Well, TV is a visual medium. I suppose they could have an announcer just giving the news, but it sure wouldn't sell more airtime
I hear what you're saying, but I don't know that not showing the images even would avoid what's happening. If poor people even hear that others are rioting, and they are on the edge as is, I think they would do what they would do even without seeing the images.
What I found interesting were the prefabricated wooden shields I saw on the news related to the San Fernando rioting. Whether organized in a nefarious manner, or simply organized between poor folk themselves, it shows some planning and the ability to adapt. Most riots I've seen in various places around the world didn't have enough pre-planning to have built shields for the rioters.
In other words, I don't see this as a spur of the moment thing in either regard, but a planned thing. The question is who organized it - local people who are fed up or someone instigating things?
But another thing to think about - I don't recall seeing riots last year at this time, nor any of the previous years I've been here. Makes me wonder if this is planned, or if things are really getting bad enough to make people riot on their own and the season is simply the catalyst of the first round of what could be similar to what happened in 2001. One of my wife's cousins was here for those riots, as a poor person, and she shudders to think about how things were for her then.
I've been worried about things like 2001 happening again now. I almost prefer these are planned, organized riots, for whatever reason, than a grass-roots set of riots that may grow...not that I prefer any kind of riot to a nice, stable place to live and have a family!
