Any time large groups of angry people gather spontaneously, property damage is common. Most race scholars argue that unprovoked police violence against peaceful protesters is the larger societal problem, and no amount of stolen merchandise will ever equal the loss of even a single human life.
Still, “the looting that takes place in these situations is usually interpreted as evidence of human depravity,” the sociologists Russell Dynes and E. L. Quarantelli wrote in their seminal study on looting in 1968, another year in which protests resulted in widespread property damage and death.
The sentiment in some corners seems to be, If only they would just march peacefully, and not loot, we’d be fine with this.
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