Been thinking a lot about this lately.
I think a part of it is: protesters are easier to find, easier to catch in large numbers, and less likely to have guns and shoot back.
Protesters are easy pickings. Soft targets.
And they get credit for arresting "looters" and "rioters".
I think a part of it is: protesters are easier to find, easier to catch in large numbers, and less likely to have guns and shoot back.
Protesters are easy pickings. Soft targets.
And they get credit for arresting "looters" and "rioters".
The other night, DC Police dedicated dozens of personnel to hemming in protesters all night in Swann Street. Leaving aside dubious legality and cruelty, it was a terribly wasteful use of resources.
But it was also dozens of people that they could potentially have arrested, and to Cop Fans, every single person they were after *was* one of those violent destructive criminals.
There was nothing happening in the park but peaceful protest when Trump had it cleared for his photo op but if you talk about them gassing protesters unprovoked the answer is "you mean looters and rioters".
And part of this is the conviction, the certainty, that if the police are going after them, they *must* be bad.
So it's not just that the protesters are softer targets than the looters. It's that the police attacking the protesters helps efforts to discredit the protesters.
So it's not just that the protesters are softer targets than the looters. It's that the police attacking the protesters helps efforts to discredit the protesters.
