Life's a Riot

Living out here in the woods of the Olympic Penninsula, I have become more of a spectator than a participant. And for the most part that is fine with me.
The present state of things has been a long time comin'. Under the current administration, the reality of racial inequity has become all too obvious. I w that good can come from all this turmoil. There are valuable lessonsoleheartedly approve of the protests, but not the riots and looting. Although it can be hard to separate the two since they happen together, it is neccesary to separate the two.
Back in the dark ages of my teen years, I marched in civil rights marches, got tear gassed, and really thought I was part of the solution. It saddens me that things have not changed all that much. Sure, the whites only drinking fountains are gone, and the black vote has become a political f wind up dead at the hands of police for imaginary or minor offenses. The protests are appropriate. Unfortunately the criminal elements of society use the protests as a platform for riot and looting.
That's only half the equation. The response from authorities is the other half.  The response of the police is is either nonexistent or disproportionate. The authorities must recognise the right of the participants to demonstrate, and ideally demonstrate solidarity with the protestors. Too often the response of the authorities creates an atmosphere of us versus them, The key is communication, on the street level. Listening to stuffed heads spout platitudes isn't going to get it. Person to person, one on one communication is what it will take to  get people to recognise their similarities, not emphasize their differences. I don't know how  that looks, but there are much smarter people than me out there that should be able to  figure the details out.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the incident at Forks.
A racially mixed faminly traveling in a converted school bus, travilled from Spokane to the Olympi penninsula to go on a little camping trip. Some moron in Forks decided they were ANTIFA activists com to riot and loot. The total lunacy of this escaped them. So thay hazed them out of town. The family set up to camp for a couple of days, A group of  misguided teens with chain saws and felled a bunch of trees so they could not get out.
It is an embarassment to everyone who lives out here. The whole thing sounds like a cheap episode from some second rate made for tv show.
It is possible that much good can come from this. If people do not recognise the legitimacy of the protests, the next ones will be more violent, so it is in out own best interrest to act now.