Quote (Surfpunk @ Aug 2 2020 08:36am)
I never said that. I said that the police in Portland were probably as responsible for the rioting as the protesters were. Hell, the link I posted acknowledges that protesters did cause damage and instigate things. But they weren't the only ones. And there's plenty of video evidence to show that, as well.
There have been definite cases of police overreach, and they ought to be investigated and punished. But by and large the violent riots do not seem to be "peaceful protests" that metastasize into riots, but rather violent activists who congregate specifically for the purpose of creating disorder and causing wanton violence.
The "hands-off" approach has been tried repeatedly in left-leaning cities across the country, and the results have been hundreds of millions in damages and spiking crime rates. Given the shocking number of homicides in major cities across the country (Chigaco, Denver, Portland, New York), we need an active police presence at exactly the time that they're being asked to stand down.