LA Riots 2025

[laughing dog]

I comprehend you still don’t get it. The difference in emotional content is irrelevant to the issue of why protesters should leave the country. And that ignores that there was no necessary hostility or hatred towards America,

There was not a false equivalence nor an ad hominem argument. I was not attacking you but using your positions as an example in the expectation it would make it easier for you to comprehend the argument. Clearly, my expectation was misplaced.

Laughing Dog, do you not find it at least odd that these protestors are proudly bearing Mexican flags while burning US flags during a protest that they NOT be sent back to Mexico? I could at least get on board with their message if they were bearing California flags (since they live in California and want to stay in California). At least that would display they like California and match up to their rhetoric.

But to bear a Mexican flag while burning the US flag muddy's up their message while only causing fear to others and helping Trump look good.

No, I don’t find it odd or disturbing or fearful. Nor do I think those protesters were necessarily afraid of personal deportation to Mexico. Burning a US flag is not an automatic indication of hatred of the US but a complaint or disagreement with US policy.

Protesters always cause fear in some people. And while these protesters play into Magafools bigotry, they are exposing Trump’s authoritarianism and contempt for US law.

 

[bilby]

There is a big difference between criticizing certain aspects of US, especially its politics, as everyone does (particularly on this forum) - and expressing hostility and hatred toward America, which is what these yahoos are doing.

Are they?

Or are they expressing hostility and hatred toward the current President, and his policies?

DJT can't see a difference between "hating DJT and his policies", and "hating America"; Can you?

 

[Spacetime Inhabitant]

LA is not under threat of Mexican annexation. So I have no clue what you are talking about.

They are all carrying the Mexican flag and burning the US flag. This is pretty basic stuff actually.

Burning the US flag is protected by the US constitution. Many people could be carrying the Mexican flag in solidarity with Mexico, but even if they were all Mexicans, so what, as one can see Americans overseas waving the American flag.

many of the people doing the rioting are not citizens

"Many"? How many? Three? Thirty? Three hundred?
How many does it take to represent a threat to the US military?
I thought we had a more powerful military than that. In fact I thought that the TEN THOUSAND LAPD OFFICERS who incidentally, are TRAINED for these situations, would have sufficed to take 'em on.

How do you know this? Is this something some right wing blowhard on RW radio told you?

I'm betting his car radio buttons are tuned to more than one of those lying bastard stations.

RVonse - how can you tell someone is a citizen or not, simply by looking at them?

By literally invading the halls of Congress with the stated intention of hanging Mike Pence, and killing some members of Congress,. I think it is hard to take seriously the observation that was simply some peaceful protest.

That is certainly not what all of them thought or wanted.

A good argument can be made that Jan 6 was more peaceful than whats in LA right now. AFAIK, no cars were burned and no one threw bricks in Washington.

At least one window was broken - that is how that MAGA woman who tried to get inside and was shot tried to get in. The subversives had many makeshift metal and wooden weapons. Their intentions were deadly - to kill Mike Pence and other politicians. It was definitely not peaceful. People did die, unlike with the LA protests, despite Trump's efforts to make it ultraviolent.

 

[scombrid]

America turning ugly

Virtually all those being detained and/or deported are workers, rounded up by raiding worksites. So Trump is singling out the most productive of the immigrants, not the criminals. The reason they're targeting worksites to raid is that these are where they can find the most immigrants together, easy to arrest and detain. This is further evidence that most immigrants (legal and illegal) are here to work, contribute to the economy. The number of criminals is too small, too difficult for them to be found and seized, so ICE can meet its quota of immigrants seized. So they ignore the criminals and target the productive immigrants who are easier to find and take away. The ones trying hardest to cooperate and "play by the rules," stay clean, out of trouble -- They're the ones Trump agents are pouncing on.

Exactly. The GOP is pardoning convicted criminals that can pay his fee but putting the boots on the necks of workers without concern for status or whether they are following the rules. But hey, somebody agitator waved a Mexican flag so it’s okay.

 

[scombrid]

There is a big difference between criticizing certain aspects of US, especially its politics, as everyone does (particularly on this forum) - and expressing hostility and hatred toward America, which is what these yahoos are doing.

Are they?

Or are they expressing hostility and hatred toward the current President, and his policies?

DJT can't see a difference between "hating DJT and his policies", and "hating America"; Can you?

Doesn’t seem like they can. They want to do violence to those who will publicly opposed dear leader’s military parade.

 

[TV and credit cards]

America turning ugly

Virtually all those being detained and/or deported are workers, rounded up by raiding worksites. So Trump is singling out the most productive of the immigrants, not the criminals. The reason they're targeting worksites to raid is that these are where they can find the most immigrants together, easy to arrest and detain. This is further evidence that most immigrants (legal and illegal) are here to work, contribute to the economy. The number of criminals is too small, too difficult for them to be found and seized, so ICE can meet its quota of immigrants seized. So they ignore the criminals and target the productive immigrants who are easier to find and take away. The ones trying hardest to cooperate and "play by the rules," stay clean, out of trouble -- They're the ones Trump agents are pouncing on.

These raids have a ripple effect through the economy. Small businesses with only a handful of employees rely on immigrant labor. They are dependable and hard working. There are few natives doing this work as a living wage comes into play, especially in Southern California. It will be interesting to see what if any affect this will have on the countless small contractors throughout the region.
Even here in Ohio, I think of all the fiber cable that got installed in ground. None of it would have happened. The guys digging ditches for the in ground utility boxes, not a white or black face in the lot.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

There is a big difference between criticizing certain aspects of US, especially its politics, as everyone does (particularly on this forum) - and expressing hostility and hatred toward America, which is what these yahoos are doing.

Are they?

Or are they expressing hostility and hatred toward the current President, and his policies?

DJT can't see a difference between "hating DJT and his policies", and "hating America"; Can you?

This is blatently ignoring that Trump doesn't care what these people think. This is an authoritarian adminstration looking for excuses to continue pushing the envelope.

 

[southernhybrid]

Some of you don't seem to understand that a fierce, unwanted response by government to what starts out as peaceful protests often leads to violence.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/...e_code=1.OE8.LbxK.M3DfBfQqOARG&smid=url-share

Feel free to read the entire article as it's not behind a paywall if you're not already a NYT subscriber.

For social scientists who study the intersection of protests, politics and law enforcement, the scenes unfolding in California broadly follow a script that has played out many times in many other countries. A strong government response to demonstrations that initially start peacefully, they say, often produce increasingly violent confrontations. In some instances, they add, leaders have used the prospect of civil unrest to use heavy-handed tactics or create pretexts to expand their grip on power.

Here are three lessons from international protests, which experts say can help make sense of what is unfolding in Los Angeles.

1. Crackdowns shape optics, and optics shape uprisings.​

When states crack down on demonstrators, the images circulated online and in the news media of the resulting clashes shape the public’s understanding of what is happening.

2. Heavy-handed responses can lead to more violent protests.​

State repression inspires violence and increases the size of protests in general, said Ms. Gamboa, turning issue-based demonstrations into mass movements.

“You’re being repressed; gas is thrown at you,” she said. “It’s your natural instinct to protect yourself by fighting back.”

Beyond an immediate need to respond to violence, crackdowns inflame protests by broadening the cause to fight. What began, for instance, as opposition to the Colombian government’s tax overhaul in 2021 transformed into a much bigger campaign against police violence and the role of state force after a bloody crackdown on demonstrators.

3. Crackdowns can be steppingstones to wider power grabs.​

A government’s decision to exercise force, the experts said, can be an opening for authoritarians to erode democratic checks.

Governments can violate norms to project power, said Andrew O’Donohue, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace who studies democratic backsliding. They can then use the “pushback to justify further crackdowns on institutions and protests,” he added.

After protesters and the police continually pushed the limits of what had been accepted tactics during a year of protests in Hong Kong, the mainland government ended the cycle of increasing violence in 2020 by stripping the semiautonomous territory of many of its rights.

The government in Beijing justified the passage that year of the National Security Law, which handed the mainland government broad powers to crack down on political activities, effectively outlawing pro-democracy parties and limiting free speech.

Amanda Taub contributed reporting.

 

[barbos]

 

[Elixir]

DJT can't see a difference between "hating DJT and his policies", and "hating America"; Can you?

He has ALWAYS used “our Country”, “America” etc. to mean ME ME ME
Try it! Just put the word “ME” wherever he refers to the USA by any name, and the sentence miraculously turns from a lie into gospel truth.

E.G.
“If you elect Joe Biden you won’t have ME any more!”

I used to think a person would have to be severely autistic to fail to notice that. I cannot believe there are 70 million Americans so afflicted, but there you have it. We are a nation of imbeciles.

 

[ZiprHead]

Laughing Dog, do you not find it at least odd that these protestors are proudly bearing Mexican flags while burning US flags during a protest that they NOT be sent back to Mexico?

You didn't ask me but, no, I do not find it odd. You do realize it's brown skinned people who are being targeted, right? People of Mexican and other latin American nations descent. By people representing the United States government represented by the United States flag.

This isn't rocket surgery. You shouldn't need some right wing dipshit to explain things to you. You seem smart enough that you should be able to figure it out by yourself.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Some of you don't seem to understand that a fierce, unwanted response by government to what starts out as peaceful protests often leads to violence.

3. Crackdowns can be steppingstones to wider power grabs.​

A government’s decision to exercise force, the experts said, can be an opening for authoritarians to erode democratic checks.

Governments can violate norms to project power, said Andrew O’Donohue, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace who studies democratic backsliding. They can then use the “pushback to justify further crackdowns on institutions and protests,” he added.

After protesters and the police continually pushed the limits of what had been accepted tactics during a year of protests in Hong Kong, the mainland government ended the cycle of increasing violence in 2020 by stripping the semiautonomous territory of many of its rights.

The government in Beijing justified the passage that year of the National Security Law, which handed the mainland government broad powers to crack down on political activities, effectively outlawing pro-democracy parties and limiting free speech.

Amanda Taub contributed reporting.

This is exactly the entire plan. Miller knows exactly what he is doing. He'd have made a good Nazi. This crackdown is nothing but pushing the envelope and normalizing a much higher level of Federal power enforcement.

I'm reminded of the Bundy Ranch standoff and the FBI just stepped it back as it wasn't worth it. Yes, they could have mowed down the armed resistance, but it wasn't worth it. In LA, this isn't about protests, it is about projecting power and seizing more power. And with a bonus, maybe deport some legal immigrants too.

 

[southernhybrid]

Laughing Dog, do you not find it at least odd that these protestors are proudly bearing Mexican flags while burning US flags during a protest that they NOT be sent back to Mexico?

You didn't ask me but, no, I do not find it odd. You do realize it's brown skinned people who are being targeted, right? People of Mexican and other latin American nations descent. By people representing the United States government represented by the United States flag.

This isn't rocket surgery. You shouldn't need some right wing dipshit to explain things to you. You seem smart enough that you should be able to figure it out by yourself.

While it does seem that Trump and company are primarily going after minorities, I read an article yesterday that they are also planning on deporting a large number of European immigrants, including some from England. If I have time, I'll see if I can find the article I read. I guess he's going after them because Europe has criticized the little toddler felon. So, nobody is really safe from this tyrant. Before long, American citizens who have not committed any crimes will be on their way to Gitmo. In fact, I think that is where he's threatening to send them, instead of back to their native countries.

Trump has also said that anyone who burns an American flag should spend a year in prison, despite the fact that SCOTUS upheld flag burning as a right to free speech. And, just because a person burns a flag or protests doesn't mean they hate their country. It means they want to make their country a better place, or as the line from an old jazz song goes: "Even when I hate you, it's only because I love you."

 

[Colonel Sanders]

I'm loving the Democratic party's response to all this. Well, maybe I would love it if they had one.

The only person saying jack shit is Gavin Newsom. Actual leadership in a time of crisis and uncertainty is something the Dems could use now and for the past 5 fucking years. Instead though, at least from the few articles I've read, they're downplaying the violence and utter anti-American sentiment. The notion that those assholes indiscriminately throwing rocks at civilian cars are protesting Trump specifically is absurd. They're there to fuck shit up and nothing more; and between the non-response from the Dems and the unquestioning praise from the far left, what the hell are people supposed to think.

Before anyone starts calling me a Trump supporter, my unwritten criticism here comes from a place where Trump/GOP are hopeless would-be tyrants; that bringing in the fucking Marines could be a precursor to gunning us down in the future. In short, this is Trump's fault, but the Dems inaction and nonwords does its own share of harm.

Maybe someone can point me to a credible news article on wide Democrat solidarity and support for Newsom. If so, I'll change my mind.

P.S. Now I have to go get a passport so I can get a Real ID so that I can take a fucking domestic flight. Where's the conservative response to this bullshit?

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

You win the Internet.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I'm loving the Democratic party's response to all this. Well, maybe I would love it if they had one.

The only person saying jack shit is Gavin Newsom. Actual leadership in a time of crisis and uncertainty is something the Dems could use now and for the past 5 fucking years. Instead though, at least from the few articles I've read, they're downplaying the violence and utter anti-American sentiment. The notion that those assholes indiscriminately throwing rocks at civilian cars are protesting Trump specifically is absurd. They're there to fuck shit up and nothing more; and between the non-response from the Dems and the unquestioning praise from the far left, what the hell are people supposed to think.

Again, for me, this is about magnitudes. As far as I can tell, this isn't the Rodney King riots. Trump escalated this too damn fast, and it appears to be intentional. Like I noted regarding the Walker protests in Akron, the city sucked the oxygen out of the protests, by allowing them... with no through traffic. There are ways to deal with this and Trump (or should I say Miller) isn't looking to quell violence, they want the violence. They want to normalize Federal enforcement across the states.

Maybe someone can point me to a credible news article on wide Democrat solidarity and support for Newsom. If so, I'll change my mind.

I'd remind you, this has all occurred in a period of days. Senior Democrats are likely reading up on the law and trying to figure out motions against these actions and potentially more dystopian ones. We are in uncharted territory right now. Generally, in the past, when the Federal Government is doing some shady shit, like mass arrests of war protestors or encamping the Japanese, the two parties are aligned. And when the National Guard was called up to protect Selma protestors, that was about protecting Civil Rights. What Trump is doing is new and the Democrats aren't certain how to react. And they have very little power to actually do anything. Governors in other states have no standing.

The Democrats have multiple issues. Firstly the problem for Democrats is that "Illegal Immigrants" have no legal standing to be in the US and Trump enforcing that isn't against the law. Enforcing it without Due Process is against the law (well, until SCOTUS says otherwise). Usurping the National Guard... could be breaking the law, especially with such a low bar for Trump jumping at it. Then we have the nuance of the illegal immigrants being family / friends and what benefit the US is getting out of these actions. It likely is very minimal, but arguing nuance, against the GOP and they will post photos of burning Waymo.

The protests and violent protests, not riots, are legal and illegal, respectively. Of course, the Democrats can't say lawful protests are fine because people will do what was done and post the illegal shit that the Democrats didn't condone and say the Democrats condone the violence. Then remember that this is on top of all the other shady shit the Trump Admin is doing, from tariff wars to DOGE illegal impounding of spending, illegal firing of staffing, permanent retraction of government departments, and RFK Jr sending America back to the pre-Penicillin days.

Truth be told, the Democrats can't effectively say anything. There is no way to put a message out that works, and they are already too busy with all the other crap.

P.S. Now I have to go get a passport so I can get a Real ID so that I can take a fucking domestic flight. Where's the conservative response to this bullshit?

If you have a passport, you don't need the Real ID.

 

[Tristan Scott]

The troops sent in as well as the paid agitators all know exactly why they were deployed to LA.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Politesse]

Well it's always "support" roles. The National Guard will be there to support ICE. Though it's nothing ICE cannot do themselves. Further, these National Guard troops can be considered to be of questionable training. After their basic training, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that their one weekend a month training consists largely of sitting on their ass waiting for 1600 to roll around. My point: These dudes of questionable training and likely little if any experience will be in some of the most volatile areas of Los Angeles. Further, in most cases the National Guard will normally work with local law enforcement. I don't think this will be the case this time. There will be seasoned LA police experienced with dealing with the people in the areas they serve and my aforementioned inexperienced guardsmen mixed in. What could go wrong?

Just like Ghorman. You send in the least qualified "help" imaginable, give them unclear and nonsensical objectives, then blame it all on the rebels when things inevitably go tits-up.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well it's always "support" roles. The National Guard will be there to support ICE. Though it's nothing ICE cannot do themselves. Further, these National Guard troops can be considered to be of questionable training. After their basic training, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that their one weekend a month training consists largely of sitting on their ass waiting for 1600 to roll around. My point: These dudes of questionable training and likely little if any experience will be in some of the most volatile areas of Los Angeles. Further, in most cases the National Guard will normally work with local law enforcement. I don't think this will be the case this time. There will be seasoned LA police experienced with dealing with the people in the areas they serve and my aforementioned inexperienced guardsmen mixed in. What could go wrong?

Just like Ghorman. You send in the least qualified "help" imaginable, give them unclear and nonsensical objectives, then blame it all on the rebels when things inevitably go tits-up.

Pinochet did likewise on Earth. Put out a bunch of newbs who didn't know better.