When the mayor of Wilmington announced the curfew, he said, "this is not about community, it's about chaos." The people who posted on facebook, inviting people to go downtown for the protest, tried to make it seem like they were part of the community. Their mistake was that at least the local black leadership are smarter than that - they have a good relationship with the local police departments, and know that all people, working together, is what benefits the most people in the long run. Lord knows, Wilmington has had its share of trouble in the past, but a lot of people are putting a lot of energy into trying to move beyond that. We can't help what's in the past, all we can do is focus on the future, and try to make it better. Destroying property, putting already stressed businesses out of business and getting people injured or killed is not the way to achieve that.
I'm not usually a believer in conspiracies, but that is apparently what this is. Yes, when booking records are looked at, a lot of the people getting arrested are locals, but some are not. I think what is happening is a bunch of stupid locals are letting themselves get led about by the nose by outsiders who are bent on stirring up trouble. As local NAACP president Deborah Dicks Maxwell pointed out, timing the protest to run until after sunset, the instructions to wear dark clothing and cover their faces and tattoos, to avoid filming - clearly indicates someone intending that the participants will be taking part in something where identifying those responsible is going to be necessary, and they wanted to make it as difficult as possible. People don't generally feel a need to be secretive when what they are doing is all legal and uplifting, y'know? I swear, I'm reminded of Charles Manson - he was convinced that the U.S. was going to have a race war, and he sent his "family" into the community on killing sprees to try to help it happen. This seems to be on a much larger scale, and the only thing that's going to stop it is enough people saying, "not in our town, you don't. Go home, get a life, and stop trying to ruin ours."
. . . aaand, some people are predicting a major spike in Coronavirus cases after all this antisocial non-distancing. Whattaya bet they are right?
Not certain whether to hit the like, love, or sad emojis on this. I feel that all are appropriate. I feel so very bad for the communities, businesses being destroyed and the good people who will have to deal with the future ramifications of all of this. My antisocial side is winning right now.