Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard
I think the rioters are nihilists. Or at least accelerationists.
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If going to the store for skittles can get you killed by the neighborhood watch or going for a jog can get you killed by your neighbors and no prosecutors want to go near it, nihilism starts making sense. Janis Joplin might see it as "nothin' left to lose". They've got a legitimate gripe. Complain about their methods all you want, but if you ignore what set them off then you're ignoring the underlying problem. Me, I think the most efficient way to keep people from burning downtowns is to treat them like people in the first place.
And what's wrong with accelerationism? If a system has inherent problems, it's better to identify and resolve them sooner rather than later- I did read once that a stitch in time saves nine, and I've found that it tends to be true. The rioters are
Americans. They get killed with impunity and they have a need to fight back. To quote Jackson Browne this time, they're "the people who finally can't take any more/and they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone". Because taking something down with you is better than simply going down.
I don't think the rioters are doing the right thing, but I'm a tubby white guy in my late 40s and can criticize from a distance. Cops and other government employees treat me with respect, and I've only once had to wait more than 5 minutes to vote. But if my town or state treated me the way these folks get treated, I'd go all torches and pitchforks on them.