What conclusion do you think I've jumped to? I'm just going on what the people said happened, if that turns out to not be the case, so be it. According to what has come out thus far, it's probably a damn good thing they had a gun with them, it sounds like it saved them from serious bodily injury or death. Being attacked by a racist mob is no joke.
Filming protesters is weird to me. It isn't looking for trouble. Body armor and covering your face if you choose to film these protesters is probably a smart move for personal safety.
I don't know and neither do you. They could. I would, for sure. You wouldn't know. Body armor can be worn under a suit.
You're already defending people who reportedly showed up to a protest armed and wearing bullet proof vests and ski masks, think about that for a minute.
Oh I thought it was a hypothetical. Perhaps if I didn't have to have a discussion with 5 people at the same time we could all be on the same page.
Those filming while in ski masks are likely not there for journalistic purposes. Filming in general is to be expected. Hell, it should be wanted. These protestors lack the preparation and discipline of the old civil rights protestors. These people need to understand that they will be poked and prodded, infiltrated and villainized and baited into rash behavior. And they cannot and must not fall for it. Whatever happens, they have to play to the optics of every situation. In many people's eyes, the BLM protestors are in the wrong from square one. So don't provide easy "evidence". I understand the suspicion of people in masks being agitators trying to start up trouble by making the protesters look violent. But they must report those people and then isolate them without physical confrontation. Counter filming will help.
What other purpose could it be? Uploading to youtube? Whatever, it doesn't matter. I think the mentality is similar to the mizzou professor's. This is our space and your aren't allowed here. It is BS.
Really need to wait for all the facts to come out. Filming in a public place is not a crime, nor is wearing a mask.
I'd say filming is journalistic whether or not they're wearing ski masks. The ski masks are a red herring. The only thing that should matter is if the gunmen were assaulted by the protesters. If they were, a self-defense plea should be an easy defense in trial. And many articles have reported that the gunmen were assaulted. I agree that the BLM protesters are not effectively protesting. It's a poorly organized movement and any actions by individuals are magnified and extrapolated to the whole (not that it's right, but it's what happens and is done by both sides). It's very sensitive and the protesters should be aware of that if they want effective change.
I'm reminded of this thread about the man in Galveston who was arrested while filming a police station. Trolls have no ground for provoking people.
Obviously, it is likely to make the protestors look bad; you know filmers in ski masks who won't identify themselves aren't there to support the cause. Most likely the filters want to capture a few protestors saying something ignorant or misbehaving for upload to YouTube or for the conservative media. It is likely "gotcha" stuff. It ain't new, Bandwagoner. It is old hat tactics. And that is why the rest of my post focused on the fact that these protestors don't know what the hell they are doing. Yes, they are trying to dominate the physical space they occupy and don't want to be confronted. That is typical mob behavior. You see it at pretty much every protest. But what the BLM protestors don't understand is that when they protest, and when the protest touches sensitive points in society, they will be confronted. And they need to be disciplined about being peaceful. Bayard Rustin and other leadership put the onus on the protestors to maintain their own public image. These students need to learn from the early days of SNCC about the efficacy of media images and how people interpret the behavior of protestors. If people in masks show up and start trouble, lay down and let 'em. Notify authorities and do everything possible to NOT give them the easy responses. And don't say anything outside of the few chants authorized by the group. Anything they say WILL be used against them.... Just simple old school stuff, these students, especially the college ones should know.
Are the ski masks and refusal to identify oneself as a journalist the red herring or is the filming itself the red herring drawing attention from the idea the protestors felt threatened by masked individuals? From the protestors perspective, they responded to masked individuals amongst them who wouldn't identify themselves. They felt threatened. Why or if it was legitimate concern doesn't matter and isn't even my point. My point is that this kind of public response is what the protestors are supposed to expect. And they are too ill prepared to deal with it.
The onus is on the protesters to protest peacefully. The leaders have to instill that mindset into them rather than let them degrade into a mob rally. Filming in a public space isn't illegal. Wearing a ski mask in public isn't illegal. The filmers may have wanted to conceal their identity because anybody who opposes the mob mentality is swiftly exposed and background checked on social media for merely disagreeing with them, and it has resulted in people losing their jobs. BLM protesters can't rely on intimidation tactics for social change. Edit: The filmers have no legal obligation to identify themselves to the BLM protesters. They can feel threatened by the filmers in ski masks, but they cannot legally do anything about people filming in a public space wearing ski masks because there's nothing illegal about that.
From the video it looks like everyone was there in ski masks. The only way mobs or cops or whoever will fully understand that it is legal for people to film them is for people to film them and not suffer repercussions. That includes not being called trouble makers or whatever. Just like the setup that Cohete Rojo posted. Those guys set a trap and cops fell for it. They weren't trouble makers. It is 2015, tiny video cameras with good resolution have been around for a while now.
I'd imagine after that news crew was gunned down earlier this year live on TV that reporters very well might be armed and wearing a vest. I certainly couldn't blame them for it so long as they have the right paperwork to carry it. That's also not that weird if you think about it, they were in Minnesota in the winter at night. It's cold as hell there.
I wonder if the same clowns such as Duncan, Texxx, and Bobby wouldn't be so quick to condemn the protesters in the Trump rallies if they started firing once the Trump supporters started assulting them out. I already know the answer.
Odd that some reported racists show up armed to a BLM protest, shoot several protesters and we have posters going to all kinds of extents to defend the shooters. I'm all for waiting for the facts to come in, but putting out all kinds of ridiculous theories to defend the shooters before the facts are in seems pretty crazy.
