You're missing the point that before those vehicles were stopped on the interstate, it wasn't blocked, and there were no news reports of any problems there
So, with no warning at all things went from traffic being allowed to pass unhindered to traffic being stopped and vehicle contents being extracted and burned? No large crowds holding signs and chanting were visible before traffic was halted? No news coverage of protests taking place?
So far the pattern has been that crowds congregate to protest and then eventually, typically after darkness falls, things turn nasty.
But for the sake of argument, let's say that there really was no warning at all--implausible as that might sound.
It is certainly true that one can't always avoid dangerous situations since they can arise quickly in some cases. I think someone made that point earlier in the thread along with pointing out that one should still try to remain situationally aware even though it's not a 100% guarantee of success.
JohnKSa said:
That said, it's impossible to always avoid dangerous situations, even if one is very situationally aware. The fact that in some circumstances you might not get information in time to avoid a problem doesn't justify never even trying.
Saying "stay out" is just empty rhetoric that has nothing to do with the OP's questions and ignores the reality that it just isn't always possible to "stay out".
The problem is that once you're into the middle of a violent protest/riot, your options for getting out of it safely are very limited and are very poor if you are targeted. That's the unfortunate truth.
Glen's link provides some tips on what to do, starting off with the observation that avoidance is key. The rest of the tips are pretty grim--as they should be given the harsh reality of the situation. The author makes it clear that trying to use a gun is almost certainly a non-starter.
The bottom line is that people tuning into this thread for advice on how to solve this problem with a CCW are going to be disappointed. Some situations just don't lend themselves to being solved with a CCW and some, like this one, are so difficult to solve that the only really useful advice is to avoid the situation if at all possible.
Far from being "empty rhetoric", the point that avoidance is key should help underscore how important it is to do everything possible to stay away. As mentioned before (and reiterated in Glen's link), these situations are not like a typical criminal attack which can be difficult to detect in advance. Violent protests are composed of large numbers of people congregating in fairly predictable areas (urban areas, especially downtown) making a lot of noise up to and including gunshots, generating lots of news coverage (that's one goal of protests after all), potentially lighting fires and causing smoke, etc. Avoidance is not only critical, but it's considerably easier than it would be for more run of the mill criminal attacks.
Using your logic, the authorities should put out bulletins/tips/hints/instructions on how to drive in high water in the case of flooding. Of course they currently to give the accurate advice ("empty rhetoric" I suppose you would say) that there is no way to drive through high water safely in a typical street vehicle and that therefore people should avoid low areas that typically flood during times when flooding is occurring or likely to occur and should never drive through high water.
I guess I had to go full circle to see it. 