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CURRENT EVENTS July 6 - *
- Thread starter nycfan
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- Politics
When did I say all? Just because some drunk drivers get some safely each night doesn't mean that we should legalize drunk driving. There is a documented history, across the country, of criminal groups concealing their identities and committing crimes in protests and riots. It is completely lawful to ban wearing masks to protests. No one is infringing upon anyone's rights by doing so. As I stated earlier, if I were in a protest I would welcome actions taken to remove bad actors from my event.
Your drunk driving analogy is yet another departure from logic. No one is advocating the legalization of rioting. Next you'll be banning the wearing of black.
What is the government's purpose in banning masks, if not to punish legally permissible activity? Going back to our founding fathers, our country has a long history of anonymous protest, and we are better off for it.
What is the government's purpose in banning masks, if not to punish legally permissible activity? Going back to our founding fathers, our country has a long history of anonymous protest, and we are better off for it.
BlooVooDoo
Iconic Member
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Maybe the protestors should dress in camouflage or black, carry ARs, wear masks and plate carriers so they blend in with “patriots” rather than present a threat to law enforcement.The autocratic conversion of the US continues.
Skateboards and Livestreams: DHS Tells Police That Common Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’
DHS is urging law enforcement to treat even skateboarding and livestreaming as signs of violent intent during a protest, turning everyday behavior into a pretext for police action.www.wired.com
The Department of Homeland Security is urging local police to consider a wide range of protest activity as violent tactics, including mundane acts like riding a bike or livestreaming a police encounter, WIRED has learned.
Threat bulletins issued during last month’s “No Kings” protests warn that the US government’s aggressive immigration raids are almost certain to accelerate domestic unrest, with DHS saying there’s a “high likeliness” more Americans will soon turn against the agency, which could trigger confrontations near federal sites.
Blaming intense media coverage and backlash to the US military deployment in Los Angeles, DHS expects the demonstrations to “continue and grow across the nation” as protesters focused on other issues shift to immigration, following a broad “embracement of anti-ICE messaging.”
The bulletins—first obtained by the national security nonprofit Property of the People through public records requests—warn that officers could face assaults with fireworks and improvised weapons: paint-filled fire extinguishers, smoke grenades, and projectiles like bottles and rocks.
At the same time, the guidance urges officers to consider a range of nonviolent behavior and common protest gear—like masks, flashlights, and cameras—as potential precursors to violence, telling officers to prepare “from the point of view of an adversary.”
Protesters on bicycles, skateboards, or even “on foot” are framed as potential “scouts” conducting reconnaissance or searching for “items to be used as weapons.” Livestreaming is listed alongside “doxxing” as a “tactic” for “threatening” police. Online posters are cast as ideological recruiters—or as participants in “surveillance sharing.”
One list of “violent tactics” shared by the Los Angeles–based Joint Regional Intelligence Center—part of a post-9/11 fusion network—includes both protesters’ attempts to avoid identification and efforts to identify police. The memo also alleges that face recognition, normally a tool of law enforcement, was used against officers.
Vera Eidelman, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, says the government has no business treating constitutionally protected activities—like observing or documenting police—as threats.
DHS did not respond to a request for comment.
The government's purpose in banning masks is to discourage illegal behavior and to more easily identify and arrest those who engage in such behavior. It is a shame that masked agitators have ruined the ability of non-violent protesters to anonymously protest in many situations, but it is what it is.
It's a shame that a free society stoops to collective punishment instead of acting on the presumption of innocence that every citizen is entitled to.
Sometimes concessions have to be made for the greater good. If something as small as a ban on masks during protests can protect businesses from being damaged and people from being injured, then the ban serves its purpose.
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Nothing in your link supports your assertion. "Professional" indicates they are doing their rioting for pay. Who is paying them? There is nothing in your link about how such an "organization" is financed. In fact, your link specifically states "Black bloc does not have a formal membership or organizational structure" and "Black bloc has no formal membership or recruitment process."
Black bloc - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Behind the Black Bloc
www.fdd.org
Of course, the mask wearing is not limited to one side. The Proud Boys and other far-right groups are also known for wearing face covering to conceal their identities.
So I would say you have failed to provide any evidence of "professional agitators/rioters."
Black bloc and similar organizations (i.e. antifa) make money on settlements from lawsuits that result from their very intentional escalation of protests into violent acts. It isn’t a coincidence when the people being arrested during riots have no ties at all to the area where they are apprehended.
Not having a formal recruitment or leadership structure does not mean these people are not professional. They don’t just appear out of thin air. They are well trained and very clever.
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Far as I can tell, law enforcement officer wearing a mask might just be a kidnapper wearing a mask. Someone is eventually going to "stand their ground" sand it is going to end badly.Fuck that. If you can imprison me at a black site, without ever stating your name, agency, or the charge then I say every single mass action should look like this:
I grew up almost entirely with kids of cops and firefighters, most of which became cops and firefighters. For all the first responder do gooder vibes, the majority really are just boot heelers. They should have concern if the public is aligning against their authoritarian fascist behavior.
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How does an "organization" with no leadership or recruitment structure ensure their participants are "well-trained?" I do not doubt there are random assholes who attempt to escalate protests into confrontations with the goal of creating lawsuits, but calling them "professionals" is beyond the pale. You are equating them to left-wing Proud Boys who most assuredly have a defined leadership infrastructure and who trains regularly. That is straight-up bullshit.
Can you steer me toward any evidence of "professional rioters" filing lawsuits resulting in substantial settlements?
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They absolutely have a leadership structure and even have trainers that go to locations to instruct others in how to carry out their desired actions. The leadership structure is not public due to their criminal nature and their loyalty is to a philosophy rather than a person. Do you think it is simply a strange coincidence when people arrested for rioting have no ties to the area where they were arrested?
He's Not Here
Exceptional Member
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Why do laws banning masks make exceptions for KKK marches?
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Mostly I just think you're full of shit.
BlooVooDoo
Iconic Member
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This guy needs some karma ASAP.
Do they? They shouldn't.
You are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to your own reality, though.
Examining Extremism: Antifa | Examining Extremism | CSIS
The Transnational Threats Project’s Examining Extremism series provides an overview and assessment of Antifa—a decentralized movement of individuals whose ideological roots lie in various left-wing causes, such as communism, anarchism, and socialism.