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White people run amok downtown, battle police, loot stores
By adamg on Sun, 05/31/2020 - 10:25pm
A peaceful vigil and protest march from Nubian Square to the State House organized by young black people turned heavily white and violent as night fell. As the protest dispersed from the Common, crowds began streaming towards Downtown Crossing, throwing bottles and then bricks at police officers and cruisers.
On Summer Street outside Macy's one Boston officer needed to be taken to the hospital after and M-80 went off right next to him. People also set off fireworks at Tremont and Boylston streets. Another officer was hit with a brick on Tremont Street near Suffolk Law School.
Skylight Jewelers on School Street, across from Old City Hall, was smashed into and looted. A similar scene played out at the Walgreens on Washington Street and later at the Marshalls, also on Washington Street, and the CVS at Washington and Milk. Several storefronts on Temple Place were smashed.
Looting eventually extended along Newbury and Boylston streets, including the Saks Fifth Avenue in the Prudential Center, the CVS, Hermes, H&M and Talbots stores on Boylston Street, stores in Copley Place and the Uggs store on Newbury Street.
Several cruisers had their windows smashed in, some while officers were still inside. A Transit Police officer was surrounded in his cruiser at Beacon and Charles streets as a crowd smashed his windows and rendered his vehicle unusable. Just as Boston cops arrived to relieve him, a similar incident happened to anther Transit cop on Beacon in front of the State House.
One Boston cruiser was set on fire in front of the Beantown Pub on Tremont Street; a WHDH car was similarly torched at Washington and Essex streets.
Police fired tear gas at the crowds several times both on the Common and along Tremont Street.
Some 30 National Guard members were bused into town. They were originally supposed to link up with a State Police contingent and sweep down Washington Street, but were diverted to clear a path for Boston firefighters trying to get to a set fire at Washington and Essex streets. Officers from Brookline, Revere, Everett, Medford and other suburbs were eventually deployed downtown to assist BPD.
The MBTA shut Downtown Crossing, Park Street, Arlington, Boylston, Prudential and Charles/MGH stations and halted all downtown bus service.
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Comments
Ok, your mad at cops. I get
Ok, your mad at cops. I get it. But how much teargas did Walgreens on Washington Street launch at you to get you so upset that you tried to burn it down?
Watched the channel 5 live
Watched the channel 5 live feed up until about 11pm-looting was multicultural. Maybe 60/40 black to white but everyone seemed to be kids.
Boston Strong
Became Boston wrong when the clock struck 9. The Transit Police showed get restraint as they were surrounded and attacked on the streets. Does anyone know how the battle for Boston went below the streets. Were the downtown stations destroyed?Where any innocent passengers attacked on trains?
No
Remember, the T shut DTX and Park down pretty early and then kept closing more stations down the Green Line (and Charles/MGH).
That sounds like a serious mistake
If you want a crowd to disperse, why close the T stations that can take people away from the area?
If anyone parked their car (or bike) in Nubian Square before the march, they would need the T to return to their vehicle.
Its a 2-mile walk from
Its a 2-mile walk from downtown to Nubian down Washington, the walk from downtown to Broadway, Kenmore, or Kendall are also all reasonable for a fit person.. Given that we are supposed to avod crowding on the T because of COVID (remember that?), it seems reasonable to force a large crowd to spreadout and walk
We got on the Orange Line at
We got on the Orange Line at Chinatown headed toward Forest Hills at about 9 and the entire train was packed full of people who, like the protesters who marched from Nubian, were polite, kind, and respectful. I think everyone was a little less amped up at that point because we were all tired from the walk.
"the entire train was packed full of people"
Not something great to hear during a pandemic.
And don't forget this handful
And don't forget this handful of looters weren't from Boston.
You’re a Racial Arsonist
Are you going to make racially inflammatory headlines for all your stories going forward? If so, who ran amok on Ames Street last weekend, resulting in six people shot with one dead?
Carmella
Who did shoot those ppl on Ames Street? Are you suggesting he/she is black? Do you frequent Franklin Field housing projects? Do you have family on Ames St? Have you ever volunteered your time to the Boys&Girls club that serves that community? Do you have to go to that laundromat/corner store/hair store/ pizza shop up the block? Were you concerned about that neighborhood before the headline of this story? Do you know the name of the man that was killed? Does the life that was taken truly matter to you? Or is he a quick statistic that satisfies your argument? What are your thoughts on Amy Cooper aka Central Park Karen? Who did Loot the Ugg store? What size do you wear? Where were you last night around 9:30pm? Mind if we search your car? Do you see how it feels for your ppl as a whole to be blamed for the actions of a few? Can you imagine that tradition being passed down thru your generations?
I see you didn't die of C19
Glad to hear you're not dead! How's that "only the flu" season treating you? Ready for a few more "only flu" like seasons this year?
Awful lot of
butthurt white people in these comments. If you’re so fragile that you can’t stand to hear your own name called in the news, maybe you should stay off the comment section—someone might call you mean names, and that ego of yours bruises like a peach.
Who Will Clean it Up?
Maybe tomorrow, you can write a story about all the races other than white, who show up with brooms in hand to clean up the mess. Who looted the Ugg Store? Who looted Zara? Who looted every store on Newbury Street? You’re a racist if the worst kind.
You will?
See Adam's most recent post-you still have time to join the volunteers who are gathering to lend a hand to clean up, while showing support for the cause of racial justice. Here's your chance to show that not all white people are opportunistic looters, or racist keyboard warriors. That'll show Adam!
telling on yourself
translation: you’re the kind of racist that affects me
Listen to ourselves
This page is full of reactions. A lot of us probably spent some time with live feeds through the night of what transpired. Has anyone watched the live Minneapolis coverage from people at the protests that turned violent and destructive? It would help with viewing how we see what happened here. If everyone who posts here sifted through 5 or so different live postings now online through twitter feeds, live video, etc. we could help Adam (he's just one person, who stayed up almost all night!!) and bring a clearer picture of what's going on to this page and ourselves. The message is that numerous people protested peacefully for hours until they didn't and it wasn't happenstance. Residents in Minneapolis spent the night on watch in their streets using bells and kazoos to sound an alarm to dissuade cars without license plates stopping on their streets, homemade incendiary devices were placed beforehand or during in bushes to be used later and pallets of bricks were in the city where there wasn't a construction site (Minneapolis). The evening protest in Boston was separate from the one during the day and was not approved by Black Lives Matter even though the posting says it was. They asked that everyone wear black. It wasn't for solidarity, it was for those with prescribed ill intent who dressed primarily in black to blend into a larger crowd. Can some of us here parse through our feeds and share what we found and continue to do that moving forward? It seems there are multiple narratives playing out: united peaceful protests, and united violent protests which include those who feel a stronger message for change is necessary fueled by spontaneous aggression and another group/groups with a premeditated aggression:
Live coverage of a Minneapolis street on watch through the night
Man in black with umbrella systematically breaking a store window
In Oregon people breaking store windows
Setting up the bricks
https://twitter.com/i/status/1267335910112342017
There are so many more. What are your top links from last night in Boston or anywhere?
Initial tally from BPD
BPD reports around 40 arrests, 7 officers injured seriously enough to require a trip to a hospital and 21 cruisers damaged.
21 cruisers damaged
Does that include the ones they had to wipe clean of the protesters they ran into?
Transit Police tally
Two injured officers and eight damaged cruisers. No arrests.
Watching on TV and on Twitter
Watching on TV and on Twitter, I was trying to figure out who all these people were at night who were clearly there just to antagonize police and loot. Certainly there were a lot of young white people wearing all black. They seemed to mainly be the ones downtown, excited to live-stream their conflict with police online, and accuse the police of damaging their own car (it was pretty clear to me that the police were trying to knock out the already damaged windshield so they could drive it away.)
Many of the looters I saw, at least initially where white. As the night went on, I saw more and more non-white people looting, especially on Boylston St and at Copley Place. Many of them were being dropped off from cars and then hopping back in after grabbing a bunch of stuff. I have no idea who they were or where they were from. The amazing thing is that they were looting on live television where everyone could see them and the license plate of the car they were getting into.
That's what I saw
I watched the coverage on all TV outlets until the coverage ended at 2 PM when the action finally fizzled. The looting earlier in the evening was clearly a mixed, young crowd. Later from midnight onward when it got to Boylston Street and to Neiman Marcus it looked almost exclusively African American to me, and older. This later portion was surreal to watch. It was unhurried, methodical, systematic. People got out of decent looking cars, walked in, walked out with armfuls of merchandise, got back int the cars, where drivers were still waiting for them, and drove off. For over an hour. No police at all until the very end. Either the looters were unaware they were clearly identifiable on camera or didn't care. At one point there was even a "comical" moment when one person was walking in and one was walking out with piles of merchandise and they banged into each other in a slapstick manner. It was the most unhurried, un-riot-like looting I have ever seen. Nobody seemed to be making a "statement" by doing this. Nobody seemed to have a political agenda. They just wanted the merchandise.
Time after time when Boston
Time after time when Boston sports teams won championships, there were celebrations turned into riots by college students and others.
The people doing the rioting and looting after peaceful protests now seem the same to me.
I don’t recall looting of dozens of stores or a mall
Post parades- Yes torched cars and idiots.
No roving mob destroying an entire business district and looting a mall.
Not the same scale at all.
Oh look, it's snowing!
Look at all the sensitive white people...
Watched hours of coverage last night, and saw vandals of all assorted skin colors. Same for the peace makers; the guys who put the fire out at Wallgreens, the guys who stoped the rioters from destroying the Zamboni next to the Frog Pond for example. Only part of the group had an understandable (though not justifiable) motivation for their behavior. The white kids were just into for the, um, fun?
I did notice one constant when it came to those running destructively rampant last night.
They were all male.
Not quite true
Actually, quite a large number of the looters, especially at Neiman Marcus, Concepts and the stores on Newbury Street Street were female. In fact, a large enough number that I took note of it while watching, as well as marveling that they were absolutely unconcerned they were being filmed. Video broadcast by all news outlets backs this up unequivocally.
I saw many last night coming home on the red line
Most were white, Latino and Asian (yes, Asian). All black clothing was the norm. The few black people I saw looked amused.
Astroturfing without the help of Wikileaks is hard
Hey - stupid Russian trolls all over this post. Actual Bostonians watched this live on our local trusted media stations. Trying to convince people what they saw with their own eyes didn't happen doesn't work. (Did that complicated syntax break your translation software? Boo hoo. So sad.)
We Bostonians, We Americans are furious at racist authorities, angry at destructive looters & arsonists, and beyond fed up with ineffectual government. But, you? Idiotic sh*t-posters at the IRA office? Without the help of Wikileaks we see right through you. Really, you're nothing to us but a slight annoyance. The Russians came, the Russians went. Go away.
Boston is strong. America will rebuild.
Get a real job, IRA trolls. In your own country. Because here, no one likes you.
We like Adam. We like Boston. We like Massachusetts. We like America. And we love everyone who actually works to make this is a better place to live - like Adam.
White College Kids did all of the ARSON + B&E in MInneapolis too
ANTIFA did all of the dirst and left Black folks to take the blame!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIX_j1-uFog
the funniest thing about the responses
-People angered by Adam's headline
-Antifa members, well-wishers and supporters who have spent the better part of the last week denying that Antifa exists, even as they burn parts of cities to the ground, jumping in to call the first group "Snowflakes"
No -- there was a demonstration & then a Riot
These two events are only tenuously connected
First some facts about what happened over the weekend in Boston and elsewhere:
So -0- here is what needs to happen -- if you want to demonstrate -- do so during the daytime with the knowledge of the police and have some "monitors" with you -- then disperse when the police tell you to do so
After dark -- anyone out and about without an obvious intent as a pedestrian en-route to work or home, etc., is to be assumed to be engaged in suspect activity, and anyone out and about acting obviously suspiciously and or loitering in a commercial or government area -- should be immediately interrogated by the police or the National Guard
Obviously if you: throw things, break things, burn things, steal things, desecrate things, hit, restrain, or otherwise attack people, or engage in supporting anyone doing the above -- you should immediately be arrested - your cellphone confiscated and investigated for coordinated activities
Nowhere in the 1st Amendment does it give anyone the right to be a thug or criminal in public or to incite insurrection or violence against anyone or to "tag" or otherwise desecrate monuments, buildings or public infrastructure.
This has to stop Now and all politicians have to sign-on to the renewed covenant between society and government
Just as long as none of the
Just as long as none of the late-night rioters and looters near DTX or Tremont made any noise with the lids of garbage dumpsters in alleys - that can result in a sternly-worded 311 complaint.
Divide and conquer
What does it matter if they are from “Boston” or are “not local” ?
What does it matter if they are black, white, white-Hispanic, mixed, whatever?
What fundamentally changes for you?
We want to separate out the protestors from the rioters I guess. Is this the right way to do it or are we just using a broad brush to color a mix of people with a mix of motivations? Is this what we need right now? It’s a narrative to co-opt and distract from what is happening, people are mad because police are using lethal force against minorities and nothing up to this point has been effective to make the system care
By the way a blog running more factual reporting than you confirms the arrests are probably majority people of color from the Boston area... Again does it matter?
https://turtleboysports.com/meet-the-53-winners-who-were-arrested-for-th...
And I hate to link to this hateful blog but in this moment at least their reporting something more than your tweets. Reflect on that your are less newsworthy than TB, sad moment.
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