Over this weekend my city, Chicago, has been ravaged by rioters. I'm a believer in peaceful protest, I believe it's the most effective and moral form of protest. But I draw the line at rioting, these thugs are taking advantage of an unfortunate situation.

Ravaging your community, in the middle of a PANDEMIC, in the name of black lives matter, is counterproductive. Small business owners had no part in the murder of George Floyd.

Thankfully, the evil cops involved in the murder of George Floyd have been charged with 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter.

There's always going to be bad cops, want to make a change? Request court hearings, protest peacefully, stand up to injustice when you see it.

Want constructive change? Good, so do I. But you can't go about that by destroying your community.

THANK YOU! Whenever I turn on the news, it's always these thugs looting and destroying property and it just ticks me off. Some people are just trying to take advantage of the situation and it's so wrong. Luckily where I live, our cops had a BBQ with the PEACEFUL PROTESTERS. Wish everyone would do that. +1

I agree. In my city there's been looting of small businesses, including businesses that are black owned. There's been in one instance that a business owner was beaten by looters with a 2x4. There's been riots in which things were thrown at firefighters and firetrucks, breaking the windshields and injuring the firefighter. There was inappropriate graffiti on a firefighter memorial for fallen firefighters.

These actions are not about George Floyd or his death. They are not peaceful protests. They are hurting everyone.

There was in fact a peaceful protest, but their message is being covered up by these wrongful ones, and that's what really sucks. I really hope there is justice for George Floyd and that police departments take a closer look at their officers and kick out anyone who has a bad mindset and cannot remain calm and orderly while on their job.

I couldn't say it any better than Ian, Crow, and Sled. I am very pro first responders, and to see firefighters being attacked, equipment destroyed, and memorials vandalized is both heartbreaking and infuriating to me. These people are taking advantage of an already bad situation, and are completely twisting and overshadowing the good messages that the real protesters are trying to make. These rioters and looters aren't protesters. They're just scum.

Thank you for this. My city, Maryland, has been peaceful for a while but recently people have taken to setting flags on fire. I live in the country part of the state so most of us have nowhere to go to protest but in the cities I expect there'd be a lot of chaos. Many stores have been looted, some set on fire. Police have taken to shooting people with rubber bullets- before you say that isn't bad please acknowledge they're shooting from about 40 ft. at 22 mph or whatever that measurement is. People who've been shot in the head bleed from it. That's dangerous. And the fact that sickens me most is that our President, a man whose sworn to uphold peace and prosperity throughout his country, is in support of a racist and vile saying from the Miami Police Chief of 1967- ''When the looting starts, the shooting starts.'' That sickens me. That's probably the most terrifying thing I've ever heard. He's threatened his citizens with vicious dogs and guns and that's not okay.

The violent protests were instigated by undercover police in an attempt to make protestors look bad. As Sled said, these protests are not in the memory of George Floyd but rather, an excuse to commit crimes in the name of equality. People are allowed to protest peacefully but when law enforcement shows up and threatens them in an attempt to force them to disperse it's a clear violation of the first amendment. On the morning of 5/25 I remember reading that while sleuthing around in the news. And I was angry. I was angry that someone would be stupid enough to ignore the pleas and cries of a man, a man who did not want to die as he repeatedly claimed, ''I cannot breathe! My face hurts. My neck hurts. I do not want to die. Please do not kill me!'' He said that through the blood dripping down his face as his nose was pushed hard against the gravel by 200 pounds of pure bone and muscle. And the fact that the police responsible have had racism claims and criminal charges placed against them in the past is despicable. Why were they allowed to keep their post? As a member of the Anonymous said, a quote which I cannot help but agree with, ''People have had enough of the violence and corruption from an organization that promises to keep them safe. Many people are now beginning to learn that you are not here to save us, but rather, to oppress us and carry out the role of the criminal ruling class.''

The unity of the people in time such as these is overwhelming. Protests have spread out of America to Australia, the UK and even New Zealand. We need to be heard. We need the system to weed out those who commemorate others on their racist acts and most important of all, WE NEED TO STOP FREAKING KILLING EACHOTHER. But violence is not the key to change. Two wrongs do not make a right. Stick to peace but remember- making noise is better than staying in the dark.

I think it goes against the whole point. Its fighting against the acts of police brutality but they make this protest violent by burning buildings down and break windows. They are going against what they are trying to stop

I respectfully disagree. I'm going to copy and paste what I said to people in real life about the same thing. I believe as long as the riots are not targeting small businesses, they're acceptable.

Quote:

i think people fail to understand that people didn’t IMMEDIATELY go to rioting. We’ve seen that black people have tried for YEARS to peacefully protest, and they’ve only been brandished unpatriotic because of it. You also have to consider the fact that there are police instigating some of these riots undercover, as well as still engaging with people WHO ARE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING!!

So please stop with this narrative, no one immediately jumped to rioting

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:02 PM:

-snip-

What we're seeing here in NY is that the rioters are a different group from the actual protesters. From what I've heard from elsewhere around the country, it seems to be a similar story in other places as well.

EbonJaeger wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:17 PM:

Quote:

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:02 PM:
-snip-

What we're seeing here in NY is that the rioters are a different group from the actual protesters. From what I've heard from elsewhere around the country, it seems to be a similar story in other places as well.

If that's the case, sure. My point is not to cancel out riots in general, especially when it pertains to a life being lost. It's an ignorant way of thinking, especially considering America was built upon riots.

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:02 PM:

I respectfully disagree. I'm going to copy and paste what I said to people in real life about the same thing. I believe as long as the riots are not targeting small businesses, they're acceptable.

Quote:

Quote:
i think people fail to understand that people didn’t IMMEDIATELY go to rioting. We’ve seen that black people have tried for YEARS to peacefully protest, and they’ve only been brandished unpatriotic because of it. You also have to consider the fact that there are police instigating some of these riots undercover, as well as still engaging with people WHO ARE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING!!

So please stop with this narrative, no one immediately jumped to rioting

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:25 PM:

If that's the case, sure. My point is not to cancel out riots in general, especially when it pertains to a life being lost. It's an ignorant way of thinking, especially considering America was built upon riots.

That's a fair point. I just hate that other first responders are getting caught in the crossfire, as well as our small businesses. I don't really know what the answer is.

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:02 PM:

I respectfully disagree. I'm going to copy and paste what I said to people in real life about the same thing. I believe as long as the riots are not targeting small businesses, they're acceptable.

Quote:

Quote:
i think people fail to understand that people didn’t IMMEDIATELY go to rioting. We’ve seen that black people have tried for YEARS to peacefully protest, and they’ve only been brandished unpatriotic because of it. You also have to consider the fact that there are police instigating some of these riots undercover, as well as still engaging with people WHO ARE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING!!

So please stop with this narrative, no one immediately jumped to rioting

This isn't a narrative, stop justifying the ravaging of our cities.

Who's gonna pay for this damage? The taxpayers.

weend2014 wrote on 1st June 2020, 09:03 PM:

Quote:

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:02 PM:
I respectfully disagree. I'm going to copy and paste what I said to people in real life about the same thing. I believe as long as the riots are not targeting small businesses, they're acceptable.
Quote:
Quote:
i think people fail to understand that people didn’t IMMEDIATELY go to rioting. We’ve seen that black people have tried for YEARS to peacefully protest, and they’ve only been brandished unpatriotic because of it. You also have to consider the fact that there are police instigating some of these riots undercover, as well as still engaging with people WHO ARE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING!!

So please stop with this narrative, no one immediately jumped to rioting
This isn't a narrative, stop justifying the ravaging of our cities.
Who's gonna pay for this damage? The taxpayers.

I'm not justifying it, I'm explaining why it's happening. Your post is very one sided and I'm explaining the side of others. If you want me to pick your post apart further, I can do that too

Also, I'm not sure where you got that information. Most businesses are insured so their insurance (usually) covers it. If you have a source for your information, please share it.

Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 09:11 PM:

Quote:

weend2014 wrote on 1st June 2020, 09:03 PM:
Quote:
Hashir wrote on 1st June 2020, 07:02 PM:
I respectfully disagree. I'm going to copy and paste what I said to people in real life about the same thing. I believe as long as the riots are not targeting small businesses, they're acceptable.
Quote:
Quote:
i think people fail to understand that people didn’t IMMEDIATELY go to rioting. We’ve seen that black people have tried for YEARS to peacefully protest, and they’ve only been brandished unpatriotic because of it. You also have to consider the fact that there are police instigating some of these riots undercover, as well as still engaging with people WHO ARE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING!!

So please stop with this narrative, no one immediately jumped to rioting
This isn't a narrative, stop justifying the ravaging of our cities.
Who's gonna pay for this damage? The taxpayers.
I'm not justifying it, I'm explaining why it's happening. Your post is very one sided and I'm explaining the side of others. If you want me to pick your post apart further, I can do that too
Also, I'm not sure where you got that information. Most businesses are insured so their insurance (usually) covers it. If you have a source for your information, please share it.

Of course my post is one sided, it's titled my opinion. It isn't meant to be informative, if someone wants to be informed about black lives matter and the murder of George Floyd they aren't going to turn to the DSGHQ Forums for information, they're going to read articles, watch the news, etc. I'm venting my frustration regarding the topic on a club penguin forum.

Also, not all damage is going to be covered by insurance. Many small businesses were already struggling due to the pandemic. So one could assume that if their insurance isn't able to cover property damages, then their businesses will go under. Not only that, but not all landlords require tenants to insure their inventory, so many small business owners, such as Sean Wotherspoon are likely going to have to pay for stolen inventory out of their own pockets. They don't have as much money as larger corporations such as target, who can easily pay for their stolen inventory and other damages.

If you want to read more about Sean Wotherspoon, check out this link. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-05-31/business-insurance-looting-riots

Thats only regarding the privately owned establishments that have been looted or damaged. The publicly owned ones, that I apologize for not previously mentioning in my post, are payed for by tax payers. Damage done to roads, police stations, fire departments, parks, and more. Will come out of the pockets of tax payers.