Riots, looters, and thugs, least we forget

You might be horrified and shocked at the current riots and protests that are occurring but frankly they just don't compare to our past. 20 law enforcement officers have been injured, and talking heads like wolf blizter will feign his shock and disgust with the lawlessness towards the thugs perpetrating these heinous acts. I used to live in a world where law enforcement was a dangerous job and required brave men and women to preform these duties.....

Just over 100 years ago the USA experienced a outbreak of race riots, 26 in total across the county. Many of you have no idea these took place. Perhaps you thought this thread would be about thugs maybe murderers well you would be correct in your assumptions but if you think it would be focused on the goings on in Ferguson or Baltimore you would be incorrect.

On July 1, 1917, a rumor spread claiming that a white man had been killed by a black man, and tensions boiled over. The next day, the city of East St. Louis exploded in the worst racial rioting the country had ever seen. Most of the violence -- drive-by shootings, beatings, and arson -- targeted the African American community. The riots raged for nearly a week, leaving nine whites and hundreds of African Americans dead, and property damage estimated at close to $400,000. More than six thousand black citizens, fearing for their lives, fled the city.

The carnage was all the more shocking because it occurred only shortly after American's entry into World War I. According to historian Winston James, "You have black troops going off to fight to make the world safe for democracy in April and in July you have black people being murdered in the most wanton and barbaric manner in East St. Louis; children being thrown back into flaming houses, people being boarded up in their houses before they're torched so that they couldn't escape. So even by American standards, East St. Louis was a horror."

American Experience

The carnage and thuggery, rioting and looting wasn't just in East St Louis but was happening in places like Huston Texas were groups of civilians attacked uniformed member of our armed forces because they were black. Whole communities were destroyed in Tulsa Oklahoma and all around the nation. The riots went on for years.

People were locked in there homes and the homes were set of fire, people were shot fleeing from blazing homes.


Just something to think about before labeling some one a thug.

are you really trying to get people to stop stereotyping people, or are you trying to make the recent "events" seem less important? just asking. thanks for the time and effort spent on getting this info together.

a reply to: LDragonFire

Race wars were a issue then. But they weren't the only issue, battles were fought over poverty and corruption. The first battle that comes to mind is the battle of Blair mountain.

In the mid part of the 20th century numerous battles were fought against workers trying to unionize. It is so easy to use the race card if you ignore all other events.

originally posted by: fixitwcw
are you really trying to get people to stop stereotyping people, or are you trying to make the recent "events" seem less important? just asking. thanks for the time and effort spent on getting this info together.

I can't dictate human nature. Did you know these things happened? Informing our great ATS community is the best contribution to the site I have to offer.

a reply to: LDragonFire

No comparison. There were real issues back then.
Today is the post-civil rights era. Blacks have all the rights that whites have, but some refuse to accept the responsibilities those freedoms entail. They still want to blame their problems on white people when their problems are all of their own making. They are also under the shadow of "thug life" culture, which is also of their own making. Blame Tu Pac.

a reply to: Greathouse
Yes I'm also well versed in the struggle to unionize in the early 1900's, but to be fair I didn't label the events of the thread as race war or racist, history has.

a reply to: LDragonFire

thanks.

a reply to: LDragonFire

Whether they're black or white, I consider anyone who beats and terrorizes innocent civilians thugs. The reason the word Thug is used more today is because of the hip hop music that has glorified a Thugs life. There's a reason a lot of teens were involved in
the looting and violence that happened in Baltimore and Ferguson. Teens are impressionable, and they imitate poor role models.

The mother that grabbed her son from the protest and gave him some good smacks, sure doesn't seem like she was the one who taught her son to act like a thug. Teens today think disrespect and being a thug is a cool thing today. The same thing happened in the 60's movement where teens started using '___', growing their hair long and following the hippie and commune movement.

Spare me the sympathy of using the word "thug," but when someone attacks innocent people, destroys property and loots businesses for their own gratification, they are thugs! I'm sure if "thug" was the "in-word" back during the KKK movement and race riots, it would have been used to describe them as well.

I find it outrageous that focusing on the word "thug" is conveniently trying to justify the criminal actions of these protesters.

originally posted by: LDragonFire
a reply to: Greathouse
Yes I'm also well versed in the struggle to unionize in the early 1900's, but to be fair I didn't label the events of the thread as race war or racist, history has.

I agree you didn't I apologize.

I just think the riots are endemic to poverty rather than race. The race issues seem to ignite fever and gain more publicity.

There is a part of Cincinnati called East Price Hill. The people that live there have the same issues that the people in Baltimore have. White people are shot there, the education system sucks and they're almost all bound by poverty in their circumstance.

Near my home in Florida there's an area north of Fort Myers called Suncoast estates. 25 mi.² of trailers rednecks in ball caps and pit bulls. They suffer from the same things as both communities mentioned earlier.

But the poor white people have no race card to play. They are resigned to their predicament, I see no hope for them. And I think it is one of the greatest tragedies in the country.

You don't see riots in either of the communities I mentioned or even in the Appalachian Mountains For that matter. And their voices go unheard.


The issue in this country is poverty not race, and it needs to be addressed fully not by color of skin.

Okay, so the people who perpetrated that act are thugs and murderers.

What's your point? How does that change the term being applied to the people who burned down an old folks home or whatever it was? The people who looted CVS? The people who slashed fire hoses in the middle of use?

a reply to: Shamrock6

Frankly its called the twitter revolution we saw it in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and other places and now we are seeing it here.

Thug culture was created by media and they have made untold billions from it, if you believe in conspiracy theory this creation has helped fill Americans for profit prison industry. But that's just a theory, right?

Rat experiments have shown if you put a rat in a cage and offer it a addictive mind altering substance they will abuse it until death however if you make the cage a park like rat utopia they will rarely partake in the offered substance, our way of handling addiction is with law enforcement and prison.

I live in the hood, its a terrible cage to live in.

Poverty is apart of the big problem that makes the cage unbearable.

Add a police department taxing the people with tickets and fines and media industry that also profits off the anger and frustration and it doesn't take rocket science to figure out what will happen.

Americans are historically a violent people we revolted over what amounted to a $5 tax per year on tea.

How can a person have personal responsibility for one self when one has no hope for the future?

a reply to: LDragonFire

This is going to sound sarcastic, but I assure you it's not: what does any of that have to do with calling somebody a thug?

What does any of that have to do with burning an old folks home down? Looting businesses? Puncturing fire hoses being run by firefighters, who last I checked, aren't issuing tickets (aside from a Marshal, perhaps) and aren't shooting people and aren't driving to intentionally inflict injury on anybody?

I spend plenty of time in "the hood" with work. Several of my coworkers are from "the hood." They managed to grow up with some personal accountability. It's not impossible. It's not easy, and living your life free of accountability is certainly the easier way to go about it, but it can be done.

We are absolutely obliged to understand one another, both rioters, and those who are rioted against.

It really is a question of understanding what is going on.

A person who riots doesn't riot because everything is going well in their life, they simply don't. If they did, then we would have riots in the most beautiful of places, wouldn't we?

A person who is affected by, but is against riots, has no choice here, they didn't ask for the violence on their doorstep, did they?

Who gains from riots? I don't think anybody really does, it is deeper than that.

I think that those who take advantage (monetarily) of society don't really understand how much they are actually causing damage, and those who riot are subconsciously trying to let those who can change it see what is going on.

It will take a monumental shift in economics and morality for this to change.

Like I said at the beginning, we are condemned by our humanity to understand one another. And it is becoming more and more clear everyday.

a reply to: Shamrock6

Have you ever tried to reason with a mob? Is it possible?

originally posted by: ItCameFromOuterSpace
a reply to: LDragonFire

No comparison. There were real issues back then.
Today is the post-civil rights era. Blacks have all the rights that whites have, but some refuse to accept the responsibilities those freedoms entail. They still want to blame their problems on white people when their problems are all of their own making. They are also under the shadow of "thug life" culture, which is also of their own making. Blame Tu Pac.

Of course, I don't agree with the ills of "thug" culture". Never mind that not everyone involved is into that. Look into the Baltimore updates foe example.

There are real issues today of police violence resulting in deaths. The violence is not only directed towards minority groups, thugs or not. But you don't hear much about that. It seems virtually ignored because it's white on white violence coming from law enforcement towards people that are often(or similarly) called out as guilty(homeless, OWS protestors, drunk in public, jaywalking, accused of being a thief, traffic stop, other) and deserve what happens to them.

originally posted by: Jonjonj
Who gains from riots? I don't think anybody really does, it is deeper than that.

This is a good question.. During Ferguson people were saying the ones who were destroying things didnt even live in the area..
In Baltimore there were alot of people protesting and then things got out of hand.. There is a post around saying there were a connection between Feg and Baltimore.. Ran on Fox.. So.. The answer is simple..



Problem - God damn rioters..
Reaction - Damn rioters..
Solution - Well here is that new APC you always wanted and hell here is a few more mill to throw into prisons and to arrest people for stupid things like having a bit of weed on them..

The answer is clear who gains.. while many lose.. This stop and frisk bs in all cities have been criticized over and over for cops specifically targeting blacks... Not racism.. Just thug life I suppose..

originally posted by: ThichHeaded

originally posted by: Jonjonj
Who gains from riots? I don't think anybody really does, it is deeper than that.

This is a good question.. During Ferguson people were saying the ones who were destroying things didnt even live in the area..
In Baltimore there were alot of people protesting and then things got out of hand.. There is a post around saying there were a connection between Feg and Baltimore.. Ran on Fox.. So.. The answer is simple..

Problem - God damn rioters..
Reaction - Damn rioters..
Solution - Well here is that new APC you always wanted and hell here is a few more mill to throw into prisons and to arrest people for stupid things like having a bit of weed on them..

The answer is clear who gains.. while many lose.. This stop and frisk bs in all cities have been criticized over and over for cops specifically targeting blacks... Not racism.. Just thug life I suppose..

I get what you are saying, but that doesn't really propose any kind of solution, does it?

The cause is pretty clear to me, the whole idea of rebellion against the status quo is caused by dissatisfaction of the status quo. Given that the VAST MAJORITY of people are not part of the society that moves and shakes things, it is rather rude of those same movers and shakers to ask that they abide by the rules, isn't it?

I don't know, it seems rather like as if a doctor with medicine were to ask me not to get angry about my mother dying as he gives the medicine my mother could have used to save her life...to a rich person, who didn't need it, and could have paid for it 1000 times over.

I used an off the head simile.

a reply to: LDragonFire

I have indeed. Through an interpreter. In a foreign country.

What does that have to do with calling somebody who perpetuates acts of thuggery a thug?

Oh. It's not their fault, it's society. I get it now.

a reply to: Jonjonj

The answer is simple.. This rush police have to shoot anyone and everything before asking questions is the problem..
Statistically cops have killed more people in the last 10 yrs than soldiers that died at war..

The problem is the police.. They are making people hate them.. To the point at some places things like this is going to happen.. Why in black areas?? Well that is because the media is non stop on this racial crap.. They make it a black thing but in reality its an everyone problem.. People wanna considerate on the race but it really isn't.. I can probably google right now 50 non black incidents where cops beat up and or killed someone who was not black..

But we considerate on this race issue because its the fad and will be the fad because well we do not want to get to the real issues... People are stupid.. Whatever the big thing is today is whats up.. This issue will not be fixed because well it isnt in my back yard so screw them.. I dont have to worry about it.. So I will just go on the internet and say how stupid these people are..
((Above are thoughts no real organization... sorry))

But you know the things that happened in the past and the things that are happening are 1 in the same.. People are sick of being oppressed which is what is going on.. It really isnt a black thing it is an all thing... But what do I know eh..

And to fix it we all have to work together no be divided but the US is still racist in alot of areas... So that will never happen any time soon because everyone is blaming black this white that mexicans everywhere..

Good post, I wished weren't so busy would love to contribute, but these modern riots pales in comparison to those of the past,some of it done by folks direct ancestors that today love to throw around the word "thug" nonchalantly.
ex: Five points Riots.