Rioting and burning down your town is not "protesting".

[mjr]

Can we stop pretending that it is?

[s_stabeler]

It depends on what context you mean. In the sense they are acting out of anger at Trump winning the election, it IS a protest.(in other words, had Trump not won, they wouldn't have rioted- they weren't just looking for an excuse to riot) On the othe rhand, rioting is unacceptable as a means of protest. ( either stick to nonviolent protest, or go the whole way to rebellion against the government- if the situation is bad enough to justify a riot, it is bad enough for it to be resolvable only by a change in government (NOTE- I am NOT suggesting an armed uprising against Trump. Quite the opposite- I am saying the rioters were the ones in the wrong))

[NCIS4Ever2001]

Ok, here's my question though...Where were all the protesters at when Obama was elected twice??? where was all the up-rising (from those who didn't vote for him mind you) then??

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Ok, here's my question though...Where were all the protesters at when Obama was elected twice??? where was all the up-rising (from those who didn't vote for him mind you) then??

Eight years ago riots weren't really seen as a thing that were triggered so easily. Then.. they slowly started to become "more popular" over those eight years. I remember when I was a kid going through grade school (all the way through High School) I barely - if ever - heard of a riot (so bad there was a lot of property damage) occurring.

I think the only one I can truly remember was over the stupidest thing. Freaking Red Sox vs Yankee's baseball game. I can't remember who won, but that year the losing team WENT RIOT. Then a few years (?) later at another game BOTH teams (as in their fans) WENT RIOT. It was SO stupid.

Then all of sudden through College they started popping up more frequently.

Also, Obama vs Repub in both 2008 and 2014 were no where near as polarizing and energetic as Trump vs Clinton. There was no where near the amount of vicious hate and ugly vitriol we saw in this election.

(Sure, there was a lot of nasty stuff said about both sides, but it seemed to be on par for the slow ramp up of our country's digging the line in the sand deeper and deeper between parties. Now all of sudden this particular election had them bringing out back hoes, sand bags, and barb wire to make TWO trenches in the sand and a dead man's zone with freaking LANDMINES.)

[Greenday]

When the system makes it okay to discriminate (up to and including killing) people of your type, what option do you have left? This election just proved a democratic approach doesn't work. Peaceful protests just get ignored which is why that's what the opposition asks for because they can ignore it. The courts don't care. When you run out of non-violent options, what are you left to do?

[Tanasi]

Ok, here's my question though...Where were all the protesters at when Obama was elected twice??? where was all the up-rising (from those who didn't vote for him mind you) then??

They didn't have time to riot and protest they had to go to work the next day.

[Tanasi]

Eight years ago riots weren't really seen as a thing that were triggered so easily. Then.. they slowly started to become "more popular" over those eight years. I remember when I was a kid going through grade school (all the way through High School) I barely - if ever - heard of a riot (so bad there was a lot of property damage) occurring.

I think the only one I can truly remember was over the stupidest thing. Freaking Red Sox vs Yankee's baseball game. I can't remember who won, but that year the losing team WENT RIOT. Then a few years (?) later at another game BOTH teams (as in their fans) WENT RIOT. It was SO stupid.

Then all of sudden through College they started popping up more frequently.

Also, Obama vs Repub in both 2008 and 2014 were no where near as polarizing and energetic as Trump vs Clinton. There was no where near the amount of vicious hate and ugly vitriol we saw in this election.

(Sure, there was a lot of nasty stuff said about both sides, but it seemed to be on par for the slow ramp up of our country's digging the line in the sand deeper and deeper between parties. Now all of sudden this particular election had them bringing out back hoes, sand bags, and barb wire to make TWO trenches in the sand and a dead man's zone with freaking LANDMINES.)

The republican canidates in 2008 and 2012 were from the "establishment" and were afraid to say very much because whatever they said was answered with "You're a racist, you're a nazi, you're anti-this and anti-that" This time the canidate wasn't establishment and really didn't care about all the PC crap.
Sports fans that riot just need to be stepped on. I've told my kids if they participate in such stuff don't bother coming home, I didn't raise them to act as such and I'm not going to support such behavior.

[Gravekeeper]

Ok, here's my question though...Where were all the protesters at when Obama was elected twice??? where was all the up-rising (from those who didn't vote for him mind you) then??

...why would there be an uprising against a decent, qualified candidate? Who was not, you know, a racist, sexist, narcissistic compulsive liar with the self control of a 4 year old?

I mean, if you can't see the difference in campaign politics between now and then I'm not sure what to tell you ;p

[Canarr]

...why would there be an uprising against a decent, qualified candidate? Who was not, you know, a racist, sexist, narcissistic compulsive liar with the self control of a 4 year old?

I would wager that there's a part of Conservative/Republican voters for whom the election of the country's first black president was just as much of a shock as Trump's victory is for liberal/Democrat voters.

Actually, I would think there's quite a large part of your country that considers neither Obama nor Clinton a "decent, qualified candidate". You know, with Obama being Muslim and born in Kenya; and with Clinton murdering FBI agents who leak her crimes...

When the system makes it okay to discriminate (up to and including killing) people of your type, what option do you have left? This election just proved a democratic approach doesn't work. Peaceful protests just get ignored which is why that's what the opposition asks for because they can ignore it. The courts don't care. When you run out of non-violent options, what are you left to do?

You mean, with the glorious 57% voter turnout for the election? Yes, people certainly gave everything they had at the ballot box. I mean, I get not wanting to vote for either Clinton or Trump... but of course, the democratic approach doesn't work if you don't participate in it.

[Greenday]

You mean, with the glorious 57% voter turnout for the election? Yes, people certainly gave everything they had at the ballot box. I mean, I get not wanting to vote for either Clinton or Trump... but of course, the democratic approach doesn't work if you don't participate in it.

The democratic approach doesn't work when uneducated people vote. That's how we end up with Trump.

[Canarr]

The democratic approach doesn't work when uneducated people vote. That's how we end up with Trump.

That... is profoundly arrogant.

Apparently, people were educated enough - or enlightened enough - to vote Obama into office. Twice. But, hey: calling the Trump supporters uneducated, deplorable, racist, sexist, whatever, has worked really well this election! I'm sure if you keep it up, maybe riot a bit in between, by 2020 they'll understand how to vote the right way!

Just remember: small words. And not too many of them in a row. They're stoopid.

[mjr]

Just remember: small words. And not too many of them in a row. They're stoopid.

Like this:

[Canarr]

The democratic approach doesn't work when uneducated people vote. That's how we end up with Trump.

Concerning uneducated people.

Not everybody who voted for Trump is an uneducated redneck. They may be wrong in what they think, or they may be right; but it seems to me that they've invested quite a bit of thought into their choice. And are getting attacked for it.

On the other hand, the people Trump is currently appointing as his advisors, WH chief of staff, and chief strategist, seem like a Whoiswho of just the kind of "swamp" he'd vowed to dry out. We'll see how happy his voters are going to be with him...

[Hanzoku]

They're not going to see or hear that anything is wrong, because the Democrats don't run the sort of hit/smear campaigns that focus in on facts like this and hammer on them for months at a time on national TV. I'm not sure why not - by now you think they'd see how effective it has been in shaping the national debate.

[Gravekeeper]

Trump is currently appointing as his advisors, WH chief of staff, and chief strategist, seem like a Whoiswho of just the kind of "swamp" he'd vowed to dry out. We'll see how happy his voters are going to be with him...

He's back to calling Hillary a good person too. After, you know, quite literally calling her the devil. For months.