My America

[astarothel]

Originally Posted by Alawen Everywhere [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Why are people standing around watching willful destruction of private property? I would have felt obligated as a concerned citizen to stop that senseless violence.

Many did try and stop it. A number of concerned citizens were injured attempting to stop those that stepped out of the black bloc formation to permit acts of vandalism.

From an enforcement perspective it is easier to control the damages than it is to police potentially violent opposing factions. You have to limit your variables.

The other issue with citizens stopping it is the technique of black bloc itself. In black bloc you get out of the black and back into your streetclothes in the mob so it is impossible to distinguish individuals. This makes it almost impossible for law officials to distinguish concerned citizens from plainclothes black bloc members. Black bloc uses this technique to protect their own members, while endangering every day civilians that attempt to stop them.

As soon as a civilian is injured for being anywhere near the black bloc, private presses roar over police brutality. I'm sorry, involvement in a mob situation, either to attempt to stop it or abet it, carries risks. The police can't tell the difference between someone that tries to stop black bloc, or assist it.

What I can tell you is that law enforcement officials didn't look at how to break black bloc up ahead of time. If they had their response could have been much more effective.