I’ve spilled a number of pixels already on the political dynamic that’s been at work in some of the urban riots over the last year or two. My observations aren’t particularly unique on this topic, either.
One of the interesting dynamics at work is that many of the radial leftists in print, at websites, and on TV have tended to put more hopes into these protests than the facts themselves would warrant. Characters like Matt Bruenig, the rest of the staff at Gawker, the new staff at the New Republic, some choice Atlantic columnists, and others from more radical venues like Jacobin, have all downplayed some of their more characteristic cultural and economic issues for whatever grievance at the moment is being wailed about by the urban protest machine.
