Riot. What / When Is It a Riot? Before I lather the thread with Moi's take on it, Please - Go Ahead. A poll was considered but, too difficult to construct beyond "my take". Yes to "peaceful demonstrations". When does it become a riot? Moi Across an immense, unguarded, ethereal border, Canadians, cool and unsympathetic, regard our America with envious eyes and slowly and surely draw their plans against us.
A riot happens when a peaceful demonstration is invaded by “agents provocateurs”( thank you @Doug1943 ). When the triad thugs were brought into the mix the balance was upset. That’s when the stick wielding pro China thugs were seen beating people. “A pro-Hong Kong rally in Melbourne's CBD has turned violent as hundreds of demonstrators clashed with more than 100 pro-China protesters. Key points: Thousands of pro-Hong Kong protesters gathered for peaceful rallies in major cities In Melbourne the protests turned violent when about 100 pro-China protesters arrived Those at the Adelaide protest were advised to leave in groups to avoid being targeted ...... The protests come after student demonstrations between the pro-Hong Kong and pro-Beijing camps have seen confrontations over the past fortnight, ranging from scuffles at the University of Queensland to peaceful hours-long debates on the footpaths outside Monash University's Clayton campus in Melbourne.” From the ABC news.
When you have a chance to meet force with force and prevail, then there is a good case for using force. When you cannot prevail in that situation -- the force facing you is overwhelming -- then you are in one of two situations: ---- (1) If your opponent is relatively civilized, and/or cares a lot about what really civilized people think, then you go the non-violent route: Ghandi, Martin Luther King ... of course there are then other considerations: in the South, the immediately surrounding white government and its supporters were not terribly civilized, but they were imbedded in an a nation which was more civilized than they were, AND which cared about its reputation in the world, then being in competition with the Soviet Union in the Third World. The Indians led by Ghandi were not embeded in a white environment -- just white soldiers and their Indian hirelings with guns -- but the British were not up to killing thousands of people, and were worn out by WWII anyway, so getting out from under there was not so difficult. If the Palestinians had gone the non-violent route and had appealed to the Jewish conscience, they would be far ahead of where they are today. ---- (2) If your opponent commands overwhelming physical force, AND is not restrained by the norms of civilization AND does not care what the world thinks, you have to be patient. If he is determined to physically destroy you, you must run or hide. Otherwise you must wait, nibble away at the edges, find the cracks and contradictions among his supporters and push to open them up. This is the case in China today, in Iran today, in Russia today. Try to grow your support, take advantage of your enemy's pretensions to legality and decency. If you're 20 years old and full of passionate idealism, this is not easy. (Ask me how I know!) It's a paradox ... a young person has many decades to work in, pushing patiently forward. But young people lack patience. An old person doesn't have so much time, you would think they would be very impatient to see results before they check out. But we are patient, because we have seen the slow crawl of progress over time. We've also seen the tricks the enemy uses, and provocation from within your ranks is a very old one.
A riot is unorganized violence. It usually drives a lot of ordinary people to support the forces of order, as it may be doing in Hong Kong right now. Depending on the situation, force may be necessary. In fact, most human progress has required organized force, and lethal force. But its use must be calculated.
The question is more, like "when" do we term it a riot, regardless of the cast. Suggest such instances as failure to disperse while blocking a freeway. blocking a rail system blocking an airport as well as any associated violence such at arson, looting, shooting. When is a riot, a riot? Regardless of cast.
Okay. I will type slowly for . . . . Is blocking a freeway / highway and refusing to disperse a riot? Seems like respondent reply to who is on which side as opposed to the involved activity. I remember, Do YOU?
When you block roadways you have engaged in an illegal activity and if you refuse to get of the road your sorry ass should be removed from said road way as expeditiously as possible. Any bumps bruises scrapes or other minor physical discomfort that happens to you is on you.
If there's a snake dance or a gathering in the streets, have police snipers at the ready, and have pumper trucks stalking them within close range, ready to roll and douse at high pressure from a few blocks away.
From what I heard the pro-Hong Kong protesters were the aggressors,and the pro-china protesters were actually peaceful until they started getting attacked. I support Hong Kong's right to independent, but there's no excuse for BS like this.
You should differentiate between a riot and a confrontation. A riot is when a group of likeminded people resort to mayhem because they are angry about something. A confrontation involves opposing groups of people who descend into mayhem against each other. Riots are more important and need to be taken seriously as they tend to be reactions to intolerable conditions. Confrontations are often incited by malevolent agents who just want to destabilize things or intransigent authorities who demand obedience über alles. A broadbrush approach is incompetent.
A riot is when a group steps on the rights of others. A riot is when a group destroys public or private property that is not theirs. A riot is when an innocent is injured. A riot is when the police must be called to quell the people. That's just a few definitions that come to mind.