Thankfully, I have not been in a riot in this country. However, during my extended travels and residence in other countries, I have been in the midst of several riots (both economic and political in nature), and that experience prompted me to do some research on riots, particularly about the LA riots.
The nature of mass psychology of mobs being what it is, it is very unpredictable to determine what the mob will or will not do if confronted by active resistance. The outcome really depends on many factors, including how organized each side is (both "attack" and "defense"), how they are armed, the nature of the "triggering" events, presence (or lack of) "leaders" among the rioters, etc. etc.
During my foreign stays, I have observed a riot during which a couple hundred riot police/military officers (armed with tear gas and rubber bullets) were overwhelmed by several hundred rioters armed with nothing but a few molotov cocktails and sticks in what can only be described as a "bloodlust." On the other side of the scale, I have also seen hundreds of rioters "quelled" by a dozen police officers in another incident.
What I am getting at is that mass psychology of a mob is a highly unpredictable thing. You cannot ALWAYS count on a few warning shots or "I am taking the first ten of you with me" attitude to save the day. Sometimes it works and cowers the looters/rioters into retreat or dispersion. Other times, it may incite them into a frenzy of "revenge" particularly during "race" riots.
Again, would you be willing to take that chance and put your family in the midst of all that chatoic violence in order to save your property, particularly when it is possible to evacuate the area? Some of you may be, and I do wish you and your families luck, but I am not. My family is the most important thing to me in the world. I've given up ridiculously generous employment opportunities to be together with my family. I personally am willing to lose my belongings many times over and start again if it means that the chance of my family survival will increase several orders of magnitude during bouts of chaotic violence.
I suppose that, in the end, we all have to make those choices and live (or die) with the consequences.
Skorzeny
The nature of mass psychology of mobs being what it is, it is very unpredictable to determine what the mob will or will not do if confronted by active resistance. The outcome really depends on many factors, including how organized each side is (both "attack" and "defense"), how they are armed, the nature of the "triggering" events, presence (or lack of) "leaders" among the rioters, etc. etc.
During my foreign stays, I have observed a riot during which a couple hundred riot police/military officers (armed with tear gas and rubber bullets) were overwhelmed by several hundred rioters armed with nothing but a few molotov cocktails and sticks in what can only be described as a "bloodlust." On the other side of the scale, I have also seen hundreds of rioters "quelled" by a dozen police officers in another incident.
What I am getting at is that mass psychology of a mob is a highly unpredictable thing. You cannot ALWAYS count on a few warning shots or "I am taking the first ten of you with me" attitude to save the day. Sometimes it works and cowers the looters/rioters into retreat or dispersion. Other times, it may incite them into a frenzy of "revenge" particularly during "race" riots.
Again, would you be willing to take that chance and put your family in the midst of all that chatoic violence in order to save your property, particularly when it is possible to evacuate the area? Some of you may be, and I do wish you and your families luck, but I am not. My family is the most important thing to me in the world. I've given up ridiculously generous employment opportunities to be together with my family. I personally am willing to lose my belongings many times over and start again if it means that the chance of my family survival will increase several orders of magnitude during bouts of chaotic violence.
I suppose that, in the end, we all have to make those choices and live (or die) with the consequences.
Skorzeny