What are y’all thoughts on looting?

[Sham]

Quite frankly I don’t really care about the looting that’s occurring. I feel like looting is apart of protesting and most of these companies that are being looted...are that’s right COMPANIES with insurance and profits enough for this not to effect them greatly. Am I personally doing that? No but I’m not going to condemn others who’s choosing to take part. What are you guys opinions?

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Its a crime so...

 

[Divine Retribution]

most of these companies that are being looted...are that’s right COMPANIES

Yeah, this isn't entirely true though. I recall seeing a story about a bar owner in New York who had put his life savings into his bar only for it to get looted and ransacked before he could even open it as a result of the riots. His insurance wouldn't cover it, although I understand he was able to crowdfund the money and then some. Many small business owners have lost tons of money in property damages, and insurance companies will find any excuse they can and then some to not pay you.

Lighting cop cars on fire and smashing windows of big chain retailers? Knock yourself out. I don't care. I don't think it's a particularly potent form of protest but if you disagree and you're willing to accept the inevitable consequences, it's your actions and your decisions. Ransacking and looting small businesses, many of them owned by disenfranchised minorities trying to pull themselves out of the maw of poverty? You're no longer a protester; you're a parasite. An opportunist.

 

[Leonhart]

I think stealing in general is wrong, but I'd be lying if I said that I care about retail giants like Target being looted. I'm more concerned about small businesses being looted since they might not recover the way that bigger chain stores would.

 

[1rkhachatryan]

Honestly if you are more upset about the looting and property damage and not the brutality and killing, I don't care what you think because you obviously aren't paying attention or caring.

This whole ideal has proven to me that the majority of cops or at least the structure of cops is corrupt AF and if it takes doing this to get things to change, so be it.

I do feel bad for the businesses but I feel like if you have a business then you should really have insurance and if you can't afford it you probably shouldn't have a business to begin with.

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

Looters are criminals, bring charges against them. While I don't agree in every instance, statues and similar symbols are civic sites and perfectly appropriate for protest/defacement. Theft is theft, and it even risks undermining the protest movement by making advocates look like insincere opportunists.

 

[Hunter Zolomon]

I've seen many videos these past few days that made my stomach turn. I saw one video of this older lady being robbed and beaten down by multiple scumbags. They wanted to loot her store. If anyone even tries to rationalize this I find that very worrisome. Five scumbags beating down an older lady just so they can loot her belongings? That's just sickening.

These are scary times in America.

It saddens me that racism is even a thing still. I wish the ignorant would understand that we are all created equal no matter what are skin color is.

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

Its a crime so...

So is police brutality and murdering a civilian in custody.

But no one wants to focus on that...

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

So is police brutality and murdering a civilian in custody.

But no one wants to focus on that...

Then maybe blame OP for asking a specific question about a larger crisis? Thing is, Floyd's murder was so obviously just that - murder - that you're probably not going to get a decent discussion out of it; press charges against all the officers involved. I'm not a policing expert so I don't know what policy measures would actually be effective to keep psychos out of uniform/create a radically different culture around the use of force, but no-one's seriously going to dispute that these things need to be done.

 

[PrinceOfFacade]

Then maybe blame OP for asking a specific question about a larger crisis? Thing is, Floyd's murder was so obviously just that - murder - that you're probably not going to get a decent discussion out of it; press charges against all the officers involved. I'm not a policing expert so I don't know what policy measures would actually be effective to keep psychos out of uniform/create a radically different culture around the use of force, but no-one's seriously going to dispute that these things need to be done.

Millions of people dispute it. They're called racists. Cops brutally assaulted peaceful protesters - from batons to tear gas to literally running them over with cars - but no one asks them to be peaceful. Just the protesters.

And here you all are, inadvertently doing the same thing. Focusing more on a five-day looting than a century-long issue. I don't merely blame OP. I blame all of you.

This is what happens when you don't focus.

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

Dude, the civilised world is rightly outraged at the use of force against protesters (myself included, but since it's not my thing to type in ALL CAPS no-one ever believes me). It is dominating global headlines. Everyone expects cops to be peaceful, and that's why it's just straight-up news when it happens.

 

[bobjr]

Also you have groups uninvolved with the protests doing it, as well as just individual people looking for opportunity. Remember Boogaloo Boys and 3%ers have been arrested for the more serious damage and in some cases the police have done the looting, along with arresting the minority store owners while letting the thieves get away.

Damage like this can be rebuilt, but so much has happened now it can’t be the main focus.

 

[TwilightBlade]

I feel like looting is apart of protesting

Just to make sure do you mean apart as in separate from or did you mean to say a part as in included?

I don't condone looting and from what I've read on the news it seems like some people are just taking advantage of the chaos to misbehave. But on the other hand I know that a lot of people are completely fed up with police brutality so I sort of empathize with the protesters even if the looting isn't helping matters.

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

You do know that charges weren’t pressed against those officers until AFTER those “criminals” and “insincere opportunist” started protested right and they just suspended the officer indefinitely.

Way to completely misrepresent my post. Stop trying to deliberately conflate looters and protesters, it's Trumpian.

 

[bobjr]

Also on top of the police brutality you also have to consider the recession and unemployment, which is now over 20% nationally, but in a lot of places young and minority employment is close to 50%.

There’s a baseline where things might suck but people can put food on the table, but take that away and people are going to be angry and take actions to be heard, because it’s that or starve.

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

Also on top of the police brutality you also have to consider the recession and unemployment, which is now over 20% nationally, but in a lot of places young and minority employment is close to 50%.

There’s a baseline where things might suck but people can put food on the table, but take that away and people are going to be angry and take actions to be heard, because it’s that or starve.

Yeah, it feels like there's a lot at play here. It's like... instead of a slow build of recent, high-profile cases of police brutality, this was a single incident that created a sudden, sharp snap. The cause is singular - opposition to police brutality and racism - but a lot of seemingly-tangential issues have poured into the pot.

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

Looting is apart of protesting (and when I mean looting I mean destruction as well).

No it's not. The desire to steal trainers has nothing to do opposing a culture of police brutality and racism.

Why people are up in arms about companies who literally care nothing about you and will be just fine after all of this is over is striking.

Because A: as we've discussed, it brings disrepute to the cause, and B: people need those places, for like, jobs and livelihoods and stuff.

 

[bobjr]

Donald Trump tear gassed priests to take a bad photo op at their church, because the priests were handing out relief.

He also talked about using the insurrection act, which would screw over everyone because then insurance wouldn’t have to cover any building damage.

 

[KingstonUponHulbury]

Wait; why are you suggesting opposing theft is prejudiced against people of colour? That's really not cool.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I think it’s wrong under most situations but should be considered okay under extremely dire situations such as after a destructive earthquake or a bombing when survival is difficult and you desperately need supplies. That is the only time I’ll ever consider looting but I’d also share what I have with others who may need it because the more people that survive a disaster the better the chances of creating a new society will be. Otherwise it is just destruction and theft for no real purpose and I don’t think it’s right to do that.