2020 Protests megathread

[Devout Centrist]

If the killing of Floyd was the spark, then the quarantine and stay at home orders are the kerosene soaked rags. A quarter of working age adults are out of work. The working class has been holed up in their homes for close to three months, without regular pay or income. They are furious, and rightly so.

It bears repeating here that lockdowns cannot last indefinitely. The Federal Government failed to develop any real plan to respond to the virus, beyond a patchwork of quarantines and using existing stockpiles of medical equipment. As a result, the states are left to their own devices and lack the resources to contain the epidemic.

Our feckless leadership enabled this crisis and we are now paying the price.

[Devout Centrist]

Some of you folks still don’t get it. By provoking the protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas, the police are encouraging a violent response from the demonstrators. People are in no mood to endure sheer brutality. The riots are only going to get worse with the use of these tactics.

[Devout Centrist]

https://twitter.com/midmichigannow/status/1266907736735956996
Wow, interesting strategy! Maybe beating the shit out of people encourages rioting?? Just a thought!

[Devout Centrist]

Anyone think these riots will continue through the summer? If Trump plays his cards right this could be his golden ticket to reelection.

Yeah, widespread anarchy and violence in every major American city benefits the Incumbent President! Of course!

[Devout Centrist]

Anyone think these riots will continue through the summer? If Trump plays his cards right this could be his golden ticket to reelection.

Yeah, widespread anarchy and violence in every major American city benefits the Incumbent President! Of course!

When it's his opponents who are doing all the violent beatings and looting, than yes, yes it will benefit the President.

Good thing Joe Biden isn't beating people, then.

[Devout Centrist]

Someone has hijacked the Chicago Police Dispatch and is playing the theme for Attack on Titan.

[Devout Centrist]

What a lot of pundits, twitter goons, and Reaganfan himself don't understand is that these riots are no longer about George Floyd. Oh sure, people are still mad as hell about his murder and they're protesting as we speak. But these riots have expanded beyond that first spark and they show no signs of slowing down.

What began as protests against racism and police brutality has now morphed into a violent awakening of populist anger. A lot of folks are out of work and they realize there's no help coming for them. Our government has sent them a message: you're on your own. These folks can't afford rent, food, etc.

In short, many of them have nothing left to lose. Couple that with cabin fever from lockdown, no sports, no bars, no 'bread and circuses', and you get violent riots in every American city. People are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

[Devout Centrist]

BREAKING: War president who thinks a mask makes him look weak is now hiding in a bunker.  

Should he be brave and order the Secret Service to pull a Tiannenan Square? What do you want him to do? Open the gates and let a mob of white kids pull him apart? What do you want from him?

Under normal circumstances, the President addresses the nation and articulates a clear strategy for ending the violence in the streets. Instead, the President has made a series of tweets oozing with inchoate rage and blind fury. This just angers the rioters even more and perpetuates lawlessness.

[Devout Centrist]

BREAKING: War president who thinks a mask makes him look weak is now hiding in a bunker.  

Should he be brave and order the Secret Service to pull a Tiannenan Square? What do you want him to do? Open the gates and let a mob of white kids pull him apart? What do you want from him?

Under normal circumstances, the President addresses the nation and articulates a clear strategy for ending the violence in the streets. Instead, the President has made a series of tweets oozing with inchoate rage and blind fury. This just angers the rioters even more and perpetuates lawlessness.

The problem with that is the fact that the left doesn’t view Trump as a symptom of a problem as much as they think the problem itself.

A nationally broadcast address wouldn’t help. Not with this President, though he does share a bit of the blame for that himself.

Well, you're right, but this is an excellent example of why you don't elect someone like this.

[Devout Centrist]

Tom cotton was(half) right.
The proper path to deal with riots and protests was to send in the military with riot gear and tell cops to stand down. Cops have an obvious interest in opposing any reform while said reforms would likely not touch the military yet we still need some semblance of order to protect areas from the rioters.

Police just aren't trained to deal with events of this scale because they are so rare while the military is. People are flipping out because they think sending in the military means machine gunning everyone or blowing everyone away with tanks.

What, exactly, does 'give them no quarter' mean?