LogFAQs > #940234153

adjl posted...

There's some overlap between rioters and protesters (though orders of magnitude less than the protests' detractors would have you believe), since it's a given when dealing with something this emotionally charged that some people will lash out non-peacefully. Given how police are treating peaceful protesters, it's also pretty understandable that many would lash out less peacefully in retaliation/because of further emotional charging. That said, there are also people rioting for the sake of causing trouble, whether in an effort to agitate the crowd into a proper mob or because they just see this as an opportunity to misbehave with little chance of direct consequences. They are distinct from protesters, since they're just looking to riot and not protest anything.

Looters are completely distinct from protesters. Looting is not a protest, it's taking advantage of the chaos to steal stuff. I'm sure there's some overlap in "membership" between looters and peaceful protesters, since people are never that clear-cut, but lumping looters in with protesters ignores the fundamental differences in their motivations and mindset.

This is a really well thought out post.