It’s a quote from The Departed and that’s exactly what the character is saying. The Church and State present the masses with binary choices that they ultimately control. They don’t want us to know about a third choice because then we start wondering about an infinite amount of possible choices which makes the masses harder to control.

In this case, we are taught that you are either a good guy who follows the law or you are a bad guy who breaks the law; abolitionists and runaway slaves were considered criminals but slave catchers were considered “Good Guys”. Today, the lobbyists and lawmakers are trying to make it illegal to criticize the government, protest, etc. to the point where the binary view of justice starts to cave in on itself.

Hey, you’re not entirely wrong. But, you’re also conflating protests with riots. I never said people do not protest for things that do not affect them— just that they don’t intend to riot unless something directly affects them.

And, in pretty much all of the examples you’ve given for riots, those were sparked by acts of violence perpetrated by white supremacists, union busters, police, etc. which forces the people to obviously defend themselves in a reactionary state. But, this is not the same as the masses mobilizing with the intent to root out and destroy these institutions that are designed to hurt and control us.

Holding signs and singing chants in the streets doesn’t change anything but it can easily be framed as a justification for more police and military spending to “maintain order and peace”. If you consider the elites who actually control the flow of commerce, it’s a net loss for the protestors who only have their jobs to risk and possibly jail time and a fine. In fact, the State applies Deterrence Theory in this way to keep the public from rioting and it has, so far, been extremely affective in the modern era.

Oh, and those hippies who protested the Vietnam War were a small percentage of white middle class youth that went on to be corporate leaders in America, many of whom are the primary antagonists we deal with today.

There is a threshold many people aren’t willing to cross that, in my opinion, is necessary for us to move toward dismantling classism. They have us so firmly put in place that they’re now comfortably passing laws that are erasing constitutional rights, and majority of the elderly in this country voted for him, keep that in mind.

I’ll end my rebuttal simply stating that the examples you’ve mentioned involved people who consciously viewed themselves as interconnected with those they were protesting alongside of. This is something we severely lack in today’s social-political climate; a shared consciousness, which is what a grassroots movement requires.

Oh, we are definitely getting protests. But, will we see riots? Will we see people taking control of their workplaces? Will people start growing their own food and shopping at farmer’s markets instead of grocery chains? The only people who have the ability to dismantle the vestiges of power that control them are the people themselves.

Historically, there have been riots during the Great Depression where people raided grocery stores. But, hey, homeless people and poor single parents have been doing this for years and are called criminals for doing so.

These people will need to be okay with being considered criminals if they truly wish to riot and change things, but they’ve spent decades voting to put people who do those things in jail.

Sorry, but you should. Historically, the only people who have ever rioted were people who were directly affected by said issues. If they can successfully be convinced that Daddy Government is going to fix everything while demonizing the actual protestors on the streets, you get decades of stagnation.

I’d love for you show me any counter examples in history.

No, it’s not impossible, unfortunately. Just look at Ukraine.

Why would retired old people suddenly riot? They will call their social security rep and wait for hours on hold while they watch Jeopardy and cable news that tells them rioting is bad and only criminals do that.

People don’t want to fly planes because they’re falling out of the sky. A Tesla dealership explosion would’ve done some significant PR damage, and may keep people from visiting them.

But, you’re right, it seems like Tesla is collapsing on its own without the need of terrorist attacks. But, the nonviolent Tesla graffiti is funny though.