Originally Posted By: ILBob
One might guess why I bring this up at this particular point in time. I won't elaborate a whole lot on why there may be riots soon in the US as it might be construed as political.


It's obvious what you're saying, which is if the white mormon wins over the 1/2 black guy, there will be rioting. Yes, that's political, but let's take it both ways and suggest that if the 1/2 black guy wins over the white mormon there are some rather vocal people, some of whom might have cat scratch fever, who have openly advocated violence. I've heard it all, from both sides, and I'll suggest that as a nation we're not interested in rioting anymore because we don't live in the 1960's anymore.

Consider:

There were no riots when the Supreme Court decided the election back when.
There were no riots when the current president was elected.
There were disturbances - but no rioting - when the "Occupy" movement was happening.
There are tent cities all across the USA - and all they want is to be left alone, they aren't rioting and demanding food and shelter.

The last time there were major, multi-city riots in the United States, it had nothing to do with elections, and everything to do with civil rights in a nation that was nothing like the one we have today. The conflict of the 1960's is really hard to imagine today, because the world then was so much different than the world today.

The big American riots all happened nearly 48 years ago. In 1965, a race riot erupted in the Watts section of Los Angeles, leaving 34 people dead. This was the first of many riots that erupted across the country over the next four years. In 1967, devastating riots also happened in Detroit and in Newark, New Jersey. The following year, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. rioting erupted once again, including in the nation's capital. These were scary times, no doubt.
But even with the violence of the riots, life went on for the overwhelming majority of people, including those in the cities affected.

If you are over the age of 60, no doubt you remember these riots vividly. However, consider the evidence of what actually drives people today to think that the whole nation is unstable.

There are some who are highly motivated to make sure that many people believe that the United States is teetering on the brink of chaotic collapse, because a scared population is an obedient population and an obedient population stays home and watches TV to get ever-more scary content proclaiming how bad things are and will be if the other guy gets elected. Select your own definition of "other guy" - it doesn't matter, the rhetoric of fear is identical.

The reality is that there are billions of dollars at stake - in advertising dollars - for the companies that peddle this tripe. If you stop playing along, a few very wealthy people are going to see their fortunes decline. YOU can change this.

Try this. For 1 month, abandon TV and Newspapers and get your news only from direct sources. By direct I mean go to a town council meeting. Watch C-Span. Read actual bills on the senate floor. Read the day's agendas of your state government. Go talk to people who oppose your political views. Listen to them. Do this for a month and see if there's still a realistic threat of riots.


Edited by MartinFocazio (10/19/12 08:20 PM)