...but it's not:
Police: Ohio Riot Was Worse Than Expected
I understand the right to assembly is to be protected fiercely. I understand that sometimes protests can turn violent, and that merely the possibility of violence shouldn't be enough to preempt this right. But when the police are expecting widespread violence (aka. a riot is a certainty), shouldn't that be where we draw the line? What is the message here -- riots are okay, as long as they aren't bigger than the police anticipate??
On a tangential note: How exactly does one estimate the size of a riot? "Well Bob, we've got about 20 Neo-Nazis and about 25 inner city gang members. Our studies show us that about 60% of the Nazis and 50% of the gang members will actually light shit on fire. So, at 24.5 arsonists per hour, and a conversion rate of 9 arsonists per fire truck, it looks like 3 fire trucks should handle the fires from the rioting. Joe, can you present the looting data we had from the last riot, please?"
Posted by Voodoo Child at October 16, 2005 04:59 PM