It is everyone's business to be downtown during a riot.

I want to start by saying I disapprove entirely of the violence and destruction going on across the bridges from me.  I also think it's entirely likely that it is just a core group of people who are causing the bulk of the damage.  And I understand what the police are saying about it the damage being against the law.  All of those are quite obviously correct.

What I disagree with is the sentiment that the people standing around taking pictures and videos have no business being there.

The police very much want to keep things under control - that's fine.  That's their job.  And it's a good thing to do - without the police, society would collapse pretty fast.

But with the advent of portable, cheap cameras and YouTube I don't think anyone should be at all surprised that people want to video what the police are doing.  Go to YouTube.  Right now.  Put "Police Violence" into the search box and see what comes up.  How many of those videos are from people "standing around, taking pictures, with no business being there"?  How many of those situations would have had one-sided reports from the officers involved prior to the advent of hand held video and easy, wide-spread dissemination of that video?  It's hard to say, but it's easy to understand why most people would think things are more one-sided when only the police can be around and only they can file reports.

I think that most of the lookie-loos downtown are doing us all a service.  Their presence, with the recording equipment they most likely have on them, is helping to keep the police in check.  If not during this incident, any video captured of police crossing the line will serve as a warning for future incidents.

I've also seen footage of the police with cameras - one officer confronting a person, another filming it.  And a group of people all around filming it all.  Bravo!  That is the solution to big-brother.  Give everyone a camera and who is watching the watchers?  Everyone.  The threat and power of Big Brother comes from the lopsided nature of the equation - it's even in the name - BIG brother.  If everyone is equal, if only through their ability to film the goings-on, then Big Brother isn't so big any more.

Yes, I have sympathy for the police - it's a tough situation and bad things are happening.
Yes, they need to get in there and clean things up.
But No - people do have business downtown.  As long as you, as public servants, acting in public, are around, the public has a right to watch.
Yes, they can do it from outside of any areas you designate as hotspots - specific blocks with specific problems.

Tonight hasn't been the best night for this city.  I'd rather have seen an orderly, if disappointed, crowd leaving after the game.  But I'm actually rather pleased that so many people are staying around, watching and recording.  The media is portraying things one way, and they have a lot of sway.  But the deluge of video that is likely going to hit the 'net in the coming hours is going to make an impression.  Some good will come of this, even if it seems pretty rough for a while to come.