zlacker

I'm American. The last comparable event that I can think back to is the 1992 LA riots (28 years ago, and several generations of Law Enforcement officers). While the US has a rich history of large scale demonstrations, especially in the past few years, they have largely been premeditated and by activist organizations that collaborate with local governments well in advanced. The Floyd Protests, and the looters riding their coattails are much more emergent in nature. This fundamentally changes the relations between the protestors and law enforcement, because all parties are typically aware of the nature of the event and their roles in it well in advanced. Perhaps to a lesser extent the advent of the Occupy movement.

While I'm certain that there are any number of smaller contrapoints to this, especially in college towns with vivacious activist communities, I can't recall any situation where so many municipal LEOs have been so wrongfooted and outmanned in recent memory.

>>crocod+(OP)
> While the US has a rich history of large scale demonstrations, especially in the past few years, they have largely been premeditated and by activist organizations that collaborate with local governments well in advanced.

Do you have a source for this? I'm not aware of any widespread protests that are coordinated by activists AND the government.

>>milkyt+F8
Much of that component of protest planning is typically relegated to private planning groups and chats. If you get a whiff of it as an outside observer, it's usually a mayor making a public statement affirming protestor's right to express themselves. This makes sense, because acknowledging that you're collaborating the the local government and police makes your protest work seem much less subversive.

A good example of how this is somewhat standardized among more professional organizers is the March For Our Lives planning Toolkit, wherein they propose having dedicated liasons to serve as intermediaries between the organizers, city, and police. [0]

The collaboration needn't necessarily be initiated by the organizers, however. It's just as, if not more likely that local government reaches out to event planners in order to assess any potential security needs.

Women's march: >_A spokeswoman for the city told Philadelphia magazine that officials had discussed security measures with the march’s organizers “prior to and during planning for the march, and organizers understood the public safety concerns and our responsibilities in ensuring a safe event” but confirmed that “permitting was not contingent on agreeing to these measures.”_[1]

More Recently:

>_"We do not tolerate these acts of protest. We celebrate these acts of protest," Hogsett said. "And just as with yesterday we will continue to work with event organizers to ensure they have a venue to deliver their nonviolent message without interference."_[2]

[0]https://everytown.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/March-For-O...

[1]https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/01/19/womens-march-phila...

[2]https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/indianapolis/2020/...