NYC is being ransacked!!!

[IcyPeas]

I was looking at Twitter, Manhattan is trending. These mobs of kids are smashing store windows all over the place. They broke in to Macy's on 34th street. Soho shops were ransacked. The police are outnumbered. This is scary. A Best Buy, a Microsoft store... more.

We must have DUers in new york.

[democrattotheend]

1. I'm in the suburbs now, but have a lot of friends still in the city

And I am scared for them. This needs to stop, ASAP. I doubt the people doing this are even reacting to George Flynn at this point.

[IcyPeas]

2. There's a curfew

Streets are empty it's like kids on Halloween going door to door looting. I've never seen anything this out of control.

[elleng]

4. Right, like kids on Halloween.

Opportunistic, and keep in mind many of us have been under 'restrictions' recently, so 'kids' taking advantage.

[elleng]

3. Opportunists, many young (it appears.)

[IcyPeas]

5. CNN's not even covering it!!!

I was looking for some live news.

[DanieRains]

6. Since There Is No Law In America That Really Matters

Jails are only for the poor.

The rich can steal all they want and never pay the price.

Look at the Trump kids raiding their charity.

Since the rich don't obey laws, why should anyone?

I'm not for looting but there really is no law for rich people.

[regnaD kciN]

15. That's what I'm thinking as well...

Look, I don't support looting or destruction of property on principle. And I will grant that a lot of these looters may be white, middle-class, or whatever. But, while (once again on principle) I would much rather have all protests during this time be peaceful, for those who have been living all their lives treated as second-class, or worse, citizens, and who have seen dozens of their race been killed while unarmed, unresisting, etc., and who have seen the killers get away with it virtually every time...when the anger hits a certain level, it turns into a "fuck the system" motivation that just wants to tear everything down because the whole thing is rotten.

[regnaD kciN]

16. Ah, time to invoke the "black-on-black violence" canard...

I'm surprised you didn't throw in "Blue Lives Matter" as well.

[SammyWinstonJack]

22. "black on black crime" Really?

[RandiFan1290]

38. It's the usual right wing narrative

It also ignores the many videos showing white men dressed in black doing a lot of the damage.

[Demovictory9]

26. how about protests for white on white crime?

[PTWB]

8. Sounds very expensive...

Eventually the powers that be will realize how much it costs to murder unarmed black men. I posted before, but maybe this is what it takes to get some real change.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

9. Some breaking coverage here on NBC-NY.....

NYC Nighttime Curfew, Extra Police Officers Unable to Stop Chaos at Macy’s
By Brian Price, Myles Miller, Jonathan Dienst, Kiki Intarasuwan and Jennifer Millman • Published May 31, 2020
• Updated 27 mins ago

Link: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/protesters-take-to-nyc-streets-for-4th-day-mayor-says-no-curfew-planned-for-sunday-night/2440286/

(snips)

New York City will have a curfew imposed to crack down on protest violence, and more cops will be on the streets Monday and Tuesday night to assist that effort, Mayor Bill de Blasio's announced.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo first announced Monday's 11 p.m curfew in an afternoon interview on WAMC radio. One hour before it was set to begin, the mayor said the violence and destruction already underway prompted his decision to impose a curfew Tuesday night as well, starting at 8 p.m.; both curfews end the following morning at 5 a.m. Essential workers, people experiencing homelessness and those seeking medical attention will be exempt from the curfew.

In the two hours leading up to Monday's curfew, dozens of looters spread out between Midtown and Union Square, in some instances ripping off plywood to break into stores. Crowds were spotted running out, hands full of merchandise from Macy's, Best Buy, Foot Looker, Duane Reade as well as the Microsoft and AT&T stores.

People were seen running away from Macy's in Herald Square after a number of police officers responded to reports of looting and fires being set inside the side. The scenes on Monday painted the clearest signs that some opportunists took advantage of the peaceful movement calling for racial justice. A police spokesperson said, “there are packs of youths running as fast as they can, smashing windows as fast as they can, and police are trying to catch them as soon as possible.” More than 200 arrests were made Monday as a result.

I smell the effects of Russian and American fascist/anarchist social media activity.

The MSM needs to stop associating this type news with George Floyd protests, IMO.........

[IcyPeas]

12. Thanks for that link. /nt

[jmowreader]

21. Just so you know...

Duane Reade is the brand Walgreen's uses in New York City.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

24. Thanks! Had no idea what the heck that was.

We're all Walgreens here in KY. Learn something new every day.

It's dangerous that they're invading drug stores and it's hard on communities. I would guess the pharmacists place hard drugs under lock and key at the end of each day.

KY

[jmowreader]

30. Except that there is no "end of the day" there

Many (if not all) Duane Reade stores have pharmacists on duty around the clock.

[JHB]

35. Actually, they use both.

Walgreens bought up the once-separate Duane Reade some years ago. Since then they've used both chains.

[DanieRains]

10. Oh My Someone Besides The 1% Is Looting

Where are my pearls to clutch?

(I hate looters by the way, especially the filthy rich ones who are above the law)

[diva77]

13. Both kinds of looting are unacceptable. The kind we've seen the past few days has put the nail

in the coffin of a lot of mom & pop stores that were already on the brink due to the pandemic and has irreparably harmed society at the local level. Several areas of LA that were prosperous are now ghost towns with boarded up storefronts. Stores that sold necessities are gone.

[radius777]

27. Exactly, and it's mainly white extremists

who are kickstarting the looting (by breaking windows), committing arson, etc - as many videos on social media shared by peaceful PoC activists have shown...

[Amishman]

36. Was talking with a coworker about the business impact

Some retail businesses are likely delinquent or have lapsed on their insurance payments, and will not get reimbursed for the damages.

Those that do have valid insurance will still have to cover their deductible, which is likely very high.

Restocking will be painful as well, as they will be paid by their insurance based on the pre-pandemic/ pre-riot purchase price of what was stolen, but have to pay the higher market price for the replacements.

Plus the additional lost time / business before they can reopen.

The timing on this could be a knockout to many.

[Renew Deal]

11. Macy's to Microsoft is probably around 20 blocks

And includes Rockefeller Center. It’s a big area.

[ansible]

14. Looters are now robbing each other as well

Looter with an iMac gets jumped by other looters

Link to tweet

?s=20

[AntiFascist]

17. I'm surprised the National Guard hasn't been called yet...

better that than Trump's illegal use of the military.

[Shiv]

18. How many Americans are currently Unemployed?

Ask yourself that question E V E R Y T I M E you see a looter, and take a step back.

We've asked people to stay home to save lives for three months. People are desperate. Other countries guaranteed stable wages throughout their lockdown, we gave people 1200 and threatened to take their unemployment away if they wouldn't go back into the KFC gobblers V2 rocket factories.

blame the victims one more time, so called allies.

sorry, Im getting tired of seeing this from people.

[Shiv]

19. And another thing..

before the words even come out of someones mouth, even if they aren't swiping food,

THEY CAN TRADE MERCHANDISE FOR FOOD.

In the lawless (not really, only here and there and isolated, but to make the point) state of an incompetent manager of government bureaucracy, barter will rule.

[Tipperary]

37. Would it not be easier to just steal the food?

Target has food, but the videos show no one stealing food. I think it would be easier to carry several packages of meat rather than a big screen tv.

[Shiv]

40. What i would likely...

do if i was desperate and had starving family to feed, but they may be considering a simple equation of value to limits of carriable weight.

the point is the motivation is irrelevant, here, read the attitudes and my confusion at the responses:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213526344

[Shiv]

20. (no subject)

It is scary and it worries me too IcyPeas, but empathy is required here and that alone will help us relax about what we're seeing. I hope it helps you. We'll get through to the other-side of this.

Things can be replaced.

[stopdiggin]

28. people were just as unemployed and just as broke a week ago

understand your argument .. but we're gonna' have to agree to disagree on this one.

Please remember all the protesters that did yeoman's work in trying to shield stores and prevent looting and destruction. Doesn't their "message" deserve equal (or greater) weight? Or do the characters that come out at night have greater legitimacy?

[Shiv]

29. I was just advocating perspective and empathy,

not their actions. Sorry if that was unclear, lots of discussions going on.

The people protecting property are awesome, the cops protecting people's lives not endangering them are awesome.

But a week ago... buildings weren't burning down, agitators weren't using peaceful demonstrations as a cover to steal equipment and evidence from a police precinct, an opportunity that was not there for three months, is there now. It's still not great, it still doesn't help solve the bigger picture, but isn't impossible to understand why some may be looting.

I'm not totally unsure unscrupulous business owners may have mixed in with the outside agitators to get insurance monies knowing their business had been burned to the ground by Covid-19 already. These events are very complex and happening in different ways all over the place,..

but the perspective that mostly the worst stuff gets covered too much, and the plurality of good acts get under-reported on big media, is something I am trying to heel to strongly.

just because you are saying understand one group, doesn't mean you're not somewhere else arguing just as strong for a group someone else is wondering why you left out.

And I'm okay with agreeing with your disagreement. the people cleaning up the next day are providing a strong example, too. I agree with your point.

[jcmaine72]

23. White racism is a cancer that is literally killing our national body (If it isn't dead already).

And white racism metastasized from the malignant tumor of capitalism, starting with slavery. Truth be told, it has been the extreme avarice of white men historically that has put us where we are today. I know many whites don't want to hear or accept that, just like they don't want to accept the irrefutable truth of their white privilege and its existence, but that's the naked truth.

We'll never end racism in this nation until we end capitalism. Racial justice and economic justice walk hand in hand. We must accept this or our society will continue to violently implode.

[winstars]

25. Mayhem in NYC tonight...

&t=3674s

[Croney]

31. I haven't watched news yet this morning. What do the looters look like?

During Katrina, black people were looting, but white people were gathering essential supplies for their survival during those difficult times. (sarcasm)

[beachbumbob]

32. happening in many places all over America, criminals doing what criminals do

it shames the underlying message and creates EVEN MORE DIVIDE.

[octoberlib]

33. This looks organized. Probably criminal gangs. Minneapolis had some of that , too.

They see opportunity.

[uponit7771]

34. +1, all of it does ...

[jcmaine72]

39. A lot white nationalists have seen a golden opportunity here to start their long-desired race war.

And it looks like they're taking advantage of it.

[Shiv]

41. Im worried about this too..

And the admin wants us scared and afraid of rioting and looting, and distracted from the criminal murderers who abused their power, of which he is the fuhrer in chief.

Dont buy into the despair and misplaced anger for 100,000 deaths for Covid and 400 years of death for state sponsored ethnic terror.

[Shiv]

42. stay strong jcmain72

<3

[winstars]

43. Curfew extended till the end of the week.