(07-31-2020 10:51 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote: That headline had me feeling down, but the article adds a few silver linings - the guy who was stabbed received treatment right away from the "Antifa medics," the criminal who stabbed him was arrested at the scene and is being charged, and apparently protesters stood up for the victim and immediately confronted the attacker.
Quote:He said he knew he was injured and was treated by “Antifa medics” at the scene. These “medics” dress in red, long-sleeve shirts. Seattle’s CHOP also reportedly had its own security and medical response teams.
The paper, citing court records, reported that Blake David Hampe, 43, was arrested at the scene. Hampe allegedly told police that Duncomb tried to choke him, the report said. He faces charges of second-degree assault and is still in jail, the report said.
Duncomb said that his attacker was confronted by protesters at the scene.
A single individual can do a lot of evil, and it's good to know there were a number of good individuals at the protest, ready to do the right thing by tending to the victim and making sure the attacker was apprehended.
Since the issue is 'violence at protests', this struck me as well
Compare this to Portland.... where nobody tended to the victims (Federal employees) nor made sure the attackers were apprehended....
What you have here is the fine line between mob vigilanties and citizens arrests.
Let me make sure I'm clear... Had the people throwing molotovs and shooting incendiary devices into public property and at the people charged with keeping the peace, been similarly discouraged by the peaceful protestors... been detained or restrained by the peaceful protestors... been eagerly identified by the peaceful protestors as 'not part of their group' so that police (the generic term... law officials at whatever level) could know whom to arrest.... I think the Federal response would have been much different.
Instead the 'peaceful protesters' gave the very clear indication that they not only were not against those actions, but they supported them, and the people who did them.
We have another thread about the responsibility of the police to 'do better', and you fairly routinely have commented when 'the people' do as well... but while I certainly wouldn't think you'd applaud people who helped hide gang members and drug dealers, you certainly have ignored that when the police can't trust the people not to support criminals... that the people's rights get somewhat less regard... they are aiding and abetting criminals.
I don't expect peaceful protestors to physically stop armed rioters.... but I do expect them to physically distance themselves from them when it happens... even at the risk of interrupting their peaceful protest. I also expect them to help police, even if they are protesting the police, in identifying, capturing and prosecuting those people.
I mean, we've got people suggesting that the perpetrators were undercover klansmen trying to start a race war.... so why weren't these peaceful protestors quite literally rushing to help the police uncover them?
I get that the enemy of my enemy is my friend on some levels... Right-Wing Anarchists want to defund the police as well... Racists often claim the police protect minorities... especially minority police...
but once violence breaks out... especially when the obvious reaction to an escalation from one side is an escalation from the other... that 'friendship' ends, or you have joined it.
Right wing anarchists and racists may post lying/misleading videos about Biden or whatever... and I will simply ignore them... if they start beating up Democrats or posing as Democrats and beating up cops... I'll be the first in line to condemn their actions and help put them in jail if I can.
I want the cops to be better... I can help the cops be better. Citizens defending or hiding criminals makes cops jobs harder, and they're going to do worse things when that happens in order to bring criminals to justice. The alternative of simply letting those people go is not what ANY just society is about.