Fetterman Calls California Protests 'Anarchy' as He Criticizes Democrats

[rog]

18. I am NOT condoning property destruction, but you should read this TIME magazine article ...

This is a more complex, and possibly more nuanced, issue than you may think. They were not pulling citizens from cars and setting them on fire.

This is a long article, but it's interesting, and I thought was well worth the read. Here are a few excerpts, which are discussed in much more detail at the link below.

Why Waymo’s Self-Driving Cars Became a Target of Protesters in Los Angeles

Waymo, a robotaxi company, found itself at the center of the demonstrations against the Trump Administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids after a group of protesters over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times, approached a parked row of the autonomous vehicles and smashed their windows, slashed their tires, spray-painted them with anti-ICE slogans, and set them on fire.

Waymo is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and grew out of the Google Self-Driving Car project that began in 2009. It launched its robotaxi business in 2020 in limited markets, which grew to include Los Angeles in 2024.

While the company says its mission “is to be the world’s most trusted driver,” ... Waymo vehicles were involved in 696 accidents across the U.S. between 2021 and 2024, or about one accident every other day.

Waymo has also reportedly annoyed some people, including those who find self-driving vehicles to be an eyesore as well as locals where the vehicles routinely get stuck.

Waymo vehicles as well as other self-driving cars have previously been the target of vandals, particularly in California, where Waymo is headquartered. In January, a Waymo car was torn apart in Los Angeles. In February 2024, another Waymo car was smashed and set ablaze in San Francisco. And in July 2024, a man was charged with slashing the tires of 17 Waymo cars in San Francisco.

Some activists have also suggested that the burning of Waymo vehicles should garner less sympathy from onlookers.

“There are people on here saying it’s violent and domestic terrorism to set a Waymo car on fire,” racial justice organizer Samuel Sinyangwe posted on X. “A robot car? Are you going to demand justice for the robot dogs next? But not the human beings repeatedly shot with rubber bullets in the street? What kind of politics is this?”

Edited to add: Most, if not all, of the other 'fires' I saw on live feeds were just trash cans set on fire. Fire is always dramatic, especially burning cars.