But then come the profiteers.  They range from professionals that have a company or foundation that fosters an idea or concept, to the locals wanting to see themselves on national TV.  They have total disregard for the facts of the case, only seeking to get their message out to the masses and maintain their relevance on the national scene, or to get their 15 minutes of fame, so cherished.

That, in turn, feeds more sound bites to the news media and creates the second round of opinion panels, still devoid of any actual facts, but nevertheless proceeding on with round-the-clock talk and misinformation.  Their quest for ratings makes them profiteers as well.

This is what incites those who wish to loot and riot, those with no concern for justice for the alleged racist act, but merely the desire to take advantage of a police department reluctant to act against them in fear of escalating the situation, again feeding into the profiteers.

So there you have the makings of a full scale riot, complete with coverage of broken and burning store fronts and tipped over police cars.  And still, no one really knows what actually happened to start the fire.  Often it is weeks or months later before the actual truth comes out, and then, depending on which side of the political spectrum is reporting, it is either barely mentioned, or championed for years to come as the norm for the country, when in fact, it is almost always an isolated incident.

We, as a nation, need to understand there are racists, homophobes and all sorts of unsavory characters in every organization, but the one bad example does not define the entire organization.  Making statements about systemic racism among the police is as ridiculous as saying the pedophile that worked in your company’s warehouse makes you a pedophile as well.

Bad things are going to happen, and we should identify and punish those who do the bad things.  To do that we have to have the facts and we have to let the criminal justice system work.  If the system fails, we still have time to protest and seek changes, now with cooler heads prevailing.

Destroying your neighborhood over sound bites and innuendo is idiotic, and only harms your friends and neighbors, without contributing one mite to justice for someone mistreated.

The only ones who gain from such behavior are the profiteers.  It’s no wonder they show up so quickly.