Q&A – What is a Protest? What is a Riot? – Driven By Braman Motorcars
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Today’s Entry: @brianmuddradio Why don’t you do a Q&A on what a protest is and what a riot is? Keep up the good work.
Bottom Line: Full disclosure. I’ve addressed thousands of Q&A’s over the years. Today’s Q&A might be the easiest to address that I’ve ever taken on. However, in the wake of the organized anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles that have spread to other cities recently, it seems as though this conversation should be had. If nothing else, you can take this story and share it with others in your life who might refer to what we’ve seen in LA as protests. Let’s get straight to it.
According to the Oxford Dictionary here’s the definition of a protest:
noun
/ˈprōˌtest/
1.
a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something.
And the definition of a riot:
ri·ot
/ˈrīət/
noun
1.
a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.
And just for good measure here’s the definition of violence so that there’s no room for ambiguity:
vi·o·lence
/ˈvī(ə)ləns/
noun
behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something.
Right, so the moment that “protestors” engage in physically destructive behavior, they’re by definition, rioters. Therefore, every outlet that’s referred to what’s transpired. In Los Angeles as protests, as opposed to riots, have demonstrably engaged in false reporting. That’s an extensive list that includes most news outlets a la several examples I shared in yesterday’s Top 3 Takeaways like these:
- ABC News yesterday: LA immigration protests live updates: Newsom suing Trump administration – Trump “flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard
- CBS News: Los Angeles anti-ICE protesters clash with police, set fires downtown amid National Guard deployment
- NBC News: Crowds protesting immigration raids ordered to leave downtown
- CNN: Trump seizes on Los Angeles protests in contentious use of military amid migrant crackdown
Along with one credibly reported example:
- LA Times: L.A. officials struggle to curb ‘disgusting’ vandalism, thefts, violence in downtown L.A.
For additional context pertaining to the LA riots consider this...as of Tuesday:
- One park had been destroyed
- A minimum of 5 cars were set on fire
- A minimum of 7 buildings were defaced (One with paint saying to “Remove Trumps head!”)
- A minimum of 12 businesses were looted
- 13 Law enforcement professionals suffered injuries
- A minimum of $10 million in damage (with speculative estimates currently as high as $300 million).
Those are outcomes that obviously don’t occur during “protests”. As always there are two sides to stories and one side to facts... Those are the facts.