On what basis are you assuming the role of spokeperson for all protestors and rioters?
People live every day with the fear and grief that this could be them, or their friend, or their son. They care enough to take real risks to make their issues heard. It's so deeply cowardly to sit comfortably on the internet and say they don't really mean it when their every action says they do.
During the yellow vest protests, I was lurking in groups where rioters planned their actions. A lot was also organized in plain sight in the comments of websites like demosphere.
And I guarantee that they didn't care at all about what the protests were about. They were just looking for random protests to join. Adrenaline is what they were after.
And to you this feels like sufficient authority to speak on the motivations and values of protestors generally? A protest sparked by a completely different event?
On what basis are you assuming that all people have good intentions? Yes, those people exist. But don’t pretend all people or even a majority are out there because of that. There are political reasons, material reasons, and basic behavioral reasons people show up to these protests/riots.
To say that no one wants to just watch things burn, or smash and grab, or assault others is to ignore basic human nature and is equally cowardly because it is a denial of the truth to satisfy your beliefs.
To assume most protestors are good is equally as wrong as assuming most are bad actors.
I'm perfectly comfortable with the wide range of motivations people have for participating in protests and riots.
The comment I was responding to however is making assertions about "the real reason" and that rioters "don't care." Which I simply don't accept that they have the authority to make broad statements like that.
People live every day with the fear and grief that this could be them, or their friend, or their son. They care enough to take real risks to make their issues heard. It's so deeply cowardly to sit comfortably on the internet and say they don't really mean it when their every action says they do.