> Riots, on the other hand, seem to cause the media hordes to descend and at least draw attention to the cause. It's hard to argue the fact that they are at least useful for consciousness -raising.
It's a loaded word. A massacre on TV highlights the plight of the people under attack, be it genocide or otherwise. Would you describe the raising awareness from the descending media as a positive thing?
It's possible to separate the benefit of increased awareness from the negativity of the event in question. Your spin is more akin to "people think riots are good".
