wal*Mart with your consumer dollars. .
