Why do you think there haven't been riots?

I think if we graphed riots from the 60's to present, we'd see lots of unrest, destruction, and ruined lives as a result of the riots in the 60's, and 70's. It tapered off quite a bit in the 80's. I think in the 80's we had the Miami riots and the Rodney King riot in L.A.

Maybe a couple of smaller riots in the 2000's. In Michigan, I remember one as a result of a police chase.

Do you think riots have subsided because people finally realized they mostly hurt the nearby residents?

With all the so-called polarization of our society, why do you think riots have trended down?

P.S. I am not an advocate of riots. I also deplore the beheading of people in Iraq. I deplore excessive end-zone celebrations. And I support the troops. (Liberals have to say those things or they get accused of being for the terrorists.)

People aren't as easily outraged any more. They are used to it all, shell-shocked I guess.

Haven't you noticed this when you tell people there is proof surfacing that the election was stolen...again?

You'd think that when it comes to YOUR VOTE being "in question", there might be a BIT more personal involvement!

Not to mention the WAR/slaughter in Iraq!

Also, I think people are afraid they'll be arrested, tasered or something. Bunch of chicken shits, afraid something might happen to disturb their viewing of CSI or The Apprentice.

... I think people are afraid they'll be arrested, tasered or something. Bunch of chicken shits, afraid something might happen to disturb their viewing of CSI or The Apprentice.

I dunno. I don't think fear of arrest is what stops a riot from flaring up.

But you imply TV and complacency is part of it. Do you think American society is not as poverty stricken as it was in the 60's 70's and 80's? Is there a relationship between poverty and riots?

TV - piping ignorance and apathy in to american homes.

There really isn't a "Riots for Dummies" or "Revolutions for Dummies" book that i know of.

They get hit with one terror attack and suddenly the whole political system that's been here for 225 years goes topsy turvy, everyone freaks out and lets a fascist dictatorship takeover the country under the guise of "protecting us from terror".

Good God, the terrorists DID win on 9/11.

9/11 killed this country. Like David slew goliath with one rock to the temple.

What a bunch of pussies.

It disgusts me.

;-)

:thumbsup:

.. what do all the on-line petitions, blogs and forums accomplish? Nothing, nada, zip!

DEMs are a bunch of conspiracy theory whackjobs and crybabys.

No wonder folks jump ship and look at third parties. We can't coordinate, mobilize or even stay on message. In a word, we suck.

80+ million of us shafted in a stolen election and we just sit here and make excuses for ourselves.

What would protest, sit ins, riots, or violence do for the various ills that plague us. What does it solve or change? There are enough senseless acts occurring not to add a few more.

the riots of Miami and the post Rodney King riots were riots due to a flashpoint, not a social movement.

In other words, if the media doesn't cover it and put it on t.v. and in the newspapers, who but the locals know it happened.
I never knew they protested Bush when he was taking office..it wasn't in the news. I learned about it in Michael Moore's film F-9/11.

Like you, I didn't know that there had been an organized protest in DC during the moron's coronation. I also did not know that there were people literally in each other's faces in Florida after that fraud. I will confess, being ill-informed and having not sought the truth, I did not research as thoroughly as I should have the insidious character of Bush. Yes, true patriots, I voted for him despite strong reservations in the back of my mind. I allowed myself to be swayed by the lies. I villified Democrats believing they'd blown things out of proportion in Florida, yet when I read the reports and sought out alternative news sources I realized the error of my ways. Perhaps in 2000 a soft line was what was needed, but how about in 2004 after a second stolen election?

However, I don't think taking a soft line in this issue is going to do anything but further crush our party under the steely fascist boot of the extreme right-wing body political. We have to strike back in decisive ways, and I don't think that a complacent attitude is going to help anything. On that note, I'm not advocating violence or over-throw of the government; however, I adamantly feel that given the current circumstances, we are foolish if we sit by idly and watch it happen. As far as someone commenting on the riots of the 60s, 70s, etc...

Raging mobs are never successful in the long run, but peaceful demonstrations -- sit-ins, boycotts, and active VOCAL (not on-line) -- protests will get people's attention. Especially large numbers. Rather than protesting near a place we can't get close to -- storm the media! I mean, protesters drove the media and Nixon crazy during the 1960s and early 70s because they were so loud. They can set up all the roadblocks they want, but nothing will quiet the storm that is now building when it comes to fruition. Remember 1992? To ignite a fuze and cause an explosion one only needs a spark. What, fellow LIBERALS, shall be our ardent call to action? Shall the final token be this stolen election being constantly legitimized by the MSM or shall it be Bush's corrosive policies or another Supreme Court decision? I don't know...

However, I strongly believe it is only a matter of time before the storm engulfs all corrupt elements of our government. Never have we had a more impeachable president, never have our collective rights -- regardless of sex or race or creed -- been so vehemently trampled upon as they have under this heinous presidency. What shall cause the thunder to roll, the deluge to begin, and finally the lightening to strike with all the fury of a hell-storm? When shall enough finally be enough!

To quote Thomas Jefferson, "The tree of liberty must occasionally be refreshed with the blood of tyrants and patriots." We know whom the tyrant is, shall we assume our place on the stage of history as well?

in riots vs demonstrations.Not every demonstration turned into a riot.
Demonstrations stopped the war,eventually!
I'm still waiting for the outrage of the stolen election from 2000!Here we are 4 years later,another fu election,and still nothing happens.Why is that?
What has to happen before y'all stand up and be recognized?
Do we 'old' people have to show you how it's done? ;-)

It would lead to harsher laws and increasing the power of the government.

Riots are not the answer. The people upset with the way things are, while not all are educated, many more spend their time researching what is going on, why things are the way they are... riots would hurt the local community and make the majority of the population turn against the people rioting.

The real answer is not in rioting... if a group of people wanting to create change and felt all hope was lost in doing it through the current system of government, the answer would be organized revolution.

"If by the mere force of numbers a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution"    
-- Abraham Lincoln

Another good one for people who seem to think you are only patriotic about America if you think everything it does is just...

"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government."
--Thomas Paine

about what happened in this election . . . because the mainstream media has refused to cover the story as anything other than the ravings of a bunch of internet crazies . . . most people think that Bush won fair and square . . .

even as bad off as we all are most people still have some luxuries and will gladly put up with the crap aslong as they do.

breaking out. Or too many people getting seriously injured by the police. It seems we're all continuously shocked by stories of those dragged off to prisons and then tortured. npr interviewed a guy who was put into a njersey prison for a traffic infraction, and was subjected to german shepherd dogs and mean guards for 2 years. This was in New Jersey, not Guantanimo. I think people have been frightened by 4 years of this administration. Now the thought of another 4 years is really numbing in some ways.

There will be huge demonstrations if the Draft comes back, as there were before the Iraq invasion. But it'll be alot more personal.

I don't agree with the posters who say people are just more complacent now. I mean sure- that's true in a way, but it's not a peaceful kind of complacence. People are very angry and distrustful these days. People don't believe in anything today and they feel helpless. That's a recipe for violence.

I always think of Woodstock '69 vs. Woodstock 2000. Big difference.

They'd just rather stay home 'an see whut's on the teevee, and ignore whatever is going on in the real world. The teevee keeps 'em captive & in a dulled stupor, thus inhibiting any violent tendencies.

Oh, my disclaimer (quotes intentional?): "I'm not advocating riots."

I'm not talking about the sit-in crowd, the let's-sign-a-petition crowd, the let's-boycott-a-business crowd, the let's-blog-them-till-they-surrender crowd.

I'm talking about the people who are angry about one thing (racism, lack of opportunity, poor city services, poor education, etc.) who are presented with a flash-point (the Rodney King verdict, the police violence verdicts in Florida, a police chase gone bad in Benton Harbor, etc.)

Why don't riots happen much any more?

Riots still happen. See Boston after the World Series.

But the really big ones don't seem to rage. The ones that burnt big city blocks in D.C., Detroit, and Watts.

Are the disadvantaged actually kind of satisfied with the way things are?